avoid cross-channel message fatigue

1#mobilemarketer

Michael Boland, Senior Analyst and VP of Content at BIA/Kelsey

Cindy Krum, author and Founder/CEO at MobileMoxie

Steve Dille, SVP Marketing at Message Systems

Avoid Cross-Channel Message Fatigue

April 24, 2014

2#mobilemarketer

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Cindy Krum

BIA/Kelsey

3#mobilemarketer

Overview

Brands are getting more personal, targeted, immediate,

measurable and actionable with the right mobile

messaging strategy. However, are they keeping up with

their customers – and how much is too much?

This webinar will discuss what is working and what is not

with email, SMS and push in the mobile context as

message fatigue among consumers becomes a reality.

Webinar panelists Michael Boland, senior analyst and vice

president of content at BIA/Kelsey, and Cindy Krum,

founder/CEO of mobile marketing consultancy

MobileMoxie, as well as Steve Dille, senior vice president

of marketing at Message Systems, will offer insights and

analysis on how brands can steer themselves clear of

annoying consumers with mobile messages that do not

resonate, are intrusive and overwhelm.

Mobile Push Alerts: The Good, the

Bad and the Ugly

Mike Boland

Sr. Analyst

VP, Content

BIA/Kelsey

mboland@biakesey.com

@mikeboland

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© 2013 BIA/Kelsey. All Rights Reserved.

Agenda

• Market Forces Driving Push Alerts

• Push Alert Case Studies

• Conclusions, Takeaways & Checklist

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App Usage: Where Are We Now?

Fun Fact: Over 1M

individual apps are

available in iOS alone.

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The Result? APP FATIGUE

• Not only getting users to download your app…

… getting them to engage actively

– Apps have high abandonment rates (22% are used only once).

– Limited home screen real estate; mindshare for multiple apps.

– Highest valuations in today’s app environment go to those that

incite active daily usage (i.e. Snapchat, WhatsApp).

• These factors compel app developers to meet users half

way… let them engage without even opening your app.

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Enter Push Alerts

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Push Alerts: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good

• OS-resident system, sidesteps carrier-SMS

• Engage users out of app, at the OS level.

• Aligns with many tech & cultural trends:– Mobile discovery

– Wearables

– Big data

– The age of social sharing (FOMO!)

– The advent of beacons

The Bad

• Battery Drain

• Overwhelming users

• “Creepy Factor”

The Ugly

• The art of the opt-in: When to ask for permissions.

Now let’s see some examples…

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© 2013 BIA/Kelsey. All Rights Reserved.

Agenda

• Market Forces Driving Push Alerts

• Push Alert Case Studies

• Conclusions, Takeaways & Checklist

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Case Study: Google Now

• Google’s “discovery” play to maintain share where mobile users are doing less active searching.

• Mines email, calendar, and other personal content to alert users of important updates.

• Think: road closures on your route to work; flight delays; weather that affects you, etc.

• Opens the door to push commercial messaging.

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Case Study: Find & Save

“Push alerts are one massive A/B test. What do you push to whom and when? We deliver push alerts when you get close to certain stores. The first time we did it, we set the radius the same to everything. It ends up that there are lots of Walgreens and not as many Home Depots. With Walgreens, your push alert could go off five times when you walk across the street. Home depot is different. And the reasons you go to the two stores is different, so we really have to take types of retailer and deliver pushes differently. Pushes are a sensitive item. You’ve got to get smart.”

-- Ben Smith, CEO Wanderful Media (maker of Find & Save)

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Find & Save, Cont’d

“We've been experimenting with different times and day of weeks and so far we haven't seen a clear winner. Customers respond better with a random pattern of pushes rather than a fixed time/day pattern so they perceive the pushes to be more timely.

“Pushes that link to user proximity (e.g., sales nearby) come out on top, out-performing our second most popular type of pushes by as much as 20 percent. Our consumers also respond well with seasonal messages (e.g., St. Patrick's Day or Super Bowl) as they found these message more relevant.”

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Messages That Resonate?

