Mobile Marketing Automation and the future of mobile

How smartphones transformed our lives

Connected body

Internet as a main source of knowledge

Smartphones are the true personal computers. Think that they have the same power as NASA computers which helped put man on the moon in 1969. That potential is now at our fingertips. No wonder that they changed our learning mindset.

We started to perceive internet as a main source of information – we address our questions there before ask anybody or search in books, notes or our own memory. Especially that all information is so easily accessible – you just need to reach your pocket.

Addicted and impatient

Due to easy access to knowledge we got used to instant responses to our questions, what made us “information junkies”. Long-lasting searching for an answer frustrates us and we cannot conduct such practices anymore. We want our anwsers now – if not given instantly, we show mild withdrawal symptoms.

External memory

We remember less and less facts, replacing the knowledge about facts with knowledge about where to find facts. Internet became our external disc, our common transactional memory.

Researchers indicate that using smartphones changes the shape of our brain physically. Areas responsible for stimuli from fingertips grow bigger in smartphone users’ brains.

SMS neck

Smartphones doesn’t change only our brains, but affect also our whole body, like our posture and spine. Many people suffer from SMS neck – condition stemming from lowering your head above the mobile device and keeping in that uncomfortable position in relatively long time.

Social bonds

On infamous video from San Francisco underground we can see a man playing with a gun, but nobody notices that, consumed by their smartphones, at least till he starts shooting. Pessimists have been long convinced that technology moves us apart and harm social bonds. Other say that it just makes our relationships different, not better or worse. On the other hand we are more connected and safer. It’s easier to stay in touch with people we care for, but our relationships change in many ways.

Independent kids

Scientists proved that invention of smartphones affected traditional model of family, with parents having more means of control over their children. Kids became way more independent nowadays. Little respondents told Rich Ling that they often go to bed with their smartphone and while pretending to be asleep they conduct a vivid social life. For them virtual and physical worlds are the same, none being better or more real.

Disturbing work-life balance

With our mobile devices we are connected all the time what makes it easy to check our work email or “just take a quick look” at some work projects in our free time. Moreover we feel expected to do so – and experience guilt when leaving work inbox unchecked for a weekend (even if we can’t exactly imagine what kind of catastrophe might happen if we left it alone for two days). The boundary between life and work got blurred – hurting both.

Global addiction

Just as gambling, smartphones consume us promising vague prize, and when it doesn’t arrive, we only feel more eager to try again. David Greenfield, psychologist and founder of Centre for Internet and Technology Addiction, calls smartphones “the world’s smallest slot machines”. Glued to them, we crave for new information, but no information can satisfy us, so we keep on searching, refreshing and tapping. Compulsive use of smartphones is a widely spread and commonly accepted addiction.

Change in shopping habits

Trend you can’t ignore

In the U.S., mobile commerce is anticipated to grow from $54.6 million in 2014 to $96.3 million in 2016. Compared to the roughly 9-11 percent increase e-commerce is expected to see each year, m-commerce in the U.S. has a projected growth rate of between 32-26 percent each year through 2016. Globally, mobile commerce across the 22 markets is estimated to grow from roughly $102 billion in 2013 to roughly $291 billion in 2016.

That growth is stimulated mostly by consumers between 18 and 34 years old (59% of mobile buyers).

Impulsive shopping

81% of mobile purchases is spontaneous. It relates to specifics of mobile user’s behavior who searches for something relevant in the very specific content: at that moment, in this place, and about what she will probably forget in two hours.

Tablet is a perfect tool for shopping
- 52% of tablet users say that they prefer to shop on that device instead of computers or mobile phones,
- 72% of tablet users use that devices for shopping at least once a week,
- Tablet users spend 50% more than computer users,
- 30% of users interrupt the transaction if the process has not be optimized for mobile devices.
New dimension of showrooming

On the one hand, users do more and more research before purchase, on the other they get more impulsive. It stems from new habits, like showrooming: we try products in the brick and mortar store, and then we compare prices and buy instantly on our smartphones – depending on where they can find the best price. That’s a challenge for brick and mortar stores to make shopping experience more interactive, dynamic and personalize. Maybe with mobile apps and beacons?

Best idea for m-commerce? Your own mobile application where you manage the whole buying process yourself.

Basic terms

What is Mobile Marketing?

The term “Mobile Marketing” designates all marketing actions performed with mobile devices’ user in mind. Hence it’s a broad term, including both traditional SMS marketing and sophisticated campaigns involving new technology. Let’s take a look at two examples.

Example 1. Ford SMS campaign

In 2011 Ford launched a simple SMS campaign. In promotional materials customers could find the number they should text in order to obtain more information on new cars. You call it too simple? Campaign reached 15, 4% conversion.

SMS as extremely efficient medium:

SMS first appeared 22 years ago, and first marketing campaign utilizing it was issued in 1999,
SMS marketing campaigns can achieve 91,4% marketing efficiency,
90% of SMS are opened within 3 minutes from receiving,
76% of users declare that they’re more likely to read SMS than email.

