Some marketers spend a lot of their time dreaming up the perfect campaigns. I would know. I’m one of them. Just yesterday, I ran through 4 folios working on a mobile campaign for a client of mine. The longer I continued, the more I realized I’m onto something magical.

I had the campaign developed and set onto my testing ways. It worked brilliantly, but it took the “consumer” 10 minutes to finish and forced numerous text replies. It was evident that the campaign had failed before it even started.

I was gutted. Not because of the failed campaign. But because time and again I seem to forget the golden rule of effective marketing: Keeping it simple.

At a party the other night a friend of mine wanted to share a marketing idea with me. My friend is in construction, a project manager, someone more likely to overspend on budgets than devising marketing strategies. Needless to say, I was curious to hear what a “non-qualified” could come up with.

Vehicle dealerships tend to issue courtesy cars when your vehicle is in for a service. It’s good practice and certainly goes a long way in after sales service delivery. (I pity those who don’t)

What they manage to do, unintentionally I’m sure, is to remind you just how magnificent your own vehicle is when you return their no bells and whistles entry level mass production model.

That is the idea right? Well, is it? What if they issue you with a same model demo as your car, but with a higher spec? Just how special is your own vehicle now? Just how agonizingly short are you from your perfect car? How much would you be looking forward to trading in your own vehicle for the latest in the range?

I absolutely refuse to test drive any vehicle in a higher spec margin than the one I’m contemplating buying. The reason therefore is obvious. I’d hate to know what I’m missing out on by not spending that extra ten grand or so.

The problem with progressive marketing like this of course is the abundance of reasons we’d be given from businesses as to why this approach will not be viable. Because we as businessmen and women are programmed to assume that complexity is the measurement of success, where I’m sure that the average consumer would be reluctant, yet unanimous in agreement that driving a higher spec vehicle during service intervals will mess with their minds.

I have a new found respect for my friend. Not because of his brilliant mind, but for reminding me that marketing is about my customers.

The big boys get it wrong. Often. Ster Kinekor has been in the limelight on a couple of occasions in the past that I feel slightly bad for highlighting their flaws again.

However, for the sake of marketing, I hope this is seen in the relevant light.

But I want to start with the good stuff. They have done a sterling job on their web presence, because they realise the importance of it. Their website is posh, there’s no two ways about it. They only carry two banner advertisements and on top of that, it’s relevant. Heads up!

The site loads very quickly, despite all the animations and movie clips. There’s minimal navigation required, a feast to eye and the fingers of browsers landing there.

All in all, a job done fantastically well. It’s getting there that’s proving to be a chink in the armour. Once you get the hang of the internet and its browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox etc), you start becoming familiar with shortcuts.

One of these shortcuts is not having to type www before a web address. These days, I never do. And finding Ster Kinekor’s website that way proved fruitless. Typing http://sterkinekor.co.za simply takes me to an error page and forced me to revert to Google to find the correct address.

Arbitrary, you may think. And you’d possibly be right. But, you may find that patience is one of the single greatest issues with marketing today. Simply put, we don’t have any.

Which leads me to my next gripe. I was watching Will Ferrell’s Blades of Glory on Sunday night. To this day I’m not sure why, but that’s a debate for another day. I can’t stand the man.

Anyways, some of you might have noticed that after the movie, Ster Kinekor ran a competition giving away the movie on DVD, which I of course, have no interest in. But I suspect that some of my intellectually challenged friends might just.

They ask a ridiculously easy question and then require you to fax your name and contact details to a number that is so long, it can only compare to our South African 911 equivalent…whatever it is.

See anything wrong with that picture? I do. They want you, yes you, to get off your lazy post-Sunday-night-dinner ass, grab a piece of paper, write down your name and contact details and fax it to a number that is as cryptic as the Da Vinci Code. Fax! FAX!

If you don’t want people to participate in a competition, don’t run it. If you do however, have them text the answer to a shorter number (called a short code) in my humble opinion.

More entries and shockingly, you’ll now have a database of mobile numbers to market your products to in future.

Nice.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration of consumer freedom in the history of our nation.

I have a dream that one day…

- The mobile phone will serve as universal remote control to all transactions, banking, personal and internet communications and combine all feature sets of modern day technology to replace or complement computer desktops and laptops.

