How to assess your current mobile marketing strategy

It can be difficult to gauge the efficacy of your current mobile marketing strategy in relation to what competitors and industry leaders are doing.

 

In Gartner’s 2018 Mobile Marketing Maturity Model, they identify five levels that brands typically fall into.

 

Source: Gartner Mobile Marketing Maturity Model, 2018

Perhaps the most significant differentiator between them is the existence of a “mobile champion” or a team that is rich in mobile-specific skills.

These are the primary driving factors in a brand’s adoption of, and eventual success with, mobile marketing initiatives. When you have a mobile-first mindset embedded in a team then naturally they are going to push for the necessary resources.

Beyond this list, there are really two distinct philosophies to throw into the mix here that get to the root of your mobile marketing maturity.

1) Is your mobile marketing strategy essentially a like-for-like extension of your digital marketing tactics for desktop? In other words, are the campaigns identical in terms of message content, send-time, targeting, offers and so on?

2) Or do you view mobile campaigns as distinct efforts, with their own objectives and KPIs? Do you have the ability, or at least the desire, to leverage mobile-specific tactics and analytics, and technologies like GPS? Do you take advantage of mobile channels like SMS, app push or in-app messaging? Are you accounting for the appearance of emails on mobile devices?

Whichever of these camps you fall into, there are some tips for 2020 that apply universally to all brands.

Mobile Marketing Strategy Tips

Channel agnostic

Mobile marketing doesn’t just mean app or SMS! This is a really important mindset to adopt. In 2020, we’ll see the distinction between multichannel and mobile marketing fade away. They now mean pretty much the same thing! Just take it as given that mobile devices are being used to browse your website, open emails and buy from you.

Start to think about how campaigns will play out across all of your channels, and how many touchpoints the customer is likely to have en-route to conversion.

Listen to your customers

One of the big challenges for B2C brands in 2020 will be to get a better handle on their analytics. When we begin working with a new client, one of the things we recommend is that they take time to listen to their customers. Now, I don’t just mean surveys, I’m talking about digging down into their behaviour across all channels for clues. A holistic view of what your customers are doing across all of your digital touchpoints is essential. This way you can really identify the drop-offs and the points where they are getting stuck in the sales funnel. Then it’s simply a matter of planning an engagement campaign to unblock it!

Segment and conquer!

The mass consumer-era is over. “Show me you know me or don’t bother at all”. Segmenting your audience based on their specific interests will prove to be a very rewarding tactic, and quickly too. We’ve worked with some of our most successful clients (in terms of engagement figures and conversion rates) to build on-site and in-app preference centres where customers can actually self-curate the types of content they want to receive. That is a picture-perfect example of next-level permission marketing.

Technology has made personalisation possible at scale, allowing marketers to eliminate irrelevant offers and content from their campaigns.

Be there when they need you!

There has been a distinct shift away from “interruption-marketing”, which is reliant on traditional broadcast media and channels. The focus is now on connecting with customers when they are at their most receptive; when they are already engaging with your brand or in anticipation of their future needs. Real-time marketing is not just a buzz word. It cuts to the heart of a strong mobile strategy, allowing you to capitalise on engagement opportunities as they arise.

Location, location, location

It’s fair to say that Bluetooth Beacons and geo-fences have not had the impact that we thought they might. But when used well, they can provide so much value for your customers that they won’t even see them as part of a marketing campaign.

One thing has to be clarified however; you need a mobile app to even begin experimenting with these kinds of campaigns. We have definitely seen brands have success with location-driven engagement, especially for brands with a strong physical presence. But you need to be aware of its limitations before committing to it.

Play the long game

How much emphasis do you place building on lasting customer relationships? Mobile marketing is the perfect way for your brand to become a long-term fixture in your customers’ lives. Instead of always pressing for a sale, ask yourself more often how you can provide value for the customer in other ways.

Mobile Marketing Platforms

There is one way to achieve all these things at once, and that’s through a mobile marketing platform. If you’re genuinely looking to enhance your mobile marketing strategy this year then it’s certainly worth investigating the options available.