Mobile Location Based Marketing

Instead of throwing out silly numbers of smart phone use or how many people own them, the fact is the answer is a lot. These devices enable users to be empowered when making purchasing decisions if thy are enabled by the right technologies. Businesses that use these wisely will do well and those that don't can experience anything from wasted resources to pricing and sales erosion.

When you think of Mobile Marketing for your business you need to focus on user experience. This means remember the screen is small. And you want as few actions as possible needed to get to the heart of your message or call to action.

Integration across technologies is key. Nothing is more frustrating of marketing started on one platform then not working on another. For example if you want a video watched on You Tube and the link appears in a Web Browser Search then doesn't load. Or you scan a QR Code and then a non-mobile formatted site loads causing users to zoom in and move around the screen.

1] Keep it Simple

Today the SMS Text to Response is still the simplest call to action out there. Yes QR Codes can do more but they still take more time and effort.

2] QR Codes

You must make them large and clear enough to be scanned. And when the content opens it had better be easily readable and usable.

3] Banner Ads

Ad Mob has gotten better. I am seeing many more name brands. Best LBS Ad I saw was for McDonalds McCafe. It was just highlighting their $1 coffee. I never click Banner Ads but I did this one. It opened a map with the nearest McDonald's locations. Very impressed. But I have clicked on 4 Ads in 16 months.

4] Location is Important

McDonald's failed because I live 8 miles from the nearest location. But if that Ad showed up when I was closer the chance of me clicking is higher. If I am in a store I totally want to connect. I am browsing and/or ready to buy. Imagine walking into a store and either with a passive check in or simple activation the store can review my past purchasing and pitch me offers on the the spot that is relative and urgent.

For example say my favorite sporting goods store sees it is April, my last tent was bought 4 years ago, and I get an offer of a better tent and if I buy now 50% off a new lantern. Or in October get pitched a free Ski Tuneup so when I come in you can try selling me on new Skis?

5] Be Respectful

If I am not in your store most likely I don't want contact from you on your terms only on mine. People might ask for push communication from their most favorite brands and be ok getting alerts etc, but from most brands they do not want this. Don't piss them off! The last thing most people want is to feel harassed by unexpected contact.

6] Don't Bribe 

You might say "Well what if I send you such a good deal you have to come in?'. You just hurt your margins. And while might be OK for a brand new customer to get them to check you out, a repeat customer will start waiting for these bribes. Be careful with bribes.

7] To App or Not to App

Most likely the answer in most cases is Not to App. What will your App do for the user? Why would they be compelled to download it and use it? Media Brands Apps are great. But unless you give the user a clear benefit and reason to use the App they will not use it. Amazon's Price Check App? Now that is compelling. A nice restaurant with one location? A Yelp! listing with a mobile formatted website is plenty.

Mobile will be a powerful force for those that leverage the technologies wisely. Others can easily waste money or at worst piss off potential customers.

Mobile Monday - Check Ins are Dead. Next idea please.

Location Based Services:

The Check In is Dead. There I said it. End of story. Nobody check's in on Gowalla, Foursquare, or Places. They just don't. The value proposition is not there yet. No matter what anyone or Mashable says.

Great example. This Cheese Cake Factory on Long Island always has an hour plus wait. You are looking at hundreds of customers per day every day. I estimate 150,000-200,000 customers per year. And they have 46 Check-ins?

Let's visit Foursquare:

The Colonie Center is one of two regional Malls. It has Macy's, LL Bean, Barnes and Noble, Sears, Cheese Cake Factory, a Movie Theater w/ IMAX. On one average day this mall easily has as many people as the total check-ins for Foursquare. The Cheese Cake Factory is always packed just like the one on Long Island. If the 1348 check ins was just for one year nevermind the 2+ I am sure it was listed then they get less than 5 Check-ins per day out of the 400-500+ people they serve every day.

I recently was at an Tri-City Valley Cats game which is the Class A Houston Astro's minor league farm club. They have a gorgeous stadium. Seats 4500 people and has standing room to allow 7000. I have been there twice. Both times seating was sold out. Both times less than 20 people checked in on both Foursquare and Gowalla Combined. 

Initially it was a novelty. Well as we all can say we have observed Check-in's uploaded to Twitter are down dramatically. I have always felt for LBS to work Brands/Businesses need to have a platform that allows me to come to the store (or just outside), Check-in via 3G not satellite and have a discussion on why I should come in. Send the circular to my phone. If I can have a unique identifier that connects me with past sales history for a customized special deal. But just to say I am here? Not happening.

