Today I came across this post from InfoSys’ Retail and CPG blog, posing the question of whether or not retailers should “go it alone” in mobile with their own application, versus partnering with a third party aggregator to reach the greatest number of consumers, quickly and most cost effectively with some service like coupons. I had not come across this question or characterization of applications before and think it’s an interesting one to consider in light of our focus on the Mobile Customer Experience.
On the side of “going it alone” are benefits such as: 1:1 marketing potential, meeting custom requirements, ensuring intellectual property and data protection, and easier integration with internal systems.
On the side of partnering with a third party are: convenience, market reach, lower initial cost of ownership, and faster time to market.
The last point that straddles both is Shopper Loyalty, which can be met via some combination of both individually developed and branded applications and third party services. Ultimately, that conclusion is the answer to question; it fully depends on the retailer’s business objectives then determining how best to meet them with available mobile marketing approaches. At Interactive Mediums, we call this process “Mapping Mobile to Your Marketing Strategy.”
