Your Consumers are Unique, why Aren’t Your Mobile Marketing Initiatives

Mobile usage has become an integral part of the path-to-purchase. Consumers are tapping into their smartphones at home, in store aisles, and on-the-go to read news, research products, compare prices, engage with brands and receive special offers and coupons. Brands are finally realizing the potential of mobile marketing to produce business success. Mobile cannot be an afterthought when you consider that Mobile now accounts for 29% of eCommerce transactions in the US and 34% globally. It is expected that by the end of 2015, mobile share is forecast to reach 33% in the US, and 40% globally.

It’s clear the way consumers engage and make purchases is changing and marketers and advertisers must find a way to interact with them in a personalized and relevant way. Mobile has changed how brands market to consumers - with the biggest shift coming from the need for personalization. Brands have to approach content marketing as a two-way street with consumers. Which means relevancy has to be the first and last goals for brands -  otherwise you’ll be at risk of losing your customers. 

Understanding how to market to your consumers and monetize the mobile channel more effectively can be accomplished by focusing on the following areas.

Opt-ins are key

Perhaps this is obvious, but getting an opt-in opens up infinite possibilities for personalization. Be bold when encouraging customers to submit their phone number to receive mobile alerts, or authorize push notifications when downloading apps. For brands used to direct mail, traditional advertising or digital retargeting, mobile presents a new realm of legal regulations that, if not followed, could cost you big time. The most important guideline to follow is the “opt-in” regulation for text messages. Any text message you send can only be sent to a user who explicitly opted-in to your message service. Meaning, buying lists or automatically enrolling loyalty club members into your text message database is a big no-no. So brands should focus on getting their customers opt-in. Once that occurs brands can continue to build on the data they have collected to deliver increasingly personalized messages.

The consumer's experience doesn't end once they have tapped

Effective mobile marketers take a cross-channel approach that integrates the various mobile channels, such as SMS, app, Web, and social.  Value comes behind the scenes, as brands can learn tons of useful information from mobile interactions. For example, customers reveal their operating system when they download an app or open their Web browser. Smart marketers collate such data points into one centralized customer profile—an ideal asset to maximize personalization for mobile. Companies just getting started with cross-channel mobile marketing should focus on small wins. True cross-channel takes time and optimization, so commit to integrating what makes sense over the short, medium, and long term instead of trying to do everything in parallel.

It’s all about location

Mobile devices go everywhere. Take advantage of how that information can create personalized experiences. On SMS, marketers can request that customers share their ZIP code. As long as customers see the value in the call to action requesting location the message won't come off as intrusive or pushy. For those stuck on how to use location, start with four straightforward applications: time, weather, calendar, and geography. Messages like "Get an additional 20% before 5PM today," "Beat the winter blues with this offer," “Back to school special” or "Special deal for the summer," messages will establish a stronger consumer/brand connection.

View mobile through a data lens

When most marketers approach mobile, they gravitate toward viewing the technology as a communication channel. Savvy marketers understand that mobile produces much more value as a data channel. Analyze your data across channels to create and serve relevant content to your customers or potential customers. Build around your opt-in text message database. Once you have a person’s cell phone number, you can use that personal identifier to connect the dots with your CRM, loyalty programs and even users’ social media profiles. The more you know about your consumer’s buying habits and engagement, the better you can serve them pertinent and relevant information directly to their smartphone or tablet.

Personalizing mobile interaction will immediately increase consumer engagement and loyalty with your brand. Mobile marketing and advertising, done legally and relevantly, has tremendous potential to reach customers on devices that they always have within arm’s reach.

Making the most of what you know about your mobile consumers

Consumers are generally very attached to their smartphones and only connect with those they trust.This very reason is why mobile marketing is perceived as a “friendlier” way to engage with

consumers. Research shows that 98% of mobile users read their text messages within 3 minutes. Imagine the impact your mobile marketing will have if you deliver relevant offers, mobile coupons, and discounts to your customers – they are almost guaranteed to be read and are more than likely to be acted upon if the message is targeted based on the what you already know about the customer.Over the last couple years, mobile marketing has proven itself as an effective way to acquire and maintain customer data. This is true because people generally keep their phone numbers forever compared to their email addresses. Therefore having strong persistent personal IDs, such as a phone number, enables brands to track, evaluate, and optimize their mobile marketing campaigns to determine overall effectiveness.

Leverage what you already know
There are major benefits from using mobile messaging as part of a brands overall marketing campaign. Now brands and organizations are tracking and segmenting the users who are in their marketing databases. Information that has been collected through loyalty programs, incentive based marketing and opt-in’s which enables brands to better understand their customers interests and what they will respond to.

