The Power of Language in Mobile Messaging

Digital messaging has evolved since the early days of email marketing into a powerful, succinct and timely medium. The proliferation of smartphones is connecting consumers to each other and to their favorite brands like never before. What was previously in the wheelhouse of executives and jet-setters, the mobile web has made it possible for each and every person to browse the web and communicate via SMS, MMS, social networks, email and even that most tried-and-true of channels, voice, in one small, pocket-born package.

Mobile devices bring together multiple communication channels onto one screen: email, web and the more native push (SMS, rich inbox and MMS). Of these channels, push notifications allow companies to target and communicate with customers based on the abundant criteria that can be gleaned from their devices. The 256-byte brevity of push demands that marketers carefully plan and test the content of each message to gauge its effectiveness in driving customer engagement, retention and conversions. In today's data-rich society, not testing the language in push notifications is essentially a missed opportunity, tantamount to leaving money on the table.

Savvy marketers can leverage the tried-and-true A/B split test methodology to gauge the tone and impetus of a message before delivering a campaign. Case in point: The Astrologer, a horoscope and lifestyle mobile app seeking to boost engagement, sent out variations of relevant astrological sign-specific push notifications that increased open rates from 2.8 percent to between 4 percent and 10.5 percent.

Here's an example: "Hey Libra, got a problem?" vs. "Hey Libra, got a question?"

The second message saw a modest lift in open rate, from 3.8 percent to 4.1 percent. This implies that users respond better to more positively worded messages posed in the form of a question. The lift makes it clear that testing messages is critical to the success of push notification campaigns. Push isn't just a broadcast medium with a one-size-fits-all message; it needs to be grounded in relevant data that personalizes the call to action for each customer. Any uncertainty about what should be the most relevant call to action can be tested and retested to ensure that messages are engaging rather than a nuisance to recipients.

Marketers can integrate analysis of customers’ preferred message types, tones and even delivery windows based on time zone data from the device (e.g., morning vs. night, lunchtime vs. dinnertime) into any outbound mobile campaign strategy. Mobile device data allows marketers to gauge app users relative location through IP addresses, even if those consumers haven't shared their GPS coordinates to optimize campaigns based on regional demographics. A/B testing delivery times can help uncover how users interact with their devices and when they're most likely to open a push and enrich the experience by localizing offers and communications.

Ultimately, mobile messages are most effective when data collected from devices can be cross-referenced and analyzed through and with other business information data. This level of analysis requires the integration of CRM, data warehouses, point-of-sale systems, marketing systems of record and other campaign-management tools. For users that log into mobile apps or enter in an email address or some other piece of identifying criteria during a conversion, it's critical to match these records to existing user profiles to catalog the user's mobile profile. With that kind of granular data, marketers can create more precise segments that take into account more channel-specific marketing and communication opportunities.

Mobile messaging is a very fluid communication channel with documented user churn rates — as much as 80 percent in some cases. The high rate of mobile app abandonment requires marketers use all available data and leverage push notifications and the rich in-app inbox to test smaller campaign and event-based messages to segments shortly after the app is installed. The tone and language of mobile messages sent to new users should urge them to keep interacting with the app, which in turn sheds even more light on how long they use it, which features they use the most and what actions they take on the road to a conversion.

Push notifications are more than a vehicle for offers; they're a unique opportunity to nurture customer engagement on an individual basis. By taking into account the different messaging requirements of highly varied audience segments, testing their tones and deployment times, and segmenting by activity, marketers can deliver on their promises of relevance by sending the right message to the right person at the right time.

Let's face it, at the end of the day no one wants to be prodded by a push notification from a little-used app to buy something at 3 a.m. Making sure push messages are timely, relevant and written in a user's local language can help marketers avoid churn while creating long-lasting customer engagement that turns into measurable return on investment.

Len Shneyder is the marketing manager for OtherLevels, a provider of push notification, SMS and mobile email messaging solutions.