As mobile marketing increases in significance for e-commerce concerns across the planet, many of the guidelines governing how to achieve marketing success have remained intact. That includes the revelation that market segmentation is important, especially for small to mid-size companies that can’t afford a marketing campaign that targets the masses. The only difference in the approach between online marketing and mobile marketing might be in the way segments are defined.
The Need for Mobile Marketing Segmentation
As indicated above, marketing budgets are usually the driving force behind efforts to employ marketing segmentation. Target marketing has to be as effective as possible in order to drive sales from each market segment. This is particularly true in the mobile marketing space where customers from one segment to the next are so vastly different. By allocating marketing dollars by segment, it’s easier to attract potential customers by addressing their specific wants and needs without wasting dollars trying to sell something a particular group would never buy. Even worse, irritating mass marketing efforts can lead customers to delete the associated mobile app and in turn, stop the flow of potential referrals. If this happen, there is a “real” hard-dollar cost to the company. Marketing segmentation minimizes the chances of potential customers becoming irritated by a barrage of irrelevant ads.

5 Lessons in Successful Mobile Marketing Segmentation
While there isn’t much history behind the use of mobile marketing segmentation, there are particular lessons that can still be learned based on what is available. By paying attention to these lessons, you as a business owner can direct your marketing people to rely on this information to develop an effective mobile marketing campaign. Here are five lessons that seems to be a relevant part of developing a successful campaign.

1. Pay Attention to the Differences in Devices and Operating Systems (OS) – When customers view your marketing information using a desktop or laptop computer, the information appears uniform from one computing device to another no matter which operating system is being used. In the mobile device arena, the way each device receives information is different. With this in mind, it is important for marketing personnel to design mobile marketing campaigns that are specific for each type of device and/or OS in the marketplace. If this isn’t done, efforts to reach target groups using a “one-size-fits-all” approach are going to miss the mark with a large group of potential customers who are unable to read and/or decipher the marketing information received on their mobile device(s).

2. Geographical Location Still Matters – Mass marketing efforts still miss the mark when it comes to marketing products in specific cities, states or regions. Marketing dollars spent marketing snow mobiles in Arizona or Mexico should be considered an ineffective use of marketing dollars. This mindset needs to carry over into the mobile device arena.

3. Keep the Message Small and Simple – Most standard marketing information is designed to be viewed in a larger environment. However, the screen on a mobile device is small, which creates a smaller area for placing information. When people are on the go, they usually want to receive information as quickly and efficiently as possible. If mobile marketing material is too voluminous, the recipient is likely to bypass that information in favor of something easier to consume. In order for mobile marketing pieces to be effective, they must be short and to the point.

4. Track Everything – People with mobile devices are active consumers of information all day long. With so much activity going on, there are all kinds of metrics that can be used to identify user behavior, which makes it infinitely easier to develop a targeted mobile marketing campaign. As a marketing manager or business owner, you need to understand there are very few limitations on the kinds of information you can extract using analytical tools. This information might include how many times a particular customer opens marketing emails, how many purchases they make, what products they tend to buy, how long they remain on the mobile app and how often they come back. Use this information to your advantage.

5. Understanding the Persona of Mobile Device Users – Mobile device users consume marketing information in a variety of ways. Based upon user group persona, it’s important to develop a mobile marketing campaign that address the goals, desired and limitations of each persona. As a few examples, “up-to-date” users like to view current information, which makes a recurring campaign effective. Consumers who like “Just the Basics” are users who like things simple with no extra or hidden costs. Finally, the “social and curious” persona might enjoy marketing material integrated with fun activities such as games. The key is to be flexible and develop a little something for each type of consumer.