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Case Study: Foursquare

• Launched “Radar” in 2010 for location discovery push alerts.

• Like Find & Save, it A/B tested it to learn that the messages which resonate most are “when you get there” messages.

• Arriving in a new city or new restaurant, where should you go or what should you order? What have friends done?

• Foursquare push alerts are now heavily weighted towards these types of messages.

• Takeaways: – A/B test.

– Use push alerts sparingly and only for what is most relevant to users.

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… And you don’t want to miss out on this

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Case Study: Tesco

• Tesco saw an opportunity to take back territory lost from showrooming.

• Utilizing push alerts through in-store beacon technology.

• Taking a different approach than in-store marketing: Focus instead on service.

• Example: letting customers get information on products and check out faster.

• Takeaway: Beacon-oriented alerts will be worth watching and the killer apps will be retail shopping and sporting events/venues.

“The ideal experience needs

to provide relevant value to

the consumer versus simply

pushing messaging.”

-- Tom Edwards, SVP, The Marketing Arm

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Case Study: Cluster

• A key strategic area for push alerts is when and how to ask

for permissions.

• If push notifications play a critical role in getting your user to

form a habit of using your app, declined access could lose

them forever.

• Cluster’s takeaway: don’t ask a user for access until you

really need it, and make sure it’s crystal clear what they will

get in return.

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Permissions: You Only Have One Shot…

• If a user taps “Don’t Allow”, there is no easy way for them to

reverse that decision.

• The name of the game is doing everything you can to get

users to tap “OK”.

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…And how do you do that?

• Demonstrate the value exchange for allowing access

• Ask only after users have been engaged in the setup process and truly perceive the value in allowing access.

• After doing this, Cluster grew acceptance from less than 40% to 66%

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Develop Dialogue Before Sending Users to

OS Permission

Read this article

1 2 3

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Agenda

• Market Forces Driving Push Alerts

• Push Alert Case Studies

• Conclusions, Takeaways & Checklist

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© 2013 BIA/Kelsey. All Rights Reserved.

Summary: Tactics and Takeaways

• Messages should not only be relevant and engaging, but improve

over time.

• Relevant message frequency varies per app. Do lots of A/B testing.

• Track message attributes that lead to favorable response.

• Segment audiences and customize messages accordingly. No one-

sized-fits-all push messaging.

• Utilize system tools: iOS 7 backgrounding APIs to save battery life,

M7 chip, And Passbook!

• Don’t forget OS regulations around push alerts (especially iOS).

• In the case of Beacon-driven push alerts, utilize store signage to

get users to opt in (turn on bluetooth).

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Provide Easy Settings Controls

• After all the testing (optimal message content, tone, timing,

frequency etc.) go one step further…

• Allow easy controls for users to manually control push alert

settings such as “quiet times” or days.

• Failing to do so will lose users – difficult push alert settings

might cause users to just delete the app altogether…

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© 2013 BIA/Kelsey. All Rights Reserved.

Push Notifications are a Privilege… Use it

Wisely

“An app without push is an app without a voice and with

more than 100 apps on an average phone, there's more

than a good chance you'll be forgotten about. However, it's

up to you whether that voice offers a service and

experience, or comes across as a nagging annoyance.”

--Corey Gault, director of communications, Urban Airship

Questions and Comments:

Michael Boland, Senior Analyst, BIA/Kelsey

mboland@biakelsey.com

© 2013 BIA/Kelsey. All Rights Reserved.

This published material is for internal client use only. It may not be duplicated or distributed in any manner not permitted by contract. Any

unauthorized distribution could result in termination of the client relationship, fines and other civil or criminal penalties under federal law.

BIA/Kelsey disclaims all warranties regarding the accuracy of the information herein and similarly disclaims any liability for direct, indirect or

consequential damages that may result from the use or interpretation of this information.