Obviously if we knew about a deal that required a Check-in we would check in. Why are brands not offering deals? Because they don't have too! Business is just fine without them. And what would have to be offered to get us to pick one place over another? A bribe that is probably bigger than what the business wants to offer. If Foursquare or Gowalla or Facebook really wanted this technology to take off they should be the ones offering loyalty programs that connect my visits and what I buy to some reward. This way it isn't a one off give away and makes me earn a good reward that gets me excited. 

It was nice getting free Chips and Salsa at Chili's back when they ran that special for checking in on Foursquare. But really Chips and Salsa? Something I can get free at a Mexican Restaurant?

The point is, read the news. The news says almost 50% of people now have some sort of Smart Phone. So why is no one checking in? Would you tell a client they must be using these technologies? When they aren't working yet? Observe reality, Then decide whether what is being shoveled your way is the truth, a fib, or just some stinky cow poopy.

Mobile Monday - Pros and Cons of LBS Auto Check In

On the last week's Beancast Marketing Podcast which I highly recommend you subscribe to and listen to every Monday there was a great discussion about location based services (LBS) and checking in as a barrier to stores communicating with people who are inside or nearby. My friend Aaron Strout who was a panelist and writing LBS for Dummies discussed why he felt the 'Passive Check In' is the future which is when we don't check in, the system knows we are there and checks us in. He gives a really good example of WiFi and how we set up our devices to access WiFi just by walking into our home or work. BUT this is Opt In up front and the passive after set up.

Friday night I went to the minor league Class A baseball game where 4500 tickets were sold (It was sold out). The game was at 7pm. At 6:49pm I parked and checked in on both Foursquare and Gowalla. The total check ins combined was 11 (including my two). Based on the numbers of Smart Phone penetration at least 500 people had smart phones there taking into account many kids were there. Obviously almost everyone (Divide 10/500 see simple Math. Then Divide 10 by 4500!) found zero value in checking in even for fun like I did.

I have very strong feelings Pro and Con and since Sky Pulse Media's mission is to help Brands break through clutter I see this eventually being like email in one of two ways. If we are allowed to Opt In we will slowly accumulate so many that they all become white noise. If  the system exposes us to all stores it is even worse. Imagine driving down a service road and every business contacting your phone.

I put this in a letter to him and thought it would be great for a Mobile Monday Blogpost:

Pros:

1] Obviously no need to check in. Won't forget to check in. (but satellite is still gameable)

2] Should be consumer based not network based. Meaning I don't want a network seeing where I am and allowing any stores to contact me that I did not opt in for. But if there is a great interface allowing me to opt in and control I am all for it.

3] System should be covert. Meaning an App or something on my phone I can access on my own to view the contact from the stores I want to see specials or anything. I don't want clutter.

4] If this can be connected with a history of my purchases through an identifier for customized deals that would be huge.

5] If this can be connected with a loyalty program this could be huge.

Cons:

1] Satellite Based: my opinion this all fails because of the issues with being indoors. But this really applies just to Malls. THOUGH if I am not inside I could get checked in falsely to a store. I prefer network based vs satellite.

2] Any alerts that buzz or make a noise I do not want. Flashing light is ok. Shopkick I disabled because it buzzed me. I can see a mild manner Dad going bonkers from his phone buzzing and going postal and blowing up his local Hallmark Store.

3] Without connection to unique store purchasing behavior by me it becomes a drone no different from Sunday circulars. Why have this if you aren't custom tailoring this to me.

4] The more stores I sign up for the more this becomes clutter. How do brands stand out. For example Macy's: wouldn't Macy's and every brand they sell want to know I am in the store? If I go to the Mall and only want Macy's deals and 30 stores are on the list and I have to go access that list is this much different than going to Macy's and checking in?        

5] Is this any different than email except for mobile? I have used email as an example since I switched to a new gmail account 18 months ago and signed up for opt in contact from sites and brands and now I mass delete 99% of it every time I log in. I see this having similar potential. Even if I sign up for one at a time. I could be in REI and say hey I love REI I will sign up. etc etc. But once I get to say 20 or 40 stores....

6] As with email if I already get sales fliers and other advertising via email, TV and print if it is the same stuff the value is reduced so brands have to be canny. But if they all are canny does that then dilute everything. Could this become a huge margin reducer for many businesses if done wrong. 

7] Can this network be hijacked in anyway stealing information? Security is important.

8] What if there are many competing networks? I already have some competers as Apps like ShopKick. Obviously it will be similar to FourSquare and Gowalla. There will not be just one network or technology. People will have choice and Brands must then set this up across all options.

