03/15/12 by Zach Zimmerman | Marketing Blog | No Comments »
According to a March 2012 AisleBuyer study on consumer behavior in grocery and drug stores, “nearly 75 percent of consumers would switch brands if offered real-time mobile promotions delivered to their smartphones while shopping in a store aisle.” With price and promotions ranking highest on purchase influences, it is no surprise that real-time mobile promotions greatly impact which brand is ultimately purchased.
Among age demographics, 25-34 years olds were the most likely to switch brands as a result of an in-store mobile promotion (82%). Twenty and thirtysomethings are also receptive to receiving promotions through a mobile shopping app, with the study finding that “90% of 25-34 year-old smartphone owners expressed interest in receiving instant offers for the things they were already shopping for through a grocery or drug store-based mobile shopping app.”
The study is the second in a three-part series on mobile shopping conducted and published by AisleBuyer. Their CEO Andrew Paradise encourages grocery and drug stores and brands to make use of mobile technology to promote their products while consumers are in store. “For years, brands have relied on traditional in-store shopper marketing tactics such as endcap displays, dump bins and sampling programs to influence the purchase decisions that are being made in the store aisle. But today’s shopper has become increasingly tech savvy, and brands need to adapt their age-old strategies to remain competitive in our new online world,” stated Paradise. A consumer’s smart phone is a billboard in their pocket, and studies like this reveal how excited consumers are to receive location-based mobile promotions like those offered by Cellit.
03/12/12 by Zach Zimmerman | Blog, Marketing Blog | No Comments »
Cellit recently received a shout-out from Melissa Parrish, a senior analyst in interactive marketing at Forrester Research, in a recent article on top tips when choosing a mobile strategy service provider. Parrish writes:
Mobile specialty vendors include mobile search providers, e.g. Google, mobile ad networks, eg. Millennial Media, and SMS vendors, e.g. Cellit. These providers are great for those marketers who already have their mobile strategy in place and now need advice and execution in the service provider’s particular area of expertise.
Cellit’s team of mobile experts have the experience and dedication to provide top-of-the-industry support for your new or existing mobile campaign. Plus, our technology is at the top of the industry and very easy to us. Contact me to schedule a demo and learn more about what a mobile campaign can do for your business.
03/06/12 by Zach Zimmerman | Blog, Marketing Blog | No Comments »
The total number of mobile subscribers in China is almost 1 billion. The entire population of the United States U.S. is 312 million.
In the mobile arena, China has the potential to be a very larger market, but for U.S.-based companies, it can be perceived as a high-risk investment. The differences in Chinese and American mobile phone cultures make it impossible to simply clone a successful U.S. mobile marketing campaign in a foreign market. The hurdles to launching a robust mobile campaign in China are varied, ranging from governmental involvement (or lack thereof) and the end-cost to the consumer.
- Lack of consumer privacy protection
In 2007, 384 million SMS spam messages were sent to Chinese mobile users. Without regulatory bodies such as the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) or CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association) or U.S. legislations such as CAN-SPAM, mobile subscribers in China are less protected than their American counterparts.
Most mobile plans in China are pre-paid so each sent or received SMS costs the end-user. While unlimited texting is quite common in the U.S., paying for each text sent and received might deter users from subscribing to an ongoing SMS campaign.
- Censorship of key social media sites
The Chinese government blocks many popular U.S. sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google apps, which can drive in wedge in some mobile campaigns with a large social media component.
While these hurdles are high, there are key strategies to overcoming them and succeeding in the People’s Republic. For additional information on mobile opportunities in China and other international markets, shoot me an e-mail.
03/05/12 by Zach Zimmerman | Blog, Marketing Blog | No Comments »
Today, Cellit celebrated sending its 200 millionth message! Whether it was a new subscriber getting a welcome offer to a local retailer or a brand loyalist entering a sweepstakes with their favorite quick-service restaurant, only the database gods can know for sure. But we do know that it was only last May when we reached the 100 millionth message mile-marker (say that three times fast).
Equipped to send up to 2100 messages a second, our platform and database are ready for the fast changes in consumer behavior that editor in chief of Mobile Marketer Mickey Alam Khan predicts will occur in the next five years. In his column today, Khan writes about how technological advances will spoil consumers and change their behavior in the next half-decade. Kahn offers four words to summarize his predicted changes: impatient consumers will expect frictionless transactions providing affordable goods and services from a constantly connected business.
Mobile marketing with Cellit allows businesses to stay connected to their customers on their most personal device. With frictionless communication to relay affordable deals to your customers, businesses can be more prepared than ever to engage their increasingly impatient customers. Heck, we’re impatient, too – we’ll see you at 300 million!
Contact me to learn more about what Cellit can do for you.
