In the world of marketing, strategies are always evolving. Most marketers have already tapped into email marketing, and are playing with pay per click and search engine marketing - but how many people have given mobile marketing (SMS) a try?
I sat in on a mobile marketing webinar hosted by Hipcricket (which is a great name, by the way. How many have heard that "chirp, chirp" ring tone and thought of crickets?) This marketing is exploding. You have got to either get on board or you will get left behind, not only by the trend, but by your competition.
Listen to these facts from the webinar:
- 73% of mobile phone users said they WANT mobile coupons!
- Text messaging (SMS) campaigns have the widest reach. The average mobile user sends over 200 messages per month. Many of us have kids that send that many per day!
- Depending on the age demographic, 65% to 85% of the market has been penetrated.
- 61% of those have texting plans
- 22% have internet plans
But the mind-blowing, get-your-rear-in-gear revelation was this:
Mobile redemption of coupons will DOUBLE in 2010 and TRIPLE in 2011 & 2012.
I couldn't quite get a handle on their estimated dollar figures, but I DO know they were in the BILLIONS, as in 10 billion up to 30 billion.
The webinar then closed with some case studies that made me more of a believer. The primary case study was focused on Belle Tire, the 8th largest tire distributor in the U.S. One of their execs, @don_barnes, walked through their whole process:
- How they got started
- What their objectives were
- How they executed campaigns
- How thrilled they are with the results.
The best news is….this is all stuff you can do as well. It's not rocket science. It's not cost prohibitive. Yes, there is a learning curve and it will add something to your "To Do" list. But that's where marketing service providers (MSP) come in and do all that grunt work for you. (INSERT: shameless plug - Advantage is a MSP)
The game is changing. Mobile marketing will become the norm sooner than later. Now is the time to get ahead of your competition. So if you haven't already done it, it's time to integrate traditional marketing methods with new digital tools.
David A Moore is a cross-media marketing junkie fueled by Mountain Dew. His habit is supported at Advantage Printing, a commercial print and marketing service provider serving churches, nonprofits and small businesses.
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidamoore
www.facebook.com/davidmoore.me
Comments