Today we posted the latest in a series of mobile marketing articles to the Bronto Blog. The post, “7 Last Minute Mobile Marketing Tips For The Holidays,” highlights best practices for email and mobile marketers alike.
Pop over to the Bronto blog and check out this post, along with all the other great content from the Bronto Blog. Happy Holidays!
The way mnemonic devices help people process and remember information fascinates me. I mean, I still remember small details about Kingdom-Phylum-Class-Order-Family-Genus-Species thanks to “Kings Place Cushions On Five Girls’ Seats.” I honestly feel like I could lecture on biological classification just by repeating my King Place Cushions line a few times.
[Quick side note for any biologists out there: I found myself trying to think about whether any other animal uses mnemonics. I think dogs using scents to remember where they’ve been is analogous. Is it? Any others?]
Back to the blog: the issue with memory recall via mnemonics is that memory vividness only applies to information we learned/discovered along with the mnemonic. We unfortunately don’t download brain software updates automatically (at least no virus risks!), so new learning about a mnemonic-ized concept seems harder to retain.
Take for example my biological classification example. I can’t remember for the life of me what else I learned about biological classification other than my 1992 classes and homework assignments during the discovery of Kings and Cushions. But I am positive that I did learn more, it just doesn’t have that mnemonic context.
Which bring us to the 4Ps. AKA, one of the best mnemonics ever. Using the 4Ps we can describe a complex concept (marketing) in just 4 words: promotion, place, price, product.
But, as some people are pointing out, perhaps the 4Ps are actually just a really cool mnemonic that has unfortunately passed its fifteen minutes of fame.
The basic argument is that three of the Ps are no longer relevant. Massively successful companies like Facebook, Google, and Zara spend/do nothing with regards to advertising (sorry Promotion). Two Blue Chip IPO companies from this year, LinkedIn and Pandora, are free to use (no more Price). More and more companies are pulling budgets away away from traditional outlets like television, print and radio, opting instead for all online (there goes Place). Product is the only thing that matters any more.
So can it be true? Have these 3 Ps really become irrelevant/extinct, when at one point they were three fourths of the most famous marketing mnemonic known to students nationwide?
In my opinion, the short answer is no. Apple has been pretty succesful and is revered for its promotional acumen. Price gaffes can still be hugely detrimental for business. And “online” is just too big to be one place (just ask any marketer juggling Social, Mobile, Blog, Email, Website, Mobile Website, SEO, SEM, etc.).
That said, I don’t think these 3 Ps as we originally learned them still work. Promotion is becoming much more tactical than strategic. Price has become more about business model (e.g. Freemium) than how many dollars and cents to charge. And place I think has become much more like a river than an ocean (i.e. less static, more targeted, more integrated/interconnected with other bodies of water – work with me). In short, these 3 Ps have evolved.
But, they still start with P. So for marketers relying on a mnemonic taught to them years ago – be warned. It’s time to update your assumptions. And for students studying up for their next big exam? I think you’ll be just fine.
Well, for now.
Enormous opportunity exists for government agencies to take advantage of mobile. But tackling this endeavor without a roadmap can be overwhelming.
That’s why we put together our Government Mobile Marketing Quick6 LookBook. It answers three questions:
Click here to download this government mobile marketing guide. For more resources about government mobile marketing, we also encourage you to take a look at Art of the CTA for government-related social and mobile calls to action.
Here at Msgme HQ, we are constantly trying to figure out ways to pack more punch with our approach to mobile marketing CRM. As marketing communication continues to move more and more toward targeted messaging (as opposed to pray and spray blasting), brands, agencies and technology companies require tools to effectively engage and interact with their constituent/customer base.
One of the biggest communication focal points for our clients and campaigns we have seen in the marketplace is using SMS communication to drive mobile web traffic. People’s frustration is that SMS oftentimes could use some of the CRM-ification that makes email effective – in particular the ability to track links clicked within a message.
This is how Msgme Web Tracker came into existence. We figured out a way so that marketers could actually send unique links to each person that interacts with a campaign (as opposed to one standard link that everyone clicks on) – automatically.
“Cool!” we thought. Our next step was making it even better. Well, maybe activity on this link could instantly sync to a subscriber’s profile within a mobile marketing database. Why? Ultimately mobile marketing success comes down to the strength of your mobile database since success in mobile is maximizing customer lifetime value. So by syncing web clicks to a subscriber profile, you can understand how active your consumers are (helps you figure out when to send), what types of links they end up clicking (helps you figure out how to send), how often they click on links (when you should send again), etc. The potential to be successful increases considerably.
