Andy Snuggs, MD of integrated marketing agency Geronimo, calls for a practical approach to mobile marketing
Year of the mobile…again. Heard that before? It just still doesnt
seem to have made the impression in marketing circles that weve all
been hoping for. But maybe that time is here…
Some recent stats bounced around a marketing trends conference I went
to announced that consumer advertising is at its lowest level of trust,
with 18% of consumers going so far as to say they dislike all forms of
advertising. And according to the Nielsen Online Global Survey, 78% of
people trust what others recommend, way ahead of all media channels.
Unfortunately, in that same survey, only 18% of consumers said they
trust ads on mobiles. Mmm, so even with new technology like the iPhone
and other Smartphones approaching 25% of market share, claiming to make
the user experience more engaging and enjoyable, is it too late? Has
the damage been done?
Mans best friend
Maybe not. More people would go back for their mobile phone if they
left it at home than they would if they left their wallet or purse
there. We cant live without it its our best friend.
A lot of the discussion in mobile has been around advertising models.
In effect, paid-for media. Bit old school dont you think? In a world
where the consumer is in control, where they want real-time solutions,
where they want recognition and personalisation, shouldnt the mobile
community be focusing its attention on how mobile, the most intimate of
channels, can help build brand trust and positively engage consumers?
A recent study by the London School of Economics (LSE) identified brand
advocacy in the UK as being on average 5 times more effective at
stimulating sales than brand advertising!
How can this be quantified? Ive been talking to a lot of people about
measuring a brands Net Promoter Score (NPS) – the percentage of
promoters (those who score between 8 and 10 for liking a brand) of
your brand minus the percentage of detractors (those who score
between 0 to 6 out of 10).
The figures go that if a brand improves their NPS by 7%, they will
experience an increase of 1% in revenues. And according to the LSE, 70%
of a brands advocacy is attributable to its ability to surprise &
delight.
A bigger opportunity
So is this the potentially bigger, more immediate opportunity for
brands to consider using the intimate mobile channel? The finance
sector has understood this. The best example I can offer is being a
First Direct customer and receiving the banks weekly text account
balance service. I get it at the time and day I want it, with the
details I want as set against my own criteria. Its another service
that makes me want to talk about First Direct and stay with them.
Another good example I heard about recently was Amex. It recognised
that towards the end of the month, consumers are a bit low on funds, so
more likely to stick a few bills on their credit/charge card. The
surprise and delight was a text sent in the last week of the month,
offering deals and extra points at restaurants that accept Amex. Go
enjoy yourself, get extra rewards. Everyones a winner!
So should we be asking ourselves some basic questions:
When can mobile best support another channel to drive incremental response?
When can mobile most relevantly surprise & delight the consumer to help build brand engagement?
How can mobile be used to start a conversation, rather than to broadcast messages?
Brand engagement
It will be brands that leverage this opportunity, brands that begin to
drive greater brand engagement and build word of mouth through surprise
& delight, that will recognise the opportunity mobile has to offer.
And integrate it into their channel strategy dont bolt it on. The
principle is a simple one. When is mobile fit for the purpose? When
will it surprise and delight? Oh, and when can it drive positive
business?(Mustnt forget that one Mr Evangelist!)
But the evangelists dont help matters. The mobile evangelists are all
getting very excited about the emerging technologies, about the
potential of 3.5G, and making wonderful predictions like one I read
recently that at some point in the future…the mobile Internet will
eclipse the PC Web! Yeah right. Very helpful for me over the next 12
months, to meet my brand KPIs and volume targets. Where are the
solutions, the ideas, the insight on how to maximise mobile as part of
a total comms solution?
What I would encourage is for everyone to ignore the evangelists. Find
the pragmatists, recognise that mobile has moved on since you probably
last included the channel in a campaign, that the consumer is looking
for trusted sources of information and that maybe, just maybe, brands
who identify surprise touchpoints like the Amex example, will not
only get consumers positively engaged in the brand, but also measurably
achieve positive ROI.
And maybe, just maybe then, mobile could become marketings new best friend too?