Mobile Musings: 4 Mobile Marketing Best Practices for 2013
3. Don't use mobile unless it's the right tool for the job; then use it correctly. Some of the biggest culprits of this are marketers using QR codes. I'm actually shocked at how many times I see QR codes used in a situation where the use of mobile isn't helpful to the end user — e.g., asking people to scan a code at a place where they wouldn't actually have the time and/or ability to do so, like on a moving vehicle or a billboard.
It should go without saying that a QR code used correctly causes some sort of mobile action, such as the launch of a mobile website that's specifically created to integrate with the marketing that included the code. It should be just as obvious that a reason to scan a QR code is included in the surrounding marketing piece. Are consumers supposed to just drop everything to scan a QR code out of curiosity?
4. Keep your campaigns fresh. While you don't want to abandon the fundamentals, it may be time to freshen things up a bit. There are three companies that spring to my mind immediately that could stand to follow this advice. While I won't name them, I will say they are all Fortune 500 companies and ones that should have better marketing advice coming from their team of experts.
One of these companies has sent me the exact same text message for over two years. Twice a month, like clockwork, I get a text that asks me if I want to be contacted by a sales representative with special deals on the car that I initially opted in to learn about.
Not once has the company sent me a link to see a photo of the car being discussed or given me details on new model features or even done a fun, simple reply function asking me which color car I'd like. At this point I'm still opted in only to see how long it takes for the brand to figure out this campaign isn't working optimally. If I were a regular consumer, I'd have replied STOP a long time ago.
