Is the smartphone the ultimate companion for brand loyalty?

At the Mobile Convention London on the 26th March, the DMA will host two round tables on the topic of ‘Effective Engagement and Loyalty via Mobile’

In the session we will cover a few important questions around how the smartphone might be the ultimate companion for brand loyalty and how proximity, personalization and context-driven marketing each enhance the smartphone experience for the user.

1: How has the mobile become the most useful tool for context driven marketing? And how might you get the best from it?

Contextualization is the buzz word for 2015, especially when it comes to mobile. In many ways though, contextualization is a bit like the selfie, in that we’ve been doing it for a long time now, but only recently given it a catchy moniker. Any message that has been sent in real-time based on a customer trigger (like a welcome message or transactional email) is ultimately contextualized. This topic is getting more attention now due to the possibilities that are presented when you include mobile into the mix. Being able to recognise location and respond in the moment to a customer’s device that is on average interacted with every 7 minutes creates a huge opportunity for brands.

2: Which loyalty metrics can be improved by location-based campaigns and proximity marketing?

Mobile technology allows retailers to recognise and reward other actions beyond just a transaction, like check ins and tapping in using NFC. In turn customers’ behavioural data becomes as valuable as transactional data, as it can pinpoint prospects and identify rock star customers. A one to one relationship becomes possible with those who were previously anonymous, creating a conversion arc like that of online. It also closes the bricks-and-mortar to digital loop, as offline behaviours can be linked to an online profile. This big data will have a big value in the near future.

Metrics such as frequency of store visits and duration of cross-channel browsing are then much more easily identified, allowing better, more efficient measurement.

3: What’s working? Which brands use mobile to retain their most loyal and valuable customers?

When Pareto’s law stand true and 20% of your customers deliver 80% of your revenue, there’s a good opportunity to provide a service to the treasured 20% and mobile is a great way to do that. That way you don’t need to design an app that caters for all of your customers, just your best ones.

Some of the best apps on the market provide a further utility beyond an app version of the brand’s site. For example, The Queen’s Tennis club in London offers a queue jump app for it’s bar for those dedicated and regular visitors. OFFICE shoes recently launched a gamified app that gifted shoppers with discounts using proximity technology. Adding this kind of value to your mobile offering will drive success amongst your most loyal segments.