Best Practices
Are QR codes replacing SMS?
Our two cents:
The short answer is no, despite the fact that some brands are seeing QR codes outperform the typical SMS call to action. The simple fact is that QR code adoption is still relatively low, ~14% in the U.S. Therefore, you’re starting with a smaller pool of people to begin with. We see SMS as still being the best all-around mobile tactic for creating customer loyalty, as many customers use it to sign up for coupons, alerts, etc. This is especially important for brands that target mainstream demographics, e.g., Moms 25-44 with an HHI of $75k or less. It’s common for this demographic to under-index on QR codes, but overindex on SMS and MMS. So at the end of the day, it really comes down to figuring out who your customer and defining their mobile behavior, instead of blindly following tech trends.
The seven principles of “Privacy by Design”
Privacy by Design means that privacy and data protection are embedded throughout the entire life cycle of technologies, from the early design stage to their deployment, use and ultimate disposal.[1]
As new technologies enable the collection of greater amounts of data online, it is essential that companies consider privacy at each stage of product development. “Privacy by Design,” a concept prominently championed by Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner Anne Cavoukian, presents a set of “foundational principles” to guide innovation in a manner that is consistent with Fair Information Practices (FIPs). Privacy by Design offers a roadmap to integrate privacy considerations into business models, product development cycle, and new technologies. We urge the FTC to encourage the integration of Privacy by Design into corporate practices and innovation.
As described by Cavoukian, “Privacy by Design asserts that the future of privacy cannot be assured solely by compliance with regulatory frameworks; rather, privacy assurance must ideally become an organization’s default mode of operation.” Privacy by Design presents a set of “foundational principles” that can help companies innovate in ways that are consistent with FIPs. These seven principles are:
- Proactive, not Reactive; Preventative, not Remedial
- Privacy as the Default
- Privacy Embedded into Design
- Full Functionality – Positive-Sum, not Zero-Sum
- End-to-End Lifecycle Protection
- Visibility and Transparency
- Respect for User Privacy
Read full article: January 28, 2010 Filed under Consumer Privacy, Location
QR codes replacing old-fashioned tour guides.
On a recent trip to the EU, we wondered in to Montepulciano. A historically preserved Italian town that looks like the backdrop for every Disney movie over the past 20 years. In order to convey the story of some of their landmark buildings, the town had QR code stations installed along the narrow, winding pathways of the town. Each one sits in front of the building with clear instructions (in Italian only) on how to use the QR code and what to expect. When passersby snap the QR code, they are taken to a mobile-enabled landing page, containing a short history and interesting facts on the featured building. Essentially a mobile tour guide
A simple, effective and well executed use of QR codes.
Why mobile is better than email
We get this question at Dark Matter constantly. And sometimes, depending on the situation, it can be hard to answer. But, here is an instance where the answer is actually quite straight forward. The reason mobile is better than email marketing is because people still have to think about it. Look at the attached email from Citi. See how impersonal this email is and how loaded with tracking gibberish. We are all being constantly bombarded with email marketing like this, which should not serve as the model for mobile marketing. The highly impersonal nature of email marketing, often sent based on the decision of a marketing bot, is seldom based on relevance, but instead on predetermined, i.e., old information. Mobile demands more of marketers. To run successful mobile campaigns, marketers must use their marketing instincts and not rely solely on the output of a pre-existing recommendation engine. This crucial ingredient, the involvement of the actual marketer, is the key to relevancy. And relevancy is the life blood of mobile.
Behavior and insight on this holiday season’s mobile shopper
Our two cents:
It’s certainly no surprise to learn of the compound growth rate of research and purchases for mobile shoppers. While some retailers made early bets in mobile that have in some cases yielded 20% increase in online sales, most are still trying to define an overall mobile strategy. So when the IBM says things like “Retailers are going to have to do a really good job in targeting their messages and promotions for mobile users” we can’t help but shed some light on what exactly that means for most retailers. Below are a few key points to “getting it right” for any retailer:
- Remember that mobile shoppers are surgical shoppers. And just as importnat, remember that shopping on a retailer’s mobile site means visual shopping, especially for ESL shoppers. Therefore, keeping copy to a minimum and getting multiple (and easily downloadable) images on the site is key. With the average mobile device shopper spending about 4 minutes on a site, it becomes imperative for retailers to quickly serve up ONLY the most relevant content. Furthermore, mobile shoppers also tend to do less browsing and look at fewer products when they shop, making it more imperative for retailers to personalize messages and content. Simply put, shoppers go to websites to get ideas, but they go to mobile sites to get what they want.
- Use social networks to drive engagement and sales online. Social networks are an important factor in retail. According to IBM Coremetrics data, 9.2% of consumers in October that came to a retailer’s web site from a social media site made a purchase, compared to 5.5% who visited the store site directly. Retailers should not walk away from this fact thinking that adding a social networking step to the shopper journey is the right way to go. “Liking” or “following” a brand on a social network is a non-linear action for shoppers and not part of the traditional sales funnel. Therefore, retailers would be ill-advised to treat it like any other media channel.
- Invest in mobile search. This is one of the few silver bullets retailers have in mobile and not nearly enough of them use it. The simple fact is that everyone uses mobile search and with google now running a mobile-specific algorithm, retailers must respond with mobile-specific SEO and SEM strategies.
What SMS Will Bring You: Reach and Revenue
Our two cents:
There is some really good thinking here in this article from Stephanie Miller, and core to the success of all the SMS marketing programs we’ve ever been a part of. Specifically, the idea that the promise of SMS campaigns not outweighing the value is spot on. In our most recent client experiences, brands and marketers are waking up to the fact that SMS (and MMS, let’s not forget about MMS) is a data-driven marketing channel, with email being its kissing cousin. Therefore, many of our early conversations with new clients tend to circle around the topic of mobile and email integration. In our opinion this is a great place to start, as brands must understand what unique value they are delivering to their customers and go beyond the simple repurposing of email content. Furthermore, we typically recommend that marketers simultaneously develop SMS and email content strategies to avoid redundancy and look for obvious mobile/email tie ins.
