It has been said that one third of Americans would rather give up sex than their mobile phone.

With that lead-in, a trio of marketing experts from RGI Inc., which is an advertising and marketing firm based in Cincinnati, discussed how produce marketers can use mobile phones as a tool to enhance their businesses.  Speaking at an educational session at the recent Produce Marketing Association convention, RGI CEO Kelly Smith said research shows that the population of the world has adapted to mobile phones at an adoption rate 80 times faster than it did with the Internet. That means everyone is using them or soon will be. In fact, she said, more people in the world own a mobile phone (5.1 billion) than a toothbrush (4.2 billion).

Within several years, Ms. Smith believes, purchasing groceries with the smart phone will be commonplace. Hence, she believes companies should incorporate the mobile phone into their marketing strategy. But she emphasized using the smart phone is a tactic not a strategy.

She added that the mobility of consumers, which has been enhanced by technology such as the smart phone, has fundamentally changed their shopping experience. More and more shoppers are relying on their smart phone while shopping to research products, find recipes or compare prices. The QR code is one way to engage these shoppers and their smart phones. There are also other avenues such as push marketing with mobile phone messages.

She said the use of a QR code on packaging is a “great opportunity” to connect with the shopper and ask them to “opt in” to further messaging. That could include joining a loyalty group giving you the ability to send promotions via email and their smart phone. 

RGI Director of Shopper Marketing Dr. Carrie Colbert and Director of Creative Technology Michael Bigley shared the dais with Ms. Smith and discussed other aspects of mobile marketing. Mr. Bigley discussed more of the technical aspects of how it works while Dr. Colbert explained how to integrate mobile messaging into a current marketing plan. 

She said first and foremost a company should know their customers so they can pinpoint messaging to them. 

She warned marketers, however, to make sure the QR code directs the consumer to a valuable website with good specific and readable information designed for the smart phone, not just the company’s standard website. Consumers want something new and exciting and specific or they won’t opt in to further messaging. She indicated that people viewing website on their smart phones have a very low tolerance for inconvenience. Remember, a smart phone is a much smaller screen. If the consumer can’t read the website, they will abandon it very quickly and not come back.

Mr. Bigley said some third-party operators are offering options such as Greenscans, a firm operating in the perishable space. It has apparently developed a QR code system that works well with the contours of fruits and can thrive in the environment of produce packaging. The QR code directs consumers to a site that incorporates all of their messaging with an attempt to engage the consumer.

The main message of the trio is that the smart phone is an amazing tool that can help give shoppers information at the point of purchase, which is a very powerful medium and should be part of a company’s marketing strategy.