- All television commercials will have sms call to action. I believe this will once again place relevance to television advertising where consumer convenience is placed as top priority.

- That mobile networks, banking institutions and courier services could work together to enable smoother transactions where consumers would once again have time to spend on more important things in life.

The idea is for a (television) commercial to drive a call to action via sms to place an order. The order will be processed via the mobile network where the user could be identified, bank account looked up and the amount debited from the account automatically. The sms will determine whether the consumer requires delivery and a phone call would confirm delivery of the product.

- The television would be connected to an online profile where keywords or tags would determine the display of relevant commercials on television. This will be aid toward the death of mass marketing and a giant leap toward relevance marketing.

Relevant advertising would improve sales for the product suppliers and the mobile phone purchase mechanism would increase instant gratification purchasing.

- The weekly subscription plague of ringtones, love messages, naked women, cheap talk and tarot readings would find a better business model where the fine print wouldn’t be invisible to even someone with 20/20 vision. I believe there is a market for it, but due to their underhand tactics their approach borders on fraudulent.

- Our mobile phones would serve as debit / credit card, driver’s license and ID. I was told that this would be problematic due to security reasons, but you have to protect your wallet anyway, don’t you?

- It will become law for vehicle registrations to be connected to the mobile phone and bank accounts in order for traffic violations to be registered automatically and fines deducted from the owners bank account immediately.

This would ensure a more loyal and safe approach to driving, decrease road accidents and would relieve our taxes because of the government’s inability to retrieve its outstanding debt.

I have a dream that one day my children will live in a nation where they will not be preoccupied by the questions posed to us as consumers, but that they will live by the answers that technology provides.

I have a dream today!

Do you?

Shoprite (Checkers), lower prices you can trust. But what about convenience? Competitive prices inevitably mean more feet through the store, higher demands from consumers and longer checkout queues.

In a number of articles in the past I have expressed my disdain about the lack of convenience of many product and service suppliers. A complete marketing strategy features a great product, with effective advertising and marketing campaigns that reaches a relevant audience, but without convenience perfectly nestled at the base of any campaign, the purpose is defeated for all practical reasons.

The more human beings are exposed to convenience, the more convenience they demand. And it is up to the smart marketers to help their clients move toward that.

So when I first read about ShopRite (unfortunately not ours in South Africa, but keep reading) taking shopping carts (the actual in store shopping carts) to an even more convenient level, I was quite impressed.

They have implemented a digital MediaCart in their shops for their loyalty card holders which enable their shoppers to type in their shopping list at home and then when they swipe their cards on the MediaCart the list will display. As the shoppers then scan their items and place it inside the cart, the console will display a running price tally.

The MediaCart also has a built in infrared unit that provides feedback on the location of the shopper. This data is useful for marketers, product suppliers and store arrangement purposes in particular.

It also serves as advertising medium as product suppliers could display relevant in store advertisements to the shoppers’ benefit, depending on their location in the store, items in the cart and preferred brands that have been chosen.

Best of all, when the shopper is done, there is no need for them to stand in line to pay for the groceries, as that would only defeat the purpose. A simple swipe of the card an electronic transaction then debits their account.

For the in store shopping experience, my CLR (Convenience Level Ratings) returned a solid 8/10.

This world of ours is full of extraordinary people, you know. It’s no coincidence that many of today’s masterminds behind successful internet and mobile businesses are child prodigies, more often than not worth more than both their parents combined.

Meet Carl Ocab. A meager 14 years old and brainchild, literally, of www.carlocab.com, make money online with a 13 year old.

He’s too young to smoke, too young to drink, but the 14 year old prodigy makes a fortune as a… blogger!

We’re often told that our lives would be much simpler, with fewer obstacles, stress and worries if we could just shift our mindsets and behaviour back to when we were kids. We had a carefree life, challenging personalities and had the confidence back then that is truly needed in today’s world to ensure success.

When we were kids, we hardly ever let opportunities pass us by, regardless of the risk and possibility of failure. That is what makes these kids more special. They have found their niche, their passion in a very early stage in life and had the tenacity to do something about it.

Our fear of failure, embarrassment and scrutiny restrict our natural will to apply our minds and bodies to new experiences. Similarly in business, our inclination to follow our gut feel is stifled by protocol, tedious processes, ignorant decision making and our aversion to taking risks.

