The use of phones has become an obsession around the world. Most people could not go one day without their phone, or even set in down for more than ten minutes. Everything on our phone seems to be much more important than the outside world. If your sitting in class, at a movie, shopping, or watching a sporting event and your phone goes off – you immediately drop everything to answer it. Admit it.
So why not target the device that people are always attached to? Try targeting your customers through mobile marketing (text message marketing). This type of advertising is a perfect way of getting your message to your target audience by simply sending out text messages to your audience. This way your information is being hand-carried around throughout the day. As long as the text messages are valuable and relevant to the consumer’s needs then they will be more likely to respond.
Social Media Pathways says that “unlike other forms of advertising or even email, 90% of text messages get opened, and most get responded to within five minutes.” If your consumer is constantly glued to their phone then why not take advantage of that and send the advertisement straight to the consumer’s phone because they will see it instantly. Even if the consumer does not act upon the ad, the idea is still in their head from seeing it.
And, to make it more convenient, today’s smartphones provide the consumer with Internet access. This gives the company the opportunity to provide a link within the text for the consumer to find more information, which makes it easier for the consumer to follow up the ad. According to Ad Age, Nearly a third of all Americans, 84.5 million people older than 13, owned smartphones in August of 2011. This gives company’s a large target audience, since more than just a few people that own a smartphone.
Companies should try to take up some of the time of their consumer’s smartphone usage. A good way to stay on the consumer’s mind is not only sending ads, but incentives that would make the consumer want to engage in the product. Try sending your target audience a coupon directly to their phone. This way the coupon is used more often since it would always be with them, compared to print ads that are often left at home on the counter. Companies must find a way to reach out to the consumer, and in this generation the best way to do that is through a person’s cell phone.
This is a great observation that Chelsea made. I know I always have my phone with me, even when I sleep. It is ridiculous. Teachers always tell us that we learn through repitition. By reaching the target audience multiple times through an imperative form of technology, consumers will slowly generate company recognition. The more times a company targets customers, the more recognition the consumer will obtain from the company. By offering incentives to the customer, they will be more inclined to do business with the company. It all goes back to Ivan Pavlov, positive incentives increase positive performance. Americans are greedy individuals, offering free products will only benefit a company in the mind of the consumer.
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Text messaging could very well be the next big form of direct marketing. Using a smart phone like the IPhone definitely would work in the companies favor because of all the apps they can download. Smart phones make it easier for companies to reach consumers with apps to their business. My phone company lately has been using text messaging to send out updates and other promotions with internet links for me to learn more about it. People with smart phones use their phone so much it only makes sense for companies to reach consumers through their cellphones. Phone advertising companies are teaming with phone companies to help send out more direct text messages to each cell phone carrier. In the future cell phone companies will have a lot of advertising via text message. One question that will arise in the future is where the privacy line is for this advertisement? There are many phone carriers that do not like the idea of having ads sent to their phone via text when they might be expecting an important message at that time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Chelsea. I have my phone on me constantly. I do hear people say (myself included) that they feel “naked” when they do not have their phone. It is like it has become apart of us. If we do not have it, we do not know how to function. It is sad but it is life today. I have seen children as young as 5 years old, in Kindergarten, owning a phone. It is crazy how young this is starting and how attached we become.
ReplyDeleteI believe that text messaging is going to become a new form of advertising. Instead of inserts in the local Sunday paper, customers are going to be able to sign up to get text messages for discounted prices. If a customer is downtown and receives a text message saying “Get a free coffee at our coffee shop with any purchase of $5 or more,” and they are downtown, they are likely to stop by. These are not only ways for customers to save money, but it also gets the company name in the minds of consumers more often.
I agree that these text messages can become a nuisance, but if companies were to ask their customers to sign up, customers would be less likely to be angry about the text messages. I believe that this is going to be the new way to advertise and it is a great idea!
Again I agree with this observation that are phone has become one of the most important parts of our life. Not only is this a good marketing idea for companies to take advantage of but it is also a good way to help protect the environment and lower costs. I think this is one thing people forget when discussing this new wave a advertising technology. By not having to print off coupons or ads to put in papers or in magazines the businesses can save a lot of money compared to having print advertising. Also as Chelsea discussed their is facts that show people are more likely to answer a text rather than other forms of advertising. So not only are you saving money you are also getting a higher return on investment because you can immediately see if people received the advertising and how they reacted to it.
ReplyDeleteObviously I agree with everyone and Chelsea as well, cell phones are attached at our generation's hip. They are with us at all times.
ReplyDeleteI am going to argue against this marketing as a consumer. I feel like if I had my phone and frequently was getting texts like a coupon I would get annoyed pretty quickly to the point where I would consider blocking the coupons or even getting a second phone.
Sure it's a good idea for marketers, as it makes it easier for them to send out, cuts out paper, and may achieve more results if the consumers are nearby. I may be in the minority, but if I'm the consumer, I don't want to be getting all those texts.
I agree with Nate - I don't even have a smart phone and I already get annoyed by some of the tweets that get sent to my phone. I'm not sure how I would handle getting ads sent to my phone. I think if this was targeted toward the right consumers, it would have the possibility to work. If customers could sign up in store for ads/coupons sent to them via text, this idea could take off and be successful. It all depends on the customer's preferences and if they a frequent enough shoppers who would benefit from this kind of marketing.
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