Reader Forum: Successfully creating a brand love affair through mobile marketing

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this as open as possible, but maintain some editorial control so as to keep it free of commercials or attacks. Please send along submissions for this section to our editors at: dmeyer@ardenmediaco.com ortford@ardenmediaco.com.
More than 90% of the U.S. population has a mobile device. In fact, in the U.S. today, mobile phone penetration exceeds cable television, Internet access and PCs in the home. It is often the first thing a person looks at upon waking and the last thing they look at before going to sleep –especially among teens. A recent poll of 1,500 teens found 68% prefer communicating via SMS. It’s no wonder, then, that marketing and advertising firms are in a hurry to take advantage of the ever-connected consumer.
But this rush of activity has created its own challenges, including weak marketing strategies, mobile SPAM, opt-in confusion and, most recently, legislation to protect consumer privacy. A draft congressional bill proposing much stricter regulations on opt-in and opt-out consent for all forms of targeted mobile marketing is raising concern from the marketing and advertising industries, especially with groups like the Direct Marketing Association. The bill would require notice and consent from an individual prior to any collection, use, or disclosure of information for any purpose.
While the bill will likely undergo many edits before a final vote, the concerns it raises speak to the broader importance of evolving mobile marketing from the “test and explore” stage to a mature industry that thoughtfully and connects companies with their target consumers.
Faced with the growing concerns over privacy and an audience that is hesitant to give access to their mobile numbers in the first place, mobile marketers cannot afford to forget the basics of marketing – personalization, engagement and voice. But today, many campaigns still attempt engagement by throwing out random deals, mobile coupons and more just to see what sticks. It’s important, then, for the mobile marketing community to turn back to the basic principles and adapt them in the context of personal and valuable campaigns.
First, mobile marketers need to ask if the offers they are sending to consumers are relevant to that audience. I have a friend named Lorraine who is an avid golfer and watches all of the PGA tour events. She always complains to me that she doesn’t think she can handle one more “little blue pill” commercial. We have a laugh over it, but these advertisers are doing the best they can with the demographic – men of a certain age – and the medium – television. Do these ads keep my friend from watching tour events? No. But imagine if she started receiving these messages on her phone. While perhaps taking less time and money to implement on the front-end, mass marketing without personalization can actually cause more harm than good as, one misstep on a device as personal as a mobile phone can turn the consumer off from that company’s messaging for good.
Done correctly, however, targeted messaging can greatly increase your success rate. Think about someone who has signed up to receive mobile coupons for pizza. As a marketer, you can blast out a coupon for two supreme meat pizzas for $14.99 to all of your subscribers. The person who, every Friday, orders a large, thin-crust veggie pizza, will probably not be too interested. On the other hand, you could use the ordering data you have to target that customer based on their past orders and send them a coupon for something they may actually want to purchase – which is not difficult to do if your mobile providers’ platform is integrated with your other data sources. And it is this level of personalization that drives opt-in and usage.
Second, consumers today expect value from the companies they allow to reach them on their mobile devices. Traditional direct marketing tactics don’t work with mobile for a number of reasons, including privacy issues and user experiences. Treating consumers like walking billboards will only force them to regret their decision to opt in to your campaign, and make them opt-out. And once they’ve opted out, the chances of getting them back in are slim to none. Marketers have one chance to deliver a message that their audiences will consider valuable. To attract and retain customers to your programs, you should offer them something that’s not a hard sales pitch. Store locators, contests, loyalty programs and voting and polling are a few examples of this. Allowing your customers to perform service related tasks (like checking their loyalty rewards balance via text message) leaves them much more open to receiving sales offers.
Finally, in a socially driven environment, marketers and advertisers can benefit more from a two-way conversation than just pushing out content – especially to the mobile consumer. Your customers’ experiences – good and bad – are no longer contained to a small social circle. With the advent of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, and with the proliferation of online product and service reviews, it’s very difficult to control the flow of information around your brand – and it’s even harder when the information is negative. A smart mobile strategy incorporates customer feedback through methods like mobile click to chat and mobile surveys. For example, shortly after purchasing a new phone, you receive a text message welcoming you to the company and asking a question about the service you received in the store. Depending on your reply, you’re sent a few other questions in order to gauge whether your experience was positive or negative. And then, if your experience seems to be negative, you’re prompted to reply chat, which connects you to a customer relations representative via an SMS chat session to clarify or resolve any issues you had. By giving consumers a voice, they can provide feedback on their experience with the brand and feel more engaged in the interaction.
A successful mobile marketing campaign employs a mix of tactics that provide consumers with value and a personalized experience. By thoughtfully and carefully engaging the consumer on their mobile device, companies can have the ultimate access to the attention and pocketbooks of the connected consumer and less concern over privacy policies designed to protect consumers from irresponsible mobile marketing campaigns.