Consumers love their smartphones. For many, it is the first thing looked at before that cup of Joe and the last thing prior to bedtime.
But the one item some marketers have gotten away from is capping frequency. If you are a Jurassic Park fan, Jeff Goldblum’s character had a really great line in the first movie: “You were so excited about the fact that you could, you didn’t stop to think about should you!” Well, Jeff couldn’t have said it any better when it comes to the state of mobile email.
Fact is, consumers are inundated with emails. Their inbox is chocked full of unwanted, not relevant, too frequent, and not opted-into emails. Marketers should curb their enthusiasm and consider the consumer mind-set when sending mobile messages. Some important factors to be mindful of:
- Can the consumer follow the link to the website and have an enjoyable interaction via mobile device
- Can the consumer read the message? Many times the font size is so small that it can’t be read
- The younger the target the more likely that consumer will embrace reading emails via mobile device
- Spam is a big concern because as many are aware even large companies have been hacked and customers are being sent deceptive messages
Another fact to consider which is on the horizon is that the White House is scheduled to unveil its privacy bill of rights to protect consumers.
The proposed legislation will cover a variety of issues that advocacy organizations are calling for but not limited to: consumer information (includes emails) breeches, consumer collection and selling of said collected data and introduces a Student Digital Privacy Act.
While this is what is being proposed, it still has to make it through Congress. Some industries have already begun to self-regulate, such as the automotive industry. Several individual companies have started to do the same as well.
It is wise for marketers to keep an eye on the progress of this proposed legislation and what is included in it. We are well aware of the unexpected riders that usually are so obscured that no one is really aware of the language until it becomes law. In the end, this obscurity could very well have several implications for targeting consumers (via email, etc.) and/or use of third-party seller’s data to do so.
Adele Lassere is a marketing/advertising consultant with 20+ years experience, freelance writer and author of “Elements of Buying” (self-help advertising guide), available at Amazon.com. Adele was listed as Black Enterprise’s 2011 Top Execs in Marketing & Advertising and Black Enterprise’s 2013 Top Women Executives in Advertising & Marketing. Contact: [email protected]
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