Some folks especially the dodgier mobile marketing consultants will tell you the medium is a black box. You put money and effort in. Something comes out. There’s no way to predict or control the outcome. This is a common attitude about this new marketing media, but it’s patent hogwash. Mobile marketing is as predictable and measurable as any other form of advertising. If your campaign isn’t working, check it for these six potentially fatal mistakes.
1. Push Marketing
Push marketing is unsolicited: simply broadcasting your mobile message to all the numbers you can find without first asking permission. Text messages are intrusive, and mobile users are already tired of telemarketing. Use an opt-in list instead. This makes sure your message reaches only receptive ears, and keeps your subscriber list from inflating unrealistically.
2. Using Purchased Lead Lists
Despite its far and wide reach, mobile marketing is impressively personal. You make the same kind of direct connection with your recipients as you would with a brief phone call. This personal touch means it works poorly on strangers. Don’t buy a list of blind phone numbers from a clearinghouse. Collect your subscriber list using customer information mining, referral programs and other advertising initiatives.
3. Incorrect Timing
Unless you own a nightclub, mobile messages sent out at one in the morning will not work. A restaurant coupon sent at 9 AM might work, but won’t work as well as one sent about an hour before your lunch rush. Understand the flow of your business and the habits of your customers, and time your mobile marketing to match.
4. Too Much Text Speak
Text speak abbreviations like OMG and LOL may feel like you’re staying with the times, but make you seem like a middle school student. It’s okay to use traditional abbreviations to stay within your character limits, but keep your message professional by avoiding that kind of language. Ditto for slang and profanity.
5. Too Much Sales
People will stop reading your mobile marketing if all you ever do is ask them for money, just like you’d stop meeting a constantly mooching friend for lunch. Include industry news, insider information, tips and humor in your mobile campaign. Pepper in specials and sales talk along with the more useful stuff.
6. Ignoring Your Metrics
Mobile marketing gives you real-time metrics regarding how many messages you send, how many get received, how many convert to web visits or immediate phone calls, and a host of other statistics to help you fine-tune your approach. If you ignore those statistics — or even fail to understand which are most important — you can’t focus on what works or discard what doesn’t. Aberdeen Group conducted a study on “Measuring what Matters” in mobile marketing and found that 71% of companies, in October 2011, were unable to clearly define the value, benefits, and results from their mobile marketing initiatives