In two decades as a marketer, I’ve seen many successful campaigns and many that fell short. One of the biggest frustrations is not knowing what worked and what didn’t until it is too late. That is what makes mobile marketing so attractive: the ability to measure campaigns in real time and make course corrections on the fly.
If you place a billboard on the highway, how do you know who sees it? You can never really know; you just hope it gets enough eyeballs. Mobile marketing takes the opposite approach, with highly targeted campaigns that can be continually optimized.
Audience segmentation lets marketers segment by age, gender and location. Behavioral targeting lets mobile marketers aggregate information, such as response to certain offers. That helps to determine a customer’s interest in other products and services.
Mobile coupons and gift cards can be delivered via SMS and integrated with the retailer’s existing point-of-sale promotions. These solutions represent the ultimate measurement tool, as they allow marketers to track the offer through to the purchase stage.
Mobile marketing measurement tools have the ability to break down individual campaigns by month, week, day, hour and even quarter hour, helping to give us a precise picture of when and where your message is viewed.
In addition, mobile campaigns can also help measure traditional marketing initiatives. Adding SMS shortcodes to TV, radio and billboard advertisements adds an aspect of traceability and can bring the benefits of mobile to traditional ad buys. That ultimately provides marketers with a valuable opt-in database for future marketing.
This article originally ran as part of the January 18, 2010 Technique, “Make mobile measurement work for you.” To read the entire feature, click here.