9] What if it exposes me to a broader network? It should not be tied in with anything Social ever. If a message pops up asking me if I want to share that is fine. But as we all now don't trust Apple for mapping IPhone users movements, do we want just anyone seeing where we are at all times without our consent?

I think as long as people find value it can work. I stopped using Foursquare much because I never see deals where I check in. Gowalla I use a bit more because no one who is not a friend is in my network.

But it needs to be 100% Opt In for each store, it must be respectful, it must bring me value, and it must be different than other forms of contact I am already getting from the Brands I love. Otherwise I do not want passive check in.

Mobile Monday - We Need to Separate the L, the B, and the S

LBS is no different than Social Media. It covers a wide array of technologies thus confusing everyone except the people who might make money off the confusion. Different Businesses and Platforms have different goals.

L is for Location:

Do we need a Satellite Linkup? Yes and No.

Yes if you want to be found. I use FourSquare, Gowalla, and Yelp! when in an unknown place to see what is around. What restaurants and stores are nearby.

But does a store I am going to visit need a satellite to engage with me? No. I can do that via my mobile device in person via 3G 4G or whatever G network I am using with a simple scan of QR code placed inside the store. This will prove no fake check ins. Even better instead of looking for a deal and blowing you off maybe I come in don't see a deal yet see something and buy it.

The problem with the Satellite is immense. Doesn't work indoors most of the time so if I am at the mall I have to go back outside to check in if I see a store I am curious if they have a deal. Doesn't work in the Upper East Side of NYC because of the tall buildings. It allows false check ins.

B is for Buying:

The goal is to get me to buy something correct? I was up in Vermont last week and checked Foursquare and saw some deals but none that was enough for me to come in and try a restaurant. To get a half price small plate isn't enough. But it's great if I am going anyway and know I can get that. But does that help or hurt your margins?

For a Store whether it is piggy backed on a Service like Gowalla or Shop Kick or a Proprietary App if I had a unique customer identifier that knows it is me with full purchase history would that create the basis for the most robust margin building, revenue growing platform ever? You can pull up the Chief Alien's history and custom craft the hooks possible to maximize a sale, move older inventory, or customize my experience just like if I had my own personal shopping minion.

S is for Social:

Does Location Based Services need a Social Element?

NO

But if people want to share you better sure enable that activity. I myself am sharing my check ins less and less with Twitter. I surely won't be sharing purchases etc. I definitely will never check in to a Place on Facebook. But that is me. If you want to go ahead. It benefits the Store or Business you are patronizing. Maybe there should be an added incentive to share kind of like what Lockerz is trying to do. 

For a Customer to Store connection if I check in and share with Twitter I get 1% off. If I share my purchase activity on Facebook I get another 1% off. If it takes place on a larger platform maybe I can accumulate points for a reward down the road.

Mobile Monday - Assorted Mobs

We often talk about the consumer side of things here at Space Agency Notes. But sometimes we come across developments that enable businesses to evolve and this trend is something we like very much. One thing our Alien's love to death is summer/fall festival season here in the north east. Filled with events celebrating food, crafts, farming, wine etc. And often many small businesses have to take cash or checks still. 

But Square offers an easy way to accept credit cards with your smart phone:

Square Up

They aren't the only service out there. But now it is much simpler to accept payments for small businesses.

I have also been crafting a blog review of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Motorola Droid2 that I have been kicking around. It is definitely a love hate relationship. My sister now has a Galaxy S Android and it seems a higher quality phone.

Lastly I wanted to discuss the news that Color received $41 Million in VC Funding. LINK

This was discussed on last weeks Quick-n-Dirty Podcast with @AaronStrout and @KyleFlaherty as a sure sign of an LBS/VC Bubble. But I want to give you a take from someone who has used LBS and why LBS sucks.

LBS has really only benefited me when looking for something nearby. Meaning I go onto Gowala or Yelp and let it show me restaurants in the area. Or using the Google Maps Navigator/Locator. It has been a massive failure to me where there is check ins involved. Anyone who knows our Chief Alien, knows he is against Auto-Check Ins for Privacy and Respect issues of many sorts. We are also against the Satellite for Check Ins. They are a big failure. They do not work indoors or in some parts of cities with tall buildings. 

Now lets look at Color. Color is an App that will let me go to say a concert, check in there and my pictures will get uploaded to the cloud and mixed with everyone else's pictures. So when I go home or from my phone I can see other view points. It is supposed to be anonymous. Ruh-Roh! I can see an LBS Chat Roulette coming here from participants as my first concern. You don't think some drunk dude in the men's bathroom stall isn't going to take a photo of his junk and upload? Now let's get to the Satellite issue. I have to remember to check in outside. I have to remember to check out too. What if there are two clubs next to each other? And say one is a strip club?

