Permission Marketing on Mobile Devices: What Do Consumers Expect?

What kind of permission does direct marketing on a mobile device require? Do you know for certain or are you operating on assumptions? If you’re assuming you know what level of permission is acceptable to your audience, you might want to give this RegReady infographic a look.

Based on a study of 123 marketers and 1,002 consumers, RegReady created the infographic comparing each camp’s opinions on permission. One column illustrates how marketers view a certain type of permission while directly across in the other column, consumers’ opinions are shown. (It would be nice to think that marketers’ opinions on permission were in line with consumers’ but alas, such is not always the case.)

The detailed infographic breaks permission into four types:

1. Explicit, i.e. requesting information, signing up for newsletters or alerts, etc.
2. Implicit, i.e. someone made a purchase or registered, watched a demo, or entered a contest
3. Secondary, i.e. names from an opted-in list that’s rented or purchased, affiliate marketing, or lead mills
4. Non-existing (None), i.e. names acquired by buying lists or tracking data

For each type of permission, you’ll get both sides of the story: the marketer’s and the consumer’s.

The infographic is a quick study for any marketer embarking on mobile marketing, and highly recommended for making sure your assumptions about consumer expectations are in line with those expectations…and that you practice what you preach.

Although marketers sometimes agreed with consumers in theory, they didn’t in practice. For example, 80% of consumers don’t think making a purchase constitutes giving permission, and 77% of marketers agreed. However, at least 47% of marketers send emails to purchasers without permission. (We say “at least” because 15% didn’t answer the question.)

Another disconnect can be found regarding buying lists, something we as email marketing consultants always frown upon. Over half of marketers (55%) feel strongly or very strongly that it’s okay to buy a list for direct mail purposes. On the other hand, 80% of consumers don’t think email should be used for prospecting and 81% believe mobile should not be used for prospecting. That’s a 25% gap…and one marketers should be working to close.

These are just a couple of highlights chosen to demonstrate the kind of eye-opening—and conflicting—numbers that might make you pause and reconsider your own approach to permission marketing practices, especially regarding mobile marketing. Take a look at the chart…then take another look at your approach, to make sure you’re meeting expectations, not abusing your assumptions.