"Text the word 'tent' to 55657," the PA system said, "and you will receive 20 percent off one item, on your shopping trip right now." Now, I didn't hear the message at all. I have learned to tune those things out over time; just background noise. But "the brains of the outfit," my wife, heard the announcement and called it to my attention.
At that time, we were agonizing over a pair of skis for my wife at a tent sale at Hoigaard's, a local ski specialty store that has earned our loyalty through great customer service over the years. The skis were a bit too expensive, and we were trying to figure out whether or not to splurge. Guess what happened when we heard that announcement? We had those skis to the checkout register in less than three minutes. The 20 percent off on the spot did the trick.
Many marketers might question the incrementality of the on-site 20 percent offer. But let me point out two factors that make such a strategy successful: (1) the sale was in its final day, in the final two hours, and (2) our purchase was basically incremental - the discount pushed us over the edge in the decision process. Timing was everything.
I think that this example shows the ability of mobile marketing to capitalize on opportunities that are highly time-based. If this offer had come out several days prior, the incrementality could be more in question, since consumers could have taken it on previously planned purchases. But last-minute shoppers (like us) are less likely to be making planned purchases and the timing was also clearly directed at reducing excess sale inventory at the end of a three-day event.
The one piece that was missing from this mobile effort is any effort to capture my name and customer identification. After all, we have been shopping at Hoigaard's for the past five years or more. Our purchase information from today could have proven valuable for future offers and benefits. Mobile messaging is challenged this way, but there are ways around this.
Note though, that the company's text messages have accomplished several objectives:
- Begun to train consumers to respond to mobile promotions;
- Accustomed consumers to promotional messages from this store;
- Given the company my wireless number, so they can in turn send future announcements to me.
This was my first direct experience with mobile marketing and it certainly opened my eyes to new possibilities.
Discussion Questions: What has been your experiences with text-messaging promotions in stores? What opportunities as well as challenges do you expect retailers will face in attempting to exploit this technology?