What's Your Cross Channel Customer Segment Worth?
Smartphones are not yet commonplace. Most consumers still use “feature phones” which allow text messages to be sent and received, and may offer internet access within the carrier’s “walled garden.” Mobile applications, email and the web are the domain of the few who can afford devices supporting them. It’s a growing audience, but for marketers thinking about reach (who isn’t) there’s going to be a trade-off, real or perceived, when targeting smartphone-toting consumers with promotions, offers, coupons and other calls to action.
It’s also true that consumers who research, browse and purchase via multiple channels are a highly valued segment. Studies of retail buyers have shown these consumers purchase more, and more frequently, than their single channel counterparts. A July 2010 RSR Research paper cites as much, with more retailers than not claiming greater profits from their cross channel customers. Buyers have many options to transact business, from visiting a storefront to going online and increasingly, using a mobile device. This is a segment marketers want to nurture and grow more than any other.
When you consider that smartphone demographics tend to slant toward the more affluent (those with money to spend), and the multichannel buyer spends more than others, you can see why marketing investments in digital channels are forecasted to outpace traditional media, according to a Forrester Research forecast. By digital channels, I am referring to social, mobile and email – yes, email. Among email users, this group is increasingly using their mobile phones to send and receive email as opposed to a desktop or laptop computer.
Mobile as Platform, Not just a Channel
Reaching the cross channel customer in the timeliest, relevant and often location-centric fashion has become the marketer’s goal, and a smartphone is becoming the platform for making it happen. Mobile is so often viewed as a stand-alone channel when in fact it is a platform offering a gateway to many channels. Text messaging, mobile email, the mobile web, applications, and social media are all finding homes on consumer handsets, collectively representing a challenge and opportunity for marketers.
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