Smartphones Dominate the UK Mobile Market.

Research from Zenith suggests that over 50% of people in the UK will own a smartphone by the end of this year – quite a statistic when you think about it. If you take out the really young, and the technology non adopters, that means there is a huge penetration of the consumer market.

It means that mobile has to be integral to every marketer’s strategy.

Mobile can’t just be an afterthought, or an addition to the plan – smart use of mobile technology and everything that goes with it has to central to marketers. Marketers have to see it as more than a channel, a real way of building relationships with consumers – in terms of customer engagement, experience, ecommerce, customer service and advocacy – by integrating clever use of the technology available along with creative thinking.

With the convergence of technology, the development of pro-consumers and changing working practices, this is also impacting the B2B market. People are constantly switching between work and personal life on their phone or tablet, so the smart B2Bers are using mobile to connect with prospects and customers from developing apps to making better presentations.

This high penetration of smartphones means the integration between work and private lives has never been closer. Marketers need to integrate their thinking, and think about the modes in which people see their communications and the way they interact.