By Dave Lewis and David Harvey

The mobile landscape continues to evolve, with more sophisticated applications available every day. In fact, mobile communications applications have become a competitive must-have for most businesses.

According to Portia Research's "Mobile Messaging Futures 2009-2013," mobile messaging generated revenues of $130 billion worldwide in 2008 and is projected to rise to a market value of $224 billion worldwide by full year 2013.

Companies currently rely on a variety of messaging formats -- email, MMS, SMS or instant messaging -- to power customer interaction.

SMS continues to be the preferred mobile communications format, and for some companies, a simple text message can trigger a set of complex processes that quickly and cost-effectively extend to an enterprise's backend system.

MMS and IM are also beginning to play an increasingly central role in business communications as enterprises tap into the broad range of user benefits offered by MMS and IM -- real-time interaction and rich visual content -- to enhance the level of personal communication with their customers.

In fact, many companies are already capitalizing on the popularity of IM with consumers, opting to use this messaging format as the de facto standard for customer communication.

Once ubiquitous only amongst the millennial generation, IM has now matured into a viable tool for business communications, with the potential to revolutionize the field of customer service and beyond.

Tireless carriers
Of course, messaging format is not the only factor to consider with regard to the quality of the customer experience.

To keep pace with evolving consumer behavior and expectations and encourage brand loyalty, companies must start tailoring their communications processes to deliver a higher degree of relevance to the customer experience.

True relevancy is said to transcend the content and format of the message itself to take into consideration the customers' preferences about when and how to be contacted.

For example, the first point of customer contact may be a text message, but could eventually morph into a different messaging format based on a customer's needs, behavior and preferences.

The same approach applies to automated response systems. For companies that rely on automated voice or IM exchange, relevancy of the message is crucial.

As one of the dominant players in the mobile ecosystem, wireless carriers have historically retained complete control over their networks and mobile content.

Carriers were previously concerned about limiting the cost of their messaging services, and tolerated minimal integration with content providers or other third parties.

Fast-forward to the present, and the once-fractious relationship between carriers and content providers is transforming into a collaborative partnership.

Nowadays, carriers are evolving their infrastructure and service offerings to match consumer demand for mobile content.

Having recognized the revenue opportunities and speed of customer uptake associated with mobile applications, carriers and content providers are now drawing upon their complementary technologies and business initiatives to roll out new, interactive messaging formats faster than ever before.

The result: increased ROI for all parties, stemming from rapidly enhanced mobile communications and messaging, as well as a richer, more holistic experience for the customer.

Move it
How does this migration toward new messaging formats affect mobile marketers?

For marketers, mobile messaging represents a valuable direct marketing tool that can aid in direct response marketing and database development. It is a one-to-one communications medium, versus the one-to-many approach of email, and it is an in-the-moment medium -- all of which can afford more credibility and weight to each message.

But if not executed with properly targeted content, mobile messaging also has the potential to negatively affect a company's brand. Wise marketers use mobile technology with careful restraint, viewing it as an additional channel that can work in tandem with other traditional marketing channels.

From a cost perspective, to make mobile communications pencil out, marketers have to ensure a seamless way to build upon their existing assets and legacy systems in order to realize the tangible value associated with 1:1 communications.

Our real-time culture demands immediate communication channels, and mobile applications are a great way to fulfill that need. As more companies turn to mobile messaging in order to keep pace with changing consumer behavior, marketers will need to stay one step ahead.

Tomorrow's message management technology will move beyond a commodity-based product to a more holistic framework for handling messages in accordance with specific business rules.

Marketers will have to become adept at moving fluidly through all forms of digital messaging -- SMS, MMS and IM -- to deliver the right message at the right time and the right place, and to reap the new revenue opportunities associated with all of these channels.

Dave Lewis is chief marketing officer and David Harvey is vice president of business development and partners at Message Systems, Columbia, MD. Reach them at and .