Welcome to Broker Roundtable, where each week we ask list brokers to give their opinions on issues that matter to the marketing community. This week's question: How does the increasing sophistication of mobile devices affect data collection?
Our current panel includes Mary Jane Acito Crenson of| ListBargains.com; Becky Hagadorn of Carney Direct; Matt Kaiser of Veradata; Leland Kroll of Kroll Direct Marketing Inc. and Linda Sandler of Adrea Rubin Marketing Inc. Would you like to be considered to be a member of our roundtable? Contact Larry Riggs ([email protected]).
Mary Jane Acito Crenson, vice president of multi-channel marketing, ListBargains.com:
As consumers get more “plugged in” and technologically savvy it is easier and easier to obtain information regarding purchasing trends, lifestyle interests, club memberships and more. However, as marketers, it is incumbent on us to hold to best practices on how the information is obtained and as importantly, used to append to records and to communicate with existing customers as well as to new prospects. As we professionals need to be more and more concerned with the offers we are sending to consumers as well as the segments we are sending to. Marketers also need to ensure that the cell phones and other devices we are targeting for texting and telemarketing are opted in to receive these offers.
Becky Hagadorn, vice president, new business development, Carney Direct:
The real advances in our view will be seen in localizing or geo-targeting/fencing through global positioning satellite (GPS) technology. The customization and reach for small to mid-size advertisers will be huge. Additionally, the interactivity that mobile devices offer is outstanding. Consumers are totally engaged with their cell phones and with the growing popularity of quick response (QR) codes thus further increasing the interactivity between advertiser and consumer, the savvy marketers are able to get consumers to disclose numerous personal details through this back and forth exchange.
Matt Kaiser, executive vice president of Veradata;
Mobile devices, no doubt, represent a significant opportunity for real time data collection and add depth to what types of information is captured. Depending on the device and the carrier, there are apps that allow for enhanced information, such as: position tracking (literal geographic position), usage tracking (how ‘digitally savvy’ are the users), purchase information (digital/mobile coupon use), short message service (SMS) interaction for immediate survey feedback, etc. The world is on a course for nearly complete mobile convergence. Smartphone technology is advancing at such a blistering pace, in the years ahead, our mobile phones will likely be full computers that we wirelessly connect to a monitor and interface with voice vs. keyboards. Mobile devices are changing the face of data collection and in the next decade, I think, will completely upgrade data collection methodologies for our industry.
Leland Kroll, president, Kroll Direct Marketing Inc.:
I’ve been involved in mobile marketing for more than six years and have seen incredible growth and interest given this most dynamic marketing channel. The advent of the proliferation of smart phones is what will drive major advancements in new marketing opportunities for our clients. The addition of tens of millions of e-readers being purchased this year, will force marketers to adapt their creative offers to be properly formatted for the mobile web.
Linda Sandler, executive vice president, marketing, Adrea Rubin Marketing:
The increasing popularity of smartphones is aiding in data collection. Data aggregators are able to obtain mobile numbers and email addresses in addition to the postal addresses of their clients. With smartphones, a consumer can be engaged by a company via email and that message can be retrieved by the consumer on their handheld device. This gives the consumer the ability to opt in and receive messages from companies not only from their PC but also from their phone.
Data aggregators can obtain data from consumers by running mobile push campaigns. Consumers with smartphones react to SMS messages by clicking on a link to go to a website on their phone, or clicking on a link to opt their mobile number into a network. Companies can use new delivery methods to collect data from consumers because of the capabilities of smartphones. New initiatives in the mobile space like push and pull campaigns are taking full advantage of Smartphone capabilities and have created a new vehicle to collect data.
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