SMS Most Popular for Mobile Offers

January 10, 2012

dma-uk-preference-for-promotional-offers-delivery-jan12.gifOne-third of American consumers prefer to receive offers on their mobile device via text message, ahead of mobile web, including email (21%), mobile application (11%), and voicemail (8%), according to [download page] a survey released in January 2012 by the UK Direct Marketing Association (DMA), sponsored by Velti. While these preferences are relatively similar among UK consumers, they are even more pronounced in Germany and France: for example, roughly 3 in 5 consumers in those countries prefer to receive offers via text, compared to about 1 in 10 through a mobile app.

Notably, about half of the respondents in the US and UK say they would not want to receive offers on their mobile, compared to just 26% of German device owners and 18% of French mobile owners.

According to a November 2011 report from the e-tailing group, sponsored by Bronto, SMS marketing tactics are being relatively ignored by marketers: just 14% of marketers currently collect SMS opt-in from customers in all channels, and only 7% text to send out marketing messages.

Operators Most Popular Source

Data from the “Promoting to the Mobile Consumer Report” indicates that 51% of US consumers would prefer to receive promotional offers from advertisers only, compared to just 8% who would prefer them from mobile operators only and 27% who would receive offers from both sources. The preference for advertisers over mobile operators extends to the other countries surveyed also: in the UK, the preference rate is 4:1; in France it is just over 2:1; and in Germany is it roughly 3:2.

Physical Benefits Over Freebies

dma-uk-operator-benefits.jpgConsumers in the US are 50% more likely to want to receive physical benefits and “freebies” than credit or free airtime from redeeming mobile operator offers (54% vs. 36%), while in the UK, they are 31% more likely to choose these benefits (51% vs. 39%). In Germany and France, though, consumers display no real difference between preferred types of promotion. In fact, consumers in these countries display a high level of resistance to getting benefits from mobile network operators: 48% of German respondents and 41% of French respondents report not wanting any promotional benefits. In the UK and US, the resistance level is roughly at one-quarter of consumers.

Interestingly, a larger proportion of German (36%) and French (49%) consumers report having received an offer from their mobile operator in the past month than their UK (23%) or US (22%) counterparts.

Cost Concerns Still Exist

According to DMA UK insight, concerns that promotional offers sent to a mobile phone actually cost the consumer to receive may be at the root of the resistance to promotional marketing. In fact, 27% of US consumers believe the offers they get are charged to their airtime account, while a further 25% say they do not know. Across the 4 countries studied, only about half of the consumers surveyed were aware that they do not pay for inbound messages.

About the Data: The DMA and Velti survey was launched online between September 1-7, 2011 using an online tool – Toluna QuickSurveys, which surveyed 1100 individuals aged 18 and older from the UK, USA, France, and Germany.

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