Turn Loyalty Programs into customized incentives
Connecting a consumer’s phone number to their loyalty program ID can turn generic SMS offers int

customized incentives. If you know what your customers are buying, and more importantly, what incentives bring them into your stores, you can use this information to make offers more dynamic and personal. Which in turn will drive a higher return rate and increase on-going customer loyalty.

CRM and triggered messaging
Most CRM systems track events throughout the customer lifecycle. Many of these events represent an opportunity to sell more product and service. These events can be used to trigger personalized messages to your customers that facilitate the sales process. Include a click to call, or drive them to your e-commerce enabled website to move them to purchase faster. Make sure your website is mobile ready!

Extend your knowledge of your customers
Using Mobile Messaging in your retention marketing doesn’t have to be a one-way conversation. In addition to tying in what you already know about your customers within your CRM or loyalty databases, you can gain insight from the SMS interactions as well. An integration between your back-

office systems and your SMS provider can push new data points into your database that round out your customer profiles and lead to additional re-marketing opportunities.

There is a lot that can be done with the information that is collected about customers within a CRM system. While this data can be a great resource for things like consumer segmentation and establishing marketing strategy, it can also be leveraged real-time on a very personal level. Leveraging this data via SMS or other mobile engagements can lead to greater results through right-time, right device, and the right-message that walk the customer down the path to purchase.

As brands continue to evolve their mobile marketing strategies through more personalized interactions, they will be able to build stronger relationships, increase engagement and drive loyalty.

Growing your mobile marketing database isn't as painful as you think

One of the biggest advantages mobile messaging brings to your marketing plan is the extremely high response rate. Ninety-eight percent of text messages are usually read within 3 minutes, with click through rates of over 50%. That’s huge! No other marketing channel produces the type of immediacy that mobile marketing provides.

Mobile marketing is the most accessible form of marketing for consumers considering nearly everyone in the world has a smartphone. With SMS and MMS, marketers can provide consumers with rich media and immediate text messaging rather than email or direct mail. With mobile messaging being governed by the telephone consumer protection action (TCPA) which provides strict rules and regulations enforced by the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association), CTIA and mobile carriers, so brands can only market to customers who explicitly opt-in and give a company permission to send them text messages to prevent SPAM or unsolicited messages.

Building a mobile marketing database
Mobile subscribers drive higher marketing ROI than any other program. In order to build a mobile database it’s crucial to implement a promotional strategy that ties in your mobile campaign.

The secret to growing and maintaining a loyal mobile subscriber database is to use a compelling offer or incentive that will pique the interest of your consumer and follow through with delivering value.

We are frequently asked, “How do you get consumers to opt in to offers and promotions?” Below you will find a number of different ways to get the most out of your marketing activities and build your mobile database.

Relevance and timeliness: Brands can drive opt-ins by offering compelling content designed for immediate use. Consider offerings to entice consumers to join.

• Coupons
• Sneak peeks to new offerings
• Relevant news alerts
• Early access programs
• Branded content

Ratchet up the creative and incentives: The more creative and the bigger incentive you deliver, the more opt-ins you are likely to receive. Try to include:

• Videos – trailers, product reviews, music videos.
• Images, emoji’s and photo albums.
• Audio clips – sneak peek to newest artist releases.
• BOGO – Buy one, get one free.
• Free drink or dessert with purchase of a hamburger.
• 20% off for new customer opt-in’s.

Engage consumers: Consider the following types of interactive campaigns to drive opt-ins:

• Rewards and loyalty programs
• Text2win campaigns
• Trivia
• UGC (user generated content) based programs
• Voting
• Gamification

Personalization is key: As you build your database, take advantage of customization opportunities to drive more mobile engagement with your consumers.

• Drive engagement around key times of the day in various time zones.
• Create localized content including weather, sporting events, and happenings in and around the area.
• Take advantage of DMA and area code segmentation opportunities to drive action in key markets.
• Collect as much information about your subscriber as you can to deliver more relevant messages.

Promote like crazy! If people don’t know about your campaign, they can’t join so be sure to heavily promote your keyword, short code, QR Codes and value proposition to your audiences by adding a call to action to the following:

• Website
• Share it with your existing email database
• All forms of advertising
• Post across social media platforms 
• Product packaging
• Point of sale (POS) opportunities
• Paper receipts, email signatures, and other marketing materials are sometimes overlooked – but provide a great opportunity for marketers.

