As times have changed for communication and PR practices, email still gets so much attention that it is impossible to imagine a world without the text we receive in our inboxes everyday.
The trend for emails has shifted towards mobile as more and more business people use their mobile phones and tablets to read their emails and stay in touch during travel and meetings. While that is the case for most working professionals, there is another prospect of emails that comes to light when we talk about the potential of email usage for business promotion in Pakistan.
According to a report published in Tribune late june this year, there are 30 million internet users in Pakistan, out of which 15 million are using their mobile phones to connect online. This is a significant number and likely to increase with the advent of 3G in the country.
What’s important to note here is that people are beginning to familiarize themselves with the use of mobile phones for other tasks that are not just limited to calling or texting in the country. Mobile banking is one example.
On top of this, the use of mobile for disbursing information, marketing products and sharing updates is no novel concept in the Pakistani market today. Pakistan has been termed as the fifth largest mobile market in Asia according to the report.
With over 120 million mobile subscribers in the country – although very few are using smartphones at the moment, the future of internet is very intriguing for a nation that’s generally quite technology savvy.
Emails of course are an offering for the literate and educated professionals in Pakistan currently but what would be interesting to see is when everyone starts using email to share pictures and other information through their mobile phones – of course when internet is available for all to use.
For the business community, the trend is noteworthy as this offers yet another channel of communicating directly with the consumers. Retailers and consumer goods are likely to make use of email for promotions and product offerings and we can expect to see email marketing becoming an important tool for engaging with customers.
Interestingly, the trend for setting up shop online has also picked up considerably in the past couple of years. With e-commerce websites being registered and offering home shopping experiences, the trend is becoming popular with the consumers in urban cities.
For these web-based businesses, email and internet access will provide even greater opportunity to connect with consumers across the country. All over the world, email has been used as one of the most effective tools to market offerings and engage customers for retention and conversion.
While the trend in Pakistan is right now limited to text marketing which happens over SMS primarily, the trends are likely to shift with the advent of 3G as and when it is implemented in the country.
To get an idea of how mobile is being used for email communication worldwide, take a look at this infograpahic. Happy reading!
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