The Top 10 Considerations for mobile marketing

The Top 10 Considerations for mobile marketing

First a caveat, the following are not definitive golden rules but some sensible pointers, and for the record, they were learned from over seven years’ experience in mobile – the last two in a neutral international role with a view of hundreds of campaigns from every part of the world.

Mobile is about customer acquisition, retention and brand building. Marketers should consider how the mobile channel can be used for those three fundamental tasks.

An easy way to work out where mobile fits into the marketing mix is to map the customer journey and all the touch points and figure out where mobile could be used to extend, enhance or replace other channels.

Mobile works best when integrated into campaigns from the start. You increase the likelihood of mobile being considered a failure if it is added as an afterthought or used as a standalone channel.

Mobile allows consumers to act at the point of impulse. This is one of the reasons it works so well as a call to action on other media like TV, radio, outdoor and display. The fastest way anyone can react to any call to action is to put their hand in their pocket and text a single keyword to a five-digit shortcode. As a marketer you should be figuring out what happens next, not wondering if consumers will do it.

Mobile works well as a connector between both other channels and the physical world. For example if the aim of your campaign is to drive people in-store then consider how mobile can be used to do that by having a mobile call to action in other media which delivers a voucher, coupon or promotional code to their handset which can only be redeemed in-store.

Consider all mobile technologies not just one – you don’t need to start with an app. Just because it appears that everyone has an iPhone or smartphone, don’t assume your target audience does. Create a strategy for mobile that allows for the use of messaging (SMS & MMS) which represent the lowest common denominator in mobile.

Utility applications last longer than entertainment ones. Or as Rory Sutherland from Ogilvy once put it, “It is easier to be repeatedly useful than it is to be repeatedly entertaining”. If you can create an application that provides consumers with something useful you have a much greater chance of creating a permanent brand presence on their handset.

For many consumers, mobile is an access point to allow them to get to things they want. Consumers have an increased expectation of the ability to instantly interact with brands and organisations. They are increasingly aware that mobile is that access point. Marketers should consider how they will deliver that instant interaction and what happens when they open up a two-way dialogue with consumers.

Mobile is not TV or direct mail. Don’t treat mobile campaigns with the same mentality. Marketers cannot, or at least should not, start with a frequency and reach approach to mobile. Better to consider that consumers will opt in to receive messages if you get their permission, understand their preferences and respect their privacy.

Finally (and as you might expect me to say) work with companies that understand the guidelines, best practices and standards set by the global trade body, the MMA.

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