Database marketing services specialist Experian Marketing Services struck a mobile marketing partnership with SmartReply, a mobile and voice marketing services company.

The partnership will enable Experian Marketing Services to offer mobile and voice marketing to its clients for their multichannel marketing efforts.

"This is the first partnership we've signed in the mobile space," said Chandos Quill, vice president of strategic alliances at Experian Marketing Services, Costa Mesa, CA.

"We intend to not only develop solutions on our own, but also develop additional partnerships where it makes sense," she said.

Experian Marketing Services clients will be able to use SmartReply services such as SMS text messaging, MMS, voice messaging and interactive voice response, also known as IVR.

The SmartReply services are available on a fully-managed basis, API/Web services or self-service for small to midsized businesses.

Such mobile marketing services will complement Experian Marketing Services offerings such as direct mail, email and online marketing.

"I believe that we're helping Experian's customers become better multichannel marketers," said Mike Romano, cofounder and executive vice president of SmartReply, Irvine, CA.

"It's important for companies to live where your customers live, whether it's on their mobile device or online or in print," he said.

"Companies, in order to be successful and competitive in a good economy or down economy, must utilize all channels effectively."

Smart response
Combining SmartReply's offerings with Experian Marketing Services' will result in more targeted marketing, Ms. Quill said.

"Given that our business is all about helping our clients understand their customers and then help them communicate effectively and then measure the results, the mobile channel is a natural extension of what we do," Ms. Quill said.

"It's taking our history of direct marketing and email and now mobile and voice, because SmartReply also brings voice, so now it gives our clients a new channel to reach their customers," she said.

A unit of information services giant Experian, Experian Marketing Services is based in Schaumburg, IL, with another campus in Costa Mesa, CA.

The company offers data management, analytics and measurement to more than 200 clients in retail, healthcare and financial services.

SmartReply will also benefit from its relationship with Experian Marketing Services.

The company will be able to use Experian Marketing Services' list services, data hygiene and append offerings to improve phone number and address accuracy, correct invalid or incomplete records and identify new marketing segments for customers' campaigns.

"We're trying to bring mobile marketing into the marketplace in a more fundamental manner where you can track and measure the consumer receptivity to mobile marketing in terms of response rates, redemption rates and average transaction size," Mr. Romano said.

"Because, overall, in the past several years there's been an emphasis on CMOs to implement programs that are measurable," he said.

All told, SmartReply has 90 clients in the retail space, including Meijer Supercenter, Crate and Barrel, Lane Bryant, Wet Seal and Quiksilver.

"I think they bring a solid client base of their own and they're a nice fit for us given their strong retail expertise and the fact that they offer both mobile and voice capabilities," Experian Marketing Services' Ms. Quill said about SmartReply.

"From a client perspective, clients are looking to explore lower-cost, direct channels that generate measurable response," she said. "Mobile and voice can be part of a solution that does that."