The advantages of SMS marketing.
September 2nd, 2008Mobile phone marketing, otherwise known as SMS marketing, is the newest evolution of direct advertising. Direct advertising has always been favored by businesses as a specialized and focused method of reaching new customers and, with the popularity of cells, digital marketing has increased in popularity. Mobile marketing is perhaps best defined as the practice of advertising products and services using digital distribution channels to reach customers in a quick, focused, personalized and economic manner.
The most prevalent example of mobile marketing is SMS marketing, which has expanded very quickly in Europe and Asia. It is thought that several hundred million promotional messages are sent through SMS every month in Europe alone. SMS stands for ’short message service’ and is a communication form specific to cells where a short message can be quickly sent to any cell holder. As well as sending material to customers, advertisers can often encourage customers to join in promotional and brand exposure campaigns by encouraging customers to SMS a particular number at an event in order to enter a competition, to receive a prize or to have their text displayed on a multimedia wall at an event. All of these methods engages the consumer through the medium of SMS and creates brand exposure.
There are a range of other types of mobile marketing. One example is sending messages via MMS, which is a multimedia version of SMS, allowing customers to receive messages with color, pictures and video. There is also mobile web marketing, where companies advertise marketing goals through websites accessed by cells. Promoters often make innovative use of digital marketing such as location-based services where customers are offered tailored promotions and other network-related information and promotional information based on their location. With the range of methods and choices available to companies, it is no wonder that a recent marketing survey found that 89% of major brands planned to advertise their products through mobile marketing by the end of 2008.
Mobile marketing is an example of what is known within the industry as “push” marketing. The concept behind push marketing is that that the marketer has to send (push) the information to the customer in order for the message to be received. This is opposite to “pull” marketing, a more unobtrusive form of advertising, where it is customers who seek out the material from sources such as websites or blogs.
There are many advantages to digital marketing. Primarily, the attraction is that this mode of advertising can be tailored to the subscriber. This is the gold standard in marketing as it means getting the message specifically to the people it’s aimed at, rather than squandering dollars on an broad campaign. The specificity allowed by this mode of marketing, which results in a more economical campaign, is one example why a high return on investment is possible with digital marketing. Another advantage of digital marketing is the detailed tracking and reporting of subscribers it allows. Through this form, promoters can track how many groups received their message and also access detailed information about each consumer such as their name, their age, their demographic and where they’re located. This allows a promoter to raise profiles of their users; information which then guides future marketing campaigns and, ideally, their success.
It is noted in the industry that push marketing, of which digital marketing is a form, can help drive new cash flows and brand exposure if it is implemented correctly and appropriately. This is because it makes subscribers aware of recent additions that they may not know to enquire about already and the way the material is written, and even the fact that the message is being sent by a modern, cool medium such as SMS, can say a lot about a brand and a company.
There are, however, some disadvantages to digital marketing. By its very nature, it requires a mechanism - the cell - in order to deliver information. The business, as well, has to make use of specific technology and applications in order to send the message to users, which can lead to considerable outlay. Another downside is the fact that digital marketing is heavily regulated by the telecommunications industry in response to customer disquiet about what information and marketing they get shown. Most Western nations have laws in place that request marketers to get the approval of users before marketing content is sent to them and must clearly give them with an ‘opt out’ option if they wish to stop receiving material. If businesses are discovered to be in violation of these laws, network providers can block marketing information by marketers.
As mobile technology grows, digital marketing will certainly continue to increase in importance.
