Targeting the New Screens in Our Lives


What’s The Point of Mobile Marketing?


Posted on June 20th, by Emily Rogers (Freeman) in Blog, Featured, Newsletter. 2 comments

It’s OK, I’m not questioning the validity of our existence.  But I do think it’s important that we think about The Point.  So what IS the point of your Mobile Marketing Campaign?

Jason Wells is the CEO of a company that sells customer data about phone calls, and he thinks the point of ALL mobile marketing campaigns should be to generate a phone call!   We think his view is a little narrow minded, but at least he has a view, and he argues it convincingly.

Wells argues that phone calls are the most natural action for mobile consumers, that close rates are 10 time higher with a phone call and phone calls produced via mobile marketing are remarkably easy to produce AND track.  If you operate a business that can convert customers over the phone, then these are very good points.  In fact if you CAN convert customers over the phone, you’d be hard pressed to convince me why you SHOULDN’T use mobile marketing.

But what if you’re in the business of Entertainment?  Or Retail?  Or FMCG?  If a phone call is not your ultimate goal, then what IS your ultimate goal?  Admittedly this is Marketing 101 but it never ceases to amaze me how many marketers will throw their expertise & experience out the window when faced with the mobile channel.

….it never ceases to amaze me how many marketers will throw their expertise & experience out the window when faced with the mobile channel

Most mobile campaigns involve a banner ad that clicks through to a destination site about the brand.  The banner might look amazing, and take advantage of awesome rich media capability.  The site might be optimised for mobile, and look great on 90% of devices.  But then what?  Is THAT the point of the campaign?

Well yes actually, sometimes getting the right audience to experience your brand in a great looking rich-media environment, on their favourite personal media device IS the point.  In which case, we’ve all done our job well.

But in many cases, marketers are actually trying to drive traffic in-store, build lead databases, generate new accounts or sell electronics.  So what’s the point of stopping at a great brand message, when you’re already in the ultimate channel for driving conversions?  You don’t have to be angling for phone calls.  Mobile is also great for driving customers in-store with auto-locate and mapping.  Or delivering coupons & vouchers for immediate redemption.  Or providing live product-comparison before purchase.  Or building lead databases.  Or requesting call-backs.  Or making appointments. Or delivering content. Or generating app downloads.  Or starting a conversation.  Or signing up for loyalty programmes.

Not all mobile marketing campaigns should lead to a phone call, but most mobile marketing campaigns should lead to a conversion.

Not all mobile marketing campaigns should lead to a phone call, but most mobile marketing campaigns should lead to a conversion. Mobile is a natural for generating, facilitating and tracking conversions.  Unlike the constraints of the fixed web, you can take your audience to the next level and engage with them beyond the destination.  At Snakk, we can help make your campaign stand out from the crowd, but it’s up to you to think about The Point.

The key message here is not to let yourself get stuck in the old online paradigm.   Identify The Point of your marketing efforts, and see if mobile can get you all the way there, instead of only part the way!

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