Now we are ready to talk tactics. What makes an effective mobile program? We believe it’s all about time, location and interaction. Mobile is an effective medium when your brand has something interesting or important to say that is relevant to a consumer based on specific characteristics. If a program is not mobile appropriate – have the discipline to use another medium.
Use Mobile When Time is Important
If you have a message that you need someone to get RIGHT NOW, you should send it via mobile. And by “right now” we don’t mean it would be okay if they got it three hours from now, we mean they need to get it in the next 15 minutes or the value of that information begins to decrease. For example:
A text message notifying an end user that an airline ticket is at the lowest price it’s been in the last three weeks. A message telling the end user about an impromptu sale to fill seats on a slow evening, drive inventory, or notifying someone that their produce or order is ready for pickup – that the pair of jeans she wants will be on sale for the next three hours. Alerts; sports scores as they happen; weather in the morning; banking when your balance is low.
Use Mobile When Location is Important
Before sending out a text, you need to think about where the end user will be when they receive it. In the car? At home? In the office? At the mall? What time are you sending the message, and where are they at that time of day? We’ll cover some basic best practices for pushing out messages in lesson four.
Alternatively, if the consumer is initiating the conversation (pull as opposed to push), why not incorporate location-specific data into the interaction. For example, if you are a retailer and you want to reward people shopping in your store with a special offer, try using location based messaging.
Put up a wall promo, banner or point of sale display that says, “If you want today’s deals, text DEALS to 55555.” That way, anyone interested in getting these deals can opt in instantly.
If you use store specific keywords you’ll know exactly where he or she is – they’re in your store. In fact, because you know where the call to action is, you’ll know they’re about 25 feet from the front door looking at the end cap of aisle four. This type of instant location data capture is possible with quick response (QR) codes as well. If someone scans a QR code to get product information, you know where they are in the store at that moment. That’s pretty precise location data. A retailer can test out different locations with different keywords or QR codes to see if a certain location within the store performs better now. That’s valuable information for retailers!
Use Mobile When Interaction is Important
Building off of our location example above, your customer has initiated a conversation with an inquiry; perhaps it’s a good time to deliver them an incentive and win their loyalty by rewarding their interest and willingness to engage in a digital dialogue. When the brand initiates the conversation with an alert, just the fact that the end user you’re sending a message to can reply to you is what makes mobile an active medium. Stimulate the dialogue and provide value to the consumer. What would make them smile? Many brands have never before had the ability to know that a consumer has their product in their hand at that moment. On-pack initiated interaction could be pre-purchase research or price comparisons. Post-purchase consumers may be interested in engaging further – think about the code under the cap – the consumer just opened their drink. Think about the keyword inside the wrapper – the consumer just opened their snack. The fact that you can always reply to what the end consumer sends makes mobile unique.
Bottom line: Use mobile when time, location and interaction matter. To learn more about successfully adopting and executing mobile, be sure to download a copy of our new e-book , “Activating Your Marketing Mix with Mobile: Five Lessons for Increasing Engagement, Sales and Loyalty.” In upcoming blog posts, we’ll take a closer look at each lesson, and next up, learn why you need to engage not interrupt consumers.