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Starbucks is using mobile marketing - Are you onboard yet?

2007-10-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

Like that song you hear playing at Starbucks, but just cannot wait until you get to a computer to download the song?

Starting tomorrow at certain Starbucks stores, a person with an iPhone or iTunes software loaded onto a laptop can download the songs they hear over the speakers directly onto those devices. The price will be 99 cents a song, a small price, Starbucks says, to satisfy an immediate urge.

“For the customer it’s an instant gratification,” said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment. “You’ll hear the song, be able to identify what it is and download to the device.”
And it’s just the tip of the iced latte. Businesses are using new technologies to enhance the impulse buy so consumers can purchase their temptations whenever they want, wherever they are, before the urge passes.

Amazon.com pioneered one-click shopping to speed purchases, whether made at home or on an employer’s time. But the development of more capable gadgets, coupled with mobile payment mechanisms, is allowing people to buy not just media, like music, videos and ring tones, but also hard goods, on the go.

This evolution follows the popularity of debit, gift and refill cards, which allow buyers to fill accounts and make cashless payments. Payments made with those cards exceed the payments made by cash and check, according to the Nilson Report, a credit industry newsletter, which used Commerce Department data.

Credit card companies in particular are experimenting with ways to turn the phone into a conduit for card purchases and to offer incentives, like coupons, for mobile purchases. Visa, for instance, is developing technology that will allow people to wave their cellphones in front of a reader to pay for items under $25 without a signature. (Swiping the card through a reader, an innovation several years old, is apparently too much of an impediment.)
The idea is no waiting, cashier or other buying barrier — aside from the charges that show up on a credit card or cellphone bill. And there, along with challenges revolving around security and business models, lies a chief rub.

The mobile-payment technology can create a desensitizing and seductive purchase experience, said James Katz, director of the Center for Mobile Communications Studies at Rutgers University.

“The more people think about a purchase decision, the more likely uncertainty creeps in,” he said. “One frame of mind is you’re helping create in consumers’ mind a source of pleasure, and enabling them to fulfill that pleasure,” Mr. Katz said of the mobile impulse temptation. Another is that “they’re preying on our materialistic souls.”

For now, the new Starbucks service’s preying capabilities will be limited. The concept is being introduced in around 600 cafes in New York and Seattle only, though Starbucks, based in Seattle, and Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., plan to offer the service in other major cities late this year and in 2008.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/technology/01impulse.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=technology&adxnnlx=1191258593-SprF1hO8wuK6tIL/PA/fBA October 1, 2007.

Maximixe your email marketing efforts with mobile marketing!

2007-09-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

I recently got a question how to improve email efforts. I thought I'd write about it today.

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to email marketing and how to maximize the usage of it is to ask yourself: “So what?” before you send it.

What is the point of the email? The email send itself? Because your boss told you to send it? The message? Special offer? What is the “So What?” of the email?

In my experience, hotels and tour operators must start using email together with another form of communication to create a stronger call to action.

People coming to your hotel are traveling. They are not always connected to the internet to check their emails. That is just one reason as to why email response rates are low. Another reason is that your emails have little or no value to them. So what is the answer? The answer is mobile marketing combined with email marketing.

It allows you as a hotel to connect with your customers when they are walking out the door. Give them a room upgrade offer? Tell them about the SPA and golf deals. A map and address to the hotel? Even restaurant coupons or other special deals are perfect thru the mobile channel. Give your customers a great value.

Ask yourself: What would you like to receive when traveling?

Until next time, stay tuned for more innovative online marketing tips!

ps... don't be afraid to ask me for more information. :)

What is free mobile video all about?

2007-06-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

I came across a very interesting article today about mobile marketing that I really wanted to share with you.

The era of free mobile video gets under way in Switzerland in June when Ad Infuse and Minick, leaders in delivering personalized mobile advertising and video streaming solutions, launch the country's first ad supported video service to Swisscom Mobile customers. Rather than paying a download or subscription fee to receive video via a wireless device, Swisscom Mobile customers are able to access video on demand content supported by brief, 10-20 second advertisements at the beginning and end of each program.

