Instagram Video Taken By Our Customers Can Make or Break Us

Look in a crisis preparedness and management textbook – assuming you can find one in these days of digital learning – and you will read that a business can lose the battle for public opinion in two hours.

I consider that hogwash, not to mention a recipe for disaster if you operate your business with a belief that you have 120 minutes to “control” or mitigate a situation such as cockroaches crawling up your restaurant wall. Or irate customers who believe that you pulled a bait and switch with your marketing.

Why? Because in 2013, look at what your customers are carrying. Smart phone. Feature phone. Actually I call them all megaphones.

And, as brand marketers and small and medium-sized business owners, they are tools to hurt us or make us in seconds, not minutes or hours.

That has never been truer than today given Instagram’s addition of video to its popular photo-taking service used by more than 100 million mobile phone owners.

Sure, this was a worry yesterday when consumers could download the Vine app and shoot and post video nearly instantly. But Instagram is way more popular and video posts are about to go mainstream.

What are we to do about it? We must deliver at what I call the “Moments of Trust”, touchpoints between consumers and businesses that impact sales and loyalty. Perform at the highest levels and your store and employees can win over not just the person on your premises who is taking video, but also those who he or she will impact when the 15 seconds or less of footage get seen by others after it is posted.

And don’t for a second believe that video taking will be too complicated for your customers. It’s not. It’s as simple as downloading an app, opening up Instagram, tapping on a movie camera icon, and the mobile user is a moviemaker. Not Steve Spielberg. Not Oliver Stone. Instead, somebody more important to you than those guys – customers who not only have a say, but also a “shot” at making or breaking you.

Are you ready? Can you afford not to be?

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This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program http://Goo.gl/t3fgW, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

Clicks on Watchmaker's Tablet Ads? Time Will Tell

With time on their hands, do tablet owners care enough to click on a banner ad for high-end watchmaker Patek Phillipe?

That’s the question Mobile Marketer posed to me after it spotted this advertisement on the BBC News app.

Only time will tell, but here’s my response:

“Patek Phillipe has several things in its favor: readers of BBC News on tablets skew more affluent, plus the link takes you not only to the product, but to the stories behind it that are a major component of the company’s marketing efforts. Tablet readers spend more time with the BBC content than on a mobile device, so storytelling fits here.

“The ad definitely speaks high end, but there’s no call to action or urgency conveyed that would make a reader want to stop catching up on the news and leave the BBC site.

“It definitely won’t drive so much traffic that it overwhelms the brand’s servers.”

The full article is here http://www.luxurydaily.com/patek-philippe-courts-female-consumers-with-tablet-app/

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - The Marriage of TV and Mobile Edition

Who expected this headline in 2013: Gannett Doubling Down on TV with Belo Purchase? It’s not your grandfolks' TV - mobile makes it interactive and more attractive to advertisers.

"Flat design" and "deglitzed" failed to make it to Apple’s iOS 7 intro. It was all about benefits, just as it should be.

Of course, designers and other pundits attempted to have the last word – and made up some new ones, including overhelveticated.

Google maps turn by turn for iPhone rocks – that’s not news but it can't be said enough.

How important is mobile to Nordstrom? The retailer says that for every $1 spent via mobile today, mobile will inspire $13 of in-store purchases – and $22 by 2016.

70 percent of sales organizations using tablets are already realizing a positive ROI, according to a study.

Facebook mobile ad revenue is expected to top $2 Billion this year.  It’s the subject of my Market Motive webinar this Tuesday.

In a related note, local mobile advertising is expected to double in 2013, according to Borrell.

If you have a bad mobile site, Google says that you'll soon have a SEO problem. Bravo.

Mobile wallets are about experiences, not payments, according to a MasterCard exec. I say that you build loyalty to fight commoditization.

One third of Americans own a tablet. And further growth could come through reported $99 #Android devices launching this year.

I was struck how Siri expectations were raised so high for iOS7. I’m definitely in the "show me" place on this one.

Nokia has a new television spot selling what it calls the best low-light camera. Is that key to a buying decision for more than a few? Doubtful.

I wonder how many used their mobile device to watch the CBS Sunday Morning piece on not being able to put your phone down.

