Mobile Marketing: 10 Dos and 10 Don’ts

There is tons of talk and hoopla surrounding mobile marketing these days. Since it’s a relatively new arena there isn’t yet too much overcrowding or high stakes competition. However, with every new technology come new challenges and it could become relatively easy to fall and trip onto the wrong path. So here’s a short list of what to do and not to do if you wish for your mobile marketing campaign to succeed:

1. DO understand your customers and their needs

Customers are impatient with mobile marketing and don’t hesitate to unsubscribe for petty reasons.

2. DO mind your timing

Consider your working hours, your customers’ daily lives, and their behavior in your venue, whether you operate an online store or a beauty salon.

3. DO optimize for mobile

Your content must look equally good on both desktop computers and mobile devices. Every penny invested in Responsive Email and Web design will pay off quickly.

4. DO follow your customers where they go

And make your business easy to find in mobile search, social media, and new technologies. In the information era you need to deliver it straight to recipients, because they may not have the time, desire, or inclination to search, especially for a long time; (once you grow up, hide-and-seek isn’t fun anymore).

5. DO combine your strategies (mobile + social + local)

Integrating strategies gives you amazing possibilities and enables you to run effective campaigns. If you plan wisely, you can reach customers in all communication channels and encourage them to follow you.

.

6. DO use mobile technology

Customers love apps, QR codes and mobile coupons. They boost your reputation as a modern brand and give you opportunities to reach groups of customers you wouldn’t expect. Plus, they give you exciting ideas for contests and campaigns.

7. DO care about the details

Mobile devices have a small screen space, so use every pixel wisely. You don’t have to include all the info from your full website on the mobile version. Learn to cut the amount of information to the absolute minimum while maintaining clarity and making your mobile content easy to navigate.

8. DO encourage customers to give feedback on the go

It’s honest, spontaneous, and gives you valuable customer insights. But once you start receiving comments, make the most of it and get ready to make changes if necessary. “Better is the enemy of good”.

9. DO be an early adopter

Even if you think customers in your industry are not into mobile technologies, sooner or later they will be. By that time, you‘ll have captured a leading position in the field and be ahead of the competition.

.

10. DO personalize your messages

Mobile technologies are more intimate than computer technologies, because people carry them everywhere they go. Personalization lets you create a stronger relationship between your customers and your brand.

The list above is just half the story, so here’s the other half, to give you a more complete picture.

1. DON’T send everything to everyone

Mobile marketing should be based on customer insights; otherwise you’re likely to lose subscribers who are frustrated with spam.

2. DON’T “twin”

Making your mobile page a twin of the full version is a total miss and shows lack of knowledge about mobile marketing. Nobody likes endless loading, panning and scrolling. To put it bluntly, every customer has something better to do with their time – like visiting your competitor’sresponsive website.

3. DON’T use old advertising for new media

It may seem difficult at first, but mobile advertising requires a completely different approach. If you don’t know where to start, you can always search for good examples for a bit of inspiration.

4. DON’T ignore showrooming

Smart shoppers like to view products in brick-and-mortar stores then compare online prices on a smartphone to find a better bargain. You can adopt modern technologies to fight this phenomenon, such as mobile payments or location-based applications like Shopkick; (it rewards users for checking in at selected offline stores with “kicks” that can be exchanged for incentives such as gift coupons.

5. DON’T use a lengthy call to action

You have little space for words, so every character counts. Make it clear, catchy and short.

6. DON’T get lazy with testing

It’s not your customer’s job to inform you about bugs in your mobile content, so be careful and check everything as many times and as often as appropriate.

7. DON’T focus on numbers only

As Einstein said, “Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.” This applies perfectly to the impact of mobile marketing on customer offline actions. Just because something isn’t measurable doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with your strategy.

8. DON’T ignore trends

It’s not true that when you’ve released your app and made your online content responsive, everything else will work by itself. Mobile marketing trends change very quickly, and it’s essential to follow up and stay tuned all the time.

9. DON’T leave your employees in the dark

Keep them up-to-date about all marketing methods, including mobile. Few things are more disappointing than a customer service representative replying, “I don’t know anything,” to questions about mobile discount coupons or terms and conditions of a competitor. Your staff should be aware of your marketing strategy and trained to offer help when required.

.

10. DON’T leave customer data unused

Or from a more positive perspective, DO use the information you’ve gathered. It’s not a treasure to be buried in the forest.