Ad Infuse and Minick have launched the Swisscom Mobile pilot with a comedy channel and anticipate that music, sports and other content category channels will follow.

Before you get scared and think this is the dumbest idea ever, please keep in mind that Europe is about 2 years ahead of North America when it comes to mobile technologies, hence they are more open for new ideas. In the mean time we can learn from their mistakes and catch up quicker. :)

Cheers Christoffer

Online travel companies are leaving eMail revenue on the table.... Are you??

2007-06-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

I just received another newsletter from a travel company that I will not reveal but I wanted to post a note why travel companies aren’t using better email marketing tactics? Software companies are, service companies are, entertainment websites are experts so why can't hotels and online travel agencies start sending better and smarter emails? They are leaving lots of money on the table that is easily picked up.

Here are some secret tips your company should do:

Today’s consumers have adopted a broader definition of SPAM. According to Jupiter Research 65% define spam as “email that comes too frequently even if it comes from a company that I do business with”.

The result of this is that legitimate companies are greatly affected in the form of rising anti-spam filters from ISPs and consumers. Furthermore, over 54% of permission based marketers have had email misidentified as spam.

Ask yourself: Do my emails reach my customers?

How to boost your email revenues:
Aim to creating smarter, not bigger campaigns. Differentiate your messages. “Batch and Blast” email broadcasting can hurt you in the long run as consumers will tune-out. Hence, bigger is not better. Focus on optimizing each point of contact, control frequency and relevance (Read about RFM strategies at http://www.bcadvice.com/technology/emailmarketing.shtml).

Forrester Research says in a study that service emails yield 50% lift in open rates and 500% lift in click-through rates. The biggest tactic travel companies should use is: target the right audience with the right offer at the right time.

Hopefully I'll get better and smarter emails in my inbox and not in my junk mail folder. :)

Cheers
Christoffer

Innovation within eMarketing, eMail & eCommerce
www.bcAdvice.com

Part 3. Mobile Marketing CAN boost your revenues!

2007-05-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

US online consumer travel sales totaled $79 billion last year and will grow at a 17% annual rate before reaching $146 billion in 2010. Travel firms have an opportunity to differentiate their offerings by creating tour packages that appeal to a growing segment of consumers who crave unique travel experiences.

Differentiate themselves? How? That is where we (Quick Mobile) comes in. We add mobile marketing to your business hence you add value to your customers while they are traveling. Imagine you own a tour company and your problem is, like most businesses, how to get more repeat customers? Mobile marketing can solve this:

Objective: Increase repeat customers.
Assume you get 10,000 customers/yr
Avg. sale: $500.00
Mobile marketing can add: 10-20% repeats
Repeat business: 1,000 x $500 = $500,000 in additional revenues!

This is a lot of money just waiting for you to grab. Call us right now and we'll show you how to grab this low hanging fruit. http://www.QuickMobile.com

Until next time keep thinking outside the box!
Christoffer

Part 2. Mobile Marketing

2007-05-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

Mobile Marketing can refer to one of two categories of marketing. First, and relatively new, is meant to describe marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a mobile phone. Second, and a more traditional definition, is meant to describe marketing in a moving fashion - for example - technology road shows or moving billboards.

Marketing on a mobile phone has become increasingly popular ever since the rise of SMS (Short Message Service) in the early 2000s in Europe and some parts of Asia when businesses started to collect mobile phone numbers and send off wanted (or unwanted) content.

Over the past few years SMS has become a legitimate advertising channel. This is due to the fact that unlike email over the public internet, the carrier who police their own networks have set guidelines and best practices for the mobile media industry (including mobile advertising). The IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association), as well, has established guidelines and evangelizing the use of the mobile channel for marketers.