I just see so many opportunities for slick technology to be perverted in ways that people decide to shun it. Not saying it can not be over come. But $41 million is a lot of VC money for an APP.

Now click to Colors Landing Page: www.color.com You don't see Photo Roulette staring you in the face?

Mobile Monday - Travel Notes - Mobile - LBS still 1.0

On Saturday I went to Brooklyn, NY for an art show opening that I knew some of the artists and their group of friends. During my visit I used a number of Apps on my Droid2. Here is the high and the low.

 Usual Suspects Opening Night - WIlliamsburg, Brooklyn

Good:

Google Maps - with the GPS function enabled it shows your position on the map. If you entered an address it brings you there. 

Google GPS - the voice search feature is great. It also has at least an 80% success rate.

Droid2 - I don't take my Digital Camera out any longer and use my Droid2. Eliminated 1  device to take out!

Yelp! - allows me with GPS enabled to pull up bars and eateries nearby, often many with pictures. Also allows me to check in similar to FourSquare and Gowalla. I can even write a review while at the place and upload photos.

NYC Mate- On the Subway, which I meant to get a photo of they signs say the MTA as a strategic decision did not create any Apps for Trains, Bus, or Ferry Service. Instead they allowed private developers to create Apps incorporating the MTA info. So I use this simple App that has the subway lines and stops.

Twitter - Twitter for Android and Hootsuite make keeping in touch on Twitter very easily as well as the ability to run a clients Twitter while out of the Office.

The Bad:

Yelp! - I can pull up restaurants but not by cuisine on their App and it loads just 10 places per page. In NYC you easily would have 100 in close range in some areas. Won't allow me to complete my review until I am at home logged into Yelp! on my laptop.

LBS - FourSquare and Gowalla - bad news for your form of LBS. Yes I like telling SOME friends where I am, and sometimes the Twitter. Your services do not work in buildings. I was at the Spike Hill Tavern in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and I wasn't getting up and walking outside to check in. I also aside from one night at Chili's in October I have never seen any deals from the places I check into being offered.

Artwork by Keely

LBS Part 2- Shopkick - I have played with this App before. They do have some national my chain discounts. I never set up the settings and when I was walking from Penn Station to Herald Square because they moved the E train to the F train line. On my walk where seriously with 100 yards could easily have 100-200 Stores. My phone started buzzing like crazy. I was in a rush and wasn't in town to shop. I finally figured out at least one store was buzzing a deal and I decided I did not like that at all. I want to be there to shop and pull up the App and look for deals. I do not want Deal Alerts to my phone that buzz, or beep, or shock, or play a song.

Social -

I uninstalled my Droid Facebook App not that long ago. It works great but when I read Facebook wanted to sell phone numbers and contact info to Brands I decided I don't need contact by any push advertising from Brands that buy my info from Facebook. So went 24 hours without Facebook and I did not miss it.

Twitter - Twitter for Droid and Hootsuite - I like Hootsuite because it is better for managing my own account, and a client's. I like uploading photos when I travel to twitter. Hootsuite works better and faster, BUT the Ow.ly photo host doesn't show how many views, while TwitPic does. I like Twitter's new name completion and auto-shortening of links feature since the upgrade. I do not like that they don't have a 'Send' box for viewing. Hootsuite has this but it doesn't work most of the time. I really wish one App did all.

Hootsuite - it is a small box to see which account a Tweet Stream will launch into. So my joke photo of the Playgirl Van which was meant as an inside joke with @DarrylOhrt and @KDel713 about the next Humongo Nation tour vehicle via @skypulsemedia , it actually was sent into @ChunknChip 's Twitter Stream. DOH!

News Reading - I have several Apps I use to read news. Other times I like to pull off Twitter. Often if the Web Browser was asked to open the resulting content was not formatted for mobile sadly.

The Ugly:

Admob Banner Ads - I know I highlighted last week a success story. But seriously all I normally see are ads to find singles in my area and how to extend my battery life.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Motorola Droid2 Battery Life - I had to bring 3 charged batteries and my damn charger. Luckily Amtrak and the Art Opening they had a plug for me. Yes 3 batteries was not enough to last from 12pm Saturday to 11am Sunday.

Twitter for Android/Verizon - really very slow to up load 1mb photos. In fact sometimes it is excruciatingly painful.

Subways - No connectivity under ground. No 3G. No Wi-Fi. No GPS. No nothing!

 This Advertising Works!

