(Sean O'Brien @ Business2Community) Marketing techniques have changed immensely over the past decade, with developing technologies as well as developing markets acting as the primary catalysts for change. Within those evolving structures, the role of Mobile devices in B2B Marketing has grown from a primitive, SMS–based operation to a multi-device strategy that is helping Businesses to engage their audiences, quite literally, everywhere they go.Why Mobile Is Important For B2B Marketing

According to a recent report on the behaviour of IT buyers conducted by IDG, 61% of B2B users will watch mobile videos relating to their work, while 57% will access work-related mobile content outside of business hours. These figures show us the huge number of opportunities that mobile devices offer B2B marketers, both inside and outside of the working time-zone. But what is it that makes mobile such an opportune platform for B2B marketers? Here are a number of reasons why Mobile is important for B2B Marketing.

You can be everywhere your audience is, at any time

Just like consumers, B2B users access brands and businesses at various contact points through mobile technologies that are predominantly portable, somewhat nullifying the strengths of location-based services. While this may strike businesses as more of a con than a pro, mobile technologies ultimately make target audiences much more accessible. Portability means availability and although location-based services can help in targeting a specific demographic, mobile marketing allows Businesses to promote their ideas on a wider scale, in terms of both location and respective demographics.

Mobile Marketing is very much an extension of the Online Marketing process and the same principles of Online Marketing apply for Mobile in a B2B environment, with regards the influence of time. The barriers of time are pushed aside with Mobile Marketing, as it becomes possible for B2B users to access content at any time, adding to the overall accessibility of Mobile as a tool for B2B Marketing.

Content

Content is a key weapon in the B2B marketing arsenal, but delivering the best possible content, in an appropriate format for mobile, to deliver results, is not always a simple task.

Understanding how B2B users relate to their devices and operate in a multi-screen environment is the first step in content creation for Mobile Marketing. While it is crucially important to acknowledge the operational specifications of Mobile devices and how they are used by the B2B audience, it is also vital that you don’t treat Mobile Marketing as a separate entity to the overall B2B Marketing process. Instead, when you set about creating your content, be sure to account for the many, many screens this content will be accessed through.

Ask yourself, does it relate to various audiences in various locations at various different times? Is it relevant and engaging to those various audiences? This might also mean considering the typical formats we use for our content: long detailed videos, heavy PDFs etc, and whether or not they lend themselves to various devices.

Differentiation… But not too much!

B2B markets are typically crowded with many businesses offering similar services. Naturally, getting ahead of the competition can be quite difficult. Mobile gives Businesses an alternative avenue through which to promote themselves and the services they offer. If approached with the right attitude and awareness, achieving stand-out brand recall can be easy.

Mobile, as a Marketing device, is growing, but it is very much an under-developed channel for B2B. This means Businesses can be innovative and original with their Mobile Marketing ideas without being apprehensive of what others are doing in the market. Mobile also provides opportunities in account servicing and the development of the mobile experience to augment events/conferences etc.

While Mobile Marketing offers Businesses another dimension through which to implement their B2B Marketing Strategy, it should not be treated as an alternative to other Digital Marketing channels such as Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing. Instead, Businesses should embrace Mobile and the continued growth of Mobile as a source of advertising revenue and incorporate it into their overall Marketing process to optimize their B2B relationships on all levels.