mobile and crm - marketing to situations and contexts

Copyright © 2012 BrandEmotivity

Mobile and Customer Relationship Management Marketing to Situations and Contexts

Marketing to Situations and Contexts of 7 Copyright © 2012 BrandEmotivity

Intro – Integrating Mobile

Mobile can be integrated into a company’s communications mix in two main ways – vertically and horizontally. Focusing on the latter presents brands with an opportunity to manage their customer relationships in a deeper, more relevant way. One way, which is what most brands are doing today, is to integrate the mobile channel in the communications mix as a means to provide customers with information, offers and rewards in order to maintain their loyalty – just another vertical channel, in other words. A mobile or tablet optimized website or a sophisticated app are both great, but it does not help brands understand the context in which the consumer acts and engages with the brand, nor how other channels affect consumer’s use of mobile and vice versa. The other way, which is key for brands to understand the real value of, is integrating mobile horizontally across channels. Did the consumer perform a mobile search after being exposed to a certain TV ad? And how are consumers using their mobile devices in-store? Do they post product or service reviews on their smartphones while in-store?

Status quo

Numbers show that brands in the UK are so far struggling to grasp this opportunity. Experian’s ‘Global Data Quality Research Report’ in 2012 surveyed 300 UK organisations, and found that many are reacting slowly to the emergence of smartphones and the opportunity to use this channel to gain advantages over competitors. Mobile devices have become ubiquitous, and consumers’ constant use provides brands with vast amounts of data. In order to use this stream of data from mobile devices in a CRM strategy, it is imperative that the company starts collecting mobile data in an organized fashion that will enable them to use the information later on - the survey revealed that 40% of UK companies currently fail to collect any mobile data at all.

The problem

Keeping consumers loyal is becoming increasingly difficult, as they are now able to search and compare products and services whenever and wherever. By horizontally integrating the mobile channel and understanding consumers’ contextual behaviour, brands can give consumers a more personal, time-sensitive and relevant experience. Only mobile can communicate to specific customers, at specific times, at specific locations. So far, brands have been focusing on innovations such as location-based services and geo-fencing. Numbers suggest, however, that brands may need to alter their use of this information. The “From Armed to Charmed” survey done by Ogilvy in the US, the UK and Singapore found that when people checked in at various locations using their smartphones, they were actually more interested in improved service rather than deals.


The way brands are using geo-fencing has its limits – proximity places a person on the map, but they don't know why he is there or why. A consumer coming from a McDonald’s up the street is not necessarily looking for food at Burger King just because he enters a certain area on the map. If brands were able to understand the consumer’s behaviour before and after, it would allow them to make a much more relevant and timely approach.

A different approach

Consumers today are connected to the world 24/7, and this constant use of mobile devices provides brands with pervasive customer data, all of which can help them understand the changing consumer behaviour. Using the example of a consumer that performs a mobile search after seeing a TV advert, what if you could pick up where the TV advert left off and continue to tell the brand’s story on mobile (be it relevant content, information, rewards etc.)? Or what if you could communicate to important consumers on their way to the store that a dressing room has been made ready for them with clothes from their favourite collection? With insight and an understanding of consumers’ contextual behaviour, brands can actually adapt and tailor their approach so that they can be more relevant, timely and useful to consumers than ever before, thus building stronger customer relationships.

• Mobile as a vertical channel• No collection of mobile contextual data

• Consumers want better service and relevant communication• Brands don’t understand consumer’s contextual behaviour,

and how mobile affects other channels and vice versa

• Collect mobile data and integrate mobile horizontally. Understand the context.• Complete the ‘customer picture’ in CRM

• Only mobile can communicate to specific customers, at specific times, at specific locations• Provide a continuous branded experience across channels

Where we are now

The problem

What we should do

Mobile


Advantages of the different approach Mobile can nurture loyalty and create a conversation between the consumer and the brand. It’s a win-win situation: brands gain valuable knowledge about their loyal customers, who in return get offers, better service and information they are interested in. Mobile as a channel contributes to what CRM is all about – improving and retaining valuable customer relationships. Up-to-date, relevant communication Because of the advantage of real time communications, mobile lets the brand keep its message always up to date. Messages can easily be changed according to changes in consumer behaviour and feedback.

