Make your mobile marketing strategy work for you
I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I use my JustEat app to order a takeaway and use O2’s loyalty programme to get access to the latest gigs and events on the move. Thanks to the ease of doing almost everything on our mobiles we find ourselves engaging directly with brands on an almost daily basis, so it’s not surprising that companies are keen to adopt a mobile marketing strategy to take advantage of this.
In fact, according to the 2016 Salesforce State of Marketing report, marketers’ use of SMS has grown by a whopping 111 per cent in just 12 months. This is largely down to the incredible penetration of smartphones worldwide. Today, there are more than 2.6 billion smartphone users globally, with usage predicted to reach six billion in the near future.
Just as significant is our increasingly close relationship with smartphones: it seems that more than half of UK users check their mobiles for texts, emails and social media updates within 15 minutes of waking. And during the day, we’re actually on our phones all the time; I know I certainly am – it’s the hub that I run my business from.
Crucially for marketers, as well as being incredibly easy to use wherever you happen to be, mobile devices also allow us to engage with a brand through a range of channels in a highly personalised way. For example, contacting a restaurant via Twitter to ask about booking a table, receiving an update on a delivery via SMS or using a brand’s own app to book an event or buy a product. Each of these channels offers customers a one-to-one experience.
It’s this opportunity for easy, personal engagement that makes marketers continue to prioritise mobile marketing, even though there are so many other channels out there. Our State of Marketing report found that the use of mobile push notifications increased by 145 per cent between 2015 and 2016, while location-based mobile tracking rose 149 per cent.
And, specifically in the UK, more than three quarters of marketing leaders agree that a successful mobile marketing strategy impacts positively on overall customer engagement.
But what’s important to remember is that the key to successful mobile marketing is not to view it in isolation. Today’s consumers want a tailored customer experience, but they don’t want it in silos. Consumers are looking for a seamless engagement across every channel, whether digital – web, email, social – over the phone, or face-to-face. Marketers should view mobile as another channel in this single, joined up experience and look for ways to make the channels complement each other to deliver value to their customers.
It’s clear that customers are only going to become even more connected as the number of mobile devices increases. That’s why, for businesses to succeed today, it’s crucial to deliver a mobile marketing campaign that integrates seamlessly with the customer journey across every channel; providing them with a 1-to-1 highly personalised experience. Here are my six tips for doing this:
Be relevant
Make your communication - mobile or otherwise - fit with a customer’s own perceived needs, not just those of your business. That means less spam and more alignment.
Be timely
There will be times when a message fits perfectly and others when, frankly, you have missed the boat. For example, a takeaway suggestion works better on the way home than at breakfast.
Be knowledgeable
Understanding your customer involves using and analysing all available data to ensure your message is focused and targeted. Think like your customer.
Be adventurous
MMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger: each of these can deliver a variety of media, including video, audio and multiple images. SMS is old school by comparison.
Be human
Break down the data silos, treat your customer as someone who does not only use a smartphone but engages with you across a range of channels. You have to excel in all of them, from sales to service – and back again.
Give value
The best mobile marketing is when you not only stimulate interest by proposing a relevant, actionable idea but offer a deal that makes it feel even more worthwhile to engage with you.
Paul Smith is EMEA senior vice president and general manager at Salesforce Marketing Cloud