Econsultancy and cScape's fourth annual Online Customer Engagement Report found that the mobile internet is proving less attractive to those in the industry than social media, which has almost doubled in use, climbing from 23 per cent to 44 per cent.

 

Twitter and other microblogging platforms are also being increasingly favoured by firms such as those carrying out managed internet marketing companies, rising from seven per cent to 35 per cent.

 

In contrast, 2010 does not hold much promise for the mobile internet industry, with 41 per cent of firms stating that they have no plans to invest in this sector in the coming year.

 

And, despite the fact that recent studies have revealed smart phones and the mobile internet are being used increasingly, just 11 per cent of respondents intend to invest significantly in the medium.

 

Director of cScape's customer engagement unit Richard Sedley remarked that marketers need to concentrate on customer service, simplicity and quality in order to engage with consumers in the next year.

 

"Despite the predictions that handheld devices will soon become the main interface for social networking, marketers are still holding off using this valuable marketing channel," he went on to say.

 

However, recent research from the Internet Advertising Bureau appears to contradict this assertion.

 

According to the body, 73 per cent of industry players believe that the mobile internet will see great growth over the next five years, with 95 per cent of budgets including spending in this area.

 

Source: http://consultancy.com