Mobile payments are becoming more important for consumers
Mobile payments are becoming a very important part of global commerce. More consumers have smartphones now than ever before, and many of these consumers are looking for more efficient and convenient ways to purchase products. Mobile payments are becoming so important to consumers that new mobile commerce platforms spring up on a seemingly daily basis to help consumers purchase products and transfer money using their mobile devices. Some of these platforms have become so popular that they are beginning to clash with one another for dominance in the mobile commerce arena.
Companies hold high hopes for 2013
LevelUp, which recently celebrating reaching 1 million active users, is one such company. Seth Priesbatsch, founder of the mobile payments platform, believes that 2013 will be the year in which a dominant mobile commerce platform will be crowned. LevelUp is not the only company that shares this belief, of course, as Paydiant, another leading mobile commerce platform, also expects 2013 to be a major year for mobile payments. PayPal boasts of the largest share of active users in terms of mobile payments and expects to see more people participating in mobile commerce this year than ever before.
Loyalty programs and marketing may be where true opportunities lie
Though these companies share high hopes for mobile commerce, mobile payments may not actually be the most significant opportunity that exists in the evolving state of commerce. Loyalty and marketing are where the true opportunities lie, according to Paydient. Loyalty programs from major brands offer consumers access to benefits they can receive by, quite literally, showing loyalty to a specific brand. In some cases, these benefits could be steep discounts on favored products, or free products altogether.
Platform that can provide the best of everything mobile commerce has to offer may win with consumers
Though loyalty programs and marketing hold a great deal of promise, most companies are focused on the area of mobile payments. Developing efficient and effective mobile payment services may open up the door for loyalty programs and marketing campaigns to take hold among consumers. The evolving state of commerce suggests that the company that can offer the best of everything will come out on top in terms of consumer engagement.
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 t
ransactional? 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…
- It is vital to include the use of mobile devices in any loyalty program, and the transition into that space should begin now.
- Mobile loyalty programs must have a transaction-based element in order to ensure long-term viability.
- 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.
- 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.
