Remember the good old days of advertising, when what we now call “traditional forms of media” (print ads, brochures, etc.) were the only forums for communicating marketing messages to consumers, B2B and B2C alike? What ever happened to those days?

One word – technology.

Traditional mediums are still very relevant today as they allow marketers to engage their audiences in creative way. However, they are limited in their ability to provide consumers with the opportunity to act soon enough. Unfortunately, the time between when a customer views an ad and when he or she decides to act on it causes a high percent of disengagement, leading to less actionable responses.

Scan or click the QR code  to see some really cool QR code designs!

A majority of this problem was addressed when the internet came along and with it, banner ads and text ads (here’s looking at you, Google Adwords).  Online messaging allows users to click through to the exact location where they can act immediately on an ad’s message. And because there are endless amounts of data and analytics available to marketers, the messages can be extremely targeted to specific segments, and even individuals. People are self-selecting where they go to get their information, and now marketers can too.

So where does that leave some of the more traditional B2B marketing methods of print ads, brochures, even trade show booths?  Well, with the somewhat recent rise of mobile technology, a new way of bridging the gap between print and online mediums has emerged in the form of Quick Response codes (or QR codes).

QR codes can be incorporated into any kind of advertising medium and address two very important flaws that are visible in the more traditional approaches.  First, they have the ability to place a consumer directly on a site for them to take a final action without making them sift through other clutter first.

Second, and more importantly, QR codes allow consumers the chance to take action at the exact moment that your message has piqued their interest.  Using mobile devices, consumers can snap a picture of a QR code and be allowed to take action before talking themselves out of it, whether that action is purchasing a product or service, or providing information.

This is a vital part of the marketing process that is non-existent with more traditional approaches.

Has your firm started using QR codes in your marketing communications? Do you think it is relevant to your business? Where’s the most interesting place you’ve seen a QR code?

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2011 is “The Year of Mobile” – again.

Please, you had me at mobile. As a long-time smart phone user and mobile marketer, it seems (and is) natural – even expected – to me that mobile usability is maturing.

Industry experts MarketingProfs go as far as to say “mobile was officially given a seat at the adult table” in 2010 with mobile advertising outperforming on-line advertising. Sure we can debate chicken-or-egg evolution as to if usability is accelerating the mobile adoption curve or vice versa, but that isn’t crucial to discussing tactical implications in our 2011 marketing mix.

We do know that today’s B2B customer is changing due to technology. It is no longer enough to simply know how to market using technology. We need to be proactive in optimizing our marketing efforts to an increasingly mobile-empowered prospect. But, what does that really mean?

Do we need to create a mobile site?

Do I need to offer a mobile delivery option for my e-mail marketing campaigns?

Now we need to make a mobile app…everyone has them!

Must we have KDL SERP dominance?

Maybe so, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Admittedly it is easy to become glassy-eyed and overwhelmed in our mobile manic society. Snap out of it and do some due diligence at the strategic level before throwing time and money at mobile channels.

1.  Determine the appetite of your target audience for mobile content consumption. Move beyond thinking of your audience as titles and develop personas for your prospects.

Answer detailed questions such as:

• iPhone or BlackBerry or Droid ?
• Fast Company and/or WSJ? (+ print or digital)
• RSS or e-mail subscriber?
• Gartner or UCG reviews?

Answers will help segment your audience based upon comfort, adoption, technology and channel preferences. The goal is to make informed mobile marketing decisions rather than reactive bandwagon choices.

2.  Next engage with the persona(s) asking detailed and measurable questions on interacting with content, using e-mail as an example.

• Do they read your e-mails from their desktop or mobile? More than 1 billion consumers will be accessing email on their mobile phones by the year 2013 -The Radicati Group (2010)
• How long do they spend viewing your message?
• How many mobile platforms are in your collective personas?

Answers to the above will help you determine if you need to create a mobile delivery channel/option. You may choose to make all e-mail mobile aware (think skinny, concise + easy engagement), offer a “view on mobile” option in the header, or create a 3^rd subscriber option for mobile (to complement HTML and text options).

And hopefully you are already testing your e-mail campaigns for deliverability and rendering, which mobile additionally warrants.

3.  Define your digital approach as mobile aware or mobile optimized.

Mobile isn’t simply a smaller version of the desktop (for both e-mail and web clients). Mobile browsers often can’t render JavaScript and Flash. And viewing a website from your mobile is not the same as viewing a mobile website as visible below.

Mobile design and development are directly impacted by your decision. Page width and height, text size, and clickable button specs all have mobile design impact. A mobile aware site maximizes the desktop display while ensuring the mobile experience is functional.  Conversely, mobile optimized sites prioritize mobile rendering without sacrificing desktop display and usability.

4.  Understand the distinctions between a microsite and mobile site and a mobile application. “There’s an app for that”, or so we’ve heard.  But as a marketer, you need to evaluate which web and mobile options meet the needs of your audience, not just sound cool.  And get clear on the tradeoffs of your decision.

• Is display control critical – not desirable, but critical - to your content delivery? Will the information simply not be understood if the display width changes?
• Do users require off-line access to functionality?
• Is loyalty a key driver of revenue?

If yes, then an app may be a good choice. Note that budget implications – time and dollars – for both development and support increase accordingly with the complexity of an app vs. a website. Many people want an app when demand is satisfied with a mobile site or even a content-focused microsite. Pay for [only] what you need or at least make an informed decision.

5.  Be cognizant of the off-page impact of your mobile strategy. Mobile market maturity is beginning to have significant implications for search and SEO. As the algorithms adjust, you will need to do the same.

• Manage the differences of mobile search behaviors and results (different than desktop web, especially for paid).
• If geography drives your business, get hands-on with Keyword Defined Local Search Engine Result Pages (KDL SERPS).
• Don’t let a mobile site trip up your SEO performance by inadvertently creating duplicate content issues.

Mobile is not [just] a trend. It is here and now. Treat it like other tools in your marketing mix – with strategy, measurement and performance driving your decisions – and “dial it in”!

What do you see driving mobile adoption in your marketing? And how are you planning to make the tough funding decisions as mobile expands in 2011?

mobile screen graphics courtesy of Juicegraphic, Inc.

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