Wireless marketing is?
by www.openwave.com
Personal. Mobile phones are personal items. They are generally not things that people like to lend out, not even to family. It's no surprise how popular ring tones, screensavers and logos have become in personalizing one's phone. More importantly, phone numbers are like an ID card; they identify the individual. They also provide marketers with the opportunity to deliver a precise message, targeting an audience like never before.
Direct. It is person-to-person or a brand-to-person communication. There is no intermediation: no press, no distributor and no retailer between the brand and its consumers. What the marketer says is what the user gets.
Immediate. It can vary based on the number of messages sent and the traffic on the network, but making contact with the target audience is usually a question of minutes, even seconds. A message is sent and a user receives it. You can take advantage of this speed by delivering the right message at the right time (to the right person, of course).
Reliable. Operators have the ability to know when and how a message is delivered. It does increase the overall cost of a campaign because you also pay for the communication from the user's mobile phone back to the system -- but if this level of awareness is required, it's available.
Two-way. Like the Internet, wireless allows a two-way communication: you can talk and you can listen to your customers. You can even engage them in a relationship with your brand through direct and personal interaction.
Measurable. Wireless provides you with a means to monitor your campaign with extreme precision. You can quickly measure the response rate and the response time, and you are therefore able to immediately evaluate and adapt your messages and marketing strategies.
NOT a mass marketing tool. Technically speaking, wireless marketing allows you to reach a mass audience, but conducting untargeted marketing is very expensive. More importantly, you are ignoring the advantages of this personal communication channel. Wireless allows brands to deliver a persuasive personal message instead of an advertisement designed to appeal to a large audience.
NOT only about wireless advertising. As we learned in school, but tend to forget, marketing is more than advertising. Wireless is not only a means to deliver a promotional message, it's a channel that also allows brands to establish a dialogue with its prospects and deliver a service to its customers.
NOT a stand-alone method. The secret to success in wireless marketing is when it's integrated with other media. The best campaigns are integrated marketing efforts that reach customers through many points of contact -- not just via the phone. Align your mobile marketing efforts with traditional channels to get the best results.
NOT for complex offers. SMS has no pictures and limited length: 160 characters. That's the technological limit but it is also the limit of your audience's attention span. If the message is longer than 160 characters, the message will be split in two parts which means people will be less likely to read it and they may also miss the point. Learn to think short.
NOT a no man's land. People are sensitive and they want their privacy protected. An unsolicited commercial message could forever harm the relationship between your brand and your audience. Use wireless only to contact people who have given you permission. And always opt for pull over push communication.