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Mobile Marketing
By: Joe Scott, MAS
Issue: 2010feb
Reaching Customers Where They Really Live
Text message or mobile marketing as it’s also called is a new way to reach consumers via their cell phones using text messaging and related technologies. And, because it is permission based, it’s quite different from e-mail, direct mail, telemarketing and most other media. While the downside is that subscribers can immediately remove themselves from lists, the upside is your clients pay to have their message delivered to only those who want them. And it’s a pretty cool and memorable way to help your clients market their products and services.
By imprinting a “Text-to” message on a promotional product, you increase the number of impressions garnered by your client’s message. You also create an annuity, meaning your client will continue to purchase text messages from you long after the promotional products have been distributed.
The first article in this series (published in PPB’s sister publication, Promotional Consultant digital, in January) introduced text message/mobile marketing integration with promotional products and addressed the loyalty advantages in the chain between end buyers, promotional consultants and supplier partners. Here, you’ll get up-to-speed on mobile marketing, learn how to present it to your clients and take away three proven client applications.
Here’s how mobile marketing works: A subscriber (or mobile phone user) opts-in to a group by texting a keyword (such as PIZZA) to a short code (such as 91011). For example: “Text PIZZA to 91011 to receive our weekly specials.” Next, the subscriber will receive a text message such as, “Thank you for subscribing to our Pizza Specials service! You will receive no more than one message per week. Txt STOP to Quit, Txt HELP for Info.”
Note: Texting the word STOP automatically and immediately removes a subscriber’s mobile phone number from a specific group—in this case the PIZZA group.
The Keyword (PIZZA) organizes the mobile phone numbers into groups and the short code (91011) is the phone number used to receive and send text messages. It is similar to a friend sending a text message, “Meet at Tony’s 6:00P” to my mobile phone number and I reply, “OK.”
Getting Up-To-Speed
At least two PPAI member suppliers, Magna-Tel, Inc. and Molenaar, LLC, already offer bundled text messages with selected promotional products. While I don’t aim to promote one supplier’s marketing tactics over another’s, keep your eyes open for e-mails and print ads that promote their introductory and advanced webinars. Both are offering discounted self-promotions and I encourage you to make the modest investment for three reasons: 1) to learn the technology, 2) to promote your business and 3) to learn how to be your own text message/mobile marketing reference.
It is also very important to know how text message/mobile marketing integrates with an existing advertising mix. For example, your client’s text-to message can be enhanced and can track responses generated by any media. At my distributorship, we have integrated this technology with promotional products, Yellow Pages, pre- and post-roll to movie features, direct mail, e-mail, telemarketing, newspaper, magazine, cable TV, websites, billboards and signage. Perhaps we’ll add skywriting to the list this year.
If you regularly send and receive text messages, understanding text message/mobile marketing will be a bit easier. If texting is a new concept, you can do what I did: Ask your kids for a quick tutorial. This knowledge will be important when you attempt to explain the technology to decisionmakers, like me, who are in their 50s or older.
You can present text message/mobile marketing to clients over their office phone (Hey, Sandi—check this out—text PIZZA to 99999) and see how it works or have a bunch of demonstrations on your phone. The PPAI supplier members who have text message and product bundles also have industry demonstrations on their websites. Try all of them and you will have numerous phone-based demonstrations to review.
Client Applications
Following are a few examples of how I’ve used this technology with my clients.
Nursery/Landscape—My client started by collecting the mobile numbers of virtually all of the customers at the cash register. Why would someone give out his or her cell phone number, you may ask. They will if they already like the business and want a deal (and everyone wants a deal). The company then sent outbound text messages with a link to its website to get customer RSVPs for a holiday party, and offer two-for-one coupons on holiday items and spring fertilizer.
The “deal” part is what’s important. In order to get people to give out their cell phone numbers (or Text PIZZA to 99999), they have to know the offers will be worthwhile. You must reiterate to your clients that every offer must be redeemable for something free or two for one. Otherwise, your client will see little traffic and subscribers will remove themselves from the mobile marketing database.
