Mobile marketing is undeniably the talk of the town among marketers. Marketers, both big and small, are eager to jump onto the mobile bandwagon in an effort to engage their target audience via this highly affordable marketing channel. However, the accessibility of this new media also leads us to wonder if it requires qualified professionals to ensure success or if anyone with access to a customer database can start using the basic functions of the medium and become a mobile marketer.
What distinguishes a qualified professional from an amateur marketer? How can brands ensure that they are working with marketers who know how to innovate within the industry guidelines? How can the smaller, upcoming marketers ensure they have the right tools, knowledge and skills to flourish in this industry while helping it grow? How can marketers guarantee that the privacy and preferences of the consumer are at the heart of every mobile marketing campaign?
This is where certification comes in and becomes the much needed distinction between a qualified and an amateur marketer. It benefits both the individual practitioner as well as the industry as a whole.
Benefits of certification
The dynamic growth of global markets has led to the fragmentation of industries. Every year we see the development of new areas of work as well as the emergence of new players in existing fields. Certification is a way to ensure order in today’s chaotic economies. It is how industry benchmarks are set and it plays an integral role in helping individual professionals/businesses acquire the necessary skill sets and knowledge that serve as a foundation for future growth and innovation.
Certification demonstrates to customers, competitors, investors and partners that your business is effectively run on industry-respected best practices and within the industry guidelines. Practitioners have the opportunity to learn and master everything from key industry terminology to regulatory requirements to budgetary planning. Certification helps practitioners distinguish themselves from their competitors. It helps them master a new body of knowledge that makes them better innovators and better mentors. It also enables practitioners to better evaluate the skills and talents of others.
For the mobile marketing industry, all early innovation came as a result of trial and error tactics employed by forward-looking marketers who saw value for money in using the medium for customer outreach. Many of the industry’s current challenges, including its fragmented state and issues with spam, emanated from this haphazard approach used by marketers who had no industry guidelines or best practices to look to for optimum usage of the medium.
Early last month the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) announced the launch of its latest three-tiered certification programme in Singapore. In line with the MMA’s efforts to educate brands, agencies and consumers about the full scale and scope of the mobile marketing channel, the programme is designed to ensure that marketers have the necessary knowledge and tools to create successful, innovative campaigns while protecting consumer privacy. It enables them to take courses and pass exams with special focus on compliance with industry-accepted guidelines and best practices. The programme validates an individual’s or organisation’s commitment to the mobile industry and the continuous path to staying abreast with the industry’s dynamic landscape.
For registration details and additional information about the MMA’s Certified Mobile Marketer Program, please visit www.mmaglobal.com/certification.