Retailers focus on introducing more Mobile and Social Marketing Efforts

According to a new study by Forrester Research for Shop.org, a growing number of retailers are expanding their marketing strategies to include mobile and social initiatives.

This study finds that 91-percent of retailers currently have a mobile marketing strategy in place, up from 74 percent a year ago. In addition, it finds that an additional 72 percent of retailers reported they plan to increase spending on social networks this year, according to “The State of Retailing Online 2011: Marketing, Social and Mobile” report.

Many consider 2010 as a year of exploratory efforts and first initiatives for retailers in social media and new mobile technologies. This year is being spent looking at tablet devices, such as the iPad according to Shop.org head of research Fiona Swerdlow. “As sales channels continue to blur in retail, companies are creating mobile apps that make their brands seem current, entertaining or fun, while at the same time creating a unique opportunity to connect with more shoppers than ever before.”

Some surprises find the following:
21 percent of all mobile traffic is coming from tablets
48 percent of retailers report having a mobile-optimized website
35 percent have deployed an iPhone app and 15 percent offer both Android and iPad apps.

Retailers’ interest in social networks has also increased when compared to last year, according to the report, which showed that social networks ranked fourth on the list of successful customer acquisition sources. However, concerns remain over the ability to clearly track ROI from social-network marketing, with 62 percent of retailers saying the returns on social marketing strategies are unclear. (Nearly the same amount of retailers said the primary ROI from social media is a better understanding of consumers.)

“The data indicates that significant investments in social and mobile tactics will be in place this year,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, vice president, principal analyst at Forrester Research. “Retail executives should have modest expectations for the benefits of social commerce. With regard to mobile, retailers should be working to increasingly integrate features and functionality into the physical store experience. While consumers may not be extensively exploring product information yet, basic store information, transparent pricing and easy checkout capabilities are likely to be the most pressing opportunities for most sites in the near term.”

BOTTOM LINE: Retailers are currently using one ore two successful solutions aimed at attracting and retaining new customers via the mobile channel. As they continue to more effort behind growing the effectiveness and reach of their platforms, they will grow both revenue, but also increase ROI. These approaches include the fluid use of Apps (device and tablet), Messaging (Mobile Messaging and Social Messaging) and Mobile Web. Without a clear view into the data across these services, retailers will remain in the dark.

May 31, 2011 in Blog   |   No Comments

Mobile Marketing best at fostering brand-consumer relationships

Research finds most retailers have still not adopted a mobile strategy.

While reading Response Magazine the other day, I ran into a few articles that looked at the adoption of mobile at various retailers. While nothing shocks me, it still resonates that most businesses are operating without a concerted mobile and social strategy.

Consider some of these statistics:

• Only 33 percent of businesses currently have a mobile strategy in place. All respondents to a survey suggested they plan on having one in the next 12 months (source: King Fish Media).
• Less than 20 percent are currently conducting mobile commerce, mainly through the mobile web, and respondents suggest it will grow next year – in 2012.
• 24 percent reported that their mobile strategy “exceeded or performed as expected” while another 30% had not measured it at all.
• 34-percent of the group said they would be keeping track of results.

As retail continues to embrace mobile marketing and mobile commerce, data analytics and reporting will become the focus and centerpiece for this key channel. Another statistic from the survey also found that forty-one percent of those surveyed said “future mobile marketing programs will need to show a positive return” for them to continue with such initiatives. Without key metrics in place, it will be like the wild-west with direct response and brand marketers shooting into the air versus shooting fish in a bucket.

At QWASI, we recently unveiled our updated Synchrosy Methodology for enterprise clients. Specifically within retail, we have had great success helping our clients analyze their business through a variety of lenses and then we create solutions that drive the desired interaction and/or transaction. It is different for each business, so our engagement approach varies too. However, based on the variety of ROI metrics retailers embrace, it’s most effective for their management team to monitor and track while staying in the drivers seat running their day-to-day business.

We hope you’d give us a chance to introduce your business to Synchrosy and drive results with a fresh, innovative and results-oriented mobile and social strategy.

May 26, 2011 in Blog   |   No Comments

Mobile Video Usage Continues Climbing

It’s not a mystery, but it is still of interest to those of us who watch trends: Mobile users steadily continue to discovery mobile video on their cell phones.

A recent study by Nielsen shows that the number of mobile video users continued to grow along with their time spent watching video. However, the population remains small – for now.

PEOPLE WATCHING MOBILE VIDEO
According to Nielsen, during the 2nd Quarter, 22 million people watched mobile video on their mobile devices – a 43% increase. That represents about 10% of all mobile phone users, which stands at 229.4 million during the 2nd Quarter of this year — a number that has climbed 4% over a year ago.

MONTHLY TIME SPENT WATCHING MOBILE VIDEO
The time spent among mobile subscribers watching video over each month was 3:37 minutes (three hours thirty-seven minutes) – a gain of 11.3% over the previous year. That is 22 more minutes in the second quarter 2010 versus the second quarter 2009.

