Marketing to Anywhere Consumers—Today
December 2006
Yankee Group's research on the impact of global connectivity change points toward what we call the Evolution of Anywhere?a future when we connect to each other and the things that matter all the time, from anywhere we are.
Massive change will result, as next-generation network technologies are deployed, as handheld devices become increasingly capable, as the tectonic plates of communication business models slowly shift and crack?and as new consumers grow up with very different forms of entertainment and services.
But well ahead of 4G networks and completely ubiquitous connectivity, today's simple mobile text messaging is helping that shift already. I talked recently with Charlie Bougas, of Broadway Marketplace in Cambridge, Mass., an independent specialty grocer serving a university clientele. For the last 18 months, Broadway has been offering Mobile Rewards, a loyalty program based not on a plastic card presented for scanning at checkout, but on the shopper's mobile phone number.
Using technology from MobileLime integrated with Broadway's point-of-sale system, the store enrolls shoppers in the program with their cell phone numbers, asking them to opt in to periodic e-mail and SMS text messaging in return for special discounts and rewards.
- Green: How does it work?
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Bougas: We have sign-up forms for the program in the store; customers fill those out to enroll. Their cell phone number becomes their ID, which they give to the cashier to get purchases credited to their account. Promotions run every few weeks. We might send an e-mail at the beginning of the month announcing an in-store wine tasting; then on the day of the tasting, they'll get an SMS saying, "Wine tasting at Broadway at 3pm ? be there!"
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Don't consumers object to giving you their cell phone number, and getting text spam from you?
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Sure, some have?partly because when we first started, we didn't make it very clear what the benefits were. And there were also a few who did opt in who didn't realize what they agreed to. When we send out text messages we can get a few notes back saying, "Hey, don?t text me?it costs me money!"
But almost all customers enrolling now accept the cell phone and SMS elements of the program. Of course it's a pretty tech-savvy crowd, but we also explain it better?how the savings they can achieve in the rewards program far outweigh the costs of the limited number of messages we send.
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Is it a just neat gimmick, or does it have a real impact on your business?
We're learning what works and what doesn't with mobile marketing. Item-level discounts ?"Save 25 cents on your next gallon of milk" are a waste of time. But that has more to do with the customers we attract not being price-conscious shoppers.
We've had lots of mobile campaigns with impact. For instance, a hot food bar, which makes up a big part of our lunchtime traffic, hadn't gotten a lot of attention later in the day. We ran a promotion to attract sales in that part of the store for Thursday afternoon, when it's usually dead. We e-mailed customers a few days before to tell them that we would give them 50% off hot foods from 4 to 7 pm that day. Then on the day of the promotion, they got text message reminders. The place was just mobbed?the salad bar was hopping, and they were lined up 20-deep at checkout. Great buzz.
- So texting to encourage behavior at the right time works.
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Seems like it. Right now we're testing that further with a promotion to encourage customers to reach $200 in spending with us in a month to earn a $15 gift card on their next visit. We target customers close to the goal with a text message that says, "You have 2 days left?spend just $30 more to get your reward!"
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What's next?
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I'd like to see it get even more efficient at checkout. Now they don'?t have to hand over a card to be scanned, but they do have to tell us their cell phone number. And consumers who have decided not to participate still get asked about it at checkout. NFC (near-field communications) could help us over that bump, so it would be seamless and less intrusive.