Geotargeted mobile coupons and ads more effective than online

Dan Butcher  - August 30, 2010

Mobile coupons are one way to drive commerce
Holiday marketers take note: Mobile coupons and ads that are targeted by location are more effective than online coupons and ads, according to a FitForCommerce executive.
Mobile calls to action featuring an SMS keyword and short code or mobile bar code can make holiday-themed traditional media actionable. Savvy retailers can get the word out about holiday sales via SMS, the mobile Web and branded applications, while brands can use various forms of mobile advertising to achieve their holiday-specific goals.
In the sixth installment of a series focused on mobile marketing during the holidays, Mobile Marketer's Dan Butcher interviewed Jill Dvorak, senior consultant of mobile commerce at FitForCommerce, Short Hills, NJ. Here is what she had to say:

With so much noise and holiday-themed advertising starting around Thanksgiving and even before, how can a brand use the mobile medium to get noticed during this period of very competitive media?
Like any other marketing medium, cross-promotion and a seamless transition for customers between the different retail channels is necessary.
Site promotion codes should work on all channels, but having special mobile coupons to increase adoption is becoming more common.

Geotargeted coupons and ads will have a much higher redemption rates than online versions, and can potentially make a non-shopper into a shopper by adding that extra incentive.
Also, since social and mobile typically trend close together, having a mobile site with share to social abilities and vice versa is an easy win.  
Retailers can make a splash by thinking creatively about their brand and what the customer would want. If you go in with this strategy, the possibilities are endless. 
Which sectors/verticals are most important during the holidays, and which sectors/verticals match up best with which demographics?
Affluent shoppers are currently spending the most per demographic on mobile sites as they were the majority of the first adopters to have phones capable of surfing and shopping.
 
Since mobile adoption is occurring five times faster than other technologies, you can be sure a segment of your customer base wants to interact with your site from their mobile device.
Look at your analytics—preferably your mobile ones if you have them—to see how and where people are arriving and dropping off.
Ultimately, you want to have your mobile site pages tagged so that you know your best and worst converting pages to make tweaks before the holiday rush.
If your customers love gaming, they probably have an iPhone. If you have a strictly corporate audience, BlackBerries are your first device to target.
The younger the demographic is, the more important it is to have a mobile application.
If your demographic is still shopping bricks-and-mortar, then investing in mobile may not be the best use of development or marketing dollars this holiday season.
If your demographic and customers are really into social media and your fans are following tweets, then a mobile application is probably very important.
Overall, you need to understand what your customers' needs and wants are and spend that money appropriately to reach them.
Given that many people are traveling and away from the TV and their PCs during the holidays, and the fact that people need to do more in less time, how can mobile address these types of general advertising challenges?

Think about other forms of marketing and advertising—nothing has a continual touch point with the customer the majority of their day.
People have their phone out at work, it's with them—and likely their entertainment—on the ride home, and it's even next to people when they sleep.
Studies have shown that people would rather lose their wallet than their phone. 
All that said, people still demand immediacy. Mobile sites need to load quickly, be quick to help solve a problem or let the user find what they want in a hurry.
There are also a number of basic tips to follow including making the search function larger than normal, linking "My Account" to the Web version and checkout should be streamlined with secure payments as an option.
Whether at a retail store location or not, the mobile site should to help increase efficiency and save consumers time. This gain can come in many forms.
For example, give a customer the ability to research ratings, prices and reviews on your site—and you can be sure they will check other sites—from their phone, which will help them avoid the wait to talk to a sales associate.
Shoppers can also save time by using a mobile site checkout to avoid lines or can even pre-order ahead of time from their phone and have their purchase delivered to their car outside of the store.
 
Why is mobile advertising significant/necessary for marketers during the holiday season?
According to a Deloitte survey, during the 2009 holiday season one out of five shoppers intended to use their mobile phone.
Of those who used their phone, forty-five percent used it for research, nearly a third used it to get coupons or product reviews, and 25 percent used their mobile device to purchase a good or service.
Since the mobile commerce revenue numbers are projected to double from $1.2 billion to $2.4 billion this year, the 2010 holiday season will be no exception to the growth. 
Mobile adoption is occurring five times faster than other technologies, with no signs of slowing yet.
More than 50 percent of consumers used mobile devices for 2009 in-store holiday shopping activity, according to a study by Motorola Enterprise Mobile Solutions.
Sixty-four percent of consumers between ages 18-34 used their device for shopping, while 33 percent of consumers over 34 years old used their device.
These percentages will continue to grow, so being in the mobile space is more important than ever.
Today, mobile is a relatively fresh marketing and branding tool, thus retailers can expect a much more engaged experience with the customer than currently seen on the Web or other channels. But this channel cannot operate in a vacuum.
The speed of mobile device adoption is starting to give most retailers a real chance to create a direct connection to their customers in a very busy marketing world.
Ultimately, like any other marketing tool, brands have to be relevant.
The brand, product offerings and value proposition should dictate how a company can add something useful for their customer while they are on-the-go

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