A Forbes article asked Will Mobile Revolutionize Advertising--Or Kill It? I say that it’s neither. There are no absolutes. It will change it. Already has.

An Ogilvy executive is the latest to remark that we need to bring value to mobile users. That can't be said enough.

Another article I saw said that Mobile Isn't Just a Screen or Device, It's About Behavior. Yeah, but it’s about understanding behavior that leads to business results.

What, If Anything, Keeps Your Customers Loyal?

My wife and I have become loyal to a small business owner who has never offered us a discount, sold us a product that we couldn't get elsewhere, or opened a location closer to our house.

The fact that his name, too, is Jeff has nothing to do with our interest in continuing to buy high-end dog food from him. What makes the loyalty more noteworthy is that we actually bought product from Jeff that made our pets sick.

What’s this business owner’s lure? Maybe you think he called one or more of our dogs cute. Nope, he has never met them.

Jeff treats his customers like they are his customers. He has worked in his Kirkland, WA, store every day for three straight years without complaint, with a smile, and a willingness to carry purchased product from his store to the car parked outside.

It has been that interest in earning our business and trust that got us past the fact that product he sold us was contaminated at the factory. That was neither his fault nor within his control.

Were he disinterested or on his boat while our dogs were pooping at an alarming rate, we would have had reason to shop elsewhere – perhaps to one of the likely more than two dozen stores that are closer to where we live.

But beyond taking back the recalled food – who wouldn’t? – he made it a point of learning even more about our pets so he could recommend a replacement food that would provide the health benefits that we were seeking. He checked up on the health of our dogs in the subsequent days, and has been there at every hour we come by to provide counsel and his interest in being a solution for us.

As a marketer, I think often about loyalty. As I’ve written before, in my view, more businesses, including small and medium-sized ones, should build opt-in databases to reach out to consumers via mobile devices in personalized ways that build loyalty.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has published seven tips for starting a successful customer loyalty program.

They include the following:

-       A loyalty punch card that offers a free gift after a certain number of purchases have been made

-       An opt-in club using email addresses obtained at the point of sale

-       A premium loyalty program to reward the highest spenders

-       Branded loyalty membership cards available through a number of commercially available loyalty card services that let you design branded cards, track and manage customer behavior such as number of customer visits to your store, average spend and more

-       A digital component, either with the aforementioned mobile or via social media integration – or both

-       Value adds like a workshop

-       Regular communication with members, offering them upcoming loyalty incentives, news on events, and birthday greetings

I have no argument with any of these tips. Employing some or all give small and medium-sized businesses ways to compete and win.

I certainly don’t advocate following Jeff’s route of working every day for three years. That’s not healthy and the good news is that Jeff is on the lookout for a fill-in for a couple of Sundays a month.

But business owners need to give customers reasons to come back. What’s your reason?

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This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program http://Goo.gl/t3fgW, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - "The Next Big Thing" Edition

Apparently The Next Big Thing was Samsung's $12 billion drop in market value due to slow Galaxy S4 sales.

I see a story where the iPhone low-end edition will be out in July. Give me second – I will find others that say August, September, Fall, and never.

I recently tried using the lowest-end smartphone recently. It was hardly the experience that benefits advertisers. Remember 60 percent have smartphones but not all equal.

Where’s the smartphone growth happening? About 18 percent of Americans ages 65 and older now own a smartphone, up from 13 percent in February 2012.

40 percent of YouTube's worldwide views now come from mobile devices.

DVRs and sports don’t mix - 1-2 percent of TV programs are sports in a month but they drive 40 percent of social engagement in a month. It’s the need to be live in a community.

The NFC (near-field communication) payment volume forecast by Gartner was revised downward more than 40 percent. You mean cash really wasn't going to be gone by Tuesday?

A barrage of "flat design" commentary will be coming with the iOS 7 unveiling. Questions I have are will the changes drive Apple sales and loyalty.

A study says irrelevant emails stress us out. What about tweets or mass offers for eyelash enhancements?

A report says that mobile users are willing to share data and watch ads in return for premium content. That’s true – they want a value exchange.

"Positive" tweets lead to more Twitter growth, a study says. Expect smiley faces in my next 1,000 tweets.

