The Secrets to Leveraging the Insatiable Consumer Appetite for Mobile Coupons Coupons have been popular for generations but mobile devices have taken this venerable marketing tactic into an entirely new realm.
By Brett Relander Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Mobile coupons have a unique pull. They offer a concrete benefit to the user in the form of savings on purchases and the data indicates the ever-increasing popularity of digital coupons within mobile marketing will continue.
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Presently, there are 560 million mobile coupon users. That will more than double by 2019. Emails featuring coupons are more likely to be opened and offer a much higher conversion rate than other promotional e-mails. In 2014, more than half of the U.S. adult population redeemed, either online or offline, digital coupons received across various mobile devices. Nearly 40 percent of mobile owners in the U.S. use their devices to access digital coupons. Nearly 50 percent of mobile users want retailers to send them discount coupons when they are near a store.
When executed correctly, mobile coupons have the potential to deliver amazing returns. The secret to successful mobile marketing with discount coupons lies in a well-crafted strategy built on best practices in the delivery, redemption and clearing stages.
Mobile coupons are versatile in terms of usage and advantages offered. A successful mobile marketing campaign using digital coupons hinges on getting the objectives right. A few ways to use mobile coupons to drive traffic to online and offline stores, and generate opt-in lists, include buy one to get one free, promotions offering something free, discounts and clubbing. Manufacturers can tempt dealers and distributors with coupon-based deals to push competing products from shelves and warehouses.
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Mobile coupons via SMS have a high open rate of 97 percent and a redemption rate of 10 percent or more. To fully leverage this benefit, you need to build as large an opt-in list as possible. That can be achieved through marketing campaigns in offline and online stores, social media sites, blogs and promoting app downloads.
Know your target demographics and the right time to message them. As a rule of thumb, business hours work best. Send messages to your target market on Friday and Saturday to obtain the best results when the promotion is a weekend sale or an unlimited Sunday brunch.
Both MMS and SMS are ideal vehicles for delivering mobile coupons. Multimedia via MMS allows for a richer reader experience, but the implementation costs are higher and it risks overwhelming the prospect with too much information. The best-performing coupons present information that is easily digestible and actionable. When it comes to mobile coupon marketing, simplicity is crucial.
Apps enable businesses to collect data on user behavior and send coupons personalized based on their profile and purchase history. Customer data used in conjunction with appropriate mobile marketing solutions will enable your business to send timely messages to the target market.
The back-end of the mobile coupon marketing process allows for the maintenance of an updated database of customer information. This back-end process should be integrated with the front end mobile coupon marketing process at the point of sale, so that businesses can take advantage of up-selling and cross-selling opportunities on the spot, or at later times via mobile coupons.
