The Marketing Executives Group International

By: David Nies - http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?trk=hb_tab_pro

 Mobile marketing is leading brand managers in exciting directions! Through SMS, mobile websites, mobile video, and mobile applications brand managers are finding incredibly affordable and effective means of increasing a brand’s value and subsequent sales.

Borrell Associates published some of the first, very powerful research in the mobile industry, and it concluded what many had expected: mobile has incredible marketing influence and will continue to grow dramatically for the foreseeable future. Both local and national spending on mobile is set for landscape-altering growth, as shown below. What does this mean to you? There are opportunities abound.

National and Local Mobile Spending Projections: (Borrell Associates)

In brand management, the application of marketing techniques to a specific product or brand is used to increase a product’s perceived value to the customer. Through this, brand equity is built. Common methods for increasing brand value include finding a message that matches the customer, placing the message where it can be found, and finding a way the brand can reach out to prospective customers. The different areas of mobile marketing are tailored to brand management.

A brand manager’s first goal is often to find a message that matches the customer, to communicate with the consumer the way they want to communicate; brand managers are finding solace in mobile marketing. Consumers are swallowing mobile data as quickly as they can, most notably through text messages. According to Nielsen, every demographic segment between ages 13 through 44 are sending a higher number of text messages each month than the number of phone calls made. This is staggering! While “texting” was first considered a youth communication tool, the numbers clearly show that it reaches across all demographics. Now, even older demographics have realized the benefits and fun and have begun using text messages to communicate amongst their own social and work groups. This has loudly shown that consumers enjoy text messages, or SMS (short messaging service).

Text messaging encompasses two of very big priorities for consumers: it is sent and read on their terms and it is convenient. As a brand manager, if you can give a consumer access to your information 24/7, while delivering your message on their terms, in a method the consumer prefers and enjoys- then you are creating brand equity immediately. Whether using SMS, a mobile website, or a mobile application brands can shape their message and message delivery to exactly match customers.

Once this customer-matching message has been created, the prospective consumer must be able to find the message. More than ever, brand information is desired on the go and accessed through a mobile device. Brands embracing this are already experiencing the benefits. When a brand can deliver instant gratification (whether it be the consumer’s desire to text in for information or search for store locations via mobile websites) brand equity is again built. With the right call to action following the increase in brand value, sales are driven.

Examples of making your brand’s mobile message available for consumers are growing. The most common example is including a tag such as “We are XYZ University. Want to learn more? Text DEGREE to 72239 and we will call you at your convenience.” This helps the consumer who doesn’t have time for the “call right now.” In the past, the brand lost that consumer. Now, brands offer consumers a way to reach back out on their terms (while also building a database of interested persons).

This SMS interaction can be done in many ways, costs only pennies per person, builds an exclusive database for that brand, and is controlled through web-based software.

Additional ways brands are reaching consumers through mobile is by building mobile applications (although ROI has yet to be determined) and through mobile banner ad placement. Insight Express reported click through rates on mobile banner ads five times higher than that of traditional online banners.

Finally, brands need a way to reach out to prospective consumers. This has become easier as we know where consumers are…on their phones. Some of the research numbers are staggering:

• A huge 72% of all adults ages 15-49 use text messages for communication and business (Source: textmessageblog.mobi)
• Email is gone: 61% of college and high school students never read any email marketing attempts to reach them (Source: textmessageblog.mobi)
• The preferred method of communication as reported by consumers was a landslide 37% for text messaging, followed by email at 26% and social networking at just 15% (despite all the buzz). (Source: Mobile Marketing News)

As consumers react to the aforementioned marketing techniques (via text message) a brand implements, an exclusive database is built. SMS campaigns often generate a database that is much smaller than email or direct mail quantitatively and much higher where it counts: quantifiably. Email and direct mail both suffer from small penetration whereas more than 90% of text messages sent out are read (often within minutes) and redemption rates of mobile offers have been as high as 30 percent.

Brands now have a powerful, influential way to reach out to their best customers in real time. When compared to social marketing, mobile marketing allows anonymity when conducting brand surveys and a one-to-one relationship letting each consumer feel appreciated.

Mobile marketing is already producing incredible results and will continue to do so. Almost all marketers plan to increase their spending in the mobile space during 2010 and beyond. Choosing a reputable mobile firm to work with is important to ensure accurate strategy, execution, and focus. Please reach out if I can answer any more questions or to see a free demonstration of mobile marketing/SMS campaign software.