Pushing special offers to customers’ mobile devices in real time, based on their proximity to your stores is a great one, but retailers need to realize just how powerful this tactic can be given recent studies. Yesterday on eMarketer.com was an article titled “Relevant Marketing with Mobile Alerts,” highlighting results from a Harris Interactive survey which suggests retailers not engaged in this activity today are leaving major money on the table:
“42% of 18-to-34-year-olds and 33% of 35-to-44-year-olds are at least somewhat interested in receiving opt-in mobile alerts from their favorite places.”
“Among respondents who would opt in to location-based alerts on their mobile phones, more than one-half were interested in messages from restaurants, followed by movie and event tickets, weather, and clearance sales.”
Just like any business strategy, however, it isn’t just a question of attitude toward mobile communications; it is as much about actual consumer behavior “on the go.” Mobile can be a powerful tactic, but its ultimate value derives from programmatic use as part of a broader strategy targeting the mobile customer experience – in this case competing for consumer dollars in a down economy. The research supports use of mobile as an ongoing customer relationship management strategy which takes advantage of natural shopping behavior:
“90% of consumers have made impulse purchases while out shopping because of a sale, and 22% of mobile users did so weekly. Marketers that let consumers know about local offers at the right place and time might take advantage of such behaviors.”
The fact consumers will make impulse purchases independent of mobile interactions represents a major untapped source of business for retailers.
To take advantage of this quickly, retailers need to partner with firms like Interactive Mediums who will help shape the best path toward meeting business objectives. Starting by developing a mobile marketing strategy map is a logical first step.
