Mobile can be integrated into a company’s communications mix in two main ways. If done rightly, it presents brands with an opportunity to manage their customer relationships in a deeper, more relevant way.

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Mobile and
Customer
Relationship
Management
Marketing to Situations and Contexts
Copyright © 2012 BrandEmotivity

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Intro – Integrating Mobile
Mobile can be integrated into a company’s communications mix in two main ways
– vertically and horizontally. Focusing on the latter presents brands with an
opportunity to manage their customer relationships in a deeper, more relevant way.
One way, which is what most brands are doing today, is to integrate the mobile
channel in the communications mix as a means to provide customers with
information, offers and rewards in order to maintain their loyalty – just another
vertical channel, in other words. A mobile or tablet optimized website or a
sophisticated app are both great, but it does not help brands understand the context
in which the consumer acts and engages with the brand, nor how other channels
affect consumer’s use of mobile and vice versa. The other way, which is key for
brands to understand the real value of, is integrating mobile horizontally across
channels. Did the consumer perform a mobile search after being exposed to a
certain TV ad? And how are consumers using their mobile devices in-store? Do they
post product or service reviews on their smartphones while in-store?
Status quo
Numbers show that brands in the UK are so far struggling to grasp this opportunity.
Experian’s ‘Global Data Quality Research Report’ in 2012 surveyed 300 UK
organisations, and found that many are reacting slowly to the emergence of
smartphones and the opportunity to use this channel to gain advantages over
competitors. Mobile devices have become ubiquitous, and consumers’ constant use
provides brands with vast amounts of data. In order to use this stream of data from
mobile devices in a CRM strategy, it is imperative that the company starts collecting
mobile data in an organized fashion that will enable them to use the information
later on - the survey revealed that 40% of UK companies currently fail to collect
any mobile data at all.
The problem
Keeping consumers loyal is becoming increasingly difficult, as they are now able to
search and compare products and services whenever and wherever. By horizontally
integrating the mobile channel and understanding consumers’ contextual
behaviour, brands can give consumers a more personal, time-sensitive and relevant
experience. Only mobile can communicate to specific customers, at specific times, at
specific locations.
So far, brands have been focusing on innovations such as location-based services
and geo-fencing. Numbers suggest, however, that brands may need to alter their use
of this information. The “From Armed to Charmed” survey done by Ogilvy in the
US, the UK and Singapore found that when people checked in at various locations
using their smartphones, they were actually more interested in improved service
rather than deals.
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The way brands are using geo-fencing has its limits – proximity places a person on
the map, but they don't know why he is there or why. A consumer coming from a
McDonald’s up the street is not necessarily looking for food at Burger King just
because he enters a certain area on the map. If brands were able to understand the
consumer’s behaviour before and after, it would allow them to make a much more
relevant and timely approach.
A different approach
Consumers today are connected to the world 24/7, and this constant use of mobile
devices provides brands with pervasive customer data, all of which can help them
understand the changing consumer behaviour.
Using the example of a consumer that performs a mobile search after seeing a TV
advert, what if you could pick up where the TV advert left off and continue to tell
the brand’s story on mobile (be it relevant content, information, rewards etc.)? Or
what if you could communicate to important consumers on their way to the store
that a dressing room has been made ready for them with clothes from their favourite
collection?
With insight and an understanding of consumers’ contextual behaviour, brands can
actually adapt and tailor their approach so that they can be more relevant, timely
and useful to consumers than ever before, thus building stronger customer
relationships.
Where we are now
• Mobile as a vertical channel
• No collection of mobile contextual data
• Consumers want better service and relevant communication
The problem • Brands don’t understand consumer’s contextual behaviour,
and how mobile affects other channels and vice versa
• Collect mobile data and integrate mobile horizontally.
What we should do Understand the context.
• Complete the ‘customer picture’ in CRM
• Only mobile can communicate to specific customers, at
Mobile specific times, at specific locations
• Provide a continuous branded experience across channels
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Advantages of the different approach
Mobile can nurture loyalty and create a conversation between the consumer and the
brand. It’s a win-win situation: brands gain valuable knowledge about their loyal
customers, who in return get offers, better service and information they are
interested in. Mobile as a channel contributes to what CRM is all about –
improving and retaining valuable customer relationships.
