The time when mobile phones were considered as a luxury is fast vanishing. These days anyone will be able to invest on a mobile phone because the manufacturers have lowered the cost prices of their phones. It is quite common to come across people carrying two to three mobile phones. The trend is catching up in third world countries also. Cell phone carriers have now resorted to mobile marketing strategies to attract customers. In the rest of the passages, I will be highlighting certain aspects of the same – this will aid the novice mobile phone users in understanding the associated concepts.

What is mobile marketing? It is nothing but the marketing strategies that are commonly used by cell phone carriers and advertising companies to market their products. Are there any advantages associated with this paradigm? Yes, there are – I will dedicate the following paragraph to the same. Literally, anything can be marketed through mobile phones. The cell phone carriers notify customers about custom offers. Newer and innovative marketing ideas are always tested among the consumers and once the success is tasted, it becomes a norm. One company will kick start the paradigm – the rest is noted to follow suit.

If you wish to market a product or a service that is being rendered by you, it is better to contact an advertiser who specializes in mobile marketing. These advertising companies will have close tie-up with all the mobile operators operating in the country. The advertiser will create a suitable SMS message. Once the advert is created, it will be handed over to the carrier. The carrier will start distributing the message to customers. The target audience is an important factor that will decide the success of the paradigm. Sometimes, a random customer or a group of customers are chosen. Else, the advert will be sent to specific niche of people.

The cell carriers do not have to spend anything – and hence, the paradigm is very much lucrative for them. They are noted to charge hefty amounts from the advertisers in order to transmit the messages to the target audience. In some countries, instead of keeping the cell carrier as an intermediary, advertising companies are acknowledged to send messages directly to the target audience. These advertisers will own special message centers and custom mobile numbers in order to act independently. There exists diversity in the niche – advertisers are acknowledged to act according to the maximum profitable manner.

Mobile marketing might sound like an innovative concept to market products and services. However, it has its own share of disadvantages also. Random and meaningless messages might be beamed into the cell phones by the advertisers. Messaging at the odd hours is another "most hated" aspect associated with these companies. Selling of customer information to mobile advertising companies is considered as a crime in many countries. Nevertheless, the advertisers are renowned to employ various techniques to harness information about a specific person. Once the profile is created, they will be able to send custom messages to the customer.