There is now a location-aware, mobile version of Wikipedia.

Storytelling has been amped up in retail - explaining technology "with stories instead of specs".  To say it another way, it’s about benefits.

Time To Forget Feature Phone Users? Forget That Idea

A majority of Americans now own a smartphone, a fact that leads some to believe that marketers can now ignore feature phone users.

I’m neither in that camp nor inclined to create mobile marketing and advertising programs that are exclusive.

For the first time, the highly respected Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project told us today that the majority of Americans now own a smartphone of some kind. Pew’s definition of a smartphone owner includes anyone who said “yes” to one—or both—of the following questions:

• 55 percent of cell phone owners say that their phone is a smartphone
• 58 percent of cell phone owners say that their phone operates on a smartphone platform common to the U.S. market

Taken together, 61 percent of cell owners said yes to at least one of these questions and are classified as smartphone owners. According to Pew, because 91 percent of the adult population now owns some kind of cell phone, that means that 56 percent of all American adults are now smartphone adopters. Further, 35 percent have some other kind of cell phone that is not a smartphone, and the remaining 9 percent of Americans do not own a cell phone at all (yeah, there are still a few out there).

What’s a marketer to take from this information? Several things, including:

• Since smartphone owners access the web in increasing numbers, you must have a mobile-optimized site. Another recent study said that more than 40 percent won’t return if a brand’s mobile presence is not optimized. And that trend is growing.
• Consumer expectations for mobile experiences with brands have increased dramatically. Mobile users want to be informed, entertained, enticed through rich media, and reached in personal and relevant ways. Mass offers like ones for flying trapeze lessons aren’t going to, ummm, fly.
• While the smartphone adoption numbers signal a significant milestone, more than 100 million still carry a feature phone. Many in that group have joined mobile loyalty clubs that primarily use messaging. Others are open to that proposition – repeated studies show that more than one third of mobile users are interested in being part of a brand’s mobile database. Brands like Coca Cola and Macy’s, plus thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, have driven sales, engagement, and loyalty through such inclusive programs.

Macy’s has developed a differentiating in-store program called Backstage Pass that gives shoppers access to 30-second videos that provide fashion tips and a behind-the-scenes look at clothes from Bobbi Brown, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, Greg Norman for Tasso Elba, Rachel Roy, Irina Shabayeva for I.N.C., and Martha Stewart.

What is most significant about Backstage Pass is Macy’s inclusion of calls to action involving SMS, MMS, QR code, and the mobile Web. There is even a URL given for those few who aren’t carrying a mobile device with them.

For Macy’s, it’s about inclusion and choice. After all, the retailer isn’t limiting shopping in its stores to those who drive red sedans. Why would it want to dictate mobile behavior?

And why would you?

(article first posted on imediaconnection.com - http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2013/06/05/time-to-forget-feature-phone-users-forget-that-idea/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+iMediaConnection%2FBlogs+%28iMedia+Connection%3A+Blogs%29&utm_content=FeedBurner)

Corona Taps Into Photo Sharing

For many, the only thing better than enjoying a good time is the ability to share those moments through social networks and messaging via mobile devices.

Corona wisely put a summer campaign together that taps into those interests.

Here’s what I told Mobile Marketer:

"Mobile and photos go about as well as beer and a lime. Corona's target audience not only enjoys a good time, but they enjoy sharing those moments.

“Corona's long-running Find Your Beach campaign really is about personalization – that moment could happen in many places. Surely, mobile phones go along to those beaches. So the company is sure to get a variety of photos and locales.”

You can read the rest of today’s article here http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/content/15470.html.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - The "Do You Need An App or Common Sense?" Edition

A new app uses Kinect technology to prevent you from running into things while texting. An alternative is to put the device down.

The No. 1 pet peeve about smartphones is people checking it too much, according to a poll.  I found this by checking my smartphone.

If gadgets could measure emotions as is being discussed, would an insurance company raise fees if you show signs of being depressed or sick?

I saw a headline that said TV Networks Play to “Second Screen”. Do you know anyone who leaves mobile in the other room? Me, neither.

Either real-time bidding will change everything or it's most hyped ever? To me, it’s somewhere in between, but closer to hype.

