Text me more marketing messages please!
It’s not something you hear everyday in the world of marketing but, nonetheless, findings of a recent survey show that a large number of consumers aren’t happy with mobile marketers because their favorite brand hasn’t yet marketed to them via their mobile device.
A massive 83% of people surveyed for HipCricket’s second annual Mobile Marketing Survey are staring blankly at their mobile screens just waiting for a marketing message that could direct them to a bargain from their favourite brand or provide them with a nugget of new product information.
Consumers are already using the mobile internet to find brands and products, with 85% of respondents agreeing that it’s a valuable source of information that interests them. A little over 40% have visited a retailer’s mobile website for such reasons as finding store locations (70%), store hours (51%), directions (39%) and searching for coupons or promotions (29%).
HipCricket’s September study, based on 511 email responses, also discovered that mobile Internet users are even paying attention to marketing messages they receive on their handsets. Almost half of those who had received mobile marketing offers recalled the brand and a whopping 94% remembered the specific call to action.
Yet, despite consumer want, mobile marketers just don’t seem to be pushing their messages to consumers.
With consumer interest in mobile marketing continuing to steadily increase, it’s clear that now is the time for brands to launch and execute their mobile strategy and programs.
Furthermore, mobile initiatives are succeeding because they connect a demand from the consumer with high levels of recall.
Time to get texting!
November 2, 2009 - 9:12 am
The findings of the Mobile Marketing Survey are at odds with our own recent research. G2 Data Dynamics ran a survey amongst our UK-representative panel of 30,000 consumers to find out which channels they preferred to receive marketing messages through.
The poll revealed only 10% of respondents are more receptive to receiving marketing messages to their mobiles, from companies advertising products and services, than they were five years ago.
This may appear worrying for anyone involved in mobile marketing in this country. But there are some demographics that appear more willing to accept mobile ads. Of those 10% mentioned above, 66% were women. Meanwhile, the South-east of England was the most receptive region, with 18% of positive respondents based in the area.
There’s clearly still a long way to go before we reach acceptance of technology that will, for example, allow shops to buzz our mobiles with the latest promotions as we walk past. But with near saturation in developed markets, and statistics such as those above showing acceptance of mobile advertising on the rise in many nations, it can surely only be a matter of time before this communication is commonplace.