Dental Office—Nothing is more expensive to a dentist than an empty seat. (The same is true for restaurants, hotels, airlines, theatres, etc.) My client collected cell numbers from patients and sent regular text messages with a phone number link noting days of the following week with available appointment times.
They also sent out special purchase notifications of teeth-whitening products and related discounts for treatment.
Chamber of Commerce—the client was in the planning stages of a “buy local” initiative and partnering with the local newspaper and its search site. We explained how mobile marketing could be integrated with the existing strategy to reach millennials, generation Y and generation X residents who might not read the newspaper. We also created a simple mobile web application accessed by touching a shortened URL in the text message to reveal local advertised specials, maps, click-to-dial, video and click-to-address book functions.
You may be thinking, “This sounds really good for retail establishments. What about my other clients?” Good question. This technology can also be used for mobile fundraising and auctions (schools, booster clubs, nonprofits, houses of worship, etc.), tradeshow notifications, specials, attendee services, attendee polling and emergency notification (schools, cities, offices, plants, etc.).
Almost every national brand is using some form of mobile marketing to engage customers and attract others to its products and services. You can bring this technology to your clients, no matter how small their businesses might be. One thing to remember, the Mobile Marketing Association’s consumer best practices require that subscriber information remains private. In many instances, service providers will not release cell numbers to anyone, which creates a bond of loyalty between you and your client.
Learn more about mobile marketing through these resources:
• Mobile Marketing Association www.mmaglobal.com
• Mobile Marketer Daily www.mobilemarketer.com
• Mobile Commerce Daily www.mobilecommercedaily.com
Joseph G. Scott, MAS, is vice president of Scott & Associates, Inc. in Chanhassen, Minnesota, a PPAI board member, president of UMAPP and a Certified Mobile Marketer. Text questions to 612-839-3800 (okay, you can call, too). Handouts from his session at The PPAI Expo 2010, “Mobile Marketing and Promotional Products,” are available for download at www.ThePPAIExpo.com.
The Next Generation Of Media
Magna-Tel, Inc. (UPIC: MAGNATEL) is one supplier leading the way into mobile marketing. In October and November 2009 alone, the company conducted 25 webinars where more than 450 distributor principals and salespeople learned about mobile marketing, says Charles Duggan, MAS, director of sales, who conducted the training. “They understand it but don’t know how to sell it—yet,” he says. “But if you get it, it will change things.”
He expects mobile marketing to grow by 33 percent during the next three years because the medium has no spam—subscribers must opt in if they want the messages—people have their phones with them at least 16 hours a day and the offers are usually actionable—such as a purchase.
He also says 94 percent of today’s phones have text capability and 25 percent have smartphone (PC-like) functionality. “As people upgrade their phones, over 90 percent will eventually have smartphone capability and that will bring the second wave of interest in this medium,” he explains. In anticipation of the attention this new media is getting, Magna-Tel has added promotional products/messaging combination packages to its line. One current combo deal includes 500 four-by-six-inch Techno-Skinz™ designed to fit phones plus 1,000 text messages and other similar promotions are available with magnets and perforated post cards.
Magna-Tel’s free webinars are located at www.magna-tel.com/webinars.
Supplier Molenaar, Inc. (UPIC: MILINE) is another supplier which sees mobile marketing as a huge opportunity for industry growth. “It’s a low-cost, effective way to get repeated exposure and it’s a way to leverage better responses from our existing customers,” says Steven Meyer, MAS, vice president of sales. He also likes the medium because it’s instantaneous and 95 percent of the time he says the message gets read. “Consumers expect to be reached in that manner.”
The company introduced its mobile marketing promotions at last month’s PPAI Expo and through its 2010 catalog and monthly messages to distributors. Molenaar’s promotions feature three of its most popular products: pizza cutters, pens and van-shaped magnets. –Tina Berres Filipski
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