In wrap up, while my phone was very invaluable in many ways, there were plenty of frustrations where things didn't work perfectly, were too slow, or froze up the phone! To me it feels like we are just out of the gate and the race is just starting for mobile technologies of a wide variety.

Visa and the why the Facebook Business Model Will Fail

Big news this week. Visa jumps into the LBS world for deals. See article from Media Post:

LINK

I blogged back in May that if Facebook charged $3/month, got just 200mil to pony up they would instantly have $7.2bil in revenues, rank 314 on the Fortune 500, could shut out all marketing efforts, forget Brands, forget Advertising, make the network 100% private and focus just on reinvesting in a killer Communications Platform that could compete with anyone. Now this failure is GLARING!

LINK

Visa has something Facebook doesn't. Everyone has Visa Credit and Debit Cards. In fact I am sure this far surpasses how many people use Facebook more than once per week (my guess is Facebook has about 300mil users who log in more than once per week). They also have something Facebook and FourSquare and everyone else lacks....CUSTOMERS!

Facebook, Foursquare, etc basically have to cold call and pitch their LBS services. I bet the GAP Deals effort for Facebook took 2-3 months of effort, and I still suspect Facebook paid for the cost of the promotion. Visa just has to include a sales pitch for their LBS services in their monthly bills to its customers. Imagine in every credit card statement a flier on how their LBS works shows up? That every bill sent to a business that uses Visa for Transactions gets the same?

Now lets look at the ammo! Visa Ranks 326 on the Fortune 500 with almost $7bil in revenues. More key is they made $2.3Bil in profits last year! Their profits was over 1.5x Facebook's revenues. These guys can torch everyone in LBS with really only Mastercard possibly competing.

When Pets.com went IPO the reason I said they would fail is not because people wouldn't buy Pet Food online, it was because Walmart can step in and crush them instantly. My money is on Visa.

I will leave you with this thought. What do you view the value of Facebook now if Deals and Places are dead? People want deals. We don't give a flying pig about sharing that info with our friends on Social Networks. We only do that because we get forced too!

Why Location Based Services are Slow to Catch on

During the Quick-n-Dirty Podcast today this NY Times Article LINK was posted in the chat room as they discussed LBS (Location Based Services) market acceptance for both consumers and businesses. I want to discuss philosophy and theory when it comes to consumer behavior

The Holy Grail for LBS is to bridge the last mile with consumers leading to a sale. The challenge is how to do it in ways that create a desire in the consumer to engage in this fashion. Will it be useful for them? Today I will use Restaurants as a case study. In a future post I will cover retail.

Restaurants. This is one that should be huge. Luring customers with specials and offers off the street. Well I can see a service that if I am out of my home and seeking to find a restaurant a service that would help me. Why not the Yelp! App on my Droid2? That would help me find restaurants correct? I can see the names and cuisines and go from there. I can even see reviews and possibly ask friends on Twitter. Done. I am eating.

But what if I am a business and I wish to lure you in. How do I know you are there? And if I know you are there wouldn't the rest of the businesses, and all of us will send out our specials or deals competing for your business. The problem is if I have to keep increasing my offer to compete it erodes my margins and profits. Plus if I don't have an easy and quick way to sift through the special offers and it takes too much time I will give up. Isn't Chili's by giving free Chips and Salsa on FourSquare just telling everyone Free Chips and Salsa for everyone? Is than any different than free bread or C's n S's at say every Mexican Restaurant that exists? Is that really special?

What about an LBS type of loyalty program. Wouldn't that work? As I frequent more I will get more back. Well this might work. But most of us like variety in what we eat, even among the same cuisines. Maybe I love your burgers but really feel like visiting your competitor. Once again you are back to increasing the bribe to get me in, reducing your profits. Doesn't a little card that I get stamped each time I visit work the same?

The point is we like variety. We love to try new places. We love to be able to tell people where we went and how it was. Even if we prefer one place for a specific cuisine we still will go to others just to mix it up. We will be open to some sort of a listing to browse specials and offers. I can see an APP that aggregates tonight's special dishes at local restaurants, or maybe Happy Hour specials (this one exists). 

Now I will say LBS has potential to bring in NEW customers. It is very much worth doing something to tease me into your seat, even if it means dropping your margins this one time. But after that you will start devaluing your business in my mind or your profits.

So what is the solution? Hmmmm......

Make kick ass food, give kick ass service, have an awesome atmosphere, friendly staff, and priced to fit all you offer. Do you really want to be competing at levels lower than this and have to reduce your prices just because you feel you need to use LBS? And if you are best in class do you really need an LBS technology to fill your seats? I think not.