Will we see a revitalization of camera sales if they get 1m000 times better in low light or will smartphones satisfy? For most, it’s the latter.

I heard a true recent story of a 96 year old who was getting hearing aids for first time. She said, "This is not as easy as my iPad.”

One percent cut cord on at-home Internet for LTE, Wifi out and about. That’s more than cut cable, but hardly a stampede.

49 percent of tablet shoppers are dissatisfied with the buying experience – report. Non-optimization leads to anticipointment.

"We're all in on mobile. We were created for mobile" Words from Twitter CEO Dick Costolo.  And some still have social and mobile in silos?

Today I again violated that rule of not looking at email in the first hour of the day. I’m thinking I should start with the first minute.

The mobile ad spend in the U.S. was $4B in 2012 compared to $37B for web advertising, according to Mary Meeker. That’s consistent with forecasts

Headline of day - PayPal Founder Launches Startup To Get More Women Pregnant.

Evaluating Microsoft's Ads Targeting iPad "Deficiencies"

You likely have seen the TV ads where Microsoft is taking the iPad on. One pokes at Siri, the other calls attention to the fact that Office applications are limited on Apple’s tablet.

Mobile Marketer asked me what I thought of this tact.

Here’s, in part, what I said in today’s article:

"Sure, it would be great if we could use Office programs more freely, but many of us don't see that as a deal-breaker — just like we don't see a crappy Siri experience as a deal-breaker.

"There is too much else that delights us.”

The full article is here http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/15442.html

I’d love to know what you think.

Can Mercedes Drive Traffic Through Mobile Advertising?

In my Mobilized Marketing book, I wrote that the coolest thing in mobile was, of all things, a Ford campaign that employed an unsexy text message call to action in traditional media to produce a 15.4 percent lead conversion.

To me, cool equals business success, not necessarily innovative technology.

Many auto manufacturers employ mobile in the hopes of moving product.

In a story running today, I told Mobile Marketer that Mercedes is wise to partner with CBS News.

“The automotive industry has had great early success with mobile, mostly from the manufacturers and dealers who are delivering personalization options – as in build your own car on your device – and current inventory for those who are inclined to visit a dealer for a test drive,” I said in the story.

“Apps are just part of the mobile solution. Car manufacturers and other brands should give consumers choice on how to interact via mobile.”

The full piece is here: http://www.luxurydaily.com/mercedes-boasts-new-e-class-in-mobile-ads/

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer: The "U Can't Touch This" Edition

Consumer Reports says that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is the world’s best smartphone in part because you can use it with gloves on. I see a commercial coming with MC Hammer’s song, U Can’t Touch This.

In the first three months of 2013, 1.8 million Spaniards switched from big carriers to small, cheaper operators. Is a repeat here? Upstarts get smashed in marketing budget wars.

Only 9 percent of marketers think agencies do good job keeping up: Chief Marketing Officer Council. I find that especially true with mobile and traditional firms, some of which that have never veered from the 60’s-style TV spot and print.

Smartphone owners spend 127 minutes per day in mobile apps. What was that about the mobile web killing apps?

A new ad saying more people enjoy music on an iPhone than any other phone targets a younger demo. No 50-somethings.

A report says that by 2016, 25 percent of all laptops shipped will have touchscreens, as compared to just 10 percent now. That’s in large part due to mobile’s effect on technology and behavior.

Home improvement or HTC First with Facebook Home won't be sold in Europe, according to AllThingsD.

64 percent of mobile users use Twitter in front of the TV at home. 25 percent of them tweet about the shows they watch.

99.9 percent of new mobile malware targets Android phones. Consumers don’t care – and won’t until there is a significant issue.

Walmart's head of mobile said at CTIA that while sales through a phone are important, it’s mobile-influenced sales that matter most. Also, Walmart app users spend 40 percent more per month, make twice as many trips as non-app users.

An 18-year-old’s invention can recharge a mobile phone in 30 seconds. But a component needs to be put into the batteries, so it won’t work on our current models.

Mobile Consolidation Brings More Opportunity to SMBs

Consolidation continues in the mobile space with two deals having implications for small and medium-sized businesses, among others.

