Advertising is not the only thing which small business in IT can use mobile technology for, it has been claimed.

Managing director of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Paul Berney explained that such companies can now use the medium to capitalise on the market through on-the-move customer relationship management (CRM).

He said: "I suspect that within a lot of the media the focus has been upon mobile as being a channel all about advertising and promotion rather than understanding its role in terms of customer retention, CRM and customer service."

However, the ability to deliver instant customer feedback is a major plus in the small business stakes, Mr Berney added, as it is this which increasingly impatient customers will be looking for more in the future.

The MMA is a global association which aims to highlight the potential benefits of the mobile marketing sector, representing manufacturers, operators and retailers in its quest to promote the technology.

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.