Google reports that mobile ads are causing a deceleration in revenue growth
Google has invested a grea
t deal of money into mobile advertisements. With the number of consumers with smart phones and other mobile devices on the rise, the company had expected to see a sharp increase in revenue growth through its mobile marketing initiatives. Google has recently filed a 10-Q report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission noting that mobile advertising is, in fact, having a deceleration effect on its revenue growth.
Mobile advertisements are cutting into desktop business
According to the filing, Google has been seeing a decline in revenue growth for some time due to multiple factors, of which mobile advertisements are a significant part. The company expects to continue seeing this trend into the future, if it does not take action to reverse the effects and put more momentum behind revenue growth. Google currently has an $8 billion annual run-rate on mobile advertisements, which has significantly cut into the company’s desktop business, thus causing a decline in revenues.
Focus on mobile platforms cause shrink in desktop business
Despite Google’s powerful presence in the mobile space, the company is still heavily involved in traditional desktop computing. Much of its business and traffic comes from desktop computers or other stationary systems. By shifting focus toward mobile advertisements, Google has seen engagement in its desktop business decline somewhat. Google notes that such trends are expected in the advent of a digital economy, but not entirely welcome. With advertisers more interested in mobile platforms over static, Google may be hard-pressed to find a solution to its revenue growth problem.
Google may see market backlash from slowing revenue growth
Google is one of the leading names in mobile commerce, social networking, and technology currently. The company has its hands in various industries and has a multitude of projects underway that could revolutionize these industries. Nonetheless, the company is still susceptible to changes in the advertising market and the interests of consumers. By admitting that mobile advertisements are causing a deceleration in revenue growth, Google may soon see some backlash from the stock market.
Is a mobile loyalty campaign right for every business…
Mobile loyalty programs are becoming increasingly popular among smartphone users, and retailers, restaurant owners, and other merchants are starting to recognize the size of the potential that they hold. However, all loyalty programs are not created equal over the mobile channel, so it is important to know how to evaluate one for its efficacy.
Use the following questions to help to decide whether or not a mobile loyalty campaign has the best chances of success:
• Is the program t
ransactional? Even though it is being used through a new technology and channel, the basic rules of loyalty programs remain the same. If it has been properly designed, then it should provide customers with rewards based on their purchases on an individual transaction basis.
• Is there compatibility between the plug-and-play and the current POS environment? In order to for it to work properly, this solution has to be able to send the transactional data directly from the POS at the time of the sale, in real time, or following the purchase in batch processing reports.
• Does it provide adequate security? Though loyalty programs based on plastic cards are on their way out, what consumers do like about them – and what is causing them to cling to them – is the fact that they are highly secure both for reward redemption and throughout the accumulation of benefits.
• Has it been proven to work? This may be a new channel, but you want a program that has already proven itself to work and won’t put off customers with its complications, crashes, bugs, problems, and unpredictable results.
Mobile loyalty campaign best practices
Though mobile loyalty programs may still be in the emerging phase, professionals in the industry are already suggesting the best practices for their development and use in a campaign. There are some recommendations that professionals are making that will help to define whose campaigns, as a whole, will and will not become successful.
With the speed of today’s technology, the choices that are being made for loyalty programs must not only cater to today’s consumers and devices, but also the trends that are soon to arrive.
Mobile marketing experts are making these recommendations…
- It is vital to include the use of mobile devices in any loyalty program, and the transition into that space should begin now.
- Mobile loyalty programs must have a transaction-based element in order to ensure long-term viability.
- Choosing the ideal platform for transaction-based loyalty programs will require companies to examine the way in which that platform will be able to access the existing point of sale’s transactional data. The cost of achieving this goal must also be evaluated.
- Eventually, mobile loyalty using near field communication (NFC) technology will surpass and then replace all other mobile loyalty offerings that are currently available. The solution that is chosen today must be designed in a way that it will transition seamlessly into the use of NFC.
