Mobile: The Relationship Channel (version 4.4) The MMA would like to thank its member sponsors for their support in making this publication possible. Contents Foreword 1 1 Introduction & Purpose 2 2 Why mobile is being used? (The unique role that mobile plays) 4 3 The role that mobile plays in loyalty / The benefits of mobile CRM 13 4 Enablers of mobile loyalty 18 5 Current Mobile Loyalty Landscape 21 5.1 The Current Landscape 5.2 Mobile Wallet 6 Best Practices 31 7 Top Metrics for mobile loyalty programmes 48 8 Barriers to adoption 51 9 Conclusion 54 Foreword by Paul Berney The aim of this White Paper is to give an overview of the current state of the role of mobile in loyalty, with a sister paper focussed more on the like future role that mobile will play set to be published by the MMA in 2014. As this White Paper will demonstrate, although it is early days for the use of mobile in loyalty programmes, there are already some stand-out successes. Both the mobile channel and mobile technologies are having a significant effect on the way that brands engage with the customers. In this way, mobile is both causing and enabling a change in consumer behaviour and the way we interact. The paper will show that mobile can both enhance and extend current loyalty and CRM programmes and at some near future point, mobile will start to replace other channels as consumers become move to a ‘mobile first’ world. As ever the MMA is grateful for the support of its members in helping create this document, in particular the contributing sponsor companies of Advice Group, Aimia, Gemalto, IMI Mobile, Lumata and Velti. Mobile: The Relationship Channel 1 1 Introduction & Purpose The global ad market is on a path of steady recovery, with growth of 3.5% forecast for 2013, followed by 5.1% in 2014 and 5.8% in 2015, according to the latest ZenithOptimedia forecasts. This growth is being driven by digital innovations, with mobile, by some distance, the fastest-growing segment of internet advertising. As the consumer attention shifts to the screens held in the hand, logic therefore dictates that advertisers also spend their efforts where their consumers are -- the mobile channel. And as advertisers attempt to make their businesses more productive and boost customer satisfaction and trust, loyalty and CRM programmes are becoming ubiquitous in marketing strategies. But given that there is a rapid change in consumer habits – the expectation that any desired information or service is available on our mobile devices – how can marketers keep up and win new customers, keep existing ones loyal and increase engagement and grow commitment to the brand? The answer, not surprisingly, is being where the customer is. The mobile. Without a doubt, loyalty programmes are an effective way of attracting, retaining and turning consumers into a company’s profitable, and most importantly, the most engaged and therefore valuable customer. In Europe almost 80% of the population is signed up to some kind of loyalty programme. And as the number of mobile devices and their usage continues to rise, marketers will have no choice but to meet their consumers on their desired devices. Mobile is the one true medium that connects the digital to the real world. The aims for different companies could be varied – from driving specific customer activity to repeat purchase to learning more about the customer – but the essence of all loyalty programmes is to establish a higher value relationship between the business and its customers. Mobile: The Relationship Channel 2 This white paper analyses • The benefits and advantages of mobile over other channels in the context of loyalty. The paper will outline the advantages that the contextual and personal nature of mobile has over other channels, which makes its both the most powerful and the most challenging channel for marketers. • The current landscape and best practices, to highlight the tools and enablers of mobile loyalty that businesses can derive inspiration from. • How mobile can be used to engender loyalty and therefore deepen customer engagement, and how mobile is changing our approach to loyalty and therefore more meaningful customer relationships. For the purpose of this White Paper, we have used the following definitions of Mobile Loyalty and the mobile CRM. Mobile Loyalty An on-going value driven engagement between the brand and the consumer through the mobile channel. Mobile CRM A model to manage and measure one-to-one customer relationships on a mobile device, which allows for better returns and an enhanced loyalty. Note: It is recognised that occasionally marketers use mobile loyalty and mobile CRM as interchangeable terms. For the purposes of this document, CRM is seen as an approach to achieve loyalty. This white paper does not seek to provide an in-depth explanation of loyalty schemes as a whole, but how mobile can be