Complete customer picture By including the data from mobile devices in the CRM programme, it gives the brand a more complete picture of their customers. They can better understand how consumers engage with the brand via mobile, as well as how it affects other channels.

Reliable data Mobile is an opt-in channel requiring consumers to request messages; thereby ensuring that the data collected is more reliable. Consumers that have already agreed to communicate with the brand foster a high level of receptiveness and responsiveness.

Challenges in getting there

Integrating mobile into the CRM solution can pose some challenges for companies.

Permission to communicate On the side of collecting data from consumer’s mobile devices, it is key that brands start building a customer database with key information on their use of mobile devices. Brands must get consumers’ permission to communicate with them, and building a scalable database can take time.

Data privacy This leads into another issue, namely data privacy. Consumers do have to opt-in, but that does not mean that brands are not obliged to securely handle the information once they have it. There are strict regulatory constraints on this area as mobile CRM communication involves the utilization of customers’ personal information. Consumers put their trust in the brand, and if the brand misuses this trust they can consider the consumer lost.

Data consolidation Another challenge is to implement a mobile CRM solution into the company’s existing CRM system. The aim is to provide a complete view of the customer across wireless, e-mail and paper-based media, and ultimately, the customer data and interactions need to be consolidated in one place.


From names to contexts – How to get there

The illustration above shows how brands can go from a CRM strategy using a conventional database without mobile integration to a strategy that incorporates mobile devices and data. Database Start building your database, and implement a way of collecting the data from consumer’s mobile devices. The data (e.g. demographics, locations, check-ins, purchases etc.) needs to be integrated comprehensively with your existing CRM systems in order to gain a complete picture of the consumer.

Consumer behaviour Before you can start distributing relevant content to your customers, it is crucial to ensure you are using the data correctly. Key questions you are looking to answer are: What do consumers tend to do? When do they do it?

Context/Situation By taking the context into consideration, you will be able to make it more relevant and timely. Interrupting consumers can make them turn away from the brand – opt for quality instead of frequency. The more personalised the experience is for the consumers, the better. Key question: What external factors can influence consumer behaviour?


Opportunity to communicate From combining your customer database with consumer data and the situational context, arises an opportunity to communicate. A CRM programme is ultimately used to learn more about customers to better serve them, and mobile is the ideal channel by which to achieve this goal. Key questions: How is consumer behaviour affected by the context? How can you influence them? Mobile offers a unique way of managing the relationships with customers, and brands that act now will be more relevant and genuinely useful to their customers than ever before.

Example – BMW Snow Tires Messages

Even though somewhat dated, this campaign still shows how mobile can serve to better handle customer relations. In 2009, BMW set out to increase their sales of winter tires. The solution was to go back to one of the basic functions of the mobile phone. BMW sent customers in its database images of their car model, in the correct colour, together with specific winter-tire recommendations and prices. Customers could see how the tires would appear on their car, and could set up an appointment with the dealer right from the message. BMW were able to make concrete proposals to their customers via mobile, which saw great results. BMW ran the program for two years, and messages were sent to 1,200 customers. BMW’s Head of Digital Media, Marc Mielau, claimed that about a third of the customers who received the messages bought winter tires through BMW.


About BrandEmotivity

We are a mobile generation company, in a connected global world. Digital is ever more key to customer engagement, and mobile services and utilities are at the centre of brands value propositions. We help agencies and brands making sense of it all, thinking, acting and winning on the mobile battlefront. We are passionate about mobile and brands, and this passion is shared between our collaborators, partners and clients. Most importantly, we have fun doing what we do.

For more information visit www.brandemotivity.com.

Christian Linnestad Mobile Consultant – UK BrandEmotivity [email protected]

mobile and crm - marketing to situations and contexts

Business