by, Lesa Seibert, President, Xstreme Media
Today, businesses have a lot more options when it comes to communicating with customers and prospects. Businesses also have to be conscious of the fact that consumers are increasingly bombarded with messages from friends, family and businesses through lots of channels - e-mail, TV and display advertising. So what is the best way to communicate that will provide rapid results? The answer is mobile.
Text messaging enables businesses to expand beyond regular promotion and into Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Research shows that communicating with customers instantly leads to better customer satisfaction while lowering operating expenses. With a 94% open rate occurring within 9 minutes and response rates averaging 15percent, mobile proves itself as an effective communication tool. In order to be successful, businesses must develop a communications mix, based on customers' preferred contact methods and utilize mobile technology.
Mobile delivers targeted messages to the end user such as appointment and payment reminders, customer surveys, polls, promotional offerings as well as emergency notifications.
Today, businesses have a lot more options when it comes to communicating with customers and prospects. Businesses also have to be conscious of the fact that consumers are increasingly bombarded with messages from friends, family and businesses through lots of channels - e-mail, TV and display advertising. So what is the best way to communicate that will provide rapid results? The answer is mobile.
Mobile Marketing Trends
Mobile market penetration is projected to soar due to increased interest and widespread use. In a report by eMarketer, mobile advertising spending is predicted to rise 80 percent from $648 million in 2008 to $3.3 billion in 2013. Mobile users are becoming increasingly reliant on their mobile phones for messaging, social media, entertainment and Web access and those devices are more capable of rendering complete websites.Enabling Advanced Communication
Current mobile devices enable communication on multiple levels - email, instant messaging, blog commenting, social networking and more. But the most direct line to consumers that works on even the most basic devices is SMS text messaging.Text messaging enables businesses to expand beyond regular promotion and into Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Research shows that communicating with customers instantly leads to better customer satisfaction while lowering operating expenses. With a 94% open rate occurring within 9 minutes and response rates averaging 15percent, mobile proves itself as an effective communication tool. In order to be successful, businesses must develop a communications mix, based on customers' preferred contact methods and utilize mobile technology.
Mobile delivers targeted messages to the end user such as appointment and payment reminders, customer surveys, polls, promotional offerings as well as emergency notifications.
Consumer Partnerships
By taking advantage of the personal nature of the mobile device, business can create an atmosphere of a partnership or exclusive membership for the consumer through the use of VIP clubs and value-added information to the right audience. Some suggestions include:- Retailers offer specials, coupons and one-day-only shopping events such as "Mobile Monday"
- Sports arenas offer a free snack or tickets to a future game during a game's final minutes or during the 7th inning stretch
- Hair salons, Doctor's offices, Golf Courses, etc., notify a waiting list of last-minute open appointments due to cancellations
- Organizations send reminders to members about meeting registration, meeting reminders, etc.
- Schools send notice of school closing early, delayed opening, report card reminders, etc. to parents and students
- Restaurants notify wait customers that they are next on the list for a table doing away with expensive disk notifiers that only work within a few feet of the restaurant
- Send coupon codes to customers that they show at checkout
- and more.......
