Chapter 11 - Mobile Marketing: On the Move - By Eric Cook

[Paul Terlemezian]

I have no argument with the move to mobile - it is here to stay and will be increasingly dramatically - and thanks to multitasking we have the ability to reach the consumer so many ways.

One of my favorite mobile devices is the Fitbit. It has motivated me to exercise more (a good thing) while leveraging my laziness. It records every step, uploads the activities I wish to track, shares the information with people I care to share it with and provides reports to me - and other than setup - I don't ever have to do anything other than remember to wear the device and keep it charged.

It even lets me know via email when it needs to be charged (this is responsive design - and I don't need capital letters, red ink and bolding!) - I never need to check the charging of my fitbit - it tells me when it needs it. I open every email from Fitbit because they do not come very often - but every time it does it is full of information relevant to me - including links to the already prepared reports that get updated in real time without me having to do anything but look at the screen to read them and occasionally click if I wish to gain a different perspective (e.g. historical data or type of data.)

Fitbit has used mobile to improve my experience as a customer first and then as a buyer second. I prefer that approach to mobile - and it is clearly an effective marketing technique.

Karl Hellman - Author of the "Customer Learning Curve" asserts that it is the company's responsibility to assure that its customers not only know what to do in order to be successful - but in fact do what they can to assure their client's success. I am not willing to try this - but I would guess that if I do not wear my fitbit for a few days that they would send me an email - or perhaps - "A Get Well Card!" That would be disruptive mobile marketing!