All retailers to varying degrees are dabbling in mobile couponing as a means of engaging their customers, driving foot traffic and ultimately selling more product. The technologies employed vary from a numeric code delivered via SMS text message through actual digitized bar codes that render on a mobile device for scanning at the point of sale.
Each of these options today represents a compromise over traditional printed coupons that most point of sale systems recognize. Coupon codes requiring manual entry lengthen checkout time and can be error prone while mobile device displays cannot always render codes compatible with POS scanners.
Despite these limitations, retailers are pressing forward to take advantage of the value presented by location-based marketing. Yet to really unleash the value of mobile couponing, it must be ubiquitous and require a minimal change to retailer operational processes in order to be cost effective. That’s the thought which came to mind when I read a February 19, 2010 item at DMNews.com, titled “Provision Interactive Technologies teams with Ping Mobile for in-store mobile campaigns.”
The article describes a new offering as follows:
“Marketers can create an out-of-home/mobile campaign in a mall, airport, stadium or other public venue, and consumers can respond to the call to action on the signage by texting in. Coupons, tickets, vouchers and other printed items then become available from Provision’s 3D Media Centers, which consumers can print the coupons at the kiosks and redeem.”
Rather than focus redemption around legacy POS systems, this approach represents a value added intermediary that could be positioned in retail environments in a standalone fashion – the quantity of stations limited only by space and budget. The solution is described as optimal for “malls, airports and other public locations,” but should have equal or greater value when resident in a single retail environment — especially for large retailers with hundreds or thousands of locations unable to upgrade all POS systems en masse.
This solution also alleviates the need to worry about technology and compatibility issues, and focus instead on creative ways of engaging customers with the most relevant offers. Interactive Mediums’ Customer Engagement Platform features a variety of pre-packaged engagement actions designed just for this purpose.
