When the mobile phone first raised its South African antenna in the early 1990s, we were all suitably impressed by this cunning little device. Who could have guessed that this “brick”, as it was affectionately called, would morph into the sleek minicomputer that we have today?
As the technology evolved, the potential power of mobile marketing became glaringly obvious to astute business owners, and with good reason.
Marketing then and now
Looking back, advertising and marketing as late as the 1980s was something of a hit-and-miss affair.
Newspaper ads, cleverly designed flyers and posters, and radio and television adverts, were the main source of reaching your audience.
Of course, businesses made the very best use of these mediums and the best ones did exactly what they were supposed to do. Ingenious wording, careful phrasing and emotive imagery became something of an art form in order to rise above the noise.
There was, however, one critical component lacking, which – given the technology available at the time – would have seemed like the proverbial pie in the sky to marketing executives.
Audience targeting.
The problem wasn’t so much that the messaging was wrong, or the imagery was off (although that did happen!). No, the problem was that a poster on a wall or an expensive TV advert went to everyone.
From a financial perspective, that means the TV ad that you’ve spent R10 000 on, and which is only applicable to 10% of television viewers at the time, equals a glorious waste of R9 000.
No matter who you are, that’s got to hurt.
The power of mobile marketing
This understanding brings us full circle to the magic of mobile.
The power of mobile marketing lies in its ability to reach your ideal audience.
That means the hard-earned money you are spending is focused entirely on the people who are most likely to buy from you, because they have expressed an interest in your product, they live in your locale or they fit a specific demographic.
That makes good business sense.
What exactly are we referring to, though, when we talk about mobile marketing?
SMS
The humble SMS has proven itself to be an excellent tool in reaching the most people, offering the highest open rate in the shortest time. Bulk SMS campaigns are easy to set up, quick to implement and a cinch to track. What’s not to love?
USSD
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data is the unnecessarily long description of an end-to-end gateway that allows short, simple messages to a targeted audience. This instant two-way communication is a brilliant tool for collecting information, conducting surveys, offering vouchers or promoting special offers.
MMS
Smartphones brought us the fun and interactivity of the multimedia messaging service. As opposed to a line or two of text, suddenly we have a bright, moving, interactive message hitting our phones.
Smart SMS
At the top of the mobile marketing food chain is the smart SMS, which ties in the simple efficacy of the SMS with the visual appeal of the Web, making for a personal, appealing and relevant message.
Mastering mobile marketing
If you’ve read this and thought, that’s all well and good but I haven’t got a clue how to effectively implement these systems, then you’re not alone.
Mobile technology is a fickle beast, but when you have the power of a mobile giant behind you, then the whole plan just got a whole lot easier.
Cellfind offers a range of services from SMS to live chat, MMS to USSD.
As a subsidiary of the prestigious Blue Label Telecoms group, we are able to satisfy our customers’ individual needs with tailored mobile applications and a host of value-added services to ensure your ongoing business success.
Please feel free to contact us at sales@cellfind.co.za.