How to conduct SMS campaign?

SMS campaigns are worth considering as very efficient marketing tool. Try to unlock the full potential of synergy between channels (e.g. Put a link to your website in SMS). Also know who your recipients are: the same as subscribers to your mailing list? Be sure that communication is cohesive across the channels (Marketing Automation Platform will help with that).

Example 2. Talk to the smartphone!

Muller Lowe Agency created an amazing campaign for Jet Blue Airlines. It was focused on service quality and to stress it, unique protagonist – a usual pigeon – was brought to life. The pigeon in video commercials discussed his poor condition – although he was a frequent flyer, nobody respected or noticed him, he was fed with some crumbs and leftovers and traveled in crowd, with not enough space for him. So he was like every one of us, who travels with most airlines. Users were supposed to identify with that experience.

What is Mobile Marketing?

There was also a mobile ad to that story, offering user to learn pigeon language. It was enabled by Nuance Voice Ads technology, so users could speak to their phones and get feedback on whether they accent is correct, and they were learning new words and phrases in bird language.

Advanced technologies for more profound interaction

Technologies such as Nuance Voice or beacons offer completely new level or mobile experience: more interactive and customer-centered, where virtual and physical realyties can interfere and combine to deliver astonishing and powerful sensations. Utilizing material components, as user’s voice (e.g. like in Jet Blue campaign) or physical space of the store (e.g. in beacon case) opens new chapter in history of marketing.

Conclusion: Mobile Marketing is more than just SMS and apps.

And more than a particular technology. As examples mentioned above indicate, it means most of all understanding specifics of mobile user’s behavior.

Both campaigns discussed – Ford’s apparently archaic SMS campaign and conceptual, technologically sophisticated ad from JetBlue were successful, despite huge differences. It doesn’t matter if you use SMS, QR codes or optimize your website for mobile searching, think about user’s mobile experience and treat various technologies and solutions as means to the end, not values in themselves.

Remember: mobile marketing is mostly about how we address mobile experience.

Glossary

Mobile application (mobile app, m-app): a software designed especially for mobile devices (smartphones, tablets), with consideration for the demands and constrains of such equipment.
Beacons: small devices using Bluetooth Low Energy to communicate with other beacons in the area and apps. They serve localizing the customer in physical space, e.g. when he approaches our brick and mortar store or how she navigates in it, monitor her behavior (in what parts of the store did she spend a lot of time, what interests her) and send personalized 1-to-1 dynamic push notification, email or SMS.
Geolocation: we understand it here as using GPS installed in mobile device to identify user’s location, what allows for personalized communication, tailored to her current needs.
M-commerce: a section of e-commerce, embracing sales via mobile devices.
Push notifications: are messages generated by application, sent to user’s device to increase her engagement.
Behavioral profiling: means identifying user (on website or inside mobile app) and collecting data about her behavior to build an image of her interests and needs. Basing on that system can deliver automated messages tailored to individual predilections of each user.
RWD (Responsive Web Design): designing a website in such a way that its layout and look adjust automatically to the size of the device, so it displays properly on big as well as on small screens.

The power of applications

Apps in numbers

Today half of world’s population owns a smartphone and that number grow to 80% by 2020.
Almost 80% of smartphone owners check news or messages in 15 minutes from getting up from bed.
About 10% admits to using it during sex.
Average America citizen spends about 162 minutes per day actively using her smartphone (mostly apps).
In 2007 the first iPhone came into being. Since then smartphones are the fastest selling devices ever. Each 21 seconds 1000 of them are sold.
The gadget became also considerably cheaper. Indian company Micromax sells basic models for $40.
Today users spend in apps 65% more time that they did 2 years ago. Interestingly, the amount of apps they use increased only by 3.5.
Apps, which a couple of years ago were considered a passing fad, today transform mobile devices. On smartphones we definitely prefer applications (86%) over browser (14%).

Examples of successful campaigns based on mobile apps

Apps can boost conversion dramatically. See examples below.

L’Oreal Inova Color Capture

Facing the plummeting sales of L’Oreal professional products, the company decided to remind women that nothing compares to having their hair dyed professionally in the salon with high quality cosmetics. To communicate this message, a pool of free procedures was prepared and an app was designed. In the app user saw a map with salons where actually free dying was available marked. Offers were called “Color Bubbles” and disappeared dynamically, as other user approached and benefited from the offer. If user was quick enough, she could have her hair dyed for free or with huge discount.

Starbucks card

Starbucks offers its customers mobile app with which they can pay for their morning vanilla-caramel latte, and paying with an app is promoted with discounts and special offers. It’s a great idea for synergy between online and offline.

Nivea Sun Kids

Nivea wanted to communicate the importance of kids’ safety to parents, and to so they designed an app helping watch a child on the beach. User would tear a strip from paper ad, wrap it around kid’s wrist and download the app. When a kid was moving away too far from parent’s mobile device, an app would send an alert.