This is not an end all be all to how building your mobile marketing database, but certainly should get you started with some ideas of how to proactively get consumers interested and engaged in your mobile marketing initiatives.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@gravit8marketing.com or check out our website: http://www.gravit8marketing.com. Good luck with your campaigns.

SLS Las Vegas Partners with Gravit8 Marketing to Engage Guests and Drive Loyalty with Mobile Messaging

Las Vegas’ Newest Casino Resort Reimagines how they Communicate with the “Always Connected” Millennial Demographic by Utilizing Gravit8’s Advanced Mobile Messaging Capabilities

SEATTLE, WA – June 10, 2015 – Gravit8 Marketing, a leading end-to-end mobile marketing

technology company, today announced the launch of its relationship with SLS Las Vegas, one of the brands under SBE, a global hospitality and entertainment company that is comprised of award-winning hotels, casinos, residences, restaurants and nightlife destinations. SLS Las Vegas is currently utilizing Gravit8’s platform to build and segment their opt-in mobile database, as well as deliver offers and promotions to guests.

"This is a milestone moment for our team. Not only have we launched a new company, but we have also launched a high profile customer in SLS Las Vegas. We are excited to be working with a like-minded client who fanatically value customer relationships as much as we do, ” said Mike Wehrs, chairman and chief executive officer at Gravit8 Marketing. "Mobile presents SLS Las Vegas with an innovative way to connect with guests and deliver an experience that will not only help them build their brand, but also boost engagement with its brand.”

SLS Las Vegas promotes its mobile marketing activities with messages throughout the resort and in guest rooms. The goal is to roll this program out to other SBE properties over the coming year. To receive SLS Las Vegas mobile messages, text SLSLV to 85292.

Gravit8’s carrier-grade platform enables brands and media companies to connect with consumers through:

• SMS & MMS: Ninety percent of consumers read text messages within 3 minutes making it the most effective way to engage your customers.
• Mobile coupons: Redemption rates in the U.S. will exceed 53 million this year and is expected to grow by double-digits annually with continued smartphone and tablet adoption.
• Gamification and branded emojis: Consumers want content to be useful and entertaining in that order. By focusing on those two things brands can increase engagement and ROI.
• QR Codes: Brands have a great opportunity to move consumers down the path to purchase faster by offering QR Codes.
• 3D mobile websites: 2D websites are so 2014. It's time to offer an engaging way for consumers to interact with a 3D mobile ad via their touchscreens.

To learn more about Gravit8's mobile marketing solutions, please visit: http://www.gravit8.com.

Give your summer concert some staying power with mobile messaging

It’s that time of the year again; radio summer concerts and festivals are coming to a town near you. Remember when stations could just announce a show, plug it on air, and place some TV ads?

Now, people are listening across streaming and mobile apps and interacting with your station via social and mobile channels. Which means event promotion needs to evolve so it is more in line with the habits of the modern listener. So what does that mean? Let’s walk through a few different ideas that can quickly be implemented by stations.

Build hype for your event

If your website is up to date, listeners will know about your summer concerts. But what about those who are fans of the artists or have similar taste in music but aren’t listening to your station?

You can reach this audience with targeted social and mobile messages. Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms allow you to target fans of your artists or fans of similar acts. For example, a fan of Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton might also like Florida Georgia Line.

You can employ mobile messages to reach your listeners and direct them to a mobile website for further event information. The ads and website can be co-branded to give extra value to sponsors.

The mobile website can capture visitors data for future re-marketing and have social sharing so fans can help promote your event through their personal networks. Social sharing should also include specific station social media properties (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and hashtags to help increase listener engagement and interaction with the station.

Additionally, you can create a segmented text message database that will send show reminders and updates to those who opt-in to receive them. Those who opt-in can be the first to know about pre-sales, set times, artist meet and greets or other insider information about the show.

Engage attendees during the event

Anyone who’s been to a concert in the past few years knows how much time people spend on their phones filming, texting, tweeting or posting ‘selfies’ to Instagram. You need to funnel that engagement and content for your station.

Blanket the venue with social and mobile reminders to encourage attendee interaction. So make it easy for them to remember shortcodes and hashtags by promoting them on everything from tickets and shirts to cups and posters.

You can post pictures or other social content directly to video screens at the venue to let everyone see what’s happening beyond the small patch of grass they are on by simply using keywords or hashtags.

No more 'one and done' events

Just because the show’s over doesn’t mean the marketing can’t continue. Post-event marketing can help drive further website visits and expand your email or text databases.

Record your show and broadcast exclusive performances on your station’s website. These performances, interviews or behind the scenes footage, can also be sent directly to listeners via text or through the stations social properties, where they can easily view and share the content with their friends.

