NEW YORK -- Mobile coupons are proving to be the ideal customer acquisition and retention tool, according to a panel at Mobile Commerce Spotlight, co-hosted by Mobile Marketer and the DMA.

While 2D bar codes still have a way to go to achieve mass adoption, mobile coupons delivered via SMS make it easy to acquire customers through value exchanges and retain them as a part of a company's mobile loyalty program. In fact, the panel made quite a case for mobile coupons as a vital aspect of any successful overall marketing strategy for retailers.

"I don't think a mobile coupon is a coupon, I think of it as an alert," said Dean Macri, CEO at Cielo Mobile, Wellesley, MA. "They get used by alerting the consumer that a discount exists and can be redeemed at the register.

"People tie the mobile phone to their loyalty card and can use their phone to text in that loyalty card number and then get alerts saying that they get a discount on this or that," he said. "And they love it."

One of the main challenges with mobile coupons is tracking redemption rates. However, panelists made it clear that solutions are under way, including the RFID service from Tetherball.

Mr. Macri stressed that SMS is an essential component to get a user's cell phone number, and once you get it, you have it forever. That is what retention is all about.

He also said that text-to-win is an effective strategy as marketing begins with engagement and the purpose of engagement is to change consumer behavior.

Text-to-win motivates users to move into stores and opt-in in a situation where they usually wouldn't.

Mr. Macri explained that running a mobile coupon program begins with engagement and discovery.

It's all about making sure the customer is aware that the program is available to them and putting the short code intro traditional media to acquire those numbers.

Another important part of mobile coupon programs is embracing the fact that it is not scanning and should be an alert or code that is closer to the notion of "mention this ad and get this discount."

"I don't think loyalty is about coupons, it's about engagement," said Jay Highley, president at Tetherball, Carmel, IN. "Coupon is just one element. We're talking about an opt-in environment where consumers say ?I want to hear from your brand.'"

"Coupons and offers are just one dimension of loyalty," he said. "Eventually you want to create a loyalty base that you can continually communicate with. They want alerts along with their discounts and offers."

Mr. Highley made it clear that consumers who opt-in to a loyalty program want more than just discounts, but they want information about the brand.

He stated all the best ways to fail in mobile:
? Implement cumbersome technology with downloads and WAP
? Make it difficult to join
? Integrate with point of sale
? Cause disruption at point of sale
? Don't communicate the program through the store employees
? Only partial participation with your brands
? Use your copy written for print items on a mobile phone
? Limit your offers to solely free items
? Stand by and watch mobile pass -- it's just a fad right?

He also gave out a check list of things to remember for every mobile commerce and marketing campaign:
? Simple redemption for your customer
? Real-time visibility at user level
? 100 percent reporting accuracy
? Employee engagement
? Works on any phone
? Pin-point targeted offers
? Integrated into overall marketing strategy

"You know what you need to do and you know how to deliver value," said Michael J. Becker, vice president of mobile strategy at iLoop Mobile, San Jose, CA. "Now just keep doing what you're doing but add mobile as a direct channel once you get opt-ins."