Retail companies worldwide need to recognise the advantages of using mobile technology to raise brand awareness, interact with customers, increase customer satisfaction and ultimately utilise the mobile medium as an additional avenue for sales and marketing. Mobile phones now have the capability to do so much more than just make calls and send text messages. They have become handheld computers, entertainment devices, a research tool and now a marketing and sales medium for retail companies. The rapid development of mobile phone technology has also facilitated the growth of the mobile internet, which is now offering users a breadth of content and services and is a mechanism many companies are adding to their marketing mix and sales strategies.
Many retailers have recognised the great potential of mobile, now using mobile internet sites to compliment their online presence, providing another medium by which to communicate with their customers. Consumers themselves also benefit as they can make purchases and access information wherever they are by using their mobile handset. Mobile marketing is now also being introduced by many retailers. It provides a more personalised and targeted form of marketing for promoting products, services, special offers and discounts. This can be undertaken in several different ways; retailers can provide text short codes within advertisements or on their websites or packaging, allowing customers who have an interest in the brand to opt in to receive updates and alerts via text in much the same way that you can sign up to online newsletters, as well as gaining information about the products and where to purchase them. Due to the portability of mobile devices and their increased importance in our day to day lives, marketing can be targeted and personalised to individuals. The consumer can be contacted about products and services that they have expressed interest in, so they do not feel as though they are being targeted by advertisements that have no relevance to them. This is therefore more effective than blanket advertising, which can feel like an invasion of privacy to the consumer, due to the personal nature of the mobile device.
Targeting marketing messages directly to a mobile phone also means that information can be sent at the most effective times of day. For example, a restaurant may contact customers by text to tell them about lunchtime offers, or a High Street shop can contact shoppers to tell them about the arrival of new stock or the beginning of sale. Mobile competitions are also growing in popularity. These are usually SMS or MMS based, and invite the consumer to enter a competition by texting a message to a text short code. In-store competitions are also becoming more popular – inviting shoppers to text to win whilst browsing in store.
E-commerce vs m-commerce
Another area prime for the next stage of development on mobile is m-commerce – actually being able to research and even buy a product on your mobile phone just as easily as you can on the internet. Following on from the internet shopping boom of the past few years, it seems inevitable that m-commerce will eventually follow suit, thanks to faster connection speeds and a wider range of internet-enabled phones. Other major uses of the mobile phone by shoppers will also include finding store locations and checking prices on the mobile internet. Another valuable way that retailers are using mobile is for billing. Mobile billing allows the consumer to purchase goods or services through the mobile internet or the traditional web, and it is now possible to make a payment using the mobile phone, where the amount is either deducted from their pre-pay credit or charged directly to their mobile bill. In the UK the payment solution accredited across all mobile operators for mobile payments is Payforit. This initiative creates a standard mobile payment acceptance screen for payments made through the mobile internet or online, no matter who you buy the item from. The aim is to give the user a clearer understanding of what they purchase and how much they will be charged, helping to build consumer confidence, trust in a brand and encourage repeat buying.
The mobile medium can provide retail companies with the opportunity to increase their brand awareness, interact with their customers in a more personalised and targeted way, provide extra services to their customers and increase their sales. Mobile marketing perfectly complements traditional marketing techniques such as direct mail and online – companies need to start thinking about adding the mobile medium to their marketing and promotional strategy.
With over 50 million UK handsets currently in operation, the mobile market is continuing to grow. The retail sector is just beginning to utilise mobile and gain a better understanding of how they can integrate mobile with their current business practices. Mobile technology can be very successful in retail not just for sales and marketing, but for billing, interacting with customers and the provision of services and information; there is certainly a lot of scope for growth.
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