Image by Mark Mathosian via Flickr.

One of the stunning things about mobile marketing is the degree to which people respond to it. Simply put, mobile marketing produces higher response rates and quicker response times than any marketing channel we’ve ever seen. And it’s not even close.

Don’t believe me?

You will by the end of this article.

90 percent of mobile searches result in action within one day – Google, 2011

Google unveiled this statistic in November 2011. It is pretty stunning if you think about it. Imagine if 90 percent of desktop searches resulted in action within one day. Or, if 90 percent of emails your marketing team sent resulted in action.

This number is so mind-boggling that it is hard to wrap your mind around. But it’s true.

70 percent of mobile searches result in action within one hour – Mobile Marketer, 2012

This is one of the most widely shared and discussed mobile marketing statistics on the web. It indicates clearly that when someone searches for something on a mobile phone they are ready to buy. Mobile marketing leads are very low in the sales funnel.

This data changes the dynamics of everything from lead management to the selling process. Mobile callers aren’t people who need a call back or a follow-up email. They also don’t have time to hear a canned sales pitch. They are on the go. Get them the information they need quickly and efficiently.

That means the person answering the phone at your business needs to be prepared – 100 percent of the time – to close the deal.

73 percent of mobile searchers look up and call businesses – Nielsen, 2012

Image by Mark Mathosian via Flickr.

Released in late August 2012, this statistic frightened many in the mobile marketing world. It means that businesses will have to prepare themselves to receive more phone calls and to gather analytics from those calls.

It also means that marketing agencies need to figure out how to monetize calls and generate more calls. Agencies are used to driving clicks and web form fill-outs. Now they need to develop a strategy for driving calls for their clients.

And if you’re going to drive calls for your clients you might as well make some cash, which is why many marketing agencies are starting to charge clients a specific price per call they generate.

Pay-per-call has been very popular in the performance marketing and affiliate marketing arenas for years. Many large insurance companies and for-profit universities buy leads on a pay-per-call basis almost exclusively.

If this statistic is accurate (and we have every reason to believe it is), it truly represents a shift in everything marketers track and measure.

95 percent of text messages from businesses are read within 15 minutes – Moto Messaging, 2012

Text message marketing has gotten a bad rap in recent months. Jiffy Lube just lost a big lawsuit – a $47 million lawsuit – for texting people without an opt-in. But remember this: As long as someone opts in to an SMS list, you can send them texts.

SMS marketing is proving to be extremely effective. Large companies like Coca-Cola use text messages to distribute coupons at live events they host. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized business such as locally-owned restaurants and hotels use SMS marketing to let their customers know about daily, weekly or monthly deals.

Other marketing channels just don’t compare to mobile

No other marketing channel has engagement rates that even approach mobile marketing. For whatever reason (phone design no doubt being one of them), it seems people are compelled by a powerful force to open the text messages they receive.

No other channel has this power.

The critical takeaway is simple: Start mobile marketing now. You could begin with some very small mobile click-to-call experiments using Google Adwords. Or, you could buy a very small package from an SMS marketing company.

There are a lot of ways to actually do mobile marketing. But for now, start small. And take advantage of these historically high response rates.