I see this in practice virtually every day. Businesses are afraid to pay notice to the plea of their customers, however subtle or direct. They refuse to acknowledge the change in consumer behaviour, change in trends and change in preference because they have smothered their natural ability to listen.

They also mostly refuse to change protocol or communications because their Neanderthal approach of top down management is firmly embedded in their being. They believe that a paying customer is a happy customer.

They’re scared to let go of the control of their brand. They prefer to let their mission statement do the talking in a time where customers aren’t willing to listen to corporate thumb suck anymore.

The truth however is that they have probably lost control of their brand already. Today, if you don’t have your finger on the internet pulse, you’ll more than likely be missing critical discussions around your brand.

Stop putting your faith in professional spin doctors to publish crafty contributions from the CEO, industry jargon that confuses and perceivably influences the belief system of your customers where in fact all it is that your customers really want is a direct communication channel to someone that actually gives a sh*t.

The key ingredient to success is simple. It is the willingness to change that stubborn mind shift that is so damn hard. Furthermore, it is the fear of losing control that is having you sit idly while your adventurous competition walks away with the prom queen.

Carl has a simple approach to business: Almost everything nowadays is possible. You want to be invisible? There’s a coat for that. You want to change your colour from black to white? Ask Michael Jackson!

I believe most of my friends and family know that I am in desperate search of a new vehicle. If you’re not in the mood for a rant, then best would be to avert your eyes. If you’re willing to continue, brace yourself, it might get ugly.

It’s been a two months from hell for me. I’ve visited numerous car dealerships’ websites, Google’d a lot of vehicle models and even sent 34 e-mails to dealers across the country. I’ll have you know that I am no closer to finding the car that matches my style, my wallet and my image.

Have I paid a visit to a local dealer? Hell no. The first time I’ll set foot in a dealership is when I test-drive a vehicle. I just don’t have the time or the desire to be inundated with conspicuous sales pitches, badly crafted hairstyles and business cards before we get to the handshake.

I believe technology has put me in a position where I can focus on my business hours and my social life to the extent that the effort of driving places and wasting petrol and money is only needed to put pen to paper.

The less I am subjected to peer sales-pressure, the better. The less time used arguing (some call it negotiating) on prices, interior styles, colour and maintenance plans the better.

Here is the deal. Did you guys know I own a mobile phone? Do you even know what I mobile phone is? Yes, it is that device you use to call your wife from the pub after a big sale to lessen the trouble you’ll undoubtedly be in when you get home.

So if you’re going to be in heaps of trouble anyway, why not put mobile to better use than calling the missus. Use it to let me know of the latest cars on your floor, the price and the specs. Allow me to book a darn test drive via reply text. Better yet, allow me to negotiate a price using my phone.

It is this seemingly simple value added service that would almost certainly grant your dealership or your manufacturer a better relationship with me, your potential client. I have ranted about the poor episode I had with one Peugeot dealer before. Are there any other Peugeot dealers out there willing to take a shot at getting in my good books?

This is a public outcry: I really want a vehicle. Here is my number: 082 223 9354. Send me pictures of your cars (not the pictures from your brochure, the actual car), their prices and their specs. Please. Don’t call me, else this will happen.

Not just you Peugeot. I’m also in the market for Volkswagen. Your Polo TDi’s are fabulous. Second hand or demo’s are perfect as new cars’ value depreciation makes me feel nauseous.

To all other businesses out there: Did you know that your customer’s mobile phone is their most valued asset? Once they’ve granted you access to their personal communications device, you’ve got it made.

Anyone else still dumbfounded by the lack of understanding from businesses on the potency of mobile communications?

At the end of the day I’m still a consumer and proud to be one. I believe that despite being a marketer, I too have the right to throw my toys from the cot.

[Note: For experimental reasons, sharing this post to register response would be most welcomed]

Companies and customers are from different planets. The ways they “do business” differ so vastly that it is difficult for companies to keep up with consumer demands. The client is always right is an age old analogy, one that most strive to live by, but this is often much easier said than done.

The reason for this is that life on Mars is commercially driven. Emphasis is placed on business processes and protocol to ensure profitability.

The key to successful business lies is attraction, acquisition and retention. However, retention requires a handy amount of effort. More often than not, these efforts form part of the original transaction and the time consumed by these processes intrude in the next business cycle of attraction and acquisition and negatively impacts profits.

