Mobile Strategy vs Mobile Marketing Strategy

Domino's Mobile Success from Mobilemarketer.com

Too many people/news stories confuse the two concepts. This is a great article which I commented about on the bottom. It has two components for Domino's. The first is a wonderful success story for Mobile Strategy, the second is their Mobile Marketing Strategy which I personally find the incorrect way to handle mobile marketing.

Mobile Strategy should be using mobile technology to enhance your business, whether that be providing information to helping create a sale from anywhere. Once a consumer knows for instance that they can order a Domino's or Pizza Hut pizza with a few clicks on their Smart Phone this can help migrate people from calling up for a pizza. This reduces costs, and increases profits, and hopefully the ease of use helps create loyalty. Though taste and price points also are an issue. For most New Yorker's even an ease of ordering and low price are not enough to order from a chain Pizza Company since the taste is so sub par vs a real NY Pizza. The way Domino's created their mobile web site and ordering system in my view is a major Mobile Strategy Success Story.

Now let's take mobile marketing. How does Domino's use mobile to market their products to initiate a sale? Now that is a big challenge. Domino's feels bugging people at 4:30pm after the consumer 'opt's in' to be communicated with, or a banner ad on the 10 most viewed mobile sites is the way to go. Pizza Hut feels an 'opt in' program to win a free pizza each month is another way to go.

The challenge here is the small viewing space allows limited information to be presented for banner ads. And if you cannibalize even 10% of that viewing space you risk pissing off consumers even if they like your brand. And this is push advertising that the consumer did not ask for. It is my view that someone's mobile device is like their bedroom. Push is bad in the bedroom!
Of course once someone tries out the Domino's or Pizza Hut site and bookmarks it there is not need to informational contact with the consumer stating you can order via mobile web.

As for the loyalty programs where someone sends an SMS Text to be signed up for future communication, just like tweets this will cause clutter in people's inboxes once they sign up for many of these programs just like what has happened with email. You get drowned out in the volume of businesses trying to reach someone. And after the initial sign up this is Push Advertising not Opt In. And another key point which people do not realize, when they send the SMS Text they send their phone number. This can be dangerous if the number get's sold to other parties. So until there is a way to send your Opt In without showing your phone number this is an issue. Ask anyone if they want to give their number to Domino's or Pepsi my guess is most would say no.

So how do you get people to try your product or service by using mobile marketing properly in a classy non-intrusive manner? It is called bribery. And it is going to cost you something. But that should be ok since if you get a consumer to send an SMS Text or go directly to your mobile web site this is 100% measurable. This isn't guess work like TV, Print, Billboards etc. This is the real deal. They actually took initiative to engage with you. Willingly. Permissively. There is very few advertising/media methods that can claim this. So offer a coupon, something free, or something ridiculously cool (like a mobile web content treat). It will earn you much more loyalty and improve your relationship with the consumer than any other form of marketing. And use your existing media plan to achieve this. No need to use Mobile to reach out. You are already advertising Out of Home, TV/Cable, Print etc. Ask the consumer to use their phone to get the reward. This will allow a much more real anytime, anywhere engagement than anything else in your arsenal.

Views on Social Media

There was an interesting blog posting on Media post about measuring social media.

Five Ways To Measure Social Media

The intro was great because it rehashes some of advertisers challenges. I put some comments on the post regarding my view of utilizing social media. I truly feel getting people to send your message via word of mouth is important if you can achieve that. Actually advertising via this media channel I feel is going to be more than fruitless for most campaigns.

Google and Twitter the evil side of Mobile Marketing

It is my position that my phone is a sacred place. I will deal with mobile web advertising that is similar to traditional web. Though eventually their will be Ad Blocking technology. Mobile Advertising should be classy and valuable and Opt-In always. But Google via Android and Twitter are developing location based and behavioral targeting ad serving to invade your phone. Eric Schmidt mentioned in a Business Week interview:

What are the biggest challenges the mobile Web presents?
Let's start with the fact that the phones are not fast, the networks are not as capable, the ad formats are not standardized. But on the other hand it's very, very important to solve those problems because a phone is very personal. And so if we know a fair amount about a person, with their permission we can target a useful ad—you know, "It's Eric. You had a hamburger yesterday, do you want pizza today? There's a pizza store on the right." That kind of ad is likely worth a lot of money to an advertiser because it will generate a sale.

In other words, you send a message to the person's cell phone, saying: "Look, we know you had a burger yesterday. If you want pizza today, just go around the block"?
Right. It may sound creepy, but it might also be quite valuable. People could use advice as to what to eat and where the food is—and of course you can turn it off. So the important thing here is advertising that has value to the person is advertising that is a valuable business. That's the business we're in.

The Marketing Sensei wants to know how Google plans this as an Opt-In service vs Push Technology. And how do they know I had a hamburger? BTW this little exchange proves Mr. Schmidt doesn't really know Mobile.

Now Twitter is planning to make public your Tweet location.

From Marketing Vox:

Twitter is preparing to add an additional detail to each and every tweet published by its users: location, according to co-founder Biz Stone on the Twitter Blog.

"A new API will allow developers to add latitude and longitude to any tweet," wrote Stone, adding that with "accurate, tweet-level data" you can immediately toggle to the tweets from users in your neighborhood or city — even if you do not follow them. It would also be of use to Twitterers at events "like a concert or even something more dramatic like an earthquake."

"A small business on Twitter could potentially use the location feature to reach out to local customers, or a Twitter user hungry for pizza could search for nearby pizza joints offering specials," The New York Times speculated.

The question the Marketing Sensei has is if I turn on this feature does that open the flood gates that enables all local businesses to see me and spam me? Do I really want to be located?

Let's break down the last point from the New York Times:

A small business owner will be able to broadcast tweet to all people with this service turned on that are within a certain radius! Basically every store/restaurant can do this flooding your phone!

Now the second part. Why would I use twitter to find Pizza? if I have mobile web I can instantly go to City Search or the Yellow Pages just as easy!

So where is the unique value?

Only following 19 on Twitter and clutter just ruined the experience

I am new to Twitter. I signed up 3 months back and only recently have I started using it in even a minimal way. I had quite a few people following me who I was not following so I returned the favor. One was a music label and I log in and bam...my whole front page is 100% an update every 5 minutes what music this person is playing. ARGHHHHHHHH!

Now imagine if that was from a Brand? OMG I would become the biggest terrorist against that Brand instantly. Even though initially I signed up to follow willingly and permissively.