The mobile sector is red hot. Consumers are using their internet enabled devices to browse the web, make purchase decisions, consume information, connect with friends using Social Media, etc.

According to Gartner “By 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide”. Businesses getting ready to launch mobile marketing programs have 2 options

1. Create a mobile site which can be accessed by any device with a browser.

2. Create mobile apps for devices like the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc.

Here are 5 reasons why starting your mobile marketing with building a mobile website is a better option.

1) Consumer Preferences

According to eMarketer.com “Mobile users polled by Keynote Systems for Adobe reported a preference for mobile browsers to access virtually all mobile content. Games, music and social media were the only categories in which users would rather use a downloaded app than browse the mobile web. Their preference for mobile browsers extended to the retail category, with users showing a strong bias toward mobile browsers for accomplishing every mobile shopping task mentioned. Whether it was researching product and price info or sharing that information socially, mobile users would rather fire up a browser than a dedicated app.”

It is pretty clear that mobile websites are more convenient and are device agnostic.

2) Marketing a Mobile Website vs Mobile App

There are thousands of mobile apps out there. For companies it will be a big challenge to stand out and get users to download their mobile app. Users can find your mobile website via search engines, links from other websites, Twitter and links embedded in emails.

3) Device Dependency

Mobile websites are generally device independent. A mobile website will work on any internet enabled device with a browser. Mobile Apps are device dependent – you will need to develop separate apps for the iPhone, the Blackberry and the Android.

4) Cost

It is more expensive to develop 3 mobile apps (iPhone, Blackberry, Android) than to develop one mobile website.

5) Complexity

Since mobile apps are device dependent – the mobile development team will have to focus on technology issues. We think this time could be better invested in understanding the consumer and how to create a mobile strategy which supports the business objectives.

There may be some cases where an app makes more sense. But for businesses who have marketing and commerce on mind – and are just getting started mobile websites may be the way to go.

About the Guest Writer:

ur mobile’s tools empower you to design, build, launch and manage your mobile website in no time. ur mobile provides mobile web tools for companies or non profits looking to design, build and manage their mobile web presence.  The mobile web is the fastest growing communication channel in history.  With ur mobile’s content management system, rich application library and developer friendly platform organizations, their designers and developers can build robust mobile websites to take advantage of this exploding market.
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