Mobilized Marketing: How to Drive Sales, Engagement, and Loyalty Through Mobile Devices

Chapter 33

The Tools You Can Use

Considering Mobile Products and Services Individually

Once you decide that mobile belongs in your plan and you determine your strategy, choosing the tactical elements becomes some of the most important decisions to make. Let’s look at the most popular mobile products and services. Each should be considered, but all have limitations (we promised that this book wouldn’t be built on hype) to be weighed against potential benefits.

Messaging

I’ve spent considerable time chronicling the rise of short message service (SMS)/text messaging and providing best use cases. By now you’ve figured out that if you go the messaging route, you’re unlikely to win a major award for innovation. However, if producing business results is your sole mission, SMS deserves to be near the top of your consideration list.

Consider the following:

According to stats provided by CTIA–The Wireless Association, 33 million texts were sent and received in the United States in June 2001. Ten years later, that total was 197 billion. The tipping point came in 2009, when, for the first time, there were more texts sent and received daily than calls made.

Yes, we’re still hearing naysayers claim that SMS is a young person’s activity only, but as you’ve seen in Mobilized Marketing and elsewhere, texting programs have been successful reaching all demographics.

As an example, here’s how to look at SMS if your customer or prospect is a luxury shopper:

• Use SMS as a customer relationship marketing ...