Lately, I’ve noticed that marketers are quick to rush to the latest technology when it comes to mobile, instead of what could be the most efficient or effective contact strategy. While the discussion began with a focus on the need to “reach as many people as possible” and “drive ROI,” the client’s team quickly latched on to the topic of iPhone apps.
After we bounced around all the cool ideas that could be executed in an application, and don’t get me wrong, they were pretty cool ideas, I asked the group to take a step back. When I mentioned that less than 6% of our target audience even owns an iPhone, the conversation started to change. Then as I explained that there are 45,000+ iPhone applications on the App Store and the majority of those are not opened more than five times, the conversation turned. The client said, “Well, we know our consumer has their phone with them all the time. What’s the best way to reach as many of them as possible for the least amount of money?”
What happened next doesn’t matter. We were now looking at the audience, the objectives and the goals as opposed to the technology. Our client was now asking the right question — and that gave us the chance to develop the right campaign.
I think what you describe here is an age-old predicament. When the web first came about, everyone said “I want a website!” – so they slapped brochures online. User experience teams now know how to show clients how to get so much more from their websites with a little thought about the end user. Same deal with social media. “We want it!” But there’s so much more to it than that. To be a good partner, we have to uncover the higher-level goals, target audiences, and desired behaviors, which really don’t change over time. Then, we can help clients develop strategies against those goals using ALL available technologies of the day – and even start prepping them for the technologies of tomorrow. I definitely think you’re helping your clients to ask the right questions.