Mobile devices have made location and its context important to mobile marketing for the first time ever.
Mobile marketers are being advised to consider the location of their audience and to attempt to anticipate their movements in order to be able to create the mobile experience with the maximum possible potential.
The internet for desktop and laptop computers, and television have not provided a platform that is adequately portable that precise location would have the impact that it has through the use of smartphones and tablet devices. Mobile devices make it possible for consumers to interact with businesses and brands regardless of the time or location of the individual.
The location of consumers with a tablet or smartphone and the context of the consumer’s activity can now dictate the potential of a message, including the prospective customer’s receptivity to it, and the desire for engagement with that message or the information, link, or other opportunity it provides.
Unfortunately, many mobile marketing experts are discovering that brands aren’t using this knowledge properly. One of the most common examples of misunderstandings of the context of location is in the QR codes found on direct mailers. The truth of this circumstance is that the recipient of the mailer is more likely to prefer a laptop or desktop computer to the mobile device experience at the location of receipt. As direct mailers are received at work or at home, the desire to use the mobile device is not at its highest.
The key to the use of a QR code or other form of mobile marketing is that the mobile device must be the most convenient opportunity, such as while shopping or at a conference. Place QR codes in locations where laptops are not available. Nobody brings their laptop with them to use while they are at a concert, while shopping in a mall, or while attending a festival. Their smartphones, though, are likely in their hands.
