Have you implemented a mobile marketing strategy yet?

We’ve all heard that consumers are making a large switch to doing business on their mobile devices, but what does this mean really? What steps do we have to take as merchants and vendors to reach the mobile masses as they roam the streets, looking for deals they can use?

So why not take a closer look at how the mobile consumer is behaving with their myriad of devices these days, and then look at how you can reasonably take advantage of that.

A quick look at mobile marketing numbers

• It’s official: fully more than half of all emails are now opened on a mobile device
• A whopping 74 percent of shoppers are using their mobile devices to research before they buy
• While a large percentage, 82 percent, still venture into your store to make the purchase, 26 percent manage to seal the deal from their phone.
• And they’re not waiting around! 55 percent of mobile shoppers want to purchase in an hour, and 83 percent within 24 hours!

Mobile consumers have hastened the buying cycle considerably. Also, they are increasingly more likely to complete the complete cycle right from their mobile device.

So what to do to reach the mobile market

There are a few essentials that marketers looking to take advantage of the mobile market should make sure to do. Have a fully optimized mobile version of your site, and that’s made even better if it comes with a shopping app. The site ought to be simple, fast and easy to load, and available across all platforms.

Secondly, there are plenty of opportunities now within the mobile ad space. Make use of the large inventories of available ads and the relatively low prices you’ll find there. In addition, always be on the lookout for new ways to reach the mobile user. One recent one that’s very promising is retargeting via Facebook ads.

Mobile marketing is a great tool to add to your marketing mix. You audience is already using it, shouldn’t you be?