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Trusting instincts for consumer demand over so-called best practices

By Melinda Krueger

Studies reveal that consumer interest in mobile messaging lags behind marketer offerings, particularly with regard to SMS and push. For risk takers, the opportunity to leap ahead of your competitors is wide open. But it will not be for long. 

Why are marketers hesitating and what do consumers want? Glad you asked.

Digital marketing demand
A new mBlox study by Millward Brown Digital has some truly jaw-dropping statistics. 

? Seventy-six percent of mobile users worldwide indicated they are likely to engage with SMS for offers, with 73 percent for push. This is more than any other medium than television ? more than email, more than social.

? Forty-five percent are willing to share their location in exchange for information and 47 percent for offers.

? Fifty-seven percent said they would be persuaded to purchase via a SMS or push offer, three times more than any other medium.

Digital marketer skittishness
Compare that with marketers? use of these channels, from a recent study by Strong View, reported by eMarketer.

? Thirty-eight percent are using SMS/MMS

? Twenty percent are using push

? Sixteen percent are using location-based marketing

Marketers have been spoiled by abundant case studies and data, which mature media such as email and Web marketing deliver.

But the winners in mobile marketing will be those who trust their instincts and meet consumer demand, without the safety of so-called best practices.

Consumers demand immediate gratification: IWWIWWIWI (I want what I want when I want it). 

As the mBlox study shows, they are willing to connect with marketers to get it. They are willing to provide contact, demographic and location information. 

Historically, marketers have been in charge of the pipeline. We have determined what to communicate to whom. Consumers may choose to ignore us, but we choose the vehicle and the message.

SMS text-to-get puts customers in control, a luxury in the age of information overload. We want to request an offer at the moment we need it, or send it to our wallets or retrieve it from App in-boxes. 

Loud and clear
As Dave Martin at Ignited pointed out in last month?s eMarketer webinar, ?5 Last-Minute Tips for Effective 2013 Holiday Mobile Marketing,? one of our biggest challenges is scaling programs for customers who are not engaged with our brands. 

The ability to reach them how and when they desire is certainly a step in the right direction. They may not have read every email, visited our Web site or opened our application recently, but with the right offers and the right signposts, we can deliver those instants of value that they desire.

Do not wait for your consultant?s best practice review or your competitor?s case study. Listen to the voice of the customer.

Melinda Krueger is Milwaukee, WI-based senior marketing consultant at ExactTarget. Reach her at .