Hence client relations, communications, up selling and cross selling opportunities and consumer demands are less prioritised.

The problem resonates from the fact that life on Venus is emotionally driven. Most of the times purchasing behaviour resides on the consumers’ emotional front. Completing a transaction is similar to engaging in a relationship. Even the purchasing of products or groceries is an indication that the customer has made a conscious and emotional decision to engage with your brand.

While companies might not necessarily agree on this, it has been proven on many occasions.

A typical example of this is when a web development agency delivers a website to a client. These agencies will profess that in many cases, they are suddenly regarded as first line IT support as well. This is especially true when the service delivery was seamless and the client happy with the product.

Why does this happen? Customers find it hard to connect with businesses that understand that transactions reach further than just the exchange of money. When they do, they get clingy.

So for all the times that you curse these persistent clients, realise that they are the customers that value your work the most. They are what I refer to as brand evangelists.

They are the people that will ensure your brand is carried to their peers.

These customers need to be treated with the same value you derived from their transactions. Luckily, in the digital age, there is technology that assists you in your client relations management and simultaneously allows you the opportunity to cross sell and up sell.

Stay tuned for the follow up post on these opportunities.

Many businesses are content with advertising. It is the age old safeway of portraying your marketing message on various high profile media channels like magazines, print, online, outdoor and on the radio.

The effect of advertising has decreased dramatically though. Since its popularity has increased, so did the amount of advertising. It is now at a state where consumers pay little notice to advertising in any form, shape or size across all media platforms.

A previous post of mine, claiming that “Banner Ads are dead“, highlights click through rates dropping from a whopping 42% initially to a substantially less, yet industry accepted norm of 2%.

The result is that agencies charge and companies pay more money on advertising to drive home the message than ever before. Various tactics are executed in attempt to increase conversion rates.

This is highly evident with the launch of two separate advertising models from two media giants, Facebook / Microsoft and Google respectively. Their new models are still in its infancy and it is hard to speculate on the potential successes of either. Both are buoyant on the ability to hyper target audiences because of the demographical information that is available to them.

However, most businesses do not enjoy such luxury and are unwilling to experiment in uncharted territory.

Another teething problem is that information overload has caused the consumer to spend more time content driven and substantially less time deviating from their goal. One survey’s results show that consumers now have the tendency to subconsciously block advertising.

Richer advertising with more witty visual stimulation, shock value and exaggeration together with star studded commercials has caused the latest attempt at reviving the interest of consumers in advertising.

But how is that possible when it is documented that the average US citizen is exposed to 3800 marketing message daily?

Another brain teaser of course is that richer content and flashier advertising might spark a greater deal of interest, but the conversion rates are still lacking. Consumers acknowledge the effect of a brilliant billboard ad, cleverly crafted video commercial or colourful magazine advertorial, but since the advertising is pushed to the user, the pull effect is virtually non-existent.

So while it does wonders for brand awareness, a tremendous feat already these days mind you, it does very little for sales conversions, which is ultimately what ROI is measured on.

Instant gratification works similarly in a child than it does an adult. While the objective might differ, the principle remains the same. When a child witnesses an ice-cream truck their immediate inclination is the desire to have an ice-cream.

Adults have a greater sense of resistance and rationale, so businesses should focus on enabling the consumer to respond to advertising immediately.

I rate the Sony Bravia’s Like.no.other television commercial [as below] as one the most effective commercials ever to grace our television sets. I have never experienced the television set personally, but the commercial alone created the “want to have” feeling. However, as the commercial subsides into my mind’s folder structure, the need to purchase subsides as well.

If for instance, Sony added a mobile component to the commercial encouraging me to conveniently enquire about the picture quality or other features and have them send me some information via my mobile phone with the option to order via reply sms, I reckon they would’ve been one sale better off today.

Is it a pipe dream to soon witness all television, billboard, online, print and radio advertising to carry mobile messaging as convenience driven marketing techniques? I don’t think so.

When that happens though, the novelty will wear off, just like it did with traditional advertising.

Better to get it while it’s hot, they say.

I need to have a dental checkup soon. I haven’t been the most loyal occupant of the dentist’s chair and I must admit I’ve been thinking about this for a while.

