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OK, it’s not precisely an SAT question, but this August 7 article I came across on DestinationCRM pretty much claims the future of CRM will happen in the mobile channel by virtue of powerful location-sensing technologies.

Titled, “CRM Is Still All About Location,” the article describes a session at this week’s annual CRM Evolution Conference, put on by CRM magazine.  An analyst chaired a session track and began by saying:

“If you’re trying to make a lot of money off Foursquare and mobile marketing, you’re in the wrong place.”

He goes on to explain a really fine point lost on many in the mobile marketing industry; that the ability to trigger an offer based on location is not the end game where a lot of value is created.  Value will only happen by blending location with relevancy, which is a function of powering these interactions by analytics informed with customer data.

“…he envisions applications that are dependent on location information but not reliant on it. Instead, these location services will utilize historical customer data, customer provided data and personalized information to instruct businesses on how best to interact with their customers. Also, location-based interactions will be less focused on marketing/advertising and will become two-way dialogues between customers and brands.”

Reading between the lines here I think explains why few mobile messaging-only technology companies have been able to grow substantially over the past 10 years.  Focusing so much on the plumbing and delivery to the exclusion of the hard stuff (analytics and data integration) has probably done more to gate mobile technology companies from greater success than any other factor.

Fortunately, Interactive Mediums has long foreseen this trend and has worked diligently to build an open platform that can quickly incorporate customer data to inform more relevant promotions, offers and alerts.

In fact, our value proposition is heavily geared around CRM-enabled features that offer marketers capabilities more often associated with traditional enterprise campaign management and CRM software.  That value proposition is about to gain strength as Interactive Mediums moves swiftly to add Cross Channel Marketing capabilities.

A couple days ago I posted a reaction to an article a few months old that spoke to the challenges involved with cross channel marketing.  Notably absent in the article were concepts of time and location which are fundamental to mobile marketing – I’m speaking to the instantaneous/bi-directional nature of mobile messaging and the emergence of powerful Location Based Services.

My sense is that firms such as Interactive Mediums, which is coming at the cross channel opportunity from a position of strength in mobile, will be the only viable approach given the built-in mobility of consumers.  As I expand upon in this Technorati article, “the mobile channel is going to be the place where all the cross channel marketing action happens.”

That’s the thought that came to mind upon seeing an article today titled “Online Trends: Mobile E-Mail Replacing Desktop E-Mail.”  This excerpt sums it up:

“According to the Nielsen study measuring online activity of 200,000 users and comparing results from 2010 to the previous year, e-mail use on the desktop dropped from 12 percent to 8.3 percent, and fell into third place behind social gaming like Farmville. Meanwhile, time spent on e-mail on mobile devices went up from 37 percent to 42 percent–clearly dominating other mobile online activities.”

While the article focuses on the viability of desktop email clients such as Microsoft Outlook amid this changing user landscape, it also helps explain why established email marketing software providers such as ExactTarget, Responsys, Lyris and others are all bolting on mobile channel components to their offerings.  Even the marketing services firms that specialize in email are getting into the act, what with Epsilon’s news today on MobileMarketer.  As consumers move away from desktop to mobile email, competition for consumer eyeballs intensifies with all the options available on a mobile device – sms text messaging, mobile applications, the web, and email.  So it’s natural that email providers hedge their bets by tapping into the mobile trend to remain relevant to marketers.

For marketers though, the cross channel marketing challenge is not about accounting for different best of breed communication platforms, it’s about orchestrating marketing campaigns that consider available channels and consumer preferences.  An additional hurdle for marketers will be discerning between the hype generated by email providers and legitimate cross channel marketing solutions such as offered by Interactive Mediums.

The other day I came across an article a few months old that had a really interesting title, “The Coming Cross-Channel Confusion.”  Written by an executive from email provider Responsys, the article highlights the challenge and opportunity presented by marketing wisely to your customers across available channels such as email, mobile/sms, the web, and social media.  As he says, single channel marketing is easy, cross channel marketing, not so much – thus it can be confusing.

The example he highlights involves a Sears email promotion which also was pushed to the company’s pages on Facebook and Twitter.  The author raises the specter of coordination, which is really important with offers that at first target your email subscribers but then later become available in the social universe.  Staging this activity should be a key input into the promotional planning process.

Channel preference, message relevance and the sequencing of offer distribution/communication are all important elements marketers need to account for when considering cross channel marketing.  Notably absent in the article, however, are issues of timeliness and location.

The nature of today’s consumer – “on the go” and often armed with a really intelligent mobile device – I think places a premium on the time and location dimensions of a promotional offer.  Mobile-centric technology providers such as Interactive Mediums are well equipped to help marketers address these aspects of marketing effectively to today’s consumer.  The real-time, instant nature of messaging and emerging Location Based Services can be leaps and bounds more effective in driving response than an email centric approach.

That’s the implication of this eMarketer.com article.  Titled, “Marketers Slow to Integrate Mobile Tactics,” the article cites a study that found the majority of marketers on the fence with respect to mobile marketing, much more so than social media.  Think about what’s reported in the study and the distinction between mobile and social, and it’s easy to see why this is the case.

The study found few marketers understand their customers’ mobile behavior such that they could not confidently craft a strategy for targeting them.  That basic research is absolutely essential.  The resolution?  Study a representative sample of your customers, how they engage yours and other businesses while “on the go,” and how their experience might be better served.  That seems logical based on these stats:

“63% of marketers told eROI they were not measuring how many of their email subscribers were viewing messages on mobile devices.”

