Author: Julie Campbell

The last year has made it especially clear that mobile is not a fad but a revolution in marketing

With the rapidly increasing penetration of smartphones and tablet computers, mobile has changed the way that people conduct their daily lives.

It starts with their alarms in the morning to the maintenance of their work and school schedules, topic research, communications – verbal, text, email, social networking, etc. – and even their shopping. Companies and brands of all sizes have not failed to recognize this important trend, and are now seeking ways to embrace this technology so that they can take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that it has to offer.

Google has been a central organization in the efforts to go mobile (GoMo) for many companies.

It is continually presenting an increasing wealth of information and resources so that companies of all sizes can understand what they need to do to become a part of the mobile web, and begin spending their advertising dollars there. This is, after all, how the search engine giant makes a significant amount of its income. Therefore, the better informed and equipped the business world can be in going mobile and marketing there, the more everyone will benefit over the long term.

There are, according to Google, five primary questions that every business should ask itself.

This questions were whittled down from the broader concepts that make up the mobile marketing world and are the heart of any strategy or campaign that can be successfully run using that channel. They are the following:

• How will the value proposition be changed by mobile? This includes how the mobile customer will be served by the company, the way in which local consumers can be targeted, and the challenge relating to price transparency.

• How will the company’s digital consumer resources be changed by mobile? For example, the mobile optimization of the website, or the development of an app.

• Is the company actually embracing mobile technology in a way that is meaningful and accountable, both to operations and the consumer?

• How should mobile marketing be adopted by the company? This includes multi-channel marketing, a mobile search strategy, and using this technology for building the brand.

• How can the tablet consumer be specifically addressed? This includes the specific needs of tablet users and how they are different from smartphone owners, and the implementation of tablet commerce strategies.

Mobile commerce from the company is targeting under-banked and unbanked markets.

Etisalat Group has just announced the inaugural launch of their mcommerce features that are now available to consumers in Nigeria.

This will allow individuals to benefit through the use of their smartphones.

For the first time, it will be possible for customers to access multiple programs and banks by way of an intuitive mcommerce user interface that is worked into the SIM cards of the smartphones of the consumers.

This mcommerce feature is available in a number of different languages and for several smartphones.

It can be accessed in Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, and English languages, and even the most basic types of cell phones can be used to gain access to the programs. The Etisalat telecommunications company is also using security features that are ISO-1 compliant, to ensure that there is safety against manipulation by thieves or interception by hackers.

The mcommerce service from Etisalat Mobile has been developed in order to provide under-banked and unbanked consumers with regulated financial services that have never before been made available to them. This will allow millions of people in Nigeria to be able to use banking services for the first time.

Those who choose to take advantage of the application will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for products and services as well as to make bill payments. They can also use their cell phones to send and receive money transfers with friends and family, to withdraw cash, and to add to their accounts, as well as to manage their bank accounts.

CEO of Etisalat Group, Ahmad Julfar, stated that “This represents the latest chapter in our work to develop innovative mobile solutions for our global customer base. For any market in the world, the combination of services we are providing would be exciting, and when set in an African context, the implications are especially profound.”

Nigeria’s potential consumer base is more than 180 million people, said Julfar. This presents mcommerce opportunities from organizations, such as Etisalat, that are large enough that they cannot be ignored. Offering this type of service can also mean that the banking future in Africa, as well as around the world, could change significantly over the years.