McCann refurbishes IKEA catalogue

Catalogue is one of the most basic and traditional means of marketing, today fallen undeservedly from favor. McCann agency decided to refurbish the cult IKEA catalogue (and when we say “cult”, we don’t waste words. When in 1950 after 50 years font was changed for more computer screens friendly Verdana, audience was outraged).

App version of the catalogue – don’t worry, paper one is still available – not only offers interactive experience, but makes it possible to be updated with new offers and discount and offers new means of distribution.

Apps that work

According to Nielsen report, most popular apps belong to categories:

Browsers, portals, social,
Entertainment,
Communication,
Productivity and tools,
Commerce and sales,
Travel,
Lifestyle,
Photography,
Finance.

Apps have tremendous advantage over other media, like:

Social media: user heads there motivated by need to socialize, not with purchase intention, and is exposed to way too many stimuli there to focus on your message, which will most probably come unwelcome.

Email marketing: customers love it and prefer to get offers that way, but it also has some drawbacks. It’s less interactive than an app, which will enable you to engage your users more.

Display banner campaigns: when your customer uses an app, you have all her attention, while banners are easily overlooked and frequently forgotten.

22% of apps are abandoned after installation, so it’s not only creating an app and making it easy to find that matters, but also engaging users and preventing them from dropping out.

Before you start developing your app

What best apps have in common:

Originality,
Offering a substantial benefit (you can say clearly what purpose it serves),
The content of an app is clearly associated with brand’s message (look at Nivea Sun Kids campaign discussed above – it concerns child’s safety, or L’Oreal – says about value of experience in professional hair salon).

Before you rush to creating your own MyFitnessPal, we have a couple of tips for you. What should you have in mind?

Mobile-friendly version of the website comes first – then you can develop an app. If you have a great app enticing users to use your services or buy from you, and they go straight from the app to the website, and can’t do anything because it’s not responsive – well, that’s a shame. You fail to provide what app actually was about!
Offer substantial benefit: why should anybody download your app? How can it help her? Remember – by definition app is something that performs a specific task. Don’t try to overcomplicate it, but think of one thing in customers’ everyday experience that you can made easier.
Be unique: what is the point of being a second Wunderlist, if Wunderlist is already there?
When searching for inspiration, take a look at physical world and offline experience. Great apps come from mimicking things we do in analog world (as all pomodoro apps).
Don’t duplicate content from your www: app is not for that – it’s focused on action and performing a task.
User should be able to use your app also when she is offline (like e.g. Evernote).
Choose simple solutions. Don’t overcomplicate either visual concept or functionality.

Mobile Marketing Automation

Hidden potential of apps

Why we love apps:

You’re visible and available for customer.
You have access to her 24/7.
You are easier to be noticed on the home screen.
You have access to great amount of useful data for marketing (e.g. customer location).
You can send push notifications to communicate with user in real time.
While that’s impressing, there are still many blank spaces and gaps in communication via app, mostly with personalization. Ironically, having access to so much data, we know a little about given user – or just don’t utilize that knowledge in marketing. Why don’t we collect and use the data?

What fails in apps:

Personalization: in apps it’s understood shallowly, as contextual ads.
Collecting data on user: e.g. on her in-app behavior.
Synergy between app and website: no data on user exchanged, what results in chaos and lack of cohesiveness in multichannel marketing.
Real-Time Marketing: why don’t we react instantly with personalized in-app messages or push notifications?
Understanding specificity of mobile experience: despite growing budgets mobile campaigns are often just smaller version of desktop actions.

Solution: Mobile Marketing Automation

Mobile Marketing Automation as a solution

Marketing Automation systems address these issues, applying analytics, automation and personalization also to communication in mobile channel, and to combine it with traditional automation actions.

To understand users’ behavior

That way you can get to the core of mobile marketing: understand your customer’s behaviors and respond to them in real time.

Marketing Automation is not:

Bulk SMS sending,
Spamming,
Isolated in-app analytics,
Auto-responders,
Simplistic translation of marketing automation into mobile.

Examples of practical use of Mobile Marketing Automation

How can you utilize the power of Mobile Marketing Automation? Let’s see some examples.

More knowledge: Thanks to analytics of other apps installed on users’ device you can deepen your observation on their interests, so you can profile your communication more precisely and know them better generally speaking.

Scoring engagement: users who use your app on regular basis, and ones who do so intermittently, call for different approach, so tailor communication to individual user’s needs. That way you will never irritate sporadic users and unlock the whole potential of engaged users at the
same time.

Campaigns based on geolocation. Platform recognizes places where users are when logging in, what allows to send offers with products user needs right now (e.g. discount coupon for coffee when user passes nearby coffee shop, not when she is sitting at home).

Relevant offers: knowing other apps user installed, type of her device and behavioral data (how she uses our app, how she reacted to previous messages, which features does she like most) you can tailor communication with precision unknown before.

Analytics. You can use advanced analytics and enrich data on user from the website with information from the app, and monitor efficiency of given campaign to optimize your efforts.