First, Payvia, a carrier-based mobile billing startup, bought Mogreet, a mobile marketing company that keyed its business on delivering MMS or multi-media messaging, then expanded its offers to provide a more extensive SMS or text messaging solution.

Payvia’s purchase of Mogreet is intended to increase revenues for businesses through targeted mobile payment transactions and relevant ongoing engagement via branded communications, offers and mobile relationship management. The company says it has paid out to merchants and developers worldwide more than $2 billion in global mobile commerce revenues.

A second and unrelated deal got much more attention and praise with MediaPost saying a merger between Seamless and GrubHub forms a “takeout powerhouse”.

Seamless offers ordering for delivery and takeout to more than 12,000 restaurants in the U.S. and in the UK and owns the MenuPages service for providing up-to-date menu content. GrubHub covers 20,000 restaurants and 250,000 restaurant menus through its Allmenus digital brand.

This will create a network of takeout and delivery ordering by Web and mobile for over 500 cities in the U.S.

Some SMBs adequately compete in this space, you say? This deal will produce more innovation, advancing such services as Track Your Grub. Participating restaurants will send the buyer text messages that give status reports on their order, when it is being processed, and when it is out the door to be delivered or ready to be picked up. Some restaurants are even offering mapping capabilities to track the driver on their way to your door.

Says MediaPost’s Steve Smith, who is one of the smartest when it comes to mobile’s effect on the bottom line: “Mobile takeout and delivery services will become normalized because in large measure they simply expand the functionality of an activity we already do -- ordering by phone. This simply puts the entire menu in front of us anywhere and any place and spares us having to talk over the din of the restaurant’s background noise while we ask all of our family members what they really wanted to order. This also gives us better access to available deals, just as it gives merchants greater opportunity to push special offers and personalize the experience even further. And this fundamental move of voice phone ordering to data channel phone ordering opens up enormous possibilities for local mobile marketing and advertising.

When it comes to talking about mobile commerce and mobile payments, it’s these incremental mobile extensions of activities to which we are already accustomed that will lead the way. We'll be waiting for years for those point-of-sale systems at some of the major retailers to be able to take a mobile payment. Some of the mom-and-pop local restaurants may already be ready.”

My take on these deals? I agree with Steve that the nimbleness that characterizes many SMBs gives those entities an advantage over the larger retailers who historically have changed out POS systems about once a decade. Plus, in the latter case, there are many stakeholders in the decision, often including IT, senior management, marketing and operations.

SMBs have no such organizational structure nor do they have the hurdles that come with it.

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This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program http://Goo.gl/t3fgW, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - The "Dumber Smartphone User" Edition

A report suggests that smartphones are making us dumber. I read it as more of an opinion about the downside of multitasking. I would say more, but I’m conducting an orchestra while I write.

I’ve been using a low-end smartphone for some testing. It provides perspective on the complaints we have with the better models.

As of late last week, while Facebook's stock was down 30 percent since its IPO, daily users were up 26 percent, mobile monthly users were up 56 percent, and revenue up 38 percent, according to Techcrunch.

More on the changing face of mobile messaging - Google’s new Hangouts app will soon support SMS.

Headline: Mobile Loyalty Programs - The New Home Run for Marketers. New? No. ROI has been proven for years. There are dozens of examples in my Mobilized Marketing book and on this site.

Groupon Co-CEO: My wife won't let me forget I rejected Google's $5.75 billion. My wife would move past it. Sure.

Ninety-five percent of Q1 Android smartphone profits went to Samsung.

Households making less than $30K send/receive 60 texts a day, twice those of households earning more than $75K, according to Pew.

ABC will reportedly participate in Nielsen's first test of new technology designed to track mobile TV viewers.

A Virgin America flight attendant reportedly said this upon landing: “If your mobile device is within reach, you can stop pretending it’s turned off now.”

There is no unsubscribe link on Priceline emails. you know, the ones you and I never asked to get when we booked a room.

I hate those "automated" counts like the one running on the Apple home page last week supposedly counting app downloads. They smell fake every time.

Only 3 percent of affluent women buy designer apparel via mobile: study. That number seems very low and bound to go higher.

