Last week I spoke at the Mobile Marketing Association Forum in New York, “Mobile’s Role in Closing the Loop along the Path to Purchase.” The MMA’s events are always must-go for marketers as every day is packed with new and interesting ideas on how marketers use mobile to engage consumers in ways that were unimaginable just ten years ago.

Reflection upon all sessions, creative drawings (see below), hallway conversations, and tweets (#MMAF2013) reveals three key themes that rose to the top for me: (more…)

Today, the mobile device is as much a part of moms’ busy lives as bringing orange slices to a soccer game. Whether communicating with their children or office, organizing calendars, researching products, or locating directions, mothers are leveraging the mobile device to its fullest extent. While the industry buzzes about mobile marketing to millennials and young adults – the mobile moms, with her multi-faceted uses for mobile, should be another critical target audience for mobile marketers. Yesterday’s soccer moms are today’s mobile moms.

A recent survey, “Alliance Data Mobile Moms Retail Survey” sheds light on the preferences, uses, and key drivers of mobile among mothers. The survey asked moms:

• How mobile influences shopping and buying decisions
• Which vertical industries mothers interact with via mobile
• How they value their mobile device (more…)

The grocery industry and consumers’ path to purchase have changed dramatically in the past decade. Gone are the days of a single weekly trip to your local supermarket, as U.S. households now spread shopping trips out between a mix of membership clubs specialty grocers like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, traditional grocers like Kroger and Publix, and big box retailers like Meijer Supercenters, Target, and Wal-Mart.  Add in the fact that frequent shoppers use a multitude of new, real-time digital tools to get the best deals wherever possible, the challenge of being in grocery marketing has never been more demanding. For grocers, the good news is that the marketing landscape has now evolved to their advantage. With the advent of digital media and multi-channel marketing programs, the biggest game-changer is now mobile. (more…)

In connection with SoundBite’s recent 2012 Annual Report and Proxy Mailing for our Annual Shareholders Meeting on May 22, I sat down to chat with Jim Milton, president and CEO. We covered many topics including Customer Experience Management (CEM) and SoundBite Insight^tm, our cloud-based, Preference Management platform which are highlighted in this video.

The CEM market that SoundBite now participates in is a result of our continued transformation. SoundBite has evolved our offerings over the last few years to enable our clients to take advantage of multi- and cross-channel communications to increase customer engagements, deliver a better overall customer experience and establish long term, profitable relationships with their consumers. Preference Management continues to be a strategic area of focus for the company as well capturing stated preferences, learning from observed behaviors, and delivering a better, more intelligent communication.

In addition to the conversation on CEM and Preference Management, we also posted another clip that goes a little deeper into some of the strategic initiatives covered in our Annual Report released last week and available on our website. Over the next few weeks you will be able to see additional clips of my conversation with Jim covering topics such as cross-channel surveys, mobile marketing in retail, and our focus on compliant communications.

Recently I spoke at the Loyalty Expo where attendees and providers discussed research, technologies and solutions that are impacting loyalty programs today. Removing communications barriers for customer engagement was a central theme throughout the event, along with customer insight and consumer communications preferences. For me, these three topics converge into one personal communications channel –the mobile device.

There are still a lot of marketers out there who admit that they don’t know what they don’t know about mobile.  I overheard mobile being called “creepy,” by a rather high-ranking executive of an industry-leading brand. During my session, Laying the Mobile Foundation: Creating and Utilizing Mobile Databases for Loyalty Programs, I addressed this directly stating that mobile is NOT creepy as long as brands and providers comply with business rules, external regulations, and customer preferences.  This starts with gaining express consent, or opt-in, prior to messaging customers. (more…)

Compliance.  That’s not a subject that you (or I) as a marketer ever really want to focus on.  Tell us about the newest, latest, and greatest technology that we can use to reach out and engage our customers. Tell us how we can use the latest location, mobile web, and messaging technology to create customized and engaging experiences that really harness the social powers of our community. But compliance?  I’d rather not. (more…)

For many loyalty programs, mobile marketing offers the potential to reach new heights in record time, creating positive customer experiences and ensuring sustained customer loyalty. Like building a house, your loyalty program must have a solid foundation and be “up to code” before construction on mobile marketing campaigns can begin. The key to adding mobile to your existing loyalty program is a compliant opted in mobile database.  With a well-constructed database, you can accurately identify your customers’ communications preferences, monitor purchasing habits and capture preference shifts to cement a positive customer experience.

Follow these tips to build a mobile marketing plan that will have a strong, and up to code, foundation. (more…)

Americans admit to spending the majority of their waking hours with their mobile devices – from their alarm clock, reading the news, checking social media, updating their calendars, and being entertained. In terms of retail, consumers rely on their mobile devices to research products, compare deals, and make purchases, but mobile’s reach extends far beyond transactions. Deloitte estimates that while 5.1% of in-store purchases are influenced by a smartphone in 2012 that number will be close to 20% by 2016. To fully leverage the mobile channel in their marketing efforts, brands need to find an expert partner who can share best practices, lessons learned, and industry insights. Selecting the right mobile partner is a key decision for any company considering a mobile marketing campaign. (more…)

At the end of 2012, an important ruling for our industry was passed by the FCC regarding confirmatory text opt-outs.  Recognized public policy was clearly a guiding principle in removing the ambiguity around sending consumers confirmatory opt-out text messages.   The ruling clarifies that sending a single opt-out confirmation after a consumer opts out of receiving text messages from a company does not violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Over the course of 2012, SoundBite had championed this cause on behalf of consumers and businesses alike.  This consumer-friendly ruling provides consumers with an optimal mobile experience, as they will now enjoy the “peace of mind” that comes from receiving a confirmation whenever they ask to be removed from mobile text messaging campaigns.  Equally as important, companies now have complete clarity on how to handle consumer opt-outs.   SoundBite played the lead role in creating this win-win and providing clarity to the mobile industry.

Recently, Lynn Ricci, Director of Investor Relations, chatted with me about the ruling and the positive outcome we were able to achieve for our industry.

The Super Bowl is the biggest one-day event for many marketers. While the buzz may be all about what the millions of TV viewers will see during the big game, we are asking what the attendees will see at the game and how they will engage on their mobile devices. There will be over 72,000 attendees in the Superdome on Sunday, and millions of people attend other sporting and live events year round.  The use of mobile devices at events opens up a new world of marketing options for event promoters, advertisers, and brand sponsors with the smartphone now servings as a camera, GPS, communications device, source of information, and social media center. (more…)