Mobile Marketing via SMS has expanded rapidly in Europe and Asia as a new channel to reach the consumer. SMS initially received negative media coverage in many parts of Europe for being a new form of spam as some advertisers purchased lists and sent unsolicited content to consumer's phones; however, as guidelines are put in place by the mobile operators, SMS has become the most popular branch of the Mobile Marketing industry with several 100 million advertising SMS sent out every month in Europe alone.

In North America the first cross-carrier SMS shortcode campaign was run by Labatt Brewing Company in 2002. Over the past few years mobile short codes have been increasingly popular as a new channel to communicate to the mobile consumer. Brands have begun to treat the mobile shortcode as a mobile domain name allowing the consumer to text message the brand at an event, in store and off any traditional media.

SMS services typically run off a short code, but sending text messages to an email address is another methodology. Short codes are 5 or 6 digit numbers that have been assigned by all the mobile operators in a given country for the use of brand campaign and other consumer services. The mobile operators vet every application before provisioning and monitor the service to make sure it does not diverge from its original service description.

One key criterion for provisioning is that the consumer opts in to the service. The mobile operators demand a double opt in from the consumer and the ability for the consumer to opt out of the service at any time by sending the word STOP via SMS. These guidelines are established in the MMA Consumer Best Practices Guidelines which are followed by all mobile marketers in the United States. The guidelines can be accessed at www.mmaglobal.com

Stay tuned!
Christoffer

Part 1. What is Mobile Marketing?

2007-05-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months I have been working a lot with mobile technologies and mobile marketing. Even coupons, maps, videos, photos or event tickets can be sent to your customers' mobile device.

Wouldn't that be handy for you when traveling? Imagine having all the information you need right there in your mobile device at all times? Mobile marketing is personal, valuable, timely and contextual, and if managed correctly can be a very powerful marketing channel.

To think about:
Think of your last situation where you wished you had a certain piece of information right there and then! Now think about what you can do to help your customers in the same boat. Give them something of value. Give them something that they will tell their friends about. Leave a positive impression of yourself and your business. Mobile marketing can be very powerful.

As an industry, mobile advertising is still in its infancy. Mobile advertising generated about $871 million in 2006, according to Informa Telcoms & Media. That compares with a worldwide advertising market across all mediums that was valued in the billions. But with nearly 3 billion cell phone users in the world, more than 200 million of whom are in the U.S., it's clear that mobile advertising represents a huge opportunity.

Did you know:
7 of 10 people in the US were open to receiving mobile messages?

Until next time, stay tuned for Part 2 where I'll dig deeper into mobile marketing.

Christoffer
www.bcAdvice.com

Is planning really that important?

2007-02-28T16:46:00.000-08:00

This week I thought I'd talk about the importance of planning. Planning is essential to everything we do in life, not just business.

Kids to daycare, food to buy, clothes to wear, everything is about planning your life.

So why is it then that the people I talk to always forget to plan their marketing campaigns? I mean... no wonder it fails. How do you fix it?

Well start by creating an FRD. Functional Requirement Document. I know it sounds boring but it will really help you. A lot!

This is what you need to think about about during the planning stage:

Objectives and scope,
Strategy, approach, and prototype design
Plan for functionality in each Iteration
Coordinate design and Project Setup Tasks
Pre Sign up Business and Technical Impacts
Post Sign up Business and Technical Impacts
Develop Key Performance Indicators
Develop MoSCoW. “Must, Should, Could and Want to have's”
Manage risk and scope creep
Budgeting

Until next time, keep planning and focusing on logistics. :)

Forget the 4Ps of Marketing. Think of the 4Cs instead.

2007-01-19T17:57:00.001-08:00

Here are our expert recommendations on the latest Internet Marketing concepts and why they are important to consider in your Internet marketing plan. Ever heard of the 4Ps of marketing? Forget them. That's old school marketing. You should be using the 4Cs of Internet marketing and here is why. In today's economy, it's very easy for consumers to take their dollars elsewhere. To promote yourself effectively, you need to stand in your clients' shoes, and look at things from their perspective. If you practice these 4Cs you'll have a better chance of connecting with your potential clients.

