03/02/11 by Cellit Staff | Blog, Marketing Blog | No Comments »
Marketers dream of delivering a coupon when a customer is a few blocks away from their store. It’s the Holy Grail of advertising. Plenty of tech companies are looking for ways to send messages to customers when they are near a particular spot on the globe.
Until the day when we all have GPS transmitters implanted in our foreheads, it is good to know that location-based marketing already exists, using a low-tech tool: a highway billboard.
Paired with Cellit’s powerful SMS delivery, the lowly billboard becomes a powerful marketing device, delivering immediate results that are location-sensitive.
Two examples from our clients:
- Terrible’s Primm Valley Resorts is a cluster of three hotels and casinos, truck stop, a large outlet mall and two golf courses on the California-Nevada border. Tens of thousands of cars pass the property each day on the way to and from Las Vegas. Many stop for gas or a quick snack after crossing the desert coming from Los Angeles. But not as many were making their way into the casinos or staying at the hotels.Their answer? Mobile! Primm Valley used a text-to-win contest promoted on billboards along I-15. The boards were spaced out to allow the travelers to text in and receive a unique code and a guarantee of at least $5 prize…with a chance they could take home $1 million! They just had to come inside the casino. Primm used the immediacy of mobile to start the conversation at just the right time.The results? After just 8 weeks, the casinos had added 25% to their player loyalty club from this mobile jackpot! And after a year, they now have a huge database of customer contact numbers — a big payoff all by blending mobile into the mix of customer loyalty marketing.
- Imagine having a billboard just outside of Graceland in Memphis, TN that offers visitors a special incentive to drive just a bit further and see the birthplace of the King, Elvis Presley. The Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau will be doing just that starting this spring, and giving visitors reasons to stay and enjoy their own brand of Southern hospitality.
Put a call to action on a billboard, a poster, or your store’s front door. Cellit and your customer’s cell phone will do the rest.
02/23/11 by Cellit Staff | Cellit News, News | 1 Comment »
CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Cellit, a leading provider of mobile customer relationship management (CRM) systems for retailers, restaurants and other companies, announced today the release of a whitepaper, Best Practices in Mobile Marketing for Retailers: The 5Cs of Mobile Marketing. Cellit has analyzed the more than 25 million text messages sent by various retailers and other companies to customers with the Cellit Studio technology platform to determine the keys to success of mobile marketing. Cellit’s findings are categorized under the “5Cs” of mobile marketing:
Commitment – Mobile marketing should be an integral part of the marketing mix and not be viewed as a single event like a contest. Integrating mobile into other marketing communications such as television commercials can actually extend the life of these other forms of marketing. While your commercial will only last 30 seconds, by including a call to text, customers can immediately get more information, and can do so whether they are sitting at their computer or not. Research has demonstrated that most people almost always have their phones within arm’s reach, while there’s little data to support that a potential customer will remember or want to go to your Facebook page hours later when they logon to their PC.
Cadence – Retailers should determine the frequency of the messages on a per customer basis. A good mobile program puts the control in the hands of the customer. Listening to your customer will give you the answer. Taking into account prior buying behavior will also tell you what types of messages they want to receive, in addition to how frequently. To gather this data, a strong customer analytics tool will be crucial to any mobile marketing platform.
Content – Just as “hi” is not a particularly compelling text to send to a friend, text messages to retail customers must contain a compelling enough offer to act. The exact dollar threshold or type of offer will vary by retailer, but whatever the offer, it should be unique to those who subscribe to the retailer’s mobile program in order to create a sense of exclusivity. Analyzing what types of offers were attractive to individual customers in the past can help a retailer develop customized messages that are most likely to get a response.
Connectivity – There are many mobile carriers in the U.S. outside of the top names, and it is important that a retailer’s mobile marketing platform partner be able to support them all, including the “long tail” of small, regional players.
Compliance – There are a lot of regulations that all mobile marketers need to comply with each and every time they send a message to customers. The carriers change the compliance requirements surrounding a mobile campaign with a great deal of frequency, so it is important that a retailer’s mobile marketing platform partner is always up to speed.