Watchmaker Turns Back Time - And Not In Good Way

A former boss named Dave Thomas (no, not that one) coined a phrase anticipointment to describe poor delivery after raising a consumer’s expectations via marketing.

Watch maker Christopher Ward’s mobile efforts can be described this way.

As I told Mobile Marketer, the company has erred in sending prospective customers to mobile devices via a QR code prompt.

“For a company all about time, Christopher Ward inexplicably takes mobile users back with a non-mobile-optimized site that disappoints. Magazine readers who go there have no clear path to educate themselves, learn more about the products and, most importantly, buy.

“Rather than drive purchases, I think that it puts a huge hurdle in the way.”

The full article is here - http://www.luxurydaily.com/christopher-ward-aims-for-sales-via-qr-code/

Mobile Gives SMBs Competitive Advantage

In many cases, mobile is more than an equalizer for small and medium-sized businesses – it is a tool to gain a competitive advantage.

In a new and comprehensive survey of 80 SMB companies and review of data from over 12,000 other similar business conducted by leading wireless analyst Chetan Sharma http://chetansharma.com/ABCs_of_SMB_Transformation.htm, roughly three-quarters of respondents were satisfied with the ROI of the deployed mobile data solutions. These companies have been in business for 20 years on average with over two years of experience with mobile data solutions.

The top reasons for mobile data solution adoption:

Cost reduction – Over 70 percent of the respondents said that cost reduction was their most important driver for adopting mobile data solutions. As an example, during the course of the day, if a customer appointment is cancelled, software can automatically route the worker to the next optimized customer location based on context and relevancy without having to disrupt the work flow.

Work flexibility – Using the always connected devices, operations can be optimized for efficiency giving the central command center several options to deal with exceptions and emergencies.

Quicker access to people and information – Over 65 percent of the respondents picked quicker access to information and people as an important virtue for them to consider mobile data solutions.

Better customer service – The same technology can be used to keep customers up to date about the appointment in real-time instead of providing 2-4-8 hour time windows for repair and delivery. The financial transaction can take place on the spot with a touch of the button. This saves the customer time and hassle and improves service provider customer service.

According to Sharma, a general rule of thumb is that if the person works for 20 percent or more outside the physical office, they will need some form of mobile data solution.

Sharma said that the SMB segment is a leading indicator of how larger enterprises and consumers in general will adopt mobile data solutions to enhance productivity and reduce costs.

Those in the survey aren’t satisfied with the status quo. The panel is planning to provide more mobile data solutions to more employees next year. The spend is for both upgrading and purchasing new devices but also for buying cloud based and packaged software solutions.

The new emerging categories of investment are in analytics and business intelligence solutions, mobile marketing and advertising, and supply chain integration.

There are ample cases of small and medium-sized businesses selling more products and services through relatively inexpensive mobile marketing and advertising programs. These include a maid service in Utah that had to hire more personnel after its sponsorship of a radio station ticket giveaway brought new prospects, and a Baltimore car dealer that sold 34 automobiles in one day as part of a mobile campaign after not selling a car in over a month.

Each of these successes and others are detailed in my Mobilized Marketing book.

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This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program http://Goo.gl/t3fgW, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

Takeaways For Marketers From Mobile Marketing Forum

Home improvement and mobile are as matched as a hammer and nail, and other takeaways from the just concluded Mobile Marketing Forum in New York:

On the heels of a presentation by Lowe’s at the last Mobile Marketing Association get-together in San Francisco in January, Home Depot detailed its own measureable progress in engaging shoppers and selling more stuff through mobile devices.

Among the learnings:

• Home Depot’s mobile-optimized site and apps provide access to the 400,000 different product types available online – as compared to the 35,000 in physical stores.

• About a third of Home Depot’s traffic last year came through mobile.

• Home Depot’s app has been downloaded 3.5 million times, with traffic up 60 percent because people responded to opt-in push messages.

• Home Depot recently ran a test on Twitter and saw mobile engagement outpace desktop by 40 percent.

“The biggest challenge today for marketers is to make it exciting for consumers,” said Trish Mueller, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Home Depot. “We’re passionate about customer service and mobile provides such an amazing way to connect with the customer.”

