While mobile marketing is the hot new medium, for most companies, it clearly won’t be the only medium used to communicate with customers and prospects. Even in an untethered enterprise, there is a need for “tethered” marketing as well. So, where does mobile marketing fit?
For most businesses, it is another medium – albeit an important one – to add to the mix. Using QR codes or other barcodes and mobile-readable symbols is one way to both make print (and broadcast) interactive and to easily integrate mobile into the mix. The key challenge for your business is to segment your markets to enable better targeting of communications, whether to customers or prospects, and use the medium or media that are most appropriate at the time. In other words, use the right medium to target the right audience at the right time. For most recipients of your communications, the preferred medium is quite fluid, and it is important to understand what that is, often to an individual level.
Custom XM, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a marketing services provider that successfully transitioned from a traditional printer.
President of Custom XM, Paul Strack, has said that the transition’s success has been attributed in a large part to, “embracing new technology, cross media, pURLs, QR codes, augmented reality, and the mobile environment.”
Regarding mobile, Paul says that it is “another arrow in our quiver, just like QR codes or text messaging. Print used to be the dominant answer, and now that’s not the case. When we talk to clients to make marketing more effective, if mobile fits, that’s what we recommend.”
Paul noted that over recent years, Custom XM’s most successful marketing efforts have been quarterly lunch and learns. They reach out to clients and prospects, as well as the local chamber of commerce, and promote it across all channels. Then, they develop a mobile site that has the contents of the seminar on it, as well as the name of the presenter, and all other relevant details about the event.
“We integrate a pURL campaign, create mobile landing pages, and because of that,” Paul says, “we have had great success.”
Michael Smith, VP of Tourism for Jones Media, spoke about many of his clients embracing mobile marketing and seeing “exponential results.”
“The key is to keep information short and provide a valuable offer to the end user,” Smith said. “Keep in mind destination tourism markets are unique in how they use the auto-responder for tourist and subscription based campaigns for locals.”
The bottom line is that the most effective communications program is one that combines multiple touches and multiple media in an integrated, relevant, and measurable way. Mobile is one of the media you should be considering in that mix.
