Companies don’t have a choice anymore. Responsive web design and optimization for mobile are mandatory components of a successful and sustainable marketing strategy. Many companies understand that this is the direction Internet marketing is going, but some recent statistics suggest that companies should be acting with a little more urgency when it comes to mobile optimization than they have been. Of the 5 hours a day people are spending engaged on digital media, they spend 2 hours and 19 minutes online and 2 hours and 21 minutes on a mobile device.

The 5 hours (and 16 minutes, to be specific) devoted to digital media is 45 minutes more than people spend on the next most popular media format (television, at 4:31). Radio is a distant third at 1:26 and people only spend a measly 32 minutes a day on offline print.

On Tuesday, we discussed how mobile wallets, money movement and the branch experience are changing the game, and in many ways those three factors affect and are affected by the rising tide of mobile. The question now facing banks is: Will they rise with that tide, or be consumed by it? It was one of the major topics covered at Net Finance 2013 last week, so let’s continue our recap with a look at three mobile-related issues banks will have to adapt to:

IT and marketing cross-over
A big concern for banks is the new demand placed on their IT departments. And it really isn’t so much the demand, rather the expanded role it gives IT, one that has a tendency to cross over into marketing’s territory. Usability and consistency across mobile devices is critical and it’s IT’s job to make sure both of those elements are in place.

Stay better informed as a marketing professional with this monthly series highlighting the latest developments in all things marketing, get caught up with the April Marketing News Snapshot.

Mobile banking is still in its infancy, but researchers and analysts are already forecasting its prevalence in the not-too-distant future. Despite the optimism, some variables have banks and their customers slow to fully embrace all the possibilities of mobile banking. Still, the technology offers major upside for marketers in the financial services industry. But in order to capitalize, they first need to know the details.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when e-mail marketing was becoming the aging dinosaur of Internet marketing. Sure, businesses still used it as a marketing tool, but it was much less exciting than the ever-dynamic possibilities social media was offering up and, in many industries, it became background noise – part of the routine mix, but nothing more special than anything else. And then smartphones entered the picture, and all of the sudden e-mail didn’t wait for users to get home and fire up their computers; it tracked them down to wherever they were.

The rise of mobile e-mail

The wallet goes digital
As smartphones take an ever-more prominent role in our daily lives, there’s one emerging trend that financial institutions should pay particular attention to. The concept behind the “mobile wallet” is, on its simplest level, the idea of storing digital versions of credit and debit cards on a smartphone instead of carrying hard copies in a bulky, physical wallet. If a consumer wants to purchase something using their Google Wallet app, they simply tap the back of their phone on an NFC terminal (basically a scanner) at the point-of-purchase and the transaction is complete.

While the real upside of mobile wallets is yet to be truly realized (like automatically selecting the card with rewards points you didn’t even know were available for purchasing a particular item), the technology is far enough along that key players in the tech industry are moving in on what should intuitively be financial and banking market share. According to a study by Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group, Level-Up, Square, PayPal, Google and Apple are the tech giants best-poised to beat major banks and credit card companies to the proverbial profitable punch.

Whether looking to celebrate Mardi Gras or finding warmer climate climes to escape the deep chill of February, it’s a sure bet that travel will be on the minds of many this month. For tourism and travel providers, attracting customers requires breaking through the ad and promotion clutter to help potential customers find your offering.

QR codes can help.

On-the-go banking is being offered more and more by financial services companies. Although many consumers still favor accessing information from a web browser, a mobile banking study done in January 2012 showed that 48% of mobile banking users downloaded their bank’s mobile banking application. This level of interest opens a door for QR codes in the financial industry to lead users directly to application downloads for mobile banking and making mobile payments. Applying this tactic can enhance and increase mobile commerce.

In its recent State of Marketing 2012 Report (n=550 senior marketing executives), the CMO Council has declared 2013 “the year of the marketer.”

Here we provide the latest information and statistics you need to know regarding mobile adoption in the financial services industry and best practices for improving adoption once your mobile strategy is in place.