But, and I’m sure many would agree, my dentist just isn’t the sort of guy I’d add as a friend on Facebook. I’ve been sold the lie of “This won’t hurt one bit” more times than I’ve been told that girls like bald men. (I get that a lot)

Thank goodness for the nice reception lady, because once you pass her door your sudden need for a toilet indicates that trouble is imminent.

Therefore, I think it is fair to say that dentists have the most difficult job in maintaining customer loyalty. There is just no way he can get away with: “The only dentist never to hurt you.” Blatant lie, we all know that.

Nor can his ad read: “I bought my new drill at the hardware store.” Honest maybe, but not smart advertising.

I’ve only once in my life recommended a dentist and that was when he managed to pull a tooth in 3 minutes without me noticing that it was done. However, the pain thereafter, the trickles of blood oozing down my throat and the inevitable tongue poking of tender flesh is not what I’d refer to as great after sales service.

What I would prefer is the ability to make the dentist appointment a more convenient process. I would appreciate it if they could remind me of appointments or follow up visits. Mobile communications enable them to reach me on my mobile phone at any given time.

It will save the receptionist ample of time in calling me, leaving a message and calling me back. She could schedule automatic text messages for my birthday, Christmas or during the Easter weekend. Urging me to drive safely because they need my money and to floss after a meal would be most welcome.

What if I could receive a yearly checkup reminder by text message since I’ve erased the date given by the dentist from memory the second I left his room? By allowing me to simply reply to the message with my name to schedule this appointment would ensure I commit to better dental care right there and then.

With our busy schedule we conveniently postpone making “minor” calls. And dentist appointments are last on my list of calls I’d like to make.

The morning before my appointment the platform will send out a text message to remind me of it so that I don’t double book my time.

Then, my personal favourite: Once you leave the dentist room a text message that says: “We know because of the anesthetics you won’t (be able to) talk to us, so here is a thank you for your visit. Enjoy the tingling sensation in three hours.”

Although the post is slightly tongue in cheek (excuse the pun), it is usually these little things that distinguish consumer brand preferences and their recommendation to friends. Not all brands are fun, sexy and creates a buzz simply by launching a new product, but often it is the little things that separates them from their competitors.

Mobile marketing present these businesses with a cost effective tool to personalise their relationship with their clients and more often than not, this is all we need.

I’m not going to elaborate on the the evolution of the mobile phone and how it has empowered normal people way beyond our wildest imagination. Instead, I’ll reflect on a conversation that I had just this morning. Firstly, it is common knowledge that there is still a stigma attached to mobile phone advances in South Africa. Most of the older generation still rely on mobile phones to send text messages (with effort), make and receive calls and to wake them up in the morning.

Let me ask the older generation a question though.

When last were you gob smacked by the apparent ease with which your youngster operates his / her mobile phone? Not too long ago I would reckon. And by youngster I mean anything from the age of 12 to 35 and even older.

With the introduction of the smart phones [images above], savvy business people and an ever increasing section of the general public have found a multileveled approach to their mobile phone usage.

We surf the internet with our phones, we can engage large groups of people in conversation at almost zero cost. We can distribute audio, video and text information across various websites and applications to literally thousands of people within a couple of seconds using a standard mobile phone.

But this is irrelevant to the older generation. Consider this. [True story]

This morning, 8:30am 31 October 2007, I had a conversation with a 40-something year-old lady (my boss’ wife) in the crystal retail business about her upcoming mobile contract upgrade. She was telling me how she actually need nothing more than a standard phone with limited features as she only makes and receives calls with it. How often have you said that, huh?

I responded to her statement by asking her how she thinks her clients would react if they could receive images of the latest stock on their mobile phones and have an option to place an order at reduced cost via return text message.

The silence was deafening. The light bulb moment was even more prominent.

The best part of this scenario is that she could still maintain her standard mobile usage for making and receiving calls. She doesn’t need to engage in a technological war of thumbs with her phone and neither does she need to learn how to operate the most complicated phones on the market.

But her customers are enjoying a more efficient manner to conduct business with her.

The infrastructure is in place where we can control and measure these types of communication campaigns to provide the type of instant gratification and convenience that your customers have become accustomed to.

Remember, just because you prefer to communicate and purchase in the conventional way does not mean your customers do too. Go test it and leave a comment on your thoughts.