Digital media, which is much cheaper than the traditional media has changed the way the enterprise reaches out to the customers. The boom of social media, internet videos and mobile applications has made companies rethink their promotional strategies.
Increasing use of Mobile applications
Mobile applications usage in smart phones is increasing at a tremendous rate. Consumers receive product information faster and download promotional coupons. Shopkick is one such mobile application that has helped the way retailers give promotional offerings to the customers. Shopkick is an application that runs on iPhones; Shopkick pays consumers “kickbucks” — reward coupons — just for checking in when they enter Best Buy, American Eagle, Macy’s, or other participating retailers. The kickbucks can be redeemed for gift cards. Consumers have also begun to use the quick response code tags frequently to scan and download the information into their smart phones. Companies make these QR codes available in the printed advertisements so that customers can scan and read the information about that particular brand or promotions on that product.
An article from Strategy business magazine states that mobile commerce is expanding rapidly and supports that with a recent Booz & Company survey of U.S. consumer usage and attitude towards mobile commerce. It has found that between 15 and 20 percent of consumers currently use their cell phones and personal digital assistants for price discovery and product comparison, and 25 percent expect to do so in the future. Ten to 15 percent of the revenues from retail are expected to be influenced by mobile applications this year, or as much as US$340 billion in total retail sales across the U.S. and the “E.U. 3” (France, Germany, and the U.K.).
Hence companies must design its promotional strategy through mobile phones. In order to attract customer base through mobile interface, the companies must have rich user interface with good content about the product. The companies can use metrics such as click through rate and interaction rate to monitor the success of their mobile campaigns. The companies should also ensure that their websites are accessible through mobile browsers. The convergence of mobile technology would also demand companies to have consistent message across several devices. The content should be universal and should adapt to whatever devices the customer uses. With these considerations in mind, I believe that retailers will be able to increase their customers' base.
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