Mobile devices have been infiltrating our lives for years, keeping us connected with friends, family, and colleagues on the go. Yet, while consumers have become perpetually attached to their smartphones and tablets, many businesses remain at the beginning stages of mobile integration.

StrongMail's "Mobile Marketing Survey 2012" takes a look at what 802 business leaders had to say about their company's mobile marketing adoption, budgets, and integration. While the results show signs of strong adoption and growing budgets, the lack of strategy and resources continues to plague today's mobile marketers. The following statistics highlight what companies are doing to improve their mobile marketing strategies and what challenges they face on the road ahead:

• Forty-five percent of respondents said their business is currently using mobile as a marketing channel. Of those businesses, 70 percent are using mobile websites, 55 percent are using mobile applications, and 49 percent are using QR codes as their primary techniques.
• While 31 percent of those polled have been using mobile marketing for the last 6-12 months, 37 percent said they are not yet leveraging mobile marketing because they haven't determined the right strategy, and 22 percent lack the resources and staff.
• Thirty-two percent of businesses plan to implement a mobile marketing strategy within the next year or more, while 29 percent hope to have a strategy in place within the next 6-12 months. Of those businesses, 30 percent plan to implement a mobile website, while 26 percent plan to create mobile applications for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.
• Of the 43 percent that have achieved a basic level of integration between email and mobile, 32 percent of companies are focused on mobile landing pages, 25 percent are focused on mobile number capture at email sign-up, and 22 percent on mobile optimized email templates.
• Fifty-five percent of respondents have seen an increase in their mobile marketing budget over the past year, while 70 percent expect to see their budget increase over the next 12 months.
• Overall the top three objectives for mobile marketing are to increase sales (59 percent), improve customer service and convenience (52 percent), and increase brand awareness (49 percent).
• While 50 percent manage mobile marketing using internal resources, 34 percent use a blend of both internal resources and outside agencies.
• Though 37 percent of companies leave their mobile marketing strategy to their online and interactive marketing teams, 32 percent spread the responsibility among multiple departments.
• Fifty-eight percent have optimized their email marketing templates for mobile viewing, while 77 percent plan to do so during the next 12 months. However, 46 percent of respondents don't know the percentage of email subscribers accessing these emails on mobile devices.

Key takeaway: Consumers rarely stop moving, and mobile marketers are finding it difficult to keep up. But, while mobile users and their 4G connections continue to speed along, mobile strategists may find it more beneficial to lay the groundwork for a well-designed strategy than to jump on the bandwagon before they've had time to plot their route.