In January, Sean Bartlett, director of mobile strategy and platforms at Lowe’s, told us how mobile innovation has entered the 65-year-old retailer’s 1,700 plus stores with 42,000 iPhones in the hands of associates, and Wi-Fi in store to give shoppers what they desire – easy and free access to product reviews and social networks.

So, if you want to build a case for mobile, watch the home improvement efforts. …

Rules and regulations, arguably the driest of mobile topics, were discussed in committee meetings, the larger sessions, and in hallway conversations when campaigns run and contemplated were being discussed.

And with good reason. Coinciding with the MMA Forum was news of a lawsuit where a Web user sued Facebook for allegedly sending her an SMS message suggesting that she send “friend” requests to other users.

Illinois resident Darya Ivankina alleges in her potential class-action lawsuit, filed this week in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, that the social-networking service violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending her cell phone an unwanted ad.

That law prohibits companies from using an automated dialing service to send SMS messages to people without first obtaining their consent. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act provides for damages of up to $1,500 per text message.

Facebook didn't have an immediate response.

While technological advances like Google Glass made for interesting conversation in New York, some of the most successful campaigns featured use of permission-based databases that brought value to the mobile user and the brand. …

We again heard that mobile searches create large opportunities. According to Google’s Tim Reis, 73 percent of mobile searches trigger additional action and conversions.  …

International mobile guru Tomi Ahonen reported that the average smartphone user looks at the device every five minutes – or 200 times a day. Further, he said that if one was counting full-length 160 character messages, a teenager sending 100 SMS per day would type the full text of “War & Peace” in under 7 months.

That’s a large amount of consumer interaction in any book.

(first appeared on imediaconnection.com - http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2013/05/13/takeaways-for-marketers-from-mobile-marketing-forum/)

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer: The "Please Turn Off All Electronics" Edition

One-third of airline passengers say they don't turn off electronics, according to a new survey. Many claim the inaction is unintentional. I observe disregard on most flights I take.

Could Facebook have been so short-sighted as to not deploy enough longtime Android users to build Home, which now is being seen more for its missteps?

Those who have downloaded Facebook Home spend 25 percent more time on the network. There are just not enough people on it yet.

Anheuser-Busch uses mobile to take consumers form "awareness to consideration, favorability, purchase intent, purchase, loyalty and advocacy," says Winston Wang, global director of strategic innovation.

ABC will be the first U.S. broadcaster to live-stream local, syndicated, and national shows -- to mobile devices. But it will only work in certain cities for paying cable subscribers.

Among the reasons that Facebook may spend $1 billion on mapping app Waze is better monetization of local search.

Google Wallet has dropped plans for a companion physical card. It was thought by many to be needed backup for battery-depleted phones.

Eight percent of U.S. online adults with a mobile phone have used QR/2D bar codes in the past month, according to Forrester. The naysayers would say it’s .08 percent.

ESPN is eying subsidized wireless data plans, reports the Wall Street Journal.  No cheering yet with economics still to be worked out - or not.

85 percent of mobile givers are first time donors to a charity. Haiti relief was the moment when mobile giving became huge.

A person passes 5,000 ads a day, sees 285 of those, but only notices 6, according to Borrell Associates.

QR codes for researching products? Not so much -- entertainment, amusement are remaining reasons for marketers to consider usage.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer: The Erase Your Flaws Edition

I’m loving the sound of an app that "erases my flaws". My wife is loving it more. No more grumbling about yard work or errant tee shots, plus I’ll no longer tell bad jokes.

My first moments with Google Now on my iPhone tell me that this should have been Siri Then and Now.

One in five paid search clicks going to mobile, according to new stats. When it will become 50 percent online, 50 percent wireless?

Commenting on the iPad, Bill Gates said that there are "a lot of frustrated users" who “can't type, can't create documents, don't have Office there.” Surely, there are some. How big of an issue this is can be debated.

Wording win of the week? How not to be a Google glass-hole.

“Build an app for a person who has never used a desktop computer because they are coming soon,” says a Walmart executive. Mobile shrinks the technology divide.

The person who downloads Apple’s 50 billionth app will get a $10,000 gift card for App Store -- to start on next 50 billion.