27#mobilemarketer

The Mobile Marketer: Catch Your Customers (If You Can)

28#mobilemarketer

Mobile is Approaching 100% Penetration

29#mobilemarketer

Mobile Adoption & Usage is Changing

30#mobilemarketer

Multi-Screen Interaction Makes Mobile Harder to Track

31#mobilemarketer

But Mobile is the Glue

32#mobilemarketer

Mobile is the Most Frequent Companion Device

33#mobilemarketer

So Mobile Must be Easy

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And Mobile Must Be Fast

35#mobilemarketer

But Mobile is the Digital Gatekeeper

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Message Fatigue is Real

37#mobilemarketer

Enough is Enough: A 3-Year Study

People could only tolerate w/o Brand Fatigue & Negative Response

• 3 phone calls

• 4 emails

• 10 mailings

• Mobile was not evaluated unfortunately

Increased frequency in 1 channel = decrease tolerance for more communication in ALL channels

The quality, suitability and sustainability of a message all play a role in the effectiveness of communication.

38#mobilemarketer

Message Fatigue Hurts Customer Relationships

39#mobilemarketer

How to Manage Message Fatigue with Mobile

Using the Mobile Site, Analytics & Attribution

Using a Preference Center

40#mobilemarketer

Mobile Site Requirements

• Fast, Usable Mobile Site

• Easy Mobile Conversion & Confirmation

• Meaningful User-Account Access

• Cross-Device Consistency of Content/Experience

- Email

- Vide

- Site Functionality

• Preference Center

41#mobilemarketer

Smart Preference Center

Goals:

Personalize Interaction

Send Messages that Work

Avoid Message Fatigue

Identify & Leverage:

Multiple Devices

Offline Behavior

Engagement Triggers

• Discounts

• Events

Conversion Preferences

Algorithmic Message Controls

42#mobilemarketer

How to Start a Preference Center

DIALOGUE

• In Store/POS

• In Email

• In SMS

• In App

• On Website

• Offline

• Push To

Mobile-

Friendly Web

• Achieve Opt-In

or 2nd Opt-in

• Register Campaign

Tracking

• Detect User-Agent

• Attribute to Existing

or Dummy Account

• Push to Account

Login/Register

• Save Implied

Preferences

• Request Overt

Preferences

43#mobilemarketer

Tips for Managing Your Messages

• Create multiple, targeted subscription types, and let subscribers

pick and choose among their options.

• Let them control the frequency of the emails, SMS & push

notifications.

• Let them control which topics for which they receive

communication by device.

• Give them an option to change these any time, from any device.

• Provide a clear confirmation message whenever their preferences

are updated.

44#mobilemarketer

Understand Where Mobile Comes In to the Mix for Your Customers

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Tips for Managing Opt-Out

• Make it easy for subscribers to find the unsubscribe links &

access their preferences from the app and the website.

• Include the option to unsubscribe from all email & SMS

communications at once.

• Allow people to unsubscribe without having to do anything else,

like entering email address again, completing a feedback survey,

etc.

• Unsubscribing should not eliminate access to their log-in account,

prevent new subscriptions later.

• Allow them to send feedback about why they are unsubscribing

from SMS, Email and anything else.

46#mobilemarketer

47#mobilemarketer

Cindy KrumCEO & Founder,MobileMoxiecindy@mobilemoxie.com

2 Months Free MobileMoxie

Tools with This Promo Code:

MOBILEMKTRwww.mobilemoxie.com/register

For More Info:

48#mobilemarketer

Introduction: The Leader in Messaging

20%

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Email / Marketing Services Providers

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Daily Deals

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Consumer Technology

Travel & Hospitality

Publishing & Media

Hosting & SaaS

Sampling of Key Clients by Vertical Markets

50#mobilemarketer

Cross-Channel Messaging Platform

51#mobilemarketer

Thank You!

To learn more about Message Systems:

Email info@messagesystems.com

If you would like a copy of today’s slides:

Email events@messagesystems.com

To speak with someone at Message Systems:

Call 877-887-3031

---------------------------------------------

To learn more about BIA/Kelsey:

Email info@biakelsey.com

To learn more about MobileMoxie:

Email info@mobilemoxie.com