Recently I got in a discussion where two people were disagreeing about the effectiveness of mobile marketing vs. email marketing. I couldn’t believe that one of the people referred to mobile marketing as just SPAM. At this point my main experience out of the two has been in relation to email marketing however recently I’ve been learning some interesting mobile stuff from Dan Hollings.
Here is my take on mobile marketing:
Mobile marketing is similar to email in that; when people send out mobile communications you are still required by law in most countries to opt in. Even in places where this is not a requirement, it is just common sense.
Is something considered SPAM if you have actually asked for it? No…
Stompernet recently ran a trial mobile promotion and I can’t remember the exact figure but they got something like a 30% opt in rate. Whilst I agree ultimately agree that spamming phones is wrong there is a clear distinction between spamming and marketing:
- I get text messages from a magazine that I read letting me know when a new issue is out and their main focus within it. I appreciate these.
- I get text messages from a clothes store I frequent when they have a sale of things that I’m interested in. I appreciate it.
- I get text messages when tickets go on sale to some of my favourite music events. I appreciate it.
As you can see these are all definitely marketing messages but they provide me with information that I’m interested in when it is most relevant to me. And most importantly I actually opted in. Mobile marketing WILL grow however it is not meant to replace the type of email marketing that you’ve likely heard me discuss regarding recently in relation to List Control. In fact if you went out and used email tactic when marketing via mobile you would likely get nowhere and potentially end up in an even worse position than before. You need to know what you are doing and it has to be specifically tailored to mobile!
Mobile marketing is most definitely a communication channel that will grow in the coming years. More and more people have access to smartphones and there likely will be some crossover with the web though it will never replace email. So keep your ear on the ground because it’s going to be an exciting ride 😉
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