Optism™

The value of messaging was a common theme in this week’s roundup of permission mobile marketing stories.

We’re going to start this week’s roundup with a look back to Tomi Ahonen’s comprehensive review of just what SMS has to offer. As Tomi makes abundantly clear, SMS is an ideal vehicle for delivering content. With the spotlight on mobile marketing and advertising these days and all the buzz around display ads in apps or on web and WAP banners, we tend to overlook the value of using SMS as an effective means for mobile marketing and advertising. You can use it to get people’s opt-in to a mobile marketing service, create a dialogue between people and the brands they care about, and ask questions. It’s interactive, provides instant feedback, and it has tremendous reach: “twice as many active users as the total worldwide population of television sets.”

Continuing on the value of SMS, this week’s Mobile Marketer included an article on Creating an SMS opt-in ecosystem for mobile advertising. From a Forrester Research study, we learn that “74 percent of marketers preferred to use SMS messaging as a marketing tool, while 44 percent of consumers said they would rather receive product information and other marketing messages through SMS campaigns than via any other channel.” Those are (as they say) compelling numbers! We agree that the best mobile marketing approaches are permission based and support the delivery of ads targeted to the consumer’s preferences. We’d add that it’s important to keep enhancing your understanding of the customer’s preferences to keep the experience relevant. In addition to encouraging people to provide updates, you can build layered, interactive campaigns that provide you with additional opportunities for engagement. You can enhance the campaigns through creative calls to action, taking advantage of features that are uniquely mobile, like click to call and mobile coupons or payments.

For practical advice on using mobile marketing, check out Newsfactor.com’s Mobile Business Strategy: More Than Mobile Marketing. They’ve identified five behavioural factors that explain “why people just adore their cell phones and why you should make mobility part of your innovation strategy.” These include elements such as “instant gratification” and craving “superhero powers”. The authors provide us with an entertaining and informative analysis of the human behaviour behind the machines.

No rival to the SMS text exists in the market today from Netimperative has a clear message: “SMS WORKS… it is simple, it works on all handsets and if opt-in, targeted and personalised gets a staggering response.” We totally agree and when used effectively and combined with creative calls to action, it can be a tremendous way to directly engage with people. With mobile marketing, you have an opportunity to establish an ongoing relationship with customers. You can use advertising campaigns to promote and enhance your loyalty programs while developing a deeper understanding of your customers, which in turn enables you to offer content that is even more targeted to their interests.

In their recent article How Can Mobile Messaging Be Used Within a Successful Marketing Strategy? Finance-Press.com issues a caution along with encouragement. They warn, “Most companies who currently utilize SMS, MMS, email and voice messaging in their marketing strategy do not fully utilize its potential…you need to be aware that many will see it as an invasion of privacy. You need to act sensitively in order to ensure that your marketing does your business good, rather than harm.” We can’t over-emphasize the importance of getting permission before you launch into mobile marketing. People view their mobiles as their personal space: don’t barge in uninvited!

One way to ensure that your mobile marketing campaigns have a positive impact is to adhere to the Mobile Marketing Association’s Code of Conduct. “The Mobile Marketing Association (“MMA”) believes that strong consumer privacy standards are essential to the success of mobile marketing by protecting mobile users from unwanted communications on their mobile devices.” We agree and it’s important that we, as an industry, take responsibility for ensuring users’ privacy is fully respected. Also, we must always provide users with the best possible experience. Adhering to these principles will encourage the growth of mobile as a legitimate medium for commercial communication.

An interesting report on mobile wallets from The Dallas Morning News highlights ongoing initiatives to develop innovative customer retention strategies and new revenue streams among operators. Both mobile wallets and mobile coupons work well in permission marketing strategies to close the loop on the buying cycle. They also provide concrete evidence of how effective a particular promotional offer has been. Those who have grown up with mobiles are particularly keen to embrace mobile payment options, according to Mercatus LLC, who reported that “More than half of U.S. consumers, and almost 80 percent of those between 18 and 34, are expected to use mobile financial services within five years.”

This week’s roundup gives us lots to think about. We would love to hear any comments or suggestions you have – please tweet us @optismww.