March 2010 – Online Insights: Mobile

Your Mobile Checklist

Are you exploring the mobile channel, excited to leverage its obvious potential, but confused as to where to start? If so, here’s a basic, seven-point checklist to help you build out and manage the mobile channel:

Leverage existing consumer behavior
How many conference panels have I witnessed where the line following, “This is the year of mobile,” is: “We just need to educate the consumer”? It is pure hubris to think you will “educate” the user, who is far more advanced intuitively then a pack of marauding mobile experts. They are using their phones for mobile web and SMS seamlessly throughout their day in our stores, hotels and events. Our humble goal should be simply to keep up and capture a small piece of the conversation.

Utilize the largest mobile install base
Do your best to ignore anything that looks like a “shiny object” or “new-fangled solution.” Your customer is using SMS and the mobile web as their main mobile channels. So should you. Don’t walk before you run; start at a crawl. Build your SMS opt-in community. Buy some mobile advertising inventory. Use both to drive conversion solutions. And remember, “reach” and “frequency” are two words you need to continually use in the same sentence as “mobile advertising” and “mobile marketing.”

Leverage existing promotions and CRM strategies
IT will tell you this, but I will remind you: mobile should be an extension of business as usual in the store, street and office. Use mobile APIs (application programming interfaces) and tie them into your existing communication services and databases. E-mail, IVR, SMS, MMS should all be fluid, two-way opt-in channels.

Keep it very, very simple
Somewhere between concept and launch, many mobile solution providers lose their simplicity gene. The mobile consumer is on the run: you need one click to engage, one click to commerce and one click to brick and mortar. Add one step and you have lost your consumer.

Make it a One-to-one channel
While SMS has a nearly 100-percent open rate (buzz-to-view time will amaze the most jaded CMO), it also has an equally high opt-out rate if the viewed message is not what the subscriber expected. Commit to being as relevant as possible.

Make it a “Trojan” channel
Allow your consumer to reach you directly for product and service information. They should be able to surreptitiously search, surf and txt that product directly and learn why they need to buy it now. New Balance allows the customer to txt their new shoes and walks them through a custom in-store experience. Likewise, your products can be the in-aisle expert guiding the potential consumer reviews, insights and tips. Additionally, allow the consumer to use this channel to post reviews, insights and tips to you.

Make it horizontal
In a world where most media is bought as vertical “push” media, mobile is often “pull.” It allows the consumer to SMS to get information, rewards and incentives off TV, radio, print and other non-interactive media. To help you create a synergy between channels, don’t manage your mobile channel in isolation.

Gary Schwartz is CEO of Impact Mobile and chairman of mobile for the IAB. He can be reached at gary.schwartz@impactmobile.com.