5 Last-Minute Tips for Effective 2011 Holiday Mobile Marketing

Recently my colleague Helene Rosenblum, VP of Media at Leapfrog Online, was featured in a webinar produced by Mobile Marketer. Panelists included notable names like Jason John, Senior Director of Marketing at Gilt Groupe. For those of you that missed the webinar here’s my summary of the top 5 recommendations for marketers to consider this holiday season. If you need to tweak your mobile marketing strategy, now is the time!

Top Tips for Holiday Mobile Marketing

#1 Trade “Bright and Shiny” for “Quick and Easy”
A sure fire way to irritate customers is a focus on shiny objects versus actual benefits. More than ever this holiday season, mobile shoppers will be looking to capture and consume information as easily – and as quickly — as possible. Bells and whistles will only distract from this segment’s keen desire to learn, select and purchase. For marketers, this means using mobile to connect with your buyers’ needs, and to deliver the right experience as simply as possible. Remember — we are not looking for flash and fancy downloads this season. We are looking for deals, steals and quick experiences.

#2 It’s Bigger Than You Think
The holidays bring a crush of web traffic for retailers. Smart brands need to anticipate the demand they will see from mobile this year… and then add 20 percent to the expectation. Mobile marketing and sales is growing faster than we think, and success depends on preparing heavily for the spike. Be ready to monitor flow and marketing in real-time to make decisions on-the-fly. This means pulling media down immediately if trends begin to point south. It also means monitoring call centers closely to ensure they are equipped to handle scaling demand and unique needs from mobile consumers. If you do not have call centers dedicated exclusively to your mobile shoppers and the experience they are looking to have with you, now is the time to re-think your strategy.

#3 Buy First, “Friend” Later
The holiday period is not the time to invest in mobile marketing that focuses on relationship-building alone. Folks want to buy the products they are researching on their mobiles as quickly as possible. Acting on this urgency requires brands to make it easy for consumers to research, compare and purchase your product with confidence — confidence that they are buying something of high-value, in the simplest possible manner. This is what consumers expect from mobile, and it’s what will drive last-mile conversion – high value goods, top-notch experiences and ultimate simplicity.

#4 Remember WHY Mobile Marketing Matters
Brands are investing in mobile marketing today because their top consumers expect them to be there. As a result, be sure to leverage this marketing channel to give your target buyers the experience they are looking to have. Build mobile-optimized campaigns that allow you to capture the right permissions to email and text with these consumers moving forward, even once the holiday season ends. Continuing the dialogue beyond this season depends on your ability to interact with these folks when and where they are looking for you.

#5 ‘Tis the Season for the “LOMO” Consumer
Local mobile (LOMO) marketing will be the game-changer this season. Whether it is coupons to a brand, the ability to search for a product in a local store, or comparison shopping through bar codes, this is the era of the highly informed consumer. This season, we will find heavy segments of consumers that won’t even walk into a retailer until they know what is available there and at what price. This means that this year’s ‘foot traffic’ is happening via mobile, not brick-and-mortal. Retailers that fail to invest in mobile as part of their holiday strategies risk significantly lower store traffic and revenue from mobile marketing this holiday season.