“…just 23% of marketers reported having a mobile-optimized website. The vast majority of those sites were limited versions of the full company website designed to include information relevant to mobile customers.”

The barrier for social media, I think, is much lower for marketers.  Social is about injecting your business into the social universe, an audience of “fans” and “followers” who you engage with within a system controlled by a third party (Twitter, Facebook).  The rules of participation are much clearer in social networks, which are driven much more by the audience than the business.

To market effectively to customers directly via mobile or other channels, the business must FIRST create a personal network of sorts with its customers tailored to their preferences.  That’s a wholly different challenge that I think explains why mobile trails social at this point.

That was my response to an article posted on eMarketer recently, titled “How Are Email, Facebook and Twitter Audiences Different?”  Research by email provider ExactTarget not surprisingly found that social media channels like Facebook and Twitter were not cannibalizing email communications.  The gist: email remains a viable marketing channel alongside social media.

Funny enough, an article posted by eMarketer a day later titled “Why Email Metrics Are in Decline”  suggests otherwise.  The challenge, it would seem, is that stand-alone email marketing is struggling against the tide of list fatigue and competing channels.

All signals are pointing to the question none of these articles asks – which is “how do marketers leverage digital channels in unison to meet their business objectives.”  As ExactTarget’s research points out, channels are not cannibalizing one other, but co-exist in the eyes of consumers.

The reason the title of this post asks how the audiences are the “same” versus “different” is because any consumer who opts in or follows your brand is a customer or potential customer. The key then is realizing it’s all about relevance, or how you approach the consumer, that determines success or failure. ExactTarget’s research suggests as much. Consider:

“The report suggests using Facebook for both informative and entertaining communications would be most effective.“

“Twitter appeals most to consumers who want to feel up to date and in the know, suggesting information about new products and services or other brand initiatives would be of interest.”

So it would figure that smartly marketing across these channels is a winning formula.

Emerging cross channel marketing solutions are purpose built for this challenge.  Recent research into cross channel marketing by Forrester, and reported on MarketingProfs.com, illustrates the need:

“35% also cite integrating traditional marketing with social channels (as key).”

That’s the question that came to mind upon seeing an article today on eMarketer.com titled, “Email Still Driving Shopping over Social.”  The timing of the research reported in the article is interesting given this article we just posted to Technorati.

The business case for investing marketing dollars in social media is a work in progress, with the outcome likely similar to that described in the Technorati article.  Businesses simply need to close the loop on their social community marketing efforts by offering anyone interested the chance to participate in a promotional relationship with a brand or business.

The “viral coupons” cited in the eMarketer.com article don’t help foster closer individual relationships with customers.  A focus on customer service or preventing a public relations disaster certainly have value but long term those are just not meaningful contributors to revenue.

This isn’t to suggest “spamming” fans or followers with irrelevant messages – what it does suggest is that there are customers who express positive views of a business or influence others in positive ways that marketers focused on loyalty should attempt a one to one relationship with.

To do so, you need some identifying information, such as an email address or mobile number along with opt-in permission.  It’s really that simple.  Less simple is the system which monitors the social universe, detects and segments the audience and helps connect the loyalty marketer with those “socially loyal” customers who deserve special treatment.

Today on Technorati we posted a two-part article titled, “Targeting Socially Loyal Customers.”  Marketers struggling to place a value on social media marketing can identify their “socially loyal” customers and target them using the latest cross channel marketing approaches.  Check it out.

Tonight Lang Lang will perform a song in Central Park chosen by all of his fans.

This an example of mobile crowdsourcing. He’s asking his fans to pick his finale performance, offering them a chance to vote via their mobile phones.

He has promoted  this on his twitter, and his facebook.

If you’re going to be in NYC, the show starts at 8 PM in Central Park with the New York Philharmonic. It should be a blast.

“Vote on Lang Lang’s Encore for July 13th with @NYPhil -Text FOLK (traditional chinese song) or KEY (Chopin “Black Keys”) to 839863 (US ONLY)”

Geo-fencing and location-based services (LBS) are all the rage right now, with new offerings being announced daily.  Yet, there exists a very compelling and valuable location-based technology available right now from Interactive Mediums — our “Location” Campaign.

My colleague, Amanda Gilmore, worked with lifestyle alcohol brand VeeV to connect its customers with the nearest store offering their product using the simple effectiveness of SMS text messaging.  Texting VEEV to 75309 prompts you for your zip code, after which the nearest store and address is returned in real time.  It’s a perfect example of how integration — in this case with a database of distribution points and location data submitted from consumers — is made easier with a technology such as our Engagement Platform, and drives real value in mobile marketing programs.  Imagine other possibilites, such as embedding a web link in these messages to redeem a scannable mobile coupon or pointing customers to drink recipes.

Just like another client Amanda acquired for Interactive Mediums, the Chicago Housing Authority, VeeV is providing an immensely valuable service to its customers that is both a convenience and direct revenue contributor/cost saver.  More brands that sell via distribution channels like VeeV need to take advantage of solutions like our new Location Campaign and make the interaction a centerpiece of any and all promotional materials.  Customers cannot consume your product if they can’t find it!  Contact Amanda to learn more if you’re interested.