Budget Allocation to Mobile Spending Not a Priority

Despite mobile device technology playing an ever-growing position in the marketing endeavors of software and other technology companies, few businesses plan to boost their mobile spending over the next year.

The numbers come from a yearly survey by the Software & Information Industry Association of marketing executives at over 100 member and non-member companies.

• 37 percent of executives surveyed included mobile costs in their marketing operations in 2013, up from 25 percent in 2012
• 25 percent surveyed said mobile technology had expanded the use of their business’s products
• 30 percent stated mobile technology had expanded the range of customer segment
• 30 percent also said mobile technology boosted one-to-one contact with customers

Still, although the numbers appear quite good, only 16 percent of executives said they have plans to expand their budget distribution to expand their company’s mobile technologies. Regardless of how well mobile technologies has played a role in social media awareness, enterprise mobility, or other forms of customer interaction, many firms have yet to set aside the necessary funds to grow that market. In fact, only 46 percent of those who took the survey said they see social media as a successful way to boost brand awareness and drive traffic. Only 38 percent plan to increase spending on social media this year, down a whopping 20.5 percent from last year’s projected allocation.

Other numbers from the survey found that:

• Email marketing remains a digital marketing favorite, as research found that 48 percent had an open rate of 11 to 25 percent, up from 8 percent in 2012. 31 percent of email marketers found they had an average click-through rate of 6 to 10 percent.
• 64 percent of companies said they felt they could effectively measure the ROI from their online marketing campaigns, up from 55 percent in the 2013 survey
• 35 percent said events, trade shows, and webinars were the most successful in generation. Internet searches accounted for 18 percent of their success
• Executives provided that 37 percent of their biggest challenges included lack of resources and personnel, and 34 percent cited lack of budget

Source: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/220248/more-tech-firms-use-mobile-marketing-but-few-boos.html