used within them. It is assumed throughout that the starting point to any successful loyalty scheme is the creation of a positive customer experience and therefore the key to any good loyalty programme is to establish an on-going framework to allow for learning more about customers, influencing their behaviour and providing them added value in return. Mobile: The Relationship Channel 3 2 Why Mobile is Being Used? The Unique Role that Mobile Plays The ultimate aim of any business is more than a one-off sales – it is about engagement, repeat purchase and building a long term trust and loyalty with their customers. In a multi-channel world where consumers carry their phones with them every moment of their waking lives, there exists a tremendous opportunity for brands to engage in a dialogue with their consumers in a way that is personal, relevant and most importantly valuable. As the role of mobile grows, marketers are experiencing a seismic change in the way consumers search, shop, pay, play, communicate, consume and receive information. Mobile is affecting every stage of the path to purchase, and is clearly developing as one of the most effective platforms to inspire a desired action from the consumer. The omnipresence of mobile means that this device plays an intimate role in consumer lives, blurring the physical and digital worlds. Bank of America predicts $67.1 billion in revenue from smartphone and tablet retail purchasing by European and US shoppers in 2015 (Source: Business Intelligence). In the UK alone, 39% of the total UK mobile population conducts shopping activities on their mobile phones, while 7 million actually purchase goods and services via their device – an increase of 46% (Comscore, 2013). Mobile: The Relationship Channel 4 The Comscore 2013 Europe Digital Future in Focus report also added that 19.2 million EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK) smartphone users purchased a product or service via their devices in the three months ending December 2012. According to eMarketer’s latest forecast- this year, 18.8% of all digital ad spending in North America will go towards mobile internet ads. Western Europe and Asia Pacific are nearly tied this year, with 12.6% and 12.3% of all digital spending occurring on mobile, respectively. Western Europe, meanwhile, is expected to expand its share more rapidly, as a relatively mature desktop ad market gives over to mobile channel. Mobile: The Relationship Channel 5 The ever present nature of mobile therefore means that ‘enabled’ consumers are much more in control of their own needs and instant gratification and marketers face a number challenges in meeting those needs, such as how do they use the mobile channel to: • Build stronger ties with consumers? • Provide the information the customer is looking for? • Offer unique set of services that cannot be matched elsewhere? • Offer competitive pricing? • Provide ease of shopping and ease of delivery? • Make sure that the customer will recommend services received to other potential customers? • And how to make sure that the customer returns to engage with the business following this one customer journey? The following changes in consumer behaviour show that when it comes to using mobile technology, consumers are already there. Businesses need to play catch up. Mobile: The Relationship Channel 6 Consumers ‘consume’ technology Mobile can be viewed as both the cause and enabler of changes in consumer behaviour. Consumers are increasingly media multi-tasking with more than 8 out of 10 mobile media users (84%) simultaneously interacting with their TVs or PCs, according to a mobile focused research commissioned by Yahoo! among UK mobile media users aged between 16 and 65. A recent study from Future Foundation identified the emergence of ‘Hyper Individuals’ who are harnessing the wealth of technology available to them as consumers in order to learn new methods of efficiency, speed and accuracy. This always-on-the-go individual is “not just the multi-tasker searching for a good deal. Or the consumer who tracks their health and home energy use. Or the one who uses technology to automate their financial decisions. The Hyper Individual is the confluence of all these – the consumer who lives in the Cloud.” The study says that the rise of the Hyper Individual will mean the emergence of the next trend – the end of inefficiency – meaning that it will lead to the rise of the smart algorithm and websites, apps and services that can mine data and suggest the best choice to the consumers. The Future Foundation research found that 70% of British respondents said they would be interested in a real-time online price-monitoring service that alerted them the moment the price of a product fell, and 62% in a service that would move money automatically between savings accounts to make sure they earned the best interest rate.