Mobile phone, Best direct marketing tool

The role of the mobile phone is clearly changing. We’ve become used to increased functionality – cameras, music, games, the Web, etc. – as standard, but what’s happening now is changing not how we use the phone, but how it can use us. Phones are tools, keys that allow us to access and enjoy many new services. But keys work from both sides, and new technologies are enabling brands to connect with consumers directly and personally, wherever they are.

The most visible of these technologies is the growth of mobile couponing, which offers clear benefits for both consumers and brands. True, mobile couponing has been around a while, but changes in mobile usage behavior are now increasing its viability, value and adoption, following trends in Europe and Asia where it’s already thriving. Coupled with GPS technology, brands can now track and target consumers in the right place, at the right time. Imagine driving past a coffee shop and receiving a coupon for a free pastry with the purchase of a latté.
Camera phones open the door to more proactive and creative mobile couponing tactics. For example, Crunch Gyms made the most of their call-to-action billboard and offered a free guest pass to anyone who brought in a snapshot of their outdoor advertisement. The next wave in mobile couponing will encourage customers to scan product barcodes and receive offers directly at the point of purchase. The beauty of these kinds of incentives? Consumers won’t just opt in, they’ll be the ones actively initiating the request. And, they’re timely, personal and trackable. Marketers can evaluate results and metrics almost immediately, and ideally evolve the transaction into a relationship. Cellfire, the mobile-couponing service, has reported mobile coupon redemption rates of 5-15%, much higher than the average 3% return on traditional printed coupons. Mobile coupons seem a sure-fire way to reach a generation of users who aren’t reading newspaper circulars and won’t go anywhere without their mobile phones.

In 2010, use of these services will clearly increase, but as importantly, the way people use and think about their mobile phones will be what really continues to evolve.