BIGGEST USERS OF MOBILE VIDEO
The largest group of mobile subscribers were teens 13-17, racking up 7:13 minutes (seven hours and 13 minutes) a month of video; 18-24 users were next, with 4:20; followed by 25-34 users with 3:37; 35-49 users at 2:53; adults 50-64 at 2:10; those 65 and older, 1:48; and persons 13 years and older (the entire mobile population) at 3:37.

Looking at overall share among each group, 25-54 users comprised 30% of all video usage; 35-49 was next, at 25%; then 13-17 users, 18%; 18-24 users, 15%; 50- to-64-year-olds, 11%; and 65-plus, 2%.

Overall, men use mobile video more than women — 55% to 45%. However, that too is shifting to 50/50 as does most technology patterns as they become widely adopted.

BOTTOM LINE:

As more smart phones hit the market such as iPhones, Androids and Win7 devices, so will the adoption of mobile video. Intermediary devices and tablets will also fuel “mobile” video usage as a higher percent of computer viewing moves from the desktop and laptop into consumers hands.

Read More: State of the Media Report (click here)

December 9, 2010 in Blog   |   No Comments

2011 Mobile Budgets allocating "More Mobile"

As the end of the third quarter comes to a close this year, corporate budgets are being reviewed and Mobile is finally getting respect within the organization from the top down. However, as this new channel continues to grow, departments are beginning to take a closer look at where they can grow and how they can save using mobile messaging, marketing and mobile apps.

In the past, most marketers took from digital budgets to fund a mobile.

For 2011, budgets have grown from single campaigns to funding a complete mobile strategy. This has created the need to create a new line item on the budget so companies can graduate mobile from an “emerging technology” to a proven channel – it’s own format.

WRESTLING BUDGETS
How are companies wrestling money from other budgets? Many take it from digital budgets. That type of thinking though is short sighted as digital marketing and interactive services all achieve different goals to drive sales, increase retention and even reclaim lost revenue through cost savings. Many agencies are adding to the complex budget process by pulling in dollars for their “digital agency” where these monies typically get put into distinct components of a budget leaving little room for mobile. What is fueling most of the mobile spend within these agencies is shifting the budget from traditional media to digital.

THE SHIFT
As spending shifts from traditional media to digital media and mobile, new lines will be expanded on budgets to better clarify the type of spending. This will lead to a greater need for mobile analytics and reporting. How much is my iPhone App generating? What is the ROI for my Mobile Advertising campaigns? What is the lift in spend from my customers receiving SMS Alerts on a daily basis? ROI tracking will become another budget requirement within the digital category. While many agencies push back on measurement, studies and direct spend to return calculations, companies will demand greater oversight and results from their investments.

According to a MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) survey released in June 2010, they found that marketers in the US plan to increase spending on mobile 124% next year – up from $2.3 billion to $5.5 billion – with a budget allocation for mobile representing almost 4% of overall marketing budgets. That total includes paid and unpaid mobile segments including SMS, mobile websites, location-based services, mobile video and mobile email. Forrester, on the contrary predicts US spending on mobile marketing will grow from $561 million this year to $748 million in 2011.

It’s time to start planning your 2011. It’s time to get MORE mobile.

September 13, 2010 in Blog   |   1 Comment

Two-Thirds of Teens & Tweens now Mobile

Over the last five years, as cell phone plans have become more family-friendly, teens, tweens and children 8-10 years old have been going mobile. Today, there is a mobile youth population developing who love to text and talk, well, not so much. It’s creating a huge opportunity for brands run youth marketing programs geared toward this important segment.

To date, many brand marketers have dabbled in mobile marketing. The main reason is the lack of commitment to this medium for their audience. However, the segment is so ripe that it’s now time for them to take notice and put forward an engaging offering to keep them connected. Why? Because now that mobile phones are nearly ubiquitous among teens and becoming ever more popular among younger kids, the opportunities are increasing.

“Tweens are the growth engine,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report “Kids and Teens: Mobile Everywhere.” “Recent surveys from Pew, Kaiser Family Foundation and others indicate that in some age groups—particularly the tween–young teen bracket—ownership has nearly doubled since 2005.”

Turning wide ownership into wide marketing opportunities may be difficult, however. Companies must take into account extra privacy and safety considerations when it comes to minors, and young people who view their mobile phones as devices for personal communications may not welcome marketing messages.

In addition, most children and teens are still using feature phones, so relatively few can be reached through more sophisticated mobile advertising such as via the mobile internet or smartphone apps. Just 14% of moms surveyed by Q Interactive in January 2010 said their kids had a smartphone.

The future lies in smartphones, but for now mobile marketing efforts directed toward kids and teens will have to focus on feature phones. Texting is best for driving immediate actions, but also has its drawbacks.

“Although text messaging is hugely popular with teens, they are like adults in that they do not necessarily want companies to contact them via text messaging,” said Ms. Williamson. “The mobile phone is perceived as a very personal device, and intrusive marketing is not well received.”

Read more – get the full report here: Kids and Teens: Mobile Everywhere

BOTTOM LINE: Our work with teens and tweens also reveals their desire to connect via mobile channels SMS, Mobile Web and Apps. However, the level of adoption for Mobile Web and then Apps quickly trail off since most kids, teens and tweens do not have a smartphone. So the clear choice is mobile marketing via SMS.

July 2, 2010 in Blog   |   No Comments