Crocs Inc., a designer, manufacturer and retailer of casual footwear for men, women and children under the Crocs brand, has gone mobile to drive sales.

The brand which sells shoes in 125 countries, has selected direct digital marketing company Knotice Ltd. for strategic planning and guidance and is using its on-demand software platform, Concentri Mobile, for a range of mobile marketing initiatives.

Mobile Commerce Daily’s Dan Butcher interviewed Bryce Marshall, director of strategic services at Knotice, Akron, OH, about the details of the partnership. Here is what he had to say:

What is the strategy behind the partnership between Crocs and Knotice and the brand’s integration of Concentri Mobile?
Simply put, Knotice will be helping Crocs expand its retail marketing promotions into the mobile channel.

As Crocs grows and matures both their online and branded retail channels, the mobile channel becomes more important in supporting the established multichannel behavior and preferences of their consumers.

Crocs’ strategy is to understand their consumers through the analysis of known and behavioral attributes, and use this to proactively engage them when and where they are through timely mobile communications.

The goal is to not only to drive engagement with great brand experiences but also turn browsers into buyers.

What challenges does Knotice address for Crocs?
Knotice was tapped to maintain relevance in communications across multiple channels, specifically in this case, SMS and mobile Web.

Knotice’s ability to store, and therefore segment and target off of, various data points beyond simply a mobile phone number and opt-in keyword, gives Crocs a great opportunity to enter the mobile channel with tactics that sync well with their mature multichannel database marketing approach.

This can include targeted messaging to consumers based on anything from previous shopping and purchase history, demographics, online activity or interactions with Crocs’ email or search engine marketing campaigns, to whether they demonstrate a preference to convert online or in-store.

What kind of strategic planning and guidance will Knotice offer?
Initially this will be a plan for direct digital marketing to their North American consumer base through opt-in SMS.

Programs will support multiple business and promotional channels, from offers, to news and events, and more advanced SMS tactics that leverage existing business systems to provide consumers with valuable information like store locations or stock availability, on demand.

Program planning will focus on optimizing response and ultimately conversion, either at the online or physical stores, understanding which consumers respond to which offers, when and why. 

What makes Concentri Mobile able to meet Crocs’ needs?
Concentri Mobile is going to support Crocs’ expectations that each touch point with their consumers is as relevant, productive and profitable as possible.

Crocs is not looking to dangle their toes in mobile marketing, they want to cannon-ball into the pool and make a splash.

They need to open up new channels for engagement with their consumers, but also deliver measurable value for the business in terms of online or in-store traffic, offer redemptions, revenue, and ROI.

What is the importance for the Crocs brand of being able to engage in a dialogue with a customer via the mobile channel?
Having direct, meaningful mobile dialogue with consumers means everything to the Crocs’ brand.

They work hard to establish loyalty and a sense of community with their customers. And Crocs absolutely expects to provide a consistent brand experience and valuable shopping experience at every touch point, online or offline, over their consumers’ laptop or through their mobile device.

These are on-the-go individuals and families, very active folks, and connecting in meaningful ways will help further establish some of those brand promises.