AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

Mobile marketing has rapidly grown during the past years, and will continue to grow with advancements in technology, enabling mobile phones to be used for much more than simple calls and personal text messaging. This study investigates how a mobile marketing company, Mobitainment, can successfully communicate, through mobile marketing initiatives, with the lower income segments. The various characteristics of the lower income segment are understood, and the possible strategies that Mobitainment can implement, are established. Strategy is a crucial element in every business unit of an organisation. The marketing department is no exception. Porter’s Five Forces model provides the basis from which companies can get to understand their operating environment prior to developing the appropriate marketing strategy. It is through the marketer’s understanding of the consumer behaviour as well as the various message appeal factors, that the appropriate mobile marketing message can be designed. The study used a mixed research approach in that both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to address the objectives. The qualitative part of the study entailed the use of semistructured interviews in order to collect information from marketing managers working in different mobile marketing organisations. The quantitative part involved the administration of a questionnaire on consumers in the LSM 4 to 6 segments. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted and a hundred and forty questionnaires were distributed. The questionnaires were distributed to individuals in Tsakane, Daveyton, Springs and Johannesburg. The quantitative data was analysed using two main tools, descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis, whilst the qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of the quantitative study found that many of the individuals in the LSM 4-6 segments own mobile phones which are able to perform the functions found in smartphones such as send and receive emails as well as access the Internet; the LSM 4-6 segments do not have a strong attitude for or against mobile marketing; mobile marketing communication has an influence on the buying behaviour of the LSM 4-6 segments; the message appeal factors are a crucial part of driving consumers to make a purchase, and ‘relevance’ has the strongest influence on the LSM 4-6 segment’s buying behaviour. The results of the qualitative study show that there are several challenges that Mobitainment can face when targeting the lower income segment such as the literacy levels of the lower income segment and survey fraud. SMS, USSD, MMS, IVR and Mobile Applications were identified to be suitable strategies to implement when targeting the lower income segment. The above strategies ‘fit’ with the preferences and buyer behaviour of the LSM 4-6, and the recommended strategies can be used with discounts, vouchers and other incentives to drive the buying behaviour of the LSM 4-6.