If you are a retailer considering a move into mobile marketing, or you’re a marketer trying to nudge that retailer, you may be battling a perception that MM is the equivalent of that obnoxious telemarketing call that happens precisely when your family sits down to dinner.  Won’t people get tired of your message program…like, quickly?

The answer is yes…if you’re obnoxious about it.  But, what does that mean, exactly?  How much is too much?  Are there any standards to go by?   Actually, there are, as provided by the Mobile Marketing Association.

The six “C”s of an Ethical Mobile Marketing Program

These correct way to do mobile marketing is to offer customers:

• Choice - Your consumer has a right to privacy, and must first “opt-in” to a mobile marketing program.
• Control - Consumers should have control of when and how they receive your message, and be able to easily terminate or “opt-out” when they choose.
• Customization - You should tailor your message to reflect the data and preferences supplied by your consumer. This results in more useful messages and less spam!
• Consideration – You should offer your consumer something of perceived value in return for receiving your message.
• Constraint – You must manage and limit mobile messaging to a reasonable number of programs.
• Confidentiality – You shouldn’t share consumer information with non-affiliated third parties.

In the end, these six “C”s boil down to one thing…  treating your customers with respect.  It takes talent to strike the balance between a prominent, effective message…and obnoxiousness.  At 2du, there were a LOT of design decisions that went into trying to protect the concept of the six “C”s…  we are trying our best.