1. Customer Value
You can no longer sell whatever you want to. You can only sell what people specifically want to buy. Understand your client's needs and wants through ongoing survey and feedback so that you can provide massive value back to them.

2. Convenience
With the Internet and increased competition, the availability of similar services is infinite. Think convenience to buy. Make it very convenient for consumers to acquire your products and services. Many websites are set up to sell online 24/7 so that when the client is ready to buy, they don't have to wait.

3. Cost
Understand consumer's costs to satisfy their wants and needs. Determine how customers will respond to paying your sales prices by doing some market research. Are your price points set at the level where customers are willing to buy?

4. Communication
Forget Promotion; the new word is Communication. Mass marketing no longer works. Two-way conversation is essential. Your marketing communication may need to be more of a relationship-based process.

Read more on www.bcAdvice.com.

Golden Rules of Internet Sales Persuasion

2007-01-19T17:53:00.000-08:00

In the movie “City Slickers”, the lonesome cowboy holds up one finger and shares the meaning of life. He says: You stick to one thing and one thing only and the rest means nothing. I will reveal this secret. It’s the Golden Rule. You stick to this rule and you will succeed. People will always buy things, and because of the Internet it’s even easier to buy things today. The Internet doesn’t change the way people buy, people still want to be sold. Buying things serves an emotional purpose. How often have you bought a product on the simple fact that you “just had to have it”? This behaviour happen everyday and what you need to do is to treat your customer like gold. Connect with your customer on an emotional level and indulge them in your products. Successful websites have mastered this art by connecting to their customers on a complete different level than their competition has. Here is how they do it:
- Have a great, and I mean truly great product
- Build sales pages based on voluntary participation, don’t force people to surf your site
- Treat people like friends, don’t make them feel dumb and don’t’ assume anything
- Entice people to try, don’t force them into anything
- Give visitors the information they want. Anticipate questions and answers
- Mastered the art of search engine friendly copy
- Asking people for help. Ask and people will come to you. Free
- Have the best support tools for their customers
- They know what order people buy: Confidence, Quality, Service, Selection and Price
- Successful websites know that it’s always about the customer.

Master this art and your business will grow to new levels. Read more on www.bcAdvice.com.

Insider’s eMarketing Tactics Revealed

2007-01-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

Insider’s eMarketing Tactics Revealed

In the military world there is an old saying; “Amateurs discuss strategy, experts discuss logistics.” That saying goes a long way in terms of what I see in my work with “eMarketing Consulting”. So, can you walk the walk?
I want to show you how to use the term “Strategy” into your eMarketing plan. Strategy is a fancy word for “Concept”. Concept shows what you want your campaign to achieve. “Build Brand!” or “Increase Traffic by 15% over 1 month.” Whatever the “concept” is you need to have a tactic. Tactic is your action plan. It answers the questions, “How, by whom, at what cost and completed by what date.” This is pretty straight forward, but what people forget is; “Logistics.” Logistics is all those little details in between. These little details will determine if your eMarketing campaign flops or becomes a total success.

The logistical approach to eMarketing.
Assume you are selling “gadgets”. You have a great concept and a strong action plan. So you start creating material, content, promotion material, press releases, order fulfillment and buy advertising to get sales. After 2 weeks it’s not working like you hoped. You have scope creep, low sales and barely breaking even. What went wrong? If you used a logistical approach you would have discovered delays with for example promotion material. You would have had back up material for your advertising. Your online sales pages would have backup copy and images ready to be instantly switched if you saw poor performance. Logistics enables you to cover all the details. Poor logistics is often the key to failure but if you spend the majority of your time on logistics you will have a better chance of success. Read more on www.bcAdvice.com.