Using digital marketing efficiently
Mobile phone marketing, otherwise known as SMS marketing, is the newest evolution of direct marketing. Direct marketing has always been favored by businesses as a personalized and focused way of reaching potential customers and, with the rise of mobile phones, mobile marketing has increased in popularity. Mobile marketing is perhaps best defined as the practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution channels to reach customers in a quick, focused, personalized and economic way.
The most well-known example of mobile marketing is SMS marketing, which has expanded very quickly in Europe and Asia. It is estimated that several hundred million promotional messages are sent through SMS every month in Europe alone. SMS stands for ’short message service’ and is a communication form specific to mobile phones where a short message can be easily sent to any cell phone user. As well as sending material to customers, promoters can often encourage customers to join in promotional and brand publicity promotions by encouraging customers to SMS a selected number at an event in order to enter a competition, to receive a prize or to have their text displayed on a multimedia wall at an event. All of these techniques engages the consumer through the medium of SMS and creates brand exposure.
There are a variety of other forms of mobile marketing. One example is sending texts via MMS, which is a multimedia version of SMS, allowing customers to receive MMS with color, pictures and video. There is also mobile web marketing, where companies advertise marketing goals through websites accessed by mobile phones. Promoters often make innovative use of mobile marketing such as location-based services where customers are offered bespoke promotions and other network-related information and promotional material based on their whereabouts. With the variety of techniques and options available to marketers, it is no wonder that a recent marketing survey found that 89% of major brands planned to market their products through mobile marketing by the end of 2008.
Mobile marketing is an example of what is known within the industry as “push” marketing. The thought behind push marketing is that that the company has to send (push) the information to the customer in order for the information to be received. This is opposite to “pull” marketing, a passive form of marketing, where it is customers who seek out the material from sources such as websites or blogs.
There are many advantages to mobile marketing. Primarily, the attraction is that this mode of marketing can be personalized to the customer. This is the gold standard in marketing as it means getting the material specifically to the people it’s aimed at, instead of wasting money on an broad campaign. The specialization allowed by this form of marketing, which results in a more economical campaign, is one reason why a high return on investment is possible with mobile marketing. Another advantage of mobile marketing is the detailed tracking and reporting of recipients it permits. Through this medium, businesses can track how many people viewed their information and also access detailed data about each user such as their name, their age, their demographic and where they’re located. This permits a marketer to develop profiles of their subscribers; data which then guides future promotional campaigns and, ideally, their success.
It is noted in the industry that push marketing, of which mobile marketing is a type, can help drive new cash flows and brand exposure if it is executed correctly and sensitively. This is because it makes users aware of new changes that they may not know to find already and the way the material is phrased, and even the fact that the information is being sent by a modern, hip medium such as SMS, can say a great deal about a brand and a business.
There are, however, some negatives to mobile marketing. Inherently, it must have a mechanism - the cell phone - in order to send content. The company, as well, needs to make use of specialized technology and software in order to deliver the content to subscribers, which can mean substantial costs. Another downside is the fact that mobile marketing is heavily regulated by the telecommunications industry in response to consumer concerns about what data and promotions they get shown. Most Western countries have laws in place that compel marketers to gain the approval of subscribers before promotional content is sent to them and must clearly give them with an ‘opt out’ option if they request to stop receiving content. If marketers are found to be in breach of these laws, network providers can block marketing material by marketers.
As mobile technology improves, mobile marketing will certainly continue to rise in importance.
Written by hroberts on September 4th, 2008 with
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