Is a mobile loyalty campaign right for every business…

Mobile loyalty programs are becoming increasingly popular among smartphone users, and retailers, restaurant owners, and other merchants are starting to recognize the size of the potential that they hold. However, all loyalty programs are not created equal over the mobile channel, so it is important to know how to evaluate one for its efficacy.

Use the following questions to help to decide whether or not a mobile loyalty campaign has the best chances of success:

• Is the program transactional? Even though it is being used through a new technology and channel, the basic rules of loyalty programs remain the same. If it has been properly designed, then it should provide customers with rewards based on their purchases on an individual transaction basis.
• Is there compatibility between the plug-and-play and the current POS environment? In order to for it to work properly, this solution has to be able to send the transactional data directly from the POS at the time of the sale, in real time, or following the purchase in batch processing reports.
• Does it provide adequate security? Though loyalty programs based on plastic cards are on their way out, what consumers do like about them – and what is causing them to cling to them – is the fact that they are highly secure both for reward redemption and throughout the accumulation of benefits.
• Has it been proven to work? This may be a new channel, but you want a program that has already proven itself to work and won’t put off customers with its complications, crashes, bugs, problems, and unpredictable results.

 Mobile loyalty campaign best practices

Though mobile loyalty programs may still be in the emerging phase, professionals in the industry are already suggesting the best practices for their development and use in a campaign. There are some recommendations that professionals are making that will help to define whose campaigns, as a whole, will and will not become successful.

With the speed of today’s technology, the choices that are being made for loyalty programs must not only cater to today’s consumers and devices, but also the trends that are soon to arrive.

Mobile marketing experts are making these recommendations…

1. It is vital to include the use of mobile devices in any loyalty program, and the transition into that space should begin now.
2. Mobile loyalty programs must have a transaction-based element in order to ensure long-term viability.
3. Choosing the ideal platform for transaction-based loyalty programs will require companies to examine the way in which that platform will be able to access the existing point of sale’s transactional data. The cost of achieving this goal must also be evaluated.
4. Eventually, mobile loyalty using near field communication (NFC) technology will surpass and then replace all other mobile loyalty offerings that are currently available. The solution that is chosen today must be designed in a way that it will transition seamlessly into the use of NFC.

Smartphones have become pervasive in China, where data from September 2011 has shown that the number of mobile phone users broke the 940 million mark, and where over half of the new device users are opting for 3G devices. Now, in 2012, China holds the largest share of mobile phone market and is experiencing the most competitive challenges within smartphone sector.

As a result, much of the world is looking to China mobile trends as the gauge of mobile progress, and is seeing mobile gaming as a vital element of the growth of the industry, and that will also be responsible for the majority of the revenue in that part of the world.

Firms and mobile app developers around the world are looking to China to take their own piece of the mobile pie. To do this, they are also paying close attention to the predictions that are being made about the mobile environment in that region. So far, they included the following predictions for 2012:

• Before the close of the year, China will break the 100 million mark for the number of smartphones being used in the country

• All three major Chinese telecom carriers will offer support of Apple’s iOS

• The market for game distribution in China will continue to divide until there will be more than 100 independent channels

• The most popular smartphones in China will be those based on Android

• The top source of mobile game revenue will come from in-game purchases

Though analysts, economists, and other experts may have yet to decide whether or not China will become the world’s next superpower, and when that may occur, what is difficult to doubt is that in the mobile gaming world, the country will already have reached its position as confirmed leader by the end of this year.

Not just China Mobile Trends Anymore – What all companies should know about m-commerce

The companies that will be seeing the greatest successes over the next few years have realized that mobile is here and it is heating up, and that the earlier they take part in it, the better the results will be.

Even better than the popularity of mobile is that m-commerce is also on the rise. Business leaders such as CEOs are now being required to find out about the latest trends and movements in mobile, so that their own companies will be able to stay ahead of the game.

The following are some points that every company should know about m-commerce:

Mobile has arrived – this isn’t a channel that is just about to get here. It’s already here, and it is expected to explode at any moment. Almost half of all Americans now have a smartphone, and most expert predictions are saying that by 2015, the spending using those mobile devices will be 8 percent greater than that generated by e-commerce.

• M-commerce is becoming mainstream – it is becoming the norm for the average consumer to make purchases using their mobile devices. Whether they buy the items online, or use the devices to make the payments in-store, the incorporation of the device into the purchasing process is becoming mainstream.

• Mobile payments does not yet have a leader – though there are many different companies vying for the top spot of the mobile payments marketplace, that position has yet to be claimed. It isn’t expected that the winner will be known before the end of this year.

• Privacy is key – one of the top concerns that smartphone owners have identified is with regards to privacy. Being respectful of this will be critical to the success of mobile efforts both this year and beyond.