By utilizing these social and mobile marketing tactics, you can transform what was once a “one-and-done” event, into an ongoing campaign that drives meaningful listener engagement and loyalty.

Mobile marketing data points that will blow your mind

Mobile is no longer a separate bucket when brands think about marketing – it is now at the core of

every marketing strategy. Brands know that the key to its future is to adapt and optimize future campaigns for the mobile first world that we live in.

This ever-changing mobile landscape requires marketers to determine the best ways to connect with their mobile consumers with interactions that will resonate across varying screen sizes.

If you still aren’t convinced, check out these 8 mind blowing mobile marketing facts that truly tell the story of how important mobile will be to your brands success.

1. Wireless penetration in the US is currently at 104%, with 75% of those being SMS enabled. (Source: CTIA, 2014)

This data point essentially highlights the fact that mobile devices are the future and it will be vital for brands to integrate a mobile experience in to all of their marketing programs.

2. Over 90% of all text messages are read within three minutes of being received (Source: GigaOm, 2015)

The fact that a brand can reach 90% of its consumers in a 3-minute span - is huge. No other marketing tool can offer a similar rate, making SMS Marketing one of the most effective ways to get your message to your customer. Especially when you consider that email only has a 1% open rate on average in comparison to the open rate of 98% open rate SMS receives.

3. 91% of people in the U.S. have their mobile device within reach 24/7 (Source: Morgan Stanley).

Our mobile devices are very personal to us so much so that we rarely let them out of our site. This in conjunction with the fact that consumers have to opt-in to text messages sent by brands means your message will certainly be received and read.

4. People spend on average 2 hours and 57 minutes on their smartphone or tablet daily, surpassing the amount of time spent watching TV. (Source: Bloomberg.com)

If TV and print is still the heart of your marketing initiatives, you are not going to engage audiences in a way that resonates with them which is via their mobile phone and tablet.

5. 64% of consumers who subscribe to mobile marketing have made a purchase as a direct result of receiving a highly relevant mobile message. (Source: Responsys)

This number will only increase as brands become more savvy with their mobile marketing initiatives. When you consider the open rate on mobile and the percent of consumers who end up with something in their cart that is a fairly substantial ROI.

6. Text messages have huge response rates – 20x the rate of email or direct mail. (Source: Gravit8)

Giving a brand your mobile number and approval to send you text messages comes with great responsibility to send personalized offers that are relevant and what your consumers expects to receive from you. By doing so brands are able to significantly increase the response rate and keep consumers opt-in.

7. Consumers spend 15+ hours per week researching on their smartphone and on average visit mobile websites 6 times. (Source: Google)

Design your mobile marketing experiences by first considering the entire campaign, starting with the screen size and device type. This will help drive consumers down the path to purchase more quickly.

8. 93% of people who use mobile to research go on to complete a purchase of a product or service. (Source: Google)

Create seamless experiences across touch points and measure conversions across channels that originate from mobile. Take advantage of cross-device conversion tracking and new methods to measure store visits and purchases.

Mobile has changed the game for marketers – it’s more personal than ever. It’s no longer acceptable to be a bullhorn of a company, blasting out messages without taking in to consideration the consumers interests or what they have opt-in to.

Personalizing your mobile interactions will immediately increase consumer engagement and loyalty with your brand. Mobile marketing, done with personalization and relevancy in mind, has tremendous potential to reach customers on devices that they always have within arm’s reach.

Stop talking about the potential of mobile marketing and start realizing the value

Brands are finally realizing the value of adding mobile marketing to their overall marketing strategy. It’s clear the way consumers engage and make purchases is changing requiring brands to find a way

to interact with them in a personalized and relevant way via the mobile device.

If you aren’t currently engaging your customers through mobile marketing, consider the following:

• Wireless penetration in the U.S. now exceeds 104% according to CTIA, while 45 million Americans use their mobile device as their primary internet access device.
• 98% of text messages are read within 90 seconds of their arrival.
• SMS produces engagement rates 6-8x’s higher than email marketing.
• According to eMarketer,by 2016, mobile coupon users will represent nearly 83% of all digital coupon users.

Mobile will continue to grow as will the use of it as a way for brands to interact with customers. Fortunately, there are a handful of ways to jumpstart your mobile marketing strategy. Understanding each will help you market to your customers and in turn, see fast returns on your investment.

Building your SMS database is key

Your mobile engagement efforts won’t get very far if we don’t have a strong opt-in list of customers to communicate with. There are several ways to build a targeted database. For example, if you're attending a trade show, create signage that instructs attendees to text a keyword or scan a QR Code to receive special offers, product information or sign up for a drawing.