“We believe that 2011 will be the year of mobile marketing and that retailers are really beginning to understand the enormous potential of the mobile platform to build customer loyalty,” said David Wachs, president of Cellit. ”While online marketing or television spots might be considered sexier, mobile marketing can generate significant ROI with a reasonable investment. Since 80% of the population has a mobile phone and most people carry their phones everywhere with them, mobile marketing campaigns ensure that your marketing is everywhere your customers are.”
About Cellit
Cellit develops mobile customer relationship management (CRM) programs for retailers, restaurants and other companies who want to leverage mobile technology to create a deeper level of customer engagement. The Cellit Studio campaign management platform empowers clients to create interactive mobile CRM programs including coupons, contests, games, surveys and alerts that inform, delight and motivate customers, increasing knowledge, loyalty and ultimately spending. Cellit Studio seamlessly integrates with client enterprise and POS technology and provides an easy to implement and measurable way to maximize the potential of the mobile channel. Cellit also provides custom mobile sites and phone apps to some of the largest brands in the world. Headquartered in Chicago, Cellit was recently named to the Inc. 500 2010 list of fastest-growing private companies in the country. For more information please visit www.cellit.com.
02/18/11 by Cellit Staff | Blog, Cellit News, News | No Comments »
Strategic acquisition expands Cellit’s client base and helps solidify the company’s leading position in mobile marketing
CHICAGO, Feb. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Cellit, a leading provider of mobile customer relationship management (CRM) systems for retailers, restaurants and other companies, announced today the acquisition of the assets of MESSAGEbuzz, a St. Louis-based mobile marketing firm.
As a mobile marketing solutions provider, MESSAGEbuzz has provided organizations with content delivery to customer mobile devices, including mobile advertising, premium SMS, mobile sweepstakes, TXT2Screen, Txt N’ Win and wireless consulting. The company has provided mobile strategy to a wide range of companies including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Weber, Seagate, Steve Madden and more.
David Wachs, president of Cellit, stated, “As the use of smart phones and data-capable mobile devices in the U.S. nears 100%, consumer brands are realizing the substantial value in mobile marketing and are making it an ongoing form of customer communication. By integrating the strong capabilities of MESSAGEbuzz, Cellit furthers its position as a market leader in mobile CRM, providing best-in-class tools and support for brands to engage customers through their mobile devices. We are excited to provide MESSAGEbuzz clients the same market-leading platform and exceptional customer support we provide all of our clients, and we are confident the transition will be a smooth one.”
The acquisition of MESSAGEbuzz is effective immediately. All MESSAGEbuzz clients will now access their accounts through the Cellit Studio platform.
The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
About Cellit
Cellit develops mobile customer relationship management (CRM) programs for retailers, restaurants and other companies who want to leverage mobile technology to create a deeper level of customer engagement. The Cellit Studio campaign management platform empowers clients to create interactive mobile CRM programs including coupons, contests, games, surveys and alerts that inform, delight and motivate customers, increasing knowledge, loyalty and ultimately spending. Cellit Studio seamlessly integrates with client enterprise and POS technology and provides an easy to implement and measurable way to maximize the potential of the mobile channel. Cellit also provides custom mobile sites and phone apps to some of the largest brands in the world. Headquartered in Chicago, Cellit was recently named to the Inc. 500 2010 list of fastest-growing private companies in the country. For more information please visit www.cellit.com
02/14/11 by Cellit Staff | Blog, Industry Blog | No Comments »
In a recent iAd campaign on the New York Times’ iPhone app, Campbell’s Soup found that a dash of creativity can make even condensed soup seem more appealing. Campbell’s used a mix of compelling images and interaction to hook nearly 10% of the ad’s viewers into clicking through.
Thanks to creativity and technical skill, we continue to see our clients and the entire industry use mobile devices to tell better stories and connect with customers. What’s next for your business?
Link: [Campbell Soup Co. iAd generates 530,000 minute-long interactions]
