At the mention of mobile marketing, it may be natural for some to immediately think of a standard cell phone text-based campaign.   If you’re super savvy, maybe your vision includes a smart phone, check-ins and a location-based targeted message.  At any rate, it’s not common sense for the phrase “mobile marketing” to conjure up images of traditional marketing tools like magazines, live events, storefront window signage or business cards.  This is unfortunate because when that image does include traditional mediums, mobile efforts find exciting new momentum.

It is important to recognize a strong factor at play with regards to mobile marketing:  The natural tendency to assume that old things end when new things begin.  This can lead to the belief that traditional advertising and communications are no longer effective in the face of social, mobile and other digital media.  This is fully inaccurate. Traditional advertising is not dead. In fact, traditional advertising vehicles are excellent resources to support your mobile efforts. (If you read my recent blog post “Online Media is About Offline Success” you already know I’ve learned that the power of digital media is only fully unleashed by integrating new media efforts with existing successful marketing and business tactics.  Mobile marketing and mobile business applications are no exception.)

The power of offline leverage is showcased in top mobile campaigns such as the American Red Cross’s Text-to-Donate drive for donations in the wake of the Haiti Earthquake. The campaign was simple and found its momentum in advertising the Text-to-Donate call-to-action in traditional mediums where its audience was already accustomed to digesting messages from the American Red Cross. This included print ads, TV, Radio and anywhere else that the Red Cross currently invests marketing efforts.  By introducing an additional communication and fundraising channel (in this case, a mobile one), the American Red Cross increased revenue, raising over $5,000,000 in donations. It also expanded its audience, capturing new prospects that are skewed toward a mobile channel without compromising existing audience members that may not prefer this method of communication or donation. This exemplifies one of the most effective applications of mobile marketing; a holistic approach where mobile efforts are not a segment of your marketing plan but rather an integrated tactic used to fuel an overall campaign goal. This is not to say that directly advertising your mobile efforts is fruitless.  Calling attention to your new channel is a great idea – just make sure that you do it both in and outside of the mobile and social sphere.

With this example in mind, I’d like to challenge you to look for opportunities to implement mobile marketing in your business to drive business results in areas like sales (or fundraising), customer service and operational efficiency.  Mobile communication should be considered in diverse areas of your business.  Early adopters have found success in marketing, and this is an excellent place to start. But do not limit your scope. Ask yourself if there are opportunities to improve other functions in your business and if so, look for mobile integration opportunities.  For example, think of the sales executive empowered with a CRM or Expense App in the field.   After each call, the sales executive can now log notes about the appointment, enter new contract details, initiate technical customer service requests as well as enter any expenses associated with the sales call. If you have a sales force that’s lacking in their data entry commitments or takes forever to turn in expenses, perhaps you’d benefit in efficiency and data integrity by implementing such a mobile program. The examples are endless; we could expand our thinking further toward customer service, operations, navigation, and more.

To truly allow yourself to consider broad opportunities, think of mobile communication as an interactive business channel, much different from traditional broadcasting technologies.  With this perspective, not only will you uncover unique opportunities to leverage mobile media, you will also likely discover ways to breathe new life and vigor into your existing channels.  For example, with a mobile campaign overlaid on your traditional print advertising, you’ve just made a “static” channel more engaging.  And in addition, you’ve just created a new lead generation channel!

Your mobile efforts should not be isolated but rather integrated. It’s not about your company’s mobile site, or new App or fancy iPads for everyone at the company. It’s about what it’s always been about: communicating with our target audience and matching their behaviors with complimentary media and communication.  With the recent fusion of mobile and social media and the increasing functionality of mobile devices, we can expect our audience to incorporate mobile usage into all aspects of their decision-making and buying behaviors.  It is therefore inevitable that leading organizations will work to match these behaviors, implementing mobile technologies in diverse facets of their business.

To hear more from Carisa on the Integration of Mobile Marketing or to discuss your personal business needs, please join us at the Mobile Marketing Strategies Summit in San Francisco on December 6th – 8th 2011. Early bird discount available through October 28