All Mobile Marketing Companies Aren't Created EqualWhen beginning to wade in the waters of mobile marketing, a likely first step is to choose a third-party provider to handle the leg work, one who has the technical know-how to make your campaign successful.  Unfortunately, not all mobile marketing companies are created equal.

With “mobile” becoming the latest buzzword in regards to marketing these days, so-called mobile marketing providers seem to be coming out of the woodwork claiming they’re experts in all things mobile, but do they really know what they’re doing?

Before choosing a provider, you have to distinguish what the goals of your mobile campaign are and what you’d like to accomplish.  Are you looking to drive sales of a product or service?  Do you want to capture leads?  Are you looking more for brand awareness?  Like any form of marketing, you have to set the goals of your campaign first, before anything else.

When searching for a provider, whether it be for SMS or any other mobile medium, you’ll likely find a never-ending supply of companies who each claim there’s is either the cheapest or the most “inclusive.”  Neither attribute means its the best one.  Here’s a few things to consider when choosing a mobile marketing provider.

First and foremost, you want to ensure any provider you choose to work with has a deep and working knowledge of best practices, rules and regulations surrounding the medium(s) you’d like to use.  If you choose SMS as your medium, for example, make sure your provider maintains a deep understanding of the sometimes complicated and ever-changing compliance issues.

Each medium presents its own set of compliance issues, and since following best practices can make or break any campaign from the beginning, it should be a top priority.

Secondly, choose a provider that you can grow with.  While you may just be testing the waters in terms of mobile marketing, you may find yourself wanting to try new mediums or new methodologies in the future.  If you’ve chosen a provider that only facilitates SMS, you’ll have to start the whole process over again to find a provider who specializes in other mediums.

Lastly, don’t underestimate the importance of having a human-factor behind any platform you choose.  Mobile marketing is a new and sometimes complex channel, and having experts on hand to walk you through the processes and help ensure a compliant and successful campaign is worth more than you think.

Many providers give you access to a platform, and your more or less on your own from that point forward.  Having an actual person on hand to help with things like account setup and managment, training and customer support is a valuable asset to have available.  Why not head over and see what a mobile marketing company can do for your business.