Up-to-date, relevant communication
Because of the advantage of real time communications, mobile lets the brand keep
its message always up to date. Messages can easily be changed according to changes
in consumer behaviour and feedback.
Complete customer picture
By including the data from mobile devices in the CRM programme, it gives the
brand a more complete picture of their customers. They can better understand how
consumers engage with the brand via mobile, as well as how it affects other
channels.
Reliable data
Mobile is an opt-in channel requiring consumers to request messages; thereby
ensuring that the data collected is more reliable. Consumers that have already
agreed to communicate with the brand foster a high level of receptiveness and
responsiveness.
Challenges in getting there
Integrating mobile into the CRM solution can pose some challenges for companies.
Permission to communicate
On the side of collecting data from consumer’s mobile devices, it is key that brands
start building a customer database with key information on their use of mobile
devices. Brands must get consumers’ permission to communicate with them, and
building a scalable database can take time.
Data privacy
This leads into another issue, namely data privacy. Consumers do have to opt-in,
but that does not mean that brands are not obliged to securely handle the
information once they have it. There are strict regulatory constraints on this area as
mobile CRM communication involves the utilization of customers’ personal
information. Consumers put their trust in the brand, and if the brand misuses this
trust they can consider the consumer lost.
Data consolidation
Another challenge is to implement a mobile CRM solution into the company’s
existing CRM system. The aim is to provide a complete view of the customer across
wireless, e-mail and paper-based media, and ultimately, the customer data and
interactions need to be consolidated in one place.
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From names to contexts – How to get there
The illustration above shows how brands can go from a CRM strategy using a
conventional database without mobile integration to a strategy that incorporates
mobile devices and data.
Database
Start building your database, and implement a way of collecting the data from
consumer’s mobile devices. The data (e.g. demographics, locations, check-ins,
purchases etc.) needs to be integrated comprehensively with your existing CRM
systems in order to gain a complete picture of the consumer.
Consumer behaviour
Before you can start distributing relevant content to your customers, it is crucial to
ensure you are using the data correctly. Key questions you are looking to answer
are: What do consumers tend to do? When do they do it?
Context/Situation
By taking the context into consideration, you will be able to make it more relevant
and timely. Interrupting consumers can make them turn away from the brand – opt
for quality instead of frequency. The more personalised the experience is for the
consumers, the better. Key question: What external factors can influence consumer
behaviour?
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Opportunity to communicate
From combining your customer database with consumer data and the situational
context, arises an opportunity to communicate. A CRM programme is ultimately
used to learn more about customers to better serve them, and mobile is the ideal
channel by which to achieve this goal. Key questions: How is consumer behaviour affected
by the context? How can you influence them?
Mobile offers a unique way of managing the relationships with customers, and
brands that act now will be more relevant and genuinely useful to their customers
than ever before.
Example – BMW Snow Tires Messages
Even though somewhat dated, this campaign still shows how mobile can serve to
better handle customer relations. In 2009, BMW set out to increase their sales of
winter tires. The solution was to go back to one of the basic functions of the mobile
phone. BMW sent customers in its database images of their car model, in the
correct colour, together with specific winter-tire recommendations and prices.
Customers could see how the tires would appear on their car, and could set up an
appointment with the dealer right from the message.
BMW were able to make concrete proposals to their customers via mobile, which
saw great results. BMW ran the program for two years, and messages were sent to
1,200 customers. BMW’s Head of Digital Media, Marc Mielau, claimed that about
a third of the customers who received the messages bought winter tires through
BMW.
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About BrandEmotivity
We are a mobile generation company, in a connected global world.
Digital is ever more key to customer engagement, and mobile services and utilities
are at the centre of brands value propositions. We help agencies and brands making
sense of it all, thinking, acting and winning on the mobile battlefront.
We are passionate about mobile and brands, and this passion is shared between our
collaborators, partners and clients. Most importantly, we have fun doing what we
do.
For more information visit www.brandemotivity.com.
Christian Linnestad
Mobile Consultant – UK
BrandEmotivity
christian.linnestad@brandemotivity.com
Marketing to Situations and Contexts Page 7 of 7 Copyright © 2012 BrandEmotivity