OAK BROOK, Ill. -- The difference between a winning and losing mobile-marketing effort is the difference between active and passive, static and engaging, said a technology strategist and solutions provider at last week's CSP Cyberconference.
Elements such as games, viral videos and random rewards keep customers interested in a retailer's mobile application or "app," and will ultimately require an entire "eco-system" of services and capabilities going forward, said Mike Finley, chief technology officer for hosted solutions at NCR Corp., Duluth, Ga.
Only a small portion of retailers have made the shift from traditional advertising to mobile media, said Finley, addressing about 70 attendees at the CSP CyberConference entitled, "Consumer Apps & the C-Store: Don't Get Left Behind."
[To view an OnDemand replay of the "Consumer Apps & the C-Store: Don't Get Left Behind" CSPNetwork CyberConference sponsored by NCR, please click here. The program is free for retailers and wholesalers; others, $49.]
Unfortunately, the advertising world has "changed aggressively," where a mobile presence can't be a straight translation from a "static website that's like a billboard," but must evolve into one that's "interactive, engaging and meaningful."
Comparing a traditional retail customer with a mobile one, Finley said the traditional one picks an item in the store, pays and leaves. The retailer knows what that customer wants after the fact (after he or she has brought the item to checkout) and has no communication with the customer until he or she walks in again.
The mobile customer participates in a technology-rich and social environment, "liking" the retailer on Facebook, receiving the best deals via cellphone and maybe even paying without having to enter the store. Everything from enrolling in a loyalty program to location-based offers can occur, with the merchant giving users "hyper-local" content.
What eventually develops is an "ecosystem" of communication, where inventory, promotions and other store-level data flows back and forth between store and customer, who reviews, accepts and pays for goods and services.
"The ultimate result is the consumer providing time and attention to the retailer," Finley said. "It's a commitment."
Part of a successful mobile marketing effort is continually engaging the customer. For many retailers, such as Rutter's Farm Stores, York, Pa., a random reward given out in a slot-machine game provides a cutting-edge example. The "Skinner box" concept upholds this theory, he said. Random rewards are often more compelling to customers than points built up over time.
Games in general are one of the main activities people do over their cellphones, he added, saying that a computer-drawn cow that moos when clicked on is one such unexpected success story. Games that lead to posting one's status on a social network is a logical step, with notification of where a customer is being a plus. "Allowing [customers] to interact with your brand through social media is a winning combination," he said.
[Editor's Note: CSP technology editor Angel Abcede is preparing a series of CSP Daily Newsarticles about what to expect at next week's NACStech conference in Nashville. And for more on mobile marketing and payment, see the May issue of CSPmagazine.]
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