Mobile phones have revolutionized the way many people communicate in just over a decade. Initially mobile phones were only cable of displaying digits and making calls over great distances. The phones themselves were hardly mobile. However over the recent years we’ve seen the mobile phones become more compact and more sophisticated. Text messaging was another revolutionary addition to mobile phones. Text messaging eliminated the need to call others and simply allowed you to send a text message with 500 characters. This feature eliminated the need for calling friends and families to relay simple messages. Text message also used templates for sending simple messages such as “stuck in traffic” or “busy will call back later”.

Many sites implemented text messaging as well. Sites such as www.textcanada.ca allows users to send text messages from anywhere in the world to friends and family in Canada. The text messages are free therefore users will be saving money in regards to roaming texting. Sending text messages generally can be done anywhere in the world. The service provider will charge users a fee for using this service from region outside the provider’s country. Texting messages generally costs less than calling another person. The rates vary on the provider. There are multiple providers for each area with a variety of different offers. Many providers generally offer mobile phone packages with a sim card which providers a connection. However when picking a deal, many users will pick a plan that centers on cheap call rates or free text messages.

Texting is also done over the internet by software such as MSN messenger and Google talk. This type of software is used as a chat medium for people all over the world. Implementing text messaging into this software has increased the usage of text communication. The senders email address is used instead of a phone number for identification.

Text messages can also be saved for later use therefore numbers and addresses can be stored without having to note it down in an alternate location. New mobile phone models come with many text friendly options such as the new QWERTY keypad and touch pads. These new typing features allow users to type rapidly by impersonating a keyboard.

The merging between wireless internet and mobile phone technology has only opened further access points for text messaging and calling. Many people believe that text messaging will soon merge with internet chat programs and single messages will be replaced with system to email.

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Mobile technology has certainly changed the nature of trade and commerce in modern times. In particular, though it has led to a dramatic shift in the conduct of online retail. Where just a few years ago, we would be confined to desktops in pursuing our internet shopping needs, these days, consumers can bid and list auctions with just a few clicks on smartphones such as the Blackberry and iPhone.

The increase in eBay’s mobile sales has been staggering. In 2009, worldwide sales amounted to $600 billion. For 2010, that figure was $2 billion. With markets such as the United Kingdom a key part of this, eBay has gone to great pains to secure its position at the forefront of mobile retail.

eBay’s mobile retail experience is primarily offered through applications. In 2010, two of its popular apps were ‘Selling’ and ‘Classifieds’. While the names may not be revolutionary, both simplified considerably the process of listing an item for sale or bidding in an auction. For example, the time it would take to create a new auction was reduced to less than 60 seconds. Since then, eBay has continued to innovate and has regularly released new and more sophisticated apps. Recently, it announced that it is developing the first truly international mobile retail app in partnership with telecommunications giant, Telefonica.

eBay’s successful use of applications has in large part been a result of an equally successful marketing campaign. Its sponsoring of the tagging feature found in the music recognition app Shazam is just one of a number of ways that it has sought to increase the profile of mobile shopping and the number of people engaging in it. With its recent acquisition of specialist mobile marketing provider, ‘Where Inc’, eBay clearly intends for mobile advertising to be an integral part of its future.

Going forward, it is projected that eBay’s worldwide mobile sales will hit $4 billion in 2011. Through its partnership with Telefonica and the acquisition of its own mobile marketing provider, ‘Where Inc’, Yankovich’s prediction that the future is in mobile could not be more true.

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Mobile web browsing is usual practice these days. It is so popular that it has become an absolute necessity. With this in mind, many consumer-focussed companies have recognised how promising the mobile platform is and have modified their existing websites with more mobile-friendly alternatives. These will involve big changes in terms of layout, design and construction.

One of the most fundamental aspects of a mobisite is the layout. When thinking about the layout, developers have to consider the most relevant information to customers visiting their site and place this in the location accessed the quickest, the top of the page. This way the user can see it at a glance, without having to scroll through pages and pages which take time. Other points to remember which will benefit the user, is to have a single column layout, and if tables must be used, limit them to just 2 columns.

