Not long ago, savvy shoppers clipped coupons from their Sunday newspapers and hoped to remember them while running errands. Today, they simply consult their smartphones to help them scout out offers and deals on the go. This new breed of mobile coupons mean that integrated marketers can target consumers right at the point of redemption and influence buying decisions in real time using smart data.
However, although mobile coupons are popular among shoppers, integrated marketers won’t derive the full benefit without deploying data analytics as part of their efforts. As Mobile Commerce Daily writer Lauren Johnson reported, the “lack of personalization from not using analytics is causing some brands to fall behind.”
Use Data to Personalize Offers
Many companies are winning the mobile coupon game, however, and smart integrated marketers rely on existing data to make mobile coupon campaigns more personalized.
“There is a lot of talk and excitement in the industry around geo-location and coupons,” said Patrick Moorhead, vice president for mobile at Catalina Marketing.
For example, zeroing in on a consumer entering a store that sells your products is the right time to ping his or her mobile device with a coupon.
“We believe that geo-location is a great opportunity, but it’s really just a component of personalization,” Moorhead explained. “Location is a type of personalization, but it really becomes impactful when combined with other personalization criteria, namely past purchase behavior.”
Mine Customer Data for Higher Redemption
Brandon Young, managing director of marketing analytics at Accenture Interactive, also advocates the smart use of data to drive mobile coupon campaigns.
“Companies need to take advantage of this plethora of data to offer consumers value-add content in real-time that is highly targeted, to ultimately drive greater purchasing power,” he said.
To get the most out of your mobile coupon offers, try building a campaign using customer data you own already:
- Past purchase history
- Birthdays, anniversaries or other milestones
- Product wish lists
- Frequency of purchases
- Longevity of customer relationships
To learn more about how to harness all of the knowledge your organization retains about customers, read “Big Data, Big Results for Integrated Marketers.”