SMEs urged to explore mobile marketing opportunities

UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to explore digital and mobile marketing opportunities in order to remain competitive with larger firms and established brands in the digital age, a new study has found.

The calls come after a landmark Ofcom study found that 93 per cent of Britons now own a mobile phone – and that younger consumers or ‘millennials’ spend more time in an average day on social media and electronic devices than they do sleeping.

A new report from SMS service Textlocal is arguing that digital marketing opportunities are simply too important for SMEs to ignore – particularly if they want to keep up with larger competitors.

Currently, only 50 per cent of SMEs are using text messaging to target their new and existing customers, despite the fact that such practices are commonplace among established brands and larger competitors, it says.

Textlocal’s The State of SMS report claims that 98 per cent of branded or business-related texts are read by consumers, while 90 per cent are read within three minutes of receipt or less.

It states that as many as 23.5 million people will respond or react to a business text message in 2017, while mobile phone usage in Britain will continue to surge year-on-year.

The report adds that SMS messages tend to provoke a greater response in consumers than social media marketing – with the UK being home to 37.2 million mobile phone users in comparison with just 30 million Facebook accounts.

Commenting on the study, Jason Palgrave-Jones of Textlocal, said: “Smartphones are transforming the way British consumers behave and businesses need to reflect this when looking to interact with them.

“We have seen a rise in larger corporates using SMS for their marketing and communications and believe there is a significant opportunity for SMEs to do the same.”