Conducting good research is important for any kind of campaign. It allows you to learn about your target audience, know what products and services are most popular and how best to reach your audience and when. By gathering data and statistics, marketers can focus their efforts where results are sure to pay dividends.
For mobile marketing, these same strategies require forward planning. However, research is particularly vital for mobile user behavior, as opposed to traditional broadcast channels because mobile marketing advertising needs to be precision-engineered for personal preferences, location and relevance.
According to experts, mobile marketing campaigns are frequently an afterthought. Rather than being an integral part of the overall marketing strategy, marketers are forgetting to consider how their campaign strategy is compatible with their campaign goals. Attention to the technical aspects and techniques, such as SMS campaigns or bar codes, can come, eventually.
It’s all in the numbers. By gathering invaluable statistics and data, marketers will better be able to target specific demographics with the right message, and avoid wasting time and money on revenue dead ends.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Don’t equate mobile marketing with mobile advertising. They sound like they’re one in the same, but they’re not. Mobile marketing is about the interactive experience and engagement with the customer. Think of it as multi-dimensional that invites the customer to become part of the experience.
- Just because you’re a brick-and-mortar store or service, it’s still a plum opportunity to go mobile. Get customers to check-in via their smartphones and instantly receive coupons and other specials. Use this opportunity to cross-merchandise.
- Understand how and where a customer will consume your mobile marketing message. If the customer is at home or out and about, the time and attention span will significantly change. Brands can create an experience with its marketing, but should also be sensitive to how the message will be consumed.
Other points to consider:
When are consumers most active on their mobile devices?Where are consumers most active on their mobile devices?
What mobile devices are consumers using (tablet, iPhone, android, etc.)?
What are the demographics of your target audience?
What are the psychographics of your target audience?
What types of offers are most appealing to customers?
As part of the campaign planning process, a company should define what types of data it is able to collect and what type of insights it can learn from this data, keeping it fresh and up-to-the-minute.
Once the numbers are in and the mobile marketing planning begins, remember that creativity without strategy is art... Creativity with strategy is advertising.