The arrival of superfast 4G mobile broadband means new opportunities for B2B marketers, says online editor Alex Aspinall
The UK is finally set to catch up with countries such as the United States, Australia, Portugal and Angola when Everything Everywhere (EE) launches its 4G mobile spectrum later this month. EE, the newly rebranded umbrella identity of Orange and T-Mobile, won the first-to-market race with its speedy new network. But Vodafone Three and O2 won’t be too far behind.
So, goes the marketing line, it won’t be long before those irritating buffering spirals, waiting ages for attachments to download and websites with partially loaded content areas are all consigned to the same coffin as dial-up sounds and 2D Snake. The 4G spectrum promises speeds of up to five times faster than what we’re currently used to; pretty impressive.
It all sounds like great news for the companies launching these services, the man on the street forced to use his phone away from the reassuring embrace of a reliable wi-fi connection, and businesses in general. But how will this mobile revolution impact B2B marketers?
Jon Stanesby, associate director of strategic services, EMEA, Responsys, is sensibly advocating optimism. “Rather than view 4G as a potential technological challenge to the business, higher mobile internet speeds should be seen as an enabler for improved marketing. Marketers should ensure that the ideas they build around this service are fit for purpose and sustainable.”
Compelling content
Chief among the list of positives: all brands will soon have the ability to offer genuinely compelling mobile experiences. The new 4G system will allow content producers to deliver more immersive and innovative mobile content via networks designed specifically to handle it.
For Paul Tudor, founder of Tablet Brochure, content will retain its crown in the 4G era. He says, “Faster speeds and greater data delivery through 4G is great. It will allow businesses to provide richer, deeper content than before. Content will always be the key factor in any customer/business engagement. If content can be made richer and more immersive through faster speed and reliability then customers receive a better brand experience.”
Another obvious area in which B2B marketers could utilise more ambitious wireless technology is within the famously nervy environment of the live event. Everyone has been to events where there have been problems with wi-fi access; maybe your device can’t connect, or perhaps the router doesn’t reach the room at the far end of the building in which your overly niche breakout session is located. But with 4G such problems could become a distant memory.
Lee Powney, chief commercial officer at KAE, pictures such a future. “Users will be able to download content faster, and more of them will be able to access a higher quality of service,” he says. “Marketers will therefore be able to exploit the faster speed with high impact messaging, using video and even interactive games, without compromising on the overall quality of service.”
Whether you’re looking to improve the quality of the branded messages your company is producing, create more immersive digital experiences, or just ensure a smoothly executed event, the UK’s 4G network will become an invaluable assistant.
New challenges
As 4G networks become more widely used, the big data challenges with which we are currently getting to grips are going to become even more sizeable.
A mind-boggling increase in the amount of content being uploaded, downloaded, streamed and interacted with is just around the corner. And all that activity is going to leave a goldmine of actionable lead nurturing data in its wake; the kind that could make ‘B21’ marketing a distinct possibility for all brands.
Establishing methods for coping with the next data explosion is going to be of vital importance for brands wishing to survive. Lyn Cantor, CEO of Tektronix Communications, is advising marketers to be ready for the challenge. “As demand for mobile broadband continues to grow, and operators deploy 4G networks to keep up, staying on top of this ever increasing data stream will become more important than ever. But it will also be more challenging, due to the sheer wealth of data that’s being generated.”
The data problem is one area marketing departments need to master. But in many ways it’s just the tip of the iceberg, as Mark Freeman, creative director at Movement explains. “Those agencies or brands that haven’t already done so are going to have to put some real effort into mobile. Becoming mobile optimised doesn’t mean providing a smaller version of what you already have.
“As broadband speeds become faster, mobile will become a more popular platform from which to both browse and buy, so a glitchy site that does not meet the customers’ needs will be even more damaging to businesses.”
Act now
Many businesses are still getting to grips with the mobile revolution already underway, so their capacity to adapt to 4G is questionable. The good news is 4G is not going to be making a major impact immediately. Relatively few phones currently work on the spectrum; widespread adoption will take some time, and some may even shy away from the associated additional data costs.
Chris Jenkins, developer at Mubaloo, advises against rushing out and ‘4G-ing’ all mobile acitivites immediately. He says, “Although marketers need to be prepared for the oncoming 4G network, they also need to be aware of the areas it will be available and the amount of people who will be using it. Once 4G is in full swing, the coverage will be greater than 3G is at the moment, reaching rural areas. But until then, we will need to make sure we understand the adoption rates.”
That is good advice. But 4G is the future. And its arrival should serve to force marketers to re-evaluate how they are using the mobile channel.
Chris Minas, founder of Nimbletank, suggests the time is very much now, “The strategists should be building credible roadmaps for marketers that highlight the opportunities, pitfalls and pinpoint timings for launching marketing plans in the most effective way based on the rapidly evolving mobile space.”
And Minas’ view is supported right across the industry. Steve Harding, regional sales director EMEA, at Antenna Software, says, “B2B marketers must ensure they have a mobile strategy in place inclusive to all of their customers, no matter what device or internet speed they are accessing.”
The bottom line is, even if the UK was being forced to exist in the mobile broadband dark ages for another two years, the number of companies that still have not got to grips with how to utilise the most personal, direct and traceable touch point at their disposal is alarming.
Data issues and cultural shifts need to be overcome but any brand not embracing mobile is, at best, delaying the inevitable and, at worst, risking being left behind by more forward-thinking competitors.
How is your brand coping with the possibilities and challenges presented by mobile?
How should marketers look to get on top of their data challenges?
Let us know in the comments box below.