Mobile Marketing: Driving Revenue and Measurable Sales

By Jonathan Starets

We have all heard the ever-increasing buzz over mobile marketing at conferences or around the office. Maybe we've even fielded a call or two from a mobile marketing company at one point or another. But one element is usually missing from all this breathless chatter: how to monetize this phenomenon. How do we drive sales for our company through cell phones? Intuitively, we know it's possible, but yet it remains a mystery to many of us. So, let's talk about why mobile deserves all the buzz it has been receiving, why now is the right time to get into mobile marketing and how we can measure all of this in terms of ROI.

The surest way I know of driving sales through mobile devices is through text messaging around promotions, special events or offers. Text messaging is surprisingly similar to e-mail, however it is delivered directly to the individual--wherever they are--and without the clutter and competition found in an average consumer's e-mail inbox. This is pure direct marketing, so we have the easy-to-measure results other direct marketing has afforded us over the years, and because the platform is paperless, interactive and in "real time," you can expect a high level of speed and flexibility.

Text messaging has remained relatively unused by marketers, and exists as a clear channel of communication with virtually no spam. A direct connection, if you will, with your customers--customers who have opted in and look forward to receiving your communications via text message and who often respond in multiples of what we have become accustomed to from other channels.

Let's compare this with e-mail for a minute. The cost per acquisition for cell phone numbers is extremely low because opt-in is usually blended in with other communications (e.g., a co-purposed e-mail, new account sign-up, or any of a number of different ways. With mobile, typically no lists are bought for new numbers; an organic database must be grown. This may sound like a daunting task, but the rewards for taking the time to do this are extremely high response numbers, very strong read rates and opt-outs which can be border on non-existent.

So, beyond the ring tones, wallpaper and even the mobile web, a new form of communications emerges as one of the most responsive I have ever seen. It's one that can be leveraged with solid strategy and supported with numbers that we can all proudly stand by: trackable sales and low costs--it's even environmentally friendly and socially responsible. There is a lot that can be said for text messaging, and I am happy to share what I know about this exciting new marketing vehicle. Please keep an eye out for a series of columns from me on this topic in the coming months.

By revealing the appeal of mobile marketing, maybe more marketers will feel comfortable using this--and I'm speaking very relatively here--"old technology" in a whole new way. We will dive deeper into basic strategy, opt-in collection and the implementation process for a basic text-messaging program.

Jonathan Starets is the director of sales with SmartReply in Irvine, Calif., a leading company in voice and mobile marketing. He can be reached at (949) 340-0711 or via e-mail at jstarets@smartreply.com