In addition, be sure to leverage in-store collateral. You can enroll your customers into your loyalty program or get product information via their mobile either by scanning a QR code or texting a unique keyword to a specific number. These are both fairly easy ways to get the word out since education is still a major roadblock for many retailers.

Don’t forget to utilize your social media channels, such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as in your email messages and company newsletters. By including a call-to-action, keyword or short code via these different channels you will be able to increase targeted opt-ins.

As with any kind of marketing, testing is crucial and will show you which types of messages are the most effective. SMS text messaging gives you many options to attract more customers. Over time, you'll find out what messages work best for you.

What type of messages should you focus on?

The volume of email messages that customers receive on a daily basis is staggering, so it’s easy to get lost in all the noise. Many of those messages are important and relate to some type of interaction you have had with a brand such as shipping info, delivery notifications, or event reminders. Customers frequently want to know when their order has been shipped and delivered, especially if they are not home during the day, or if their service appointment has been delayed.  By explicitly offering opt-in to service alert notifications you can ensure that your SMS is not an unwanted disruption on a customers phone, but rather a value driver for your business.

Coupons and incentives can be delivered to segmented audiences based on purchase behaviors and preferences, activated to encourage repeat purchases and shared via social networks to extend your reach. It’s important to tailor mobile coupons to the buyer behavior and preferences to improve response rates and get more shoppers in your store.

To learn more about SMS marketing trends and best practices, check out the Mobile Marketing Association Best Practices guide (PDF).

In today's dynamic and fast-evolving world, it is important to be able to reach your customers at the right time, in the right place, on the right device. SMS marketing is an effective and economical marketing strategy for businesses to increase customer loyalty and brand awareness. Mobile marketing coupled with traditional marketing efforts delivers a more holistic marketing approach enabling businesses to engage with an audience they otherwise might not reach.

You’re wrong if you don’t think you should target millennials

Millennials are far more engaged with the technology around them than their slightly older peers, almost to the point of dependency. Mobile devices, in particular, are essential to how millennials shop and buy, drawing a clear line in the sand between the generations. If you are on the fence about marketing to millennials, consider the following:

•    87% of millennials always have their smartphone at their side, day and night.
•   78% of millennials spend over 2 hours a day using their smartphones.
•   68% of millennials consider their smartphone to be a personal device.
•  56% of U.S. millennials say their phone is their most valuable shopping tool instore.
•  55% of millennials will switch brands for sales, and 63% will purchase brands that aren’t favorites if they’re on sale. 

These data points show that mobile experiences, if launched appropriately, are a critical part of the branding and marketing mix.

Make it relevant

Millennials have high expectations for your marketing message, whether it’s email, social, mobile, or more traditional means. They respond to personalized marketing that speaks to them, like cost savings, exclusivity and recommendations from family and friends. More than any other demographic, millennials are willing to dig for savings, coupons and other special offers and when they are offered deals, they act fast.

Impulse buys, as they are commonly known, have increased dramatically among Millennials, indicating that if relevant and timely offers align with their interests, the chance for converting that interest into a sale increases dramatically. Brands that leverage mobile will benefit from the impulse buy event.

A report summary from eMarketer shows that “42% of US Millennials had made an impulse purchase in the past four weeks. However, Generation Xers and baby boomers followed more closely behind: 40% of respondents in Gen X and 39% baby boomers reported making impulse purchases, too.”

Mobile and the path-to-purchase

Mobile is a dominant force during the millennial shopping experience. According to recent research it was determined that 86% of consumers in the U.S. say they value brands that are useful over brands that are interesting. So don’t push out a bunch of noise to your consumers that are neither personalized nor relevant to them. You run the risk of losing them if you aren’t offering them any value for participating and following your brand.

What brands might find interesting is that “nearly one-quarter of millennials say they are willing to pay a higher price to be the first to have a new product.” This shows that millennials want to be at the head of the curve, and they are willing to pay for the privilege. Marketing to them first is a smart business move.

No distinction between mobile and desktop

Millennials draw no practical distinction between online and offline. Millennials being constantly connected to their smartphones means they no longer see a difference between “online” and “offline.” Technology has become an integral part of their lives, and it is how they interact with and experience brands. They don’t use media in silos. Rather, they use all of the tools at their fingertips at any given time, regardless of the device or platform. Take that into consideration when planning your mobile marketing campaigns.

Data shows that millennials should always be the “first to know about a new product”. Mobile and social media marketing is important so that consumers can interact with brands, share information about products and services, and more.