Tag Archives: IMS11

Mobile Marketing – It works and the time is now

Posted on September 15, 2011 by | 3 Comments

Mobile marketing powerhouses just took the state at IMS11.  And they’ve frankly changed my mind about mobile marketing.  Now, in all honesty, I’m a bit of a crank when it comes to marketing messages and my cell phone.  I appreciate a well designed mobile site and have made plenty of buying decisions from my phone.   But I really don’t have the vocabulary to adequately express my hatred of promotional text messages.

 

The panelists included:

  •  Rich Miner (@richminer) Partner, Google Ventures (he founded Android)
  • Tim Hayden, (@TheTimHayden) CMO 44Doors
  • John Puterbaugh, (@JDPuterbaugh) Founder & CEO of Nellymoser Inc.
  • Matt Cutler, (@MCutler)CEO Kibits Labs

 

My personal feelings aside, the stats are dang compelling. Here are a few gleaned from the discussion:

 

  • 70% of mobile searches result in action within an hour.
  • 39% of restaurant searches are done via mobile phones.
  • Embedding short codes, QR codes or other types of “action codes” within print advertising can generate significant lift in campaign results – a 15% to 20% lift, in fact.
  • Mobile specific ad campaigns – 10% higher response rates.

 

Some things to keep in mind:

Mobile users respond to and use content differently.  You need to have click-to-call numbers, content that renders on the 4” screen, use action codes in prints, signs, etc. People will readily use the codes to enter contests, get samples, etc.

 

The opportunity to convert on mobile devices is fleeting.  You need more than a “like.”  Users need directional data – a map, a coupon.  Example:  Kendall Jackson wine.  Necktags have QR codes, SMS and a URL.  If someone inBostonscans the code, they get a regionally appropriate pairing & recipe (chowder & chardonnay) vs what someone inHoustonwould see (bbq).

 

Some other good advice from the panel:

  • Don’t do mobile, QR codes haphazardly – putting QR codes on billboards next to a highway, for example, is a terrible idea.  The codes don’t scan well from a fast moving car.  And, of course, in many states, drivers are legally prohibited from scanning those codes.
  • The panel encouraged us to experiment with free services – such as appending free QR codes to online content – and tracking the results.
  • SMS works best within 2 or 3 exchanges max.  People are going places, they have better things to do than trade text with your brand.

If information is relevant, mobile users will act on it.

Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media.

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Likeability + Trust + Quality = Enchantment

Posted on September 15, 2011 by | 1 Comment

The IMS conference team's default setting is "Yes." Here they scramble mid-keynote to give Guy Kawasaki a lavaliere mic and fix A/V issues.

For a marketer seeking a good time, Guy Kawasaki is a sure thing.  His presentations are potent, entertaining and informative. He is, in a word, enchanting.  And dovetailing on his new book titled Enchantment, Kawasaki kicked off day two of the Inbound Marketing Summit with a discussion of  brands can build enchantment.

Enchantment is built upon three pillars, according to Kawasaki:  likeability, trustworthiness and quality.

Likeability:

Developing true likeability is as important for brands as it is for people.  It’s probably a bit easier for us as individuals – sincere smiles, warm handshakes and careful mirroring of our peers body language and social signals are tools we use to gain acceptance – and to make people like us.

For brands to achieve this, the message was clear.  We need to be paying attention to our audiences wants, needs and desires.  In fact, Kawasaki’s guide to social media success – being informative, providing insight and delivering assistance – provides a good map for brands to develop likeability.

Trust

In discussing how brands can build trust, Kawasaki noted that in order to gain trust, brands need to first trust their audiences. A good example he gave is Amazon’s seven-day return policy for e-books.  Kindle users have seven days in which they can “return” a downloaded ebook and get their money back.  It would be pretty easy to game the system, but Amazon is trusting their audience to do the right thing.  Another good example are companies like Nordstrom, which have a 365 day, no questions asked return policy.  They are trusting their customers to do the right thing, and not return used, dirty merchandise.

A key to building trust, Kawasaki noted, is setting the company’s default to “Yes.”

Quality

In this age of radical transparency, great products are truly an imperative.  Kawasaki offered framework for products he nicknamed “DICEE.”  Great products, he told the group, need to be:

  • Deep: thoughtfully designed;
  • Intelligent: offering a smart solution;
  • Complete: the totality of the product – from marketing to user documentation to post-purchase service, and everything in between;
  •  Empowering: the product shouldn’t fight the user, and it should make the user feel better – more creative, prettier, more productive, etc.
  • Elegant:  Clear design and a good user experience.

In this day and age of transparency and rapid-fire social communications, Kawasaki noted that no amount of marketing can overcome a shoddy product, and that shoddy products create the very antithesis of likeability, trust and quality.

Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media.

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Personalization & Preference – Inbound Marketing Summit: Day One

Posted on September 15, 2011 by | Leave a comment

I was a late arrival to the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston yesterday, and I missed the opening sessions featuring Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, Youngme Soon of Harvard and well-known social media guru Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan).  By the time the dust settled from these three opening salvos, everyone had hunkered down and the focus shifted to inbound marketing tactics, opportunities and challenges.

Hubspot CEO Brian Halligan (@bhalligan) summed up the current state of affairs succinctly, noting the changing nature of the marketing funnel, and inviting everyone to focus more on the middle of the funnel – those moments when your prospects are really starting to engage with information and zero in on their needs.

Along the way, Halligan noted, the control of the process has shifted from the seller – who used to control the information flow, doling out bits and pieces of information and content as prospects “moved down the funnel,” to today’s reality, in which our audiences are well armed with basic information, and are seeking to find out why your product or service is right for them, specifically.

To this point, Halligan spent some time discussing the power of personalization, noting that sites like Amazon and Netflix are truly “personalization engines” that create unique – and relevant – experiences for each user.

“Personalization will transform the middle of your funnel,” Halligan noted. “It’s how you get conversions to go from 2% to 20%.”  Successful marketers know that relevance increases conversions.

Relevance became a recurring theme throughout the rest of the day – from customer experiences to content to marketing tactics.   My big take away from the day was the simple fact that as marketers and communicators, we have to focus on being relevant to our customers and prospects – putting their needs in front the organizations.

Sarah Skerik (@sarahskerik) is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media.

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