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home | services | clients | publications | people | contact Mbl Mrktng – 2 txt r nt 2 txt - ths s th ?Verista partner Brendan Dunphy shows how SMS (or texting) provides an exciting and highly responsive new marketing opportunity. In this article he sets out why we should make it a key part of our marcoms marketing mix, and what we must take into account when using it.
Lets start by being clear where I am coming from on this one; as a partner in Verista, and a life-long advocate of all things digital as a more effective way to do business. I am not going to pretend to provide an impartial view of why I think you should be taking marketing via the mobile more seriously than you are today. What I do want to do is attempt to answer some of the questions you may have as to what this emerging channel is and what it is not, why it is here to stay and why you need to seriously consider its use as a part of your marketing strategy and channel mix. So here goes... What is “mobile marketing”? So what do I mean by the term “mobile marketing”? I am sure you can find a number out there given the emerging status of the capability. What I mean is the availability of tens of millions of networked mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDA’s) that enable us to extend the reach of current marketing programmes and enable the creation of new ones that are designed to take advantage of the unique capabilities this channel offers – a direct channel to a target group of customers in real time and 24/24 and 7/7. What other channel provides this? Answers in a text message please to ……..The major tool available to deliver marketing messages today is SMS and this is what I will focus on in the rest of this article because SMS, though technically crude and distinctly un-sexy, is proving to be a very effective marketing tool. Why should I be bothered? I would argue that mobile marketing has a valid role to play in several areas of your marketing activity, from brand building to customer relationship management and from enhancing campaign execution to providing a new standalone marketing channel. However, though all these are important reasons why you should be investing more in mobile marketing, the most important reason is that mobile marketing is another step on the journey (after direct mail and email) to creating a two-way connection with your customers and prospects; it enables you to become a more dynamic and responsive supplier and to better match supply and demand. These are long-term strategic goals that stretch beyond the remit of traditional marketing departments and it may seem improbable that such a low-tech and un-sexy technology such as SMS has a role to play in this crusade but you know what? I think it does. How is SMS being used for marketing today? Lets put to one side the 1.5-billion person-2-person messages now being sent each month in the UK (way more than the total for the USA). Lets also forget about how SMS has become the “Interactive” component of iTV and is becoming an alternative gaming and gambling medium. This is all “hot stuff” and further indicates that SMS is a simple and effective way to provide content and interaction in a cost effective way. But how can little ol' you use it? Well a lot will depend on what you are trying to market and what goals you have. But the key question you need to ask is, where would the interactivity and connection afforded by SMS be of value to me and my clients? Can I see where it would enhance existing campaigns by allowing more targeted and focused delivery? You may not be able to see how to construct a compelling SMS campaign or how to leverage into existing programmes but that is why you need specialist help from those that can. For inspiration from those that have take a look at the following key questions. Do consumers want it? Surely the last thing a mobile phone user wants is to be bombarded with unsolicited calls and messages? Well yes, just as they do not want to be spammed with junk email and barraged with junk mail. But customers are interested in things that are relevant, timely and of value to them. The problem is that what you may think is of value to your customers may not be. This is a well-known challenge faced by all marketers and beyond the scope of this article but I just want to emphasise that mobile marketing is no different from email or direct marketing - if you don’t have anything of value to offer or say then don’t say it! Isn’t it just for teenagers?
The youth segments are the segments that are leading the way with consumer youth brands such as Cadbury’s, Virgin and Diageo pioneering the use of SMS to extend their campaigns, enhance their brands and create the all-important “buzz” which is essential in this market. However, the user demographics of SMS are changing and now extend well into the 30’s age group and both Ricky and I are good examples of the “greying” of SMS demographics! Improved ease of messaging via the mobile phone (today’s phones were not designed for this purpose) coupled with faster networks, larger colour screens and improved text input is accelerating usage beyond the youth segment. But aren’t there restrictions on what I can do? Yes there are and where there are not there should be! Mobile marketing is new and we are still developing the regulatory and industry environment necessary to enable it to prosper. There is a concern that it will go the same way as email where the lack of effective controls has allowed the “spammers” to reduce the value of the medium to marketers. However, the industry is fighting to ensure this will not happen in Europe and governments are proposing legislation to prevent this. SMS “spammers” have been successfully prosecuted and fines levied. There may be some aspects of proposed legislation that marketers are averse to (such as marketing to under 14’s) but this may be the price we have to pay in order for the medium to prosper. All existing regulation concerning privacy and data protection applies. But having only 160 characters is so limiting! I can’t possibly do anything creative with SMS.
