It’s personal and immediate. In our always-on, connected culture, no one can live without it. Mobile is the only device that’s with us all day. In a short period of time, mobile has moved from voice and text platforms to rich, interactive media platforms. This presents marketers with a significant opportunity to make mobile a viable part of the marketing mix. Merkle has a proven strategy, process and CRM approach to successfully help marketers integrate mobile into their marketing mix – from direct mail, email, print, web to social. We set the bar high and help our clients reach their target consumers, increase loyalty, and drive revenue.

For the marketer, there’s lots of nervous energy around mobile.  Establishing a meaningful engagement with the consumer through the mobile medium is challenging. We’ve taken a close look at how Marketers are engaging with mobile – here are a few of our observations:

• Most brands do not have a mobile strategy.  Although most marketers have plans or have already started mobile marketing initiatives, over 60% do so without a strategy. Engaging in mobile marketing without a well thought out strategy often drives poor results.
• Integrating mobile with other channels drives big results. We’ve seen mobile list growth initiatives double week over week, month over month by simply placing the mobile call-to-action in regular emails and point-of-sale material. In order to drive the best results, mobile needs to be integrated with acquisition and engagement channels. All this, plus mobile gives legs to offline and online media.
• Mobile data is an afterthought. Most mobile data is never connected to the customer database – a missed opportunity for multi-channel marketing. Marketers should be measuring engagement at the customer level and applying test-and-learn principles that are prevalent in other channels.

Our Proven Approach to Mobile Marketing
We help our clients properly integrate mobile marketing into the digital marketing plan, driving impressive results, sustainable success, and reduced uncertainty through the development and execution phases. To drive these results, we take the following approach, organized into four essential pillars:

	1. Start with an overarching mobile strategy. Developing and executing a mobile marketing strategy produces predictable results for long-term, sustainable success.
	2. Integrate with key media and channels. By properly integrating the mobile call-to-action in offline and online channels, list growth and revenue objectives are accelerated.
	3. Implement mobile marketing tactics in a phased approach. To build a solid foundation, start with the essential mobile marketing tactics, then add more advanced tactics to the mix.
	4. A CRM-Driven approach. Integrating mobile data with the customer database results in analytical opportunities that lead to valuable customer insights.

Mobile CRM – Connecting Mobile Data to the Customer Database
Connecting mobile data to the customer database should be foremost on the marketer’s mind. Most mobile data is never connected—a missed opportunity for multi-channel, segmented marketing. Getting started can be achieved in a low-risk, phased approach.

1. Start with a mobile strategy that is mapped and properly integrated with the overall marketing plan. This helps determine how mobile will support the marketing objectives, essential mobile data capture opportunities, and how this data can be used in targeted marketing.

2. Begin mobile marketing initiatives. For example, text messaging, mobile internet sites and smart phone applications create rich data. However, it must be aggregated in one mobile database with the plan to ultimately connect to the customer database. Initial targeting and segmentation analysis can occur here, providing quick wins and justification for mobile data integration.

3. Create a database marketing approach to mobile marketing. Incorporate essential mobile data into the customer database through real-time feed integration. With this in place, mobile can become part of your organization’s database marketing competencies and multi-channel marketing efforts. 

Our Capabilities
Our team helps clients across industries achieve their mobile CRM goals - from text messaging to multi-channel execution with segmentation, targeting and measurement strategies. We provide the following capabilities:

WHAT'S YOUR BRAND'S MOBILE IQ?  How does your brand compare with other leaders in your field?  Is your mobile program exceeding all expectations?

Get your brand score See how your brand stacks up Receive tips and tricks Share with your team To take the mobile IQ diagnostic test scan the QR code straight from your computer screen or text MYIQ to 95533.

Merkle has developed the Mobile IQ as a diagnostic test to help clients quickly assess their brand's mobile marketing strategy. The test is taken from mobile phones, takes 3-4 minutes and involves a series of questions that gauge competence based on the 4 pillars. The test also includes a Relative IQ, illustrating what other leaders are doing and tips for marketers based on how they score.

For more information about Merkle Mobile, contact us.