5 billion reasons to go mobile now

I made up my mind on the state of mobile in the region after reading a report from ABI Research. First, a few stunning stats and a little simple math:

 

Worldwide mobile subscriptions exceed 5 billion.

 

The world population is roughly 6.7 billion.

 

There are “only” an estimated 1 billion users that have access to a computer.

 

That can only mean that mobile is not the next big thing. Mobile IS the big thing.

 

 

Image by davidcrow, Flickr CC

The power of mobile certainly reaches those who carry 1Ghz processor smartphones the size of a chocolate bar in their pockets and spend 70-80 minutes a day on mobile applications (AdMob Mobile Metrics - May 2010). For marketers, these users are the easier target of the 5 Billion. The rest are not to be forgotten, though they are targeted in different ways.

In the region, mobile traffic on websites accounts for up to 15% of site visits. However, in some MENA countries you will find that mobile data consumption is higher than actual web visitors. It could just be that workstations are not as easily accessible to the population. On the bright side, everybody does have a mobile at the least! Simply owning a mobile device opens up a whole new list of marketing options.

 

How so?

 

With mobile, the real challenge is to map your target audience against the devices they use. Once that is taken care of, the benefits are clear. The beauty of mobile is that it’s timely and can provide you with instant response mechanisms. It’s a great added value to your customers and can create a long-lasting connection between the user and your brand.

At the end of the day there are still plenty of big opportunities for local brands to jump onto the mobile train, but I wouldn’t wait too long. The time is now.