MOBILE MARKETING
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Five Ways Mobile Technology Is Changing
Consumer-to-Brand Relationships
Mobile technology is creating a seminal change in the way retailers
and brands interact with shoppers. Given the numerous retail options
available to consumers, merchants are beginning to realize the important role mobile technology can play in establishing and maintaining brand loyalty. With many of today’s point-of-sale (POS) terminals supporting touchless NFC (Near-Field Communications) transactions, brands and retailers are increasingly connecting and engaging with consumers via smartphones and tablets - that is, mobile wallets. For the first time, the communications channel and the payment mechanism are the same.
“By leveraging predictive analytics, which uses vast amounts of Big Data to anticipate consumer behavior, brands and retailers are winning new customers and cultivating loyalty by providing consumers with truly personalized offers, precisely timed communication, hyper-relevant deals, and unprecedented convenience via their mobile devices,” said Robin Green, senior partner, FICO.
Green lists five ways mobile technology is changing the consumer-to-brand relationship:
Greater Personalization
Retailers, such as Sam’s Club, are using a combination of predictive analytics, business rules and optimization technology to deliver individual offers through mobile devices to millions of consumers who opt-in to the eValues program. Such loyalty programs understand customer preferences, purchase history, manufacturer incentives and product availability to offer the right deals to the right customers at the moment in time when a specific purchase is most likely. Predictive analytics gives retailers the ability predict what customers will buy and the timeframe in which purchases will occur. In the end, customizing deals for customers is an extremely efficient use of marketing budgets and helps keep customers satisfied and coming back for more. In fact, Sam’s Club has seen offer redemptions increase significantly since implementing its analytic solution.
Greater Convenience
The added convenience of paying via mobile channels at merchant terminals is another way brands are connecting and engaging with their customers. Not only can consumers receive offers and shop for products on their devices, they can pay (online or in stores) with the same device and the device is with them almost every waking minute. No other channel is as personal, immediate and indispensible for consumers.
With a growing number of terminals in stores supporting NFC transactions, NFC-enabled phones and devices are as convenient (or more so) than credit cards. NFC-enabled terminals saw a significant increase in sales in 2011, and 40,000 NFC-enabled terminals have been deployed since the onset of NFC technology.
Increased Cost Effectiveness
POS terminals that support NFC also support traditional magnetic stripe transactions. This makes them very cost-effective for merchants and will help accelerate the adoption of NFC payment technology.
ABI Research analyst John Devlin predicts the number of NFC handsets to increase from approximately 34 million this year to about 80 million next year. Furthermore, In-Stat, a global market intelligence firm, predicts there will be over one billion NFC-enabled mobile devices by 2015. With the introduction of Google’s Android mobile application, Google Wallet, on the Nexus S 4G phone, carriers such as AT&T and Verizon have jumped aboard the NFC bandwagon. They have created Isis, a virtual wallet and payment system set to launch in 2012, that is touted as eliminating the need to carry “credit cards, debit cards, reward cards, coupons, tickets and transit passes."
The bottom line for merchants - millions of consumers will soon be using their mobile phones to shop.
Greater Engagement and Interaction
Retailers are also using mobile technology to offer customers the location-specific, highly relevant deals and information when and where they need it most. Developed originally as a feature to see places on maps via satellite, location-based technology is now a mainstay on most smartphones. Consumers can easily opt-in to loyalty programs that alert them when they’re approaching a retail store and their favorite brand is having a promotion or sale that they would find relevant. From here, customers can view their alerts, and retailers can automatically apply their offers at check-out. No need for costly paper coupons. Such programs make it practical and extremely relevant for customers to connect and continue their relationships with brands.
Location-based alerts can also help brands connect with consumers by selectively delivering customized messages about specific events taking place in or around customers’ locations. Location-based mobile event alerts deepen the relationship with loyal brand enthusiasts and drive hard-to-reach potential event attendees. By tapping their mobile phones at specified locations or events, consumers can earn rewards or points from brands. Not only can location-based event alerts provide real-time rewards to acknowledge participation, such alerts also create another touch point to engage participants, thereby increasing customer loyalty and strengthening relationships between brands and consumers.
Richer, More Informative Communication
For any product or offer, brands can vary the message and communication received by the customer to offer personalized and helpful information. For example, tailored messages to consumers can highlight specific product features that particular consumers may find desirable, such as “gluten-free,” “children welcome” or “environmentally friendly.” Also, applications such as ShopSavvy, allow consumers to use their device as a portable barcode scanner to view product pictures, attributes, and prices in real-time. By leveraging vast amounts of Big Data, brands constantly create new analytics to provide actionable insights into the retail shopping experience and continue to strengthen interactive, one-to-one relationships with consumers.
Brands may want to consider an array of mobile strategies to understand their customers and, by extension, offer consumers savings, offers, relevant deals, helpful updates and personalized information. By leveraging predicative analytics, brands can better understand how and when to reach their target customers to make relationships more fulfilling for consumers and more profitable for brands.
This article was submitted by Robin Green, senior partner, FICO, a leading provider of analytics and decision management technology.
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