One last thing: now that we had a unique-to-person link with activity that automatically updates to a subscriber profile, what was out next step? Automated messaging. As we mentioned, having more information about your subscribers affords deeper insight into a subscriber’s preferences. But that shouldn’t be the end of the line. Using the Msgme API framework, we were then able to automatically trigger messages or actions depending on those subscriber profiles.
Now that’s CRM! Take a look at our one page overview for more information. And if you come across any cool use cases of developing mobile applications using the Msgme APIs please let us know!
Today we would like to give a shout out to another company (and client) that has found an extremely innovative use for mobile. uShip, the world’s largest and most trusted transportation marketplace, announced that payment codes can now be submitted via text message.
At uShip, shipping customers can choose to pay online using uShip Payments. When they do they receive a payment code that allows a service provider to release payment on delivery.
Now, using SMS, a service provider just needs to submit the payment code to the USHIP short code (87447) to confirm the transaction. It’s a real time and seamless way for service providers to confirm payment while still with the shipper. Now that’s a mobile home run.
Speaking of real time confirmation and home runs, how about this Cardinals Rangers World Series (I mean game 6 WOW) and Bullpen-gate? Surely Tony LaRussa could have benefitted from some sort of real-time, uShip-like functionality that people were picking up his phone call. But would SMS work for managers given the gameday crowds? What about a pager for bullpens? Any other ideas of how mobile might help out?
Mobile coupons make perfect sense from a conceptual standpoint. Rather than clipping coupons with scissors, consumers can download coupons onto their mobile phone and access them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A powerful idea. Where mobile coupons can get tricky is from a from a strategic perspective. With mCoupon technology ranging from static to dynamic and dynamic verified, it’s imperative brands develop a clear understanding of what’s out there in order to execute campaigns successfully. In this webinar we analyze the mobile coupon ecosystem and develop action items for earning mCoupon ROI. From the Getting It Right In Mobile series.
You can also view the slides of the webinar on Slideshare @ http://www.slideshare.net/msgme.
Today we posted a another article to top ten Ad Age marketing blog Social Media Examiner. The post, What Are Mobile Marketing Opt-ins and Why Are They Important?, examines similarities and differences between social and mobile opt-ins in an effort to understand how marketers can use them effectively. The article includes a number of examples of social and mobile opt-ins and a description of an effective campaign that takes advantage of both.
And, in case you missed it, please also check out our previous post on Viral QR Codes. If you have comments on either article, please post them to the SME site.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is the technology that answers calls and presents an assortment of telephone adventures just for pressing 1, 2 or 3. But what does this have to do with mobile marketing and mobile marketing CRM?
Glad you asked. The IVR eBook, from the Msgme Quick6 eBook series, answers this exact question and much more. With an assortments of stats, best practices, examples and other resources, readers will gain a 360 degree view into how IVR can be used to extract further ROI from a mobile marketing strategy.
Download the entire IVR eBook here.
Last week we noticed two very good pieces on mobile marketing: All Marketing Roads Lead Through Mobile from Ad Age and 12 Important Places You’re Forgetting to Add Calls-to-Action from Hubspot.
The Ad Age post outlines a “key to winning” for mobile: understanding that mobile actually represents the intersection of four marketing necessities: social media, shopper marketing, promotion and CRM. We’ve covered these ideas as well, but the author’s point that “Of course the ultimate goal of all of the above is to build long-term relationships with people who enable the marketer to garner greater insight into their wants and needs, and be better positioned to meet them. At the end of the day, mobile is a one-to-one medium, and as a result, the quantity and quality of information it can provide to marketers is staggering.” We couldn’t agree more.
The Hubspot post provides marketers with several ideas for call to action placements that will increase consumer participation in marketing campaigns. We authored something similar for the Bronto blog, but our favorite point was the totality of it all. Without getting your call to action into as many places as possible, you ultimately won’t see the success you are looking for.
Finally, not sure if people have seen it yet, but we recently released a revised Knowledge Base for mobile marketing users. It contains detailed information about the mobile industry and how to execute successful mobile marketing CRM campaigns. It’s a free resource available for anybody looking to educate themselves as quickly as possible.
Hope everyone had a great weekend. Please post any articles you find that are interesting to the comments.
