Are we transitioning from a consumer economy to a conservation economy? That is a question being posed by some contrarian economists who suggest that the last 90 years of expansionary American consumerism may be coming to an end. Whether you believe that or not, as a marketer, there is little disagreement that consumer shopping behaviors and patterns are evolving. It’s no surprise that with perpetual access to the Internet, cell phones, social networks, and other advanced consumer “tools” – we are, as a nation and as an interconnected world, expecting more from the brands we choose to spend our money on.
For businesses seeking to make meaningful connections with consumers, we posit that it really doesn’t matter whether the world economy is in a long-term contractionary or expansionary state. What does this have to do with mobile marketing? Well, some things never change – like how you influence consumer decisions and how you promote your business. You go to where the people are, and you provide something of real value. Mobile phones are always on, always in our pocket or handbag, and highly personal. Brands that are smart about how they use the mobile marketing channel will see tremendous rewards to the bottom-line.
For many of today’s leading brands, mobile marketing is becoming one of the most cost-effective ways to reach consumers and influence the purchase decision making process. However, if you’re not picking the partners that understand what a total solution for mobile marketing looks like you risk wasting valuable marketing dollars, or worse, alienating your customer. The world of B2C is definitely at the beginning of the curve of mobile marketing, and most brands are still trying to wrap their heads around which mobile tools to use and how to get the most ROI.
As with all relatively new forms of marketing, the early days are often crowded with charlatans and naysayers alike. Take, for example, SMS marketing. There are many “providers” that have hopped on the SMS bandwagon, but how many of them really understand how SMS, MMS, or mobile emailing works, and how to maximize the value for your business? Do most SMS marketing companies have an understanding of location targeting, interactive mobile conversations, or analytics for end-to-end mobile marketing campaigns? What about the time frames associated with short code acquisition, compliance, and carrier connectivity? How about the diverse universe of cell phone handsets and displays? If your mobile messages don’t look good, whether it’s SMS, mobile email, or smart phone apps, you risk making your mobile marketing efforts not reflective of your true brand value. If you’re thinking about implementing a mobile marketing campaign as a call to action for your print, TV, or radio campaign, you’re definitely leaning forward in a way that is likely to make your brand standout.
The consumer economy is facing serious challenges, but for as much scarcity and gloominess as we read about or see on the news, there are a lot of exciting opportunities to reach new audiences in a way that drives business, brand, and balance sheets. Mobile marketing is cool, fun, and valuable. We hope that as you look for ways to make your existing marketing efforts more effective, you consider the ways in which mobile tie-ins will help you achieve greater ROI for your own partners, customers, and brand.
About the Author
Jamie Has Written 23 Articles For Us!
Jamie is one of the co-founders of Pongr. He's been fascinated with hacking telecom equipment, dreaming up mobile games and artificial intelligence (plus lots of other stuff) for many years. He loves cookies and dogs.
Tags: Brands, Consumer, Economy, Mobile Marketing, Print Media, ROI, SMS
