Epicor Software provides enterprise business software solutions to the midmarket and Global 1000 companies. The company is encouraging retailers to employ more creativity and strategy in their mobile marketing efforts.
Randy Tofteland, executive vice president, retail software for Epicor, said the demonstration will show how retailers can innovatively leverage text messaging functionality that are different and more strategic when compared with how the vast majority of retailers are using it today.
Even though retailers have an opportunity to leverage mobile messaging for tremendous impact, they need to inspire consumers to take action outside of just reading the text.
Tofteland added that consumers are choosing text messaging, and this indicates their interest in receiving information and offers about a brand. In the U.S., there is a very high read rate for opt-in text messages but many retailers are not tapping this opportunity and are still using ineffective or underwhelming text messaging efforts that are not proving successful in driving revenue or conversion.
Epicor aims to empower its retailers through Epicor Mobile Marketing solution, which has been designed to help them create mobile messaging campaigns that encourage customers to interact with the store environment and online.
These campaigns not only result in better brand and customer loyalty but also deliver additional revenues.
Epicor points out that guided by in store displays, customers can text a keyword to a short code to get information about that product. These customers will then be sent a text message with an embedded link to a mobile optimised Web page. Here they have the opportunity to view product information, pricing, consumer reviews, which helps them to purchase the product.
Sahir Anand, vice president and principal analyst of Aberdeen's Retail and Banking research practice, said the retailers are keen on leveraging the expanded utility of the consumer's mobile phone as a cross-channel retail tool in the physical brick and mortar stores for promotional coupon delivery, dynamic merchandise and point of purchase decision messaging, automatic check-in, product alerts, and other advanced clienteling functions.
Anand authored the Aberdeen Group report 'Mobile Retail is a Reality: The Increasing Mobility of Consumers Has Retailers Engaged', published in September 2010.
Anand suggests that retailers develop a solid base of business processes, organisational, knowledge, and performance management capabilities, to realise the mobile messaging, marketing, and channel integration gains via mobile retail.
That businesses have to make effort to make their dreams into reality is also apparent from a newly released Amdocs and Ovum report. This research indicates that current business and operational support systems need to change to support prepaid transformation.
"Greater availability of high-end devices such as smartphones, along with services like messaging, mobile broadband and applications, are increasing customer expectations from prepaid wireless services," said Sara Kaufman, an analyst at Ovum. "Prepaid wireless services are becoming even more prevalent around the world. Ovum forecasts prepaid will grow from 75 per cent of total connections worldwide in 2010 to 77 per cent by 2015. Service providers understand that the prepaid wireless strategies they adopt today will have a major impact on future profitability."
Epicor delivers its Epicor Retail Mobile Marketing solution via a partnership with mobile messaging provider Impact Mobile, Inc. The solution enables retailers to deliver customised messages, coupons, and promotions to mobile device users.
Retaliers can also leverage Epicor's CRM Services team of highly trained CRM professionals to create, manage and launch mobile marketing campaigns via the Epicor Retail Mobile Marketing solution.
"We will be showcasing our Epicor Retail Mobile Marketing solution onsite throughout the show, and we invite NRF attendees to see how we're leading the charge in innovative, next-generation uses of text messaging to improve customer engagement, provide an interactive and experiential way to explore product offerings, easily share products with friends, and finally, enable retailers to benefit from capturing customer insight related to the overall experience. It's an approach that is truly ahead of the curve," added Tofteland.