Facebook is offering users more ways to hide mobile ads. It fact, it claims a targeting tool keeps "x-out" rates down by 15 percent.

Disney announced a new mobile app called Story. Take photos and videos and turn them into stories.

From Google’s Eric Schmidt: Every two days now we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003.

I read a story that said that the advent of digital music "forced musicians to be marketers".  As with all marketers, some made it, some didn't.

Three out of the 4 biggest revenue generators on the non-game app Google Play charts are messaging apps.

I’m a big believer in text programs, but question whether consumers will text in off Schick print ad, then give name, email and address for a free disposable razor.

Mobile and Picture-Taking: Share and Share Some More

I was asked by Mobile Marketer whether mobile has a place in Vanity Fair's Best-Dressed Challenge. My response? A place at the front of the line. 

“Mobile is ideal for a contest that combines picture taking, sharing, a prize and vanity," I told the publication. "It creates buzz, competition, fun and a viral element. Vanity Fair will surely post photos of the contenders and maybe the pretenders, giving those interested more reasons to visit and revisit the web site."

The full article is here - http://www.luxurydaily.com/vanity-fair-boosts-awareness-for-best-dressed-challenge-via-flashy-mobile-ads/​

Listening and Transparency Are More Important Than Ever In Mobile Age

In previous posts, I’ve talked about the dramatic change at retail with what I call the “megaphone” effect. In case you missed those writings, I’m a firm believer that at the “Moments of Trust” touchpoints bringing together a consumer and a business, the individual has an amped-up and important voice regardless of whether he or she carries a smartphone or a feature phone.

At these “Moments of Trust” that impact sales and brand loyalty, consumers express their pleasure, displeasure or indifference (which may be worst of all) via instantly posting their words, photos or videos on social networks, or by texting to those in their worlds. It doesn’t take the most sophisticated phone or the most technical of mobile user. It just takes a megaphone.

I bring the subject up again after reading Why SMBs Should Embrace Negative Customer Feedback, a post on cfo.com http://www3.cfo.com/article/2013/4/social-media_reputation-management-risk-growth-smb-1saleaday-federman-customer-feedback?currpage=0.

In it, an employee for daily deals site 1SaleADay.com wrote about the comments his business received after it began selling a credit card pocketknife, a utility knife that folds into the size of a credit card.

Soon after, a customer in law enforcement posted the following message, criticizing the sale of the product:

“As a Law Enforcement Officer, I do not appreciate you selling items that criminals can easily hide... As a result of you selling this product, I will no longer be your customer, and will be spreading the word, via word of mouth and social media, for people to stop buying from your website.”

The remarks were out of the ordinary with most daily input coming about shipping and returns.

But knowing that BIA/Kelsey estimates that small businesses spent $1.6 billion managing their online reputations in 2011, and are projected to spend more than $5 billion a year by 2015, 1SaleADay.com decided to be transparent and open to dialogue to its 420,000 active Facebook fans.

“From a financial perspective it was important for us to survey our consumers to ascertain whether this particular consumer’s sentiment was more widespread,” the author wrote in the cfo.com post. “We decided that if the reaction to selling the knife was overwhelmingly negative, we would reconsider whether to sell this product because it would hurt our bottom line by alienating existing customers. On the other hand, there was also a concern that by soliciting feedback we would draw unnecessary attention to this issue and bring out otherwise latent criticism.”

Within 24 hours, the company received over 750 comments. Many of those that left comments were appreciative that the company was seeking their perspective. The vast majority agreed with the decision to list the knife, pointing out that other major retailers sell the same and similar knives. One comment, which received over 220 independent likes, said, "I don't appreciate the law enforcement officer trying to tell me what I should and shouldn't buy, because I haven't done anything to forfeit that right."

Which brings me back to the in-store experience. It’s no different than what happened in this case online (in fact, by 2015 more will be viewing the Web on a mobile device than PC).

Small and medium sized businesses compete and often win on the personal touch, and by knowing and listening to the customer. This is even more critical in the mobile era with speed to comment and influence happening at a blistering pace.

1SaleADay.com took a negative and turned it into a large positive. It’s a lesson worth remembering.

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This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program http://Goo.gl/t3fgW, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.