Maybe you can’t see the potential but some can! 160 text-only (no graphics) characters for an SMS message is limiting but to focus on this ignores the real value of the medium and the potential it offers the marketer. Sure, very few traditional agencies groomed on the high-budget 30 second TV slot will drool over the potential offered by SMS. SMS is cheap, cheerful, quick and dirty and it is spawning a new type of agency that understands its potential. SMS is to these agencies what the Internet is to low-cost airlines and it is changing the perception of direct marketing in ways that direct mail has not been able to do. Understanding the potential to connect with customers in the here and now and (very importantly) to be able to respond in the here and now lies at the heart of mobile marketing but requires an approach that goes way beyond the bounds of traditional campaigns and may require a new way of working within the company. Traditional marketing departments and agencies are simply not equipped to deal with this increased responsibility so it is not surprising to see that they are only on the fringes of this burgeoning medium with impetus for change coming from elsewhere. "The personalisation and interactivity is the creative part of mobile marketing," says Becker. "You are not just saying, 'buy our product', but developing a far more sophisticated piece of communication. Mobile marketing is developing into something powerful and those who use it correctly will reap the rewards." Lars Becker, CEO Flytxt. What can I expect? “A new report from wireless marketer Enpocket, suggests permission-based mobile media is 50 per cent more successful at building brand awareness than TV, and 130 per cent more successful than radio.” The Feature, October 18 2002. Creative and well-executed SMS marketing campaigns compare very favourably with direct mail and email both on cost and response rates. As a general guide you can expect to pay more per message for SMS than email but less way less than direct mail. Operators have started to charge for delivering SMS’s originating on other networks and this has increased costs but it also discourages junk SMS so may be a good thing for all concerned. You can expect to achieve significantly higher response rates than email and direct mail. This may be partly due to the relative novelty of the medium but also the low barriers to response inherent within the medium and utilising these in the design of the campaign is essential. And remember, SMS is a “complimentary” marketing channel with its own unique capabilities so it is unlikely to replace existing channels – think AND not OR!
What are the dangers? The key point to remember is that this is a permission medium and requires the consent of the user; this rule is sacrosanct and I will personally pay you a visit and punch you on the nose if you violate it! All research ever conducted indicates that mobile devices are very personal devices and users have a very intimate relationship with them. It is imperative that you recognise and cherish this fact and do not abuse or hijack this relationship for your own wicked ends with no thought for the user. The second important point is that if you assume mobile marketing is simply about acquiring phone numbers and composing a catchy text message and this can be done by a marketing assistant at 4.30 on a Friday afternoon then you do not grasp what it is all about! There is probably as much work to be done, and maybe initially more, to put together, execute and manage an effective mobile campaign as any other. The simplicity of the medium and the relatively low-cost of its execution can be misleading and encourage marketers to adopt a “suck-it-and-see” approach but this rarely works and may result in damage both externally and internally that will prove difficult to repair. Aren’t there problems with controlling messaging delivery and guaranteeing receipt? Yes there are. Operators or service providers cannot yet provide Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees and delivery will depend on network contention and sheer load of messages the operator is handling. SMS’s do get lost in the system and there can be time delays. The good news is that operators are investing heavily in scaling their networks to cope simply because SMS is a huge money-spinner for them. SMS campaigns need to be designed with these restrictions in mind. And what about the future? I have heard so much about 3G, colour screens and faster networks but have no idea when this is going to arrive or what it will mean for mobile marketing? Like most consumers, the deluge of new mobile devices and services that are being launched in the marketplace today probably confuses you. Well, let me tell you, you haven’t seen anything yet! I am not going to attempt to describe in this article what the future looks like or when it will emerge, but if you keep your eyes on the press and the High Street outlets you can see for yourselves. Sure, it’s going to take time for the market to develop, prices to come down and services to mature but all the technology exists today so it is possible to see the future of mobile marketing but you need the courage to look! This article was first published by Coussins Associates.
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