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Lessons Learned From Successful Mobile Marketing Campaigns

March 25th, 2016

Lessons Learned From Successful Mobile Marketing Campaigns
Anh Nguyen

by Anh Nguyen

COO & Co-Founder at Gummicube, Inc

Pause to look around and you'll see the same thing practically everywhere you go -- people staring into their phones. For companies trying to promote products or services, these people are all potential customers. If developed correctly, a strong mobile marketing campaign can provide a company a lasting return. Companies thinking about implementing a mobile marketing strategy can learn numerous lessons from some of the most successful campaigns to date.

Successful Mobile Marketing Campaigns

Statistics show that approximately 84% of companies don't have a formal mobile marketing strategy, however, some have found enormous success by implementing one. Two of the most triumphant mobile campaigns to date were developed by Starbucks and Nivea.

Starbucks Mobile App

Their mobile application, aptly named Starbucks, allows the customer to see a store locator, a rewards program, and gift card information. The company found that they could best engage their customers by offering special bonuses and incentives like birthday gifts, discounts, and complimentary beverages. This strategy helps customers engage because they are constantly using the app to receive free stuff. Everyone loves free stuff. Starbucks also seamlessly incorporated a loyalty program into their app. They found that users are likely to continue buying beverages with the goal of earning a free one. As a result, the company is able to continuously gather information about their customer base and buying habits. The incentive program works by collecting stars each time a purchase is made. When customers collect a certain number of stars, they can redeem them for more benefits or prizes. Another important element of the mobile campaign was the addition of short message service marketing (SMS). Audiences can fill out surveys sent through the phone and, with each survey filled out, more stars are given to the customer. The latest feature to be added to their mobile Starbucks app is Mobile Order and Pay. This allows a customer to pay in advance before picking up the actual beverage. It is estimated that 7 million people are currently signed up to the Starbucks mobile application, and that sales have increased 22%.

Lesson Learned from Starbucks

Perhaps the most important lesson to be learned from this app is to research the motives of your customers. Be aware of how you can make the customer happy while guiding them towards buying something at the same time. Understand the desires of your customers and use them to your advantage. By using mobile tactics to reward their patrons, Starbucks has increased customer retention, lifetime value, and loyalty. The app also entices the audience to participate in surveys for stars. Most people fill out the surveys because they know it will bring them one step closer to earning another paid reward. Without the app, chances are slim that customers would take the time to fill out anything, depriving the company of valuable marketing information.

Nivea

Another example of an amazing mobile marketing campaign is the Nivea Sun Kids range app. The Nivea 'protection ad' wasn't just a mobile project. It combined mobile marketing with print ads to create a one-of-a-kind campaign. Print advertisements in magazines had a removable "protect strip", similar to a wristband, to be placed around the child's arm, when they were out at the beach. Then the parents download the mobile app, which communicated with the arm bracelet. If the child strays too far outside the range of the bracelet, the app beeps, alerting the parents that their child is wandering away. The campaign was developed by Brazilian ad agency FCB and has generated tons of excitement for it's out of the box thinking.

Lessons to Be Learned from Nivea

This campaign was so successful because it makes the customers feel like they're genuinely being helped, not merely sold to. Nivea thought of a campaign that didn't focus strictly on it's products. It focused on what their customers wanted -- the protection of their children from getting lost and sunburned. They are still receiving requests for wristbands and skyrocketing sales associated with the campaign are an added bonus. Clearly, preparation is the key to a successful mobile marketing campaign. The most important lessons learned from these two successful campaigns are: - learning what your customer wants and needs - being able to gather information on their purchasing habits - making them feel involved and part of the process - gaining their loyalty and trust If all these objectives can be achieved, your mobile marketing campaign is sure to be a hit. Study other successful, and unsuccessful, campaigns to learn as much as possible, and be able to adapt to the ever growing mobile consumer market.

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