Because most mobile phone users are on the go while looking at mobile sites, it is essential that the content of your website is easy to read and navigate, and easy to understand. When the content has been chosen, developers should look to tailor the site menu by adjusting text to avoid zooming. Developers also need to consider the typography and headings used to control font sizing. Images and graphics should be used as little as possible because they take a long time to load. It is preferable to use images in .jpeg, .gif, or .png format as these files are lightweight. Any pictures being used should be compressed to avoid zooming. It is best to use the alt text, so the user can have the option of browsing with the images switched off.

For ease of use across all the major mobile devices and platforms, developers need to ensure simple, yet effective coding. Developers suggest the best type of coding to use on a mobi-site is XML or XHTML, or you can also use the basic HTML and CSS coding. Keywords can be used to represent heading tags and filenames, title tags, and description meta tags.

Simplicity is the key when assigning a style for a mobile website. It is important to keep page sizes small and to remember that the maximum page size for a mobile page is merely 20 Kb, so it is advisable to make everything fit, and if possible, use less than 10 Kb. Users usually get charged per KB of mobile web data, it is important to bear this in mind when designing a mobisite. With mobile web usage being all about quick and convenient access to mobisites, the essential ingredient for a good mobile website design is the feature of back buttons and links, which ensure fast and relevant links to other sites and in turn, ensuring the efficient and convenient service of your mobisite.

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The growth of mobile marketing means more and more call centre work is being redeveloped by businesses who have found a new and more effective way of communicating with their customers.

Mobile marketing (via SMS) is proving to be the most empowering and simple way of securing business leads in a world where consumers are increasingly on the move- and taking their mobile phones with them.

A recent study into advertising response rates found that over 50% more consumers prefer to SMS for further information than picking up the phone and calling the toll-free number provided.

Not only are toll-free numbers hard to remember, surveys show 69% of calls aren’t answered between 6pm and 8am- prime advertising times. Subsequently, potential consumers who attempt to make a call-to-action will be left in the dark, and the chance to follow-up on leads is lost.

A New Zealand business advertising Christmas hampers was surprised to see the results their SMS campaign generated. SMS was by far the most favoured response method for customers- it was 5 times more effective than phone responses and three times more effective than trying to remember a website

The ability to measure who responds to certain advertisements is not a new phenomenon by any means. Since call centres and the internet were widely available, businesses have been trying to measure who responds to their advertisements and when they are most likely to respond.

The difference with SMS is that people can respond immediately, and from virtually anywhere in the world at any time.

So why do people prefer to SMS instead of picking up the phone to call? We’ve all had our fair share of bad experiences with call centres- the inconvenient operating hours, the long queues, the incessant questioning.

The results of a survey into advertising response methods found that 30% of callers will hang up if they have to hold for over a minute. In addition, 76% of respondents reported that 24 hour-a-day seven-day-a-week call centre operation was important to their purchase decision.

In Europe alone, every month, over a million advertisements are sent via SMS and this movement is expeditiously.

So, mobile marketing allows call centres to be more reactive. Consumers who text a short code to any business can be called back by a call centre operator. Not only does this mean mean that call centres only talk to people who want to be spoken to, it also means you’ll never miss a lead.

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A multi-million-dollar advertising campaign launched in 2006 by Tourism Australia featured a bikini-clad Australian woman asking television viewers from around the world… ‘where the bloody hell are ya?’

The main aim of the advertisement was to create some attraction for Australian wildlife, as well as its women.

The advertisement also featured a website address and a local toll-free number to dial for more information.

After watching the main features of the advertisement, viewers were advised to respond to the ad.

However, this would involve people on the move- on buses, trains, in cars, walking dogs- to remember the website address and visit the site later for more information.

Research suggests that this does happen- but very rarely. Knowing where the bloody hell your customers are when they see your billboard, or hear your radio ad, is actually quite important.

So it seems that by not providing an easier medium to engage their consumers, such as text marketing, Tourism Australia has missed out on a significant opportunity to hear responses regarding their advertisements.

Recent reports have found text marketing can be up-to 3 times more effective in encouraging responses to advertising than tradional forms of communication.

This was the case for New Zealand financial firm Spicers who received a total of 550 responses to their radio advertisement. Of the 550, 307 preferred to text with only 103 using the toll-free number and 140 using the [Spicers] website.

Text marketing is about the now. When advertising through any medium, it pays to offer a a response mechanism which can be used by anybody, anywhere.

Text marketing empowers businesses to never miss a business lead and contact and correspond with customers via a personal medium.

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