Mobile Marketing: Seven Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Small Business Owners in 2012
You’ve heard all the stats and read all the news: smartphones are a big deal, right? But with all that noise out there, how can a small business owner actually get customers and make money from those smartphone junkies? Here are seven tips, tricks and techniques to help any small business owner go mobile without busting the bank.
1. Claim Your Business and Your Location
With smartphones, a consumer searching for a hardware store will automatically be shown the nearest hardware stores relative to their device’s GPS signal. That means you want to be sure your physical facility shows up (even if your office is just the location for people to call).
So what can you do to be “found?” It’s pretty simple really – just be sure that you visit each site such as Yelp, Bing, Yahoo Local, Google Places, Foursquare, and Facebook and “claim” your business and its location.
Cost: Free
2. Mobilize Your Website
Mobile searches have grown 400 percent since 2010, according to Google. And when they find you on their phone – consumers visit (59%) or they call you (61%).
So, be sure you can be found. This means making sure the website you initially launched back in 2000 is accessible by mobile phones, or “mobile-optimized.” There are a number of new and reasonably priced tools to help make your site mobile-optimized. But, before you plunk down any money, check out Google’s “GoMo” site that has a testing tool and resources to help businesses with their websites.
Cost: Free (depending on your site)
3. Make Your Coupons Mobile
Have you ever been in line at a store and watched a clerk refuse to honor a coupon on someone’s phone. Claiming “no, you need to print that before I can accept it” just sets the consumer off even more.
Don’t be that business. The days of clipping coupons has come and gone. Now, most consumers would simply prefer to open an email or webpage with your coupon, flash it to you on their smart phone and get the discount. Make it clear that showing the coupon on your phone is sufficient and consumers will thank you for being mobile-friendly. Plus, you’ll avoid an awkward confrontation with your store clerks.
Cost: Free (other than the cost of your coupons)
4. Monitor Your Reviews
Did you know that 81 percent of consumers say they read reviews before making a purchase and 51 percent of consumers say they’ve used the Internet IN SHOPS before making a purchase? If you have a bevy of negative reviews or poor feedback, that consumer may decide to shop, eat, drink or pay somewhere else.
The first step to keep tabs on your reviews is to set a Google Alert for the name of your business. Watch for any reviews, postings or other news that you might need to address. Then, find out the review-focused sites people use regularly to review your business, like Google Places, Yelp, and Angie’s List. For a more detailed tracking service, try Reputation.com for Business that monitors and provides real-time alerts for your business.
Cost: Free (for Google Alerts); Starting at $34.99/mo. (for Reputation.com)
5. Talk to Your Customers
Guess what? Consumers want to talk with, and hear from, brands they like. In fact, 43 percent of consumers “like” at least one brand on Facebook and 53 percent of individuals with a Twitter account recommend products or services in their tweets. And, more and more consumers are using social media on the go.
Both Facebook and Twitter are free to setup and utilize – so schedule time daily to engage. Put links to your accounts on your website and in your facility (if you have a physical location) and talk to your customers: respond to questions or concerns, and consider offering deals for fans or followers. The most important lesson? Talk like a human not a brand. Remember, as consumers are out and about, they are talking to you, about you and with you – so be a part of the conversation.
You can manage most of these conversations using the standard Facebook or Twitter platforms. If you want something more advanced, try Hootsuite.com which can help you manage your efforts, schedule messages and track conversations from a single interface.
Cost: Free (Hootsuite provides free basic social media plans)
6. Be Able to Take Money Wherever you Are
Quick, how much cash do you have in your wallet? Enough to buy something over $100? Over $50? Over $20? People are becoming more reliant on credit cards for all of their transactions, so rather than force someone to run to the nearest ATM (and pay the enormous fee for withdrawing from a non-bank ATM), consider taking payment right on your mobile device.
With services like Square or Intuit GoPayment, providing a device that plugs into most smartphones to take a credit card on the spot is actually quite simple. Plus, new technologies are coming along to allow you to pay without needing any hardware at all.
Cost: Free (other than the credit card processing fees)
7. Tried Text Messages?
According to the Pew Foundation, 73 percent of cell phone users utilize the text messaging function on their phones. And, 44 percent of Americans have opted into at least one text messaging marketing campaign. So, why not share deals, information and updates with your customers via text.
To get started, check out Tatango’s Beginner’s Guide to SMS Marketing.
Cost: Varies depending on the SMS Marketing Software partner
Conclusion
This year, with more people expected to be using mobile than ever before, business owners must think about how they can interact with these potential customers. With the simple actions and activities listed above, any business can go mobile to create a positive environment for their customers, leads and partners.
About the Author: Eric Koester is the founder and COO of Zaarly, a mobile, real-time marketplace. Eric is a former securities lawyer who has testified before Congress on matters of startup and small business financing, immigration reform and business taxation. Zaarly provides tools for small-businesses and consumers to transact right from their mobile devices. For more information or to sign-up for mobile alerts, visit www.zaarly.com/business.
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Steps to Success with SMS Mobile Marketing
Ever since the first caveman discovered he had an excess of buffalo meat and created a painting on the outside of his home to attract others to barter for his wares, the art of advertising has been a key element in our lives.
As brilliant and innovative as many marketing campaigns have been since that early caveman, there has been one problem that advertisers have constantly struggled to overcome: getting their adverts to the people who may be interested in their products.
Just like the poor caveman who may have missed out on some winter furs because everyone interested in his buffalo meat walked around the other side of his cave, today’s advertising executives know that however great a product, however superb a campaign, if it does not reach the right people at the right time success will evade them.
For this very reason, the ubiquity of the cell phone has created a unique platform on which to deliver focused and almost-individual advertising to customers who stand a high chance of being receptive.
Success with Mobile Marketing
There are a number of ways that this level of success can be achieved:
Identifying a customer’s goals
This can be done by using user trend information to gain a picture of habits and interests. This can then be used to formulate targeted advertising by use of premium SMS, as well as intelligent marketing.
Using the actual product as a signifier
Advanced cell phones such as the Droid tend to have a typical user. Unlike television or the newspaper, it is possible to be much more precise in identifying a user.
For example, a user of the latest Droid is unlikely to be a teenager or an elderly person. It is therefore unlikely that a campaign featuring children’s characters or knitting supplies would be a success. On the other hand, a campaign featuring a new gadget would stand a much better chance of success.
Making it Personal
Although everyone has received mail that is obviously part of a large coordinated mail shot, the personal nature of a cell phone means that any message received is more likely to be perceived on a more intimate level.
Just as SMS billing is seen as a direct communication between service provider and service user, targeted marketing via SMS can create a sense of intimacy that other mass media platforms cannot hope to match.
Value in the Data
The whole process of mobile marketing is one that has already proved successful, but has so much more to offer the advertiser (as well as the user).
Using more specific data and individual data, the marketing can not just benefit the advertiser but crucially help develop a relationship with the user. The reason for this is that as the marketing is much more focused, the user will come to trust the messages and even if they do not act on every one, they will be confident that that each message is worth investigating.
They will know this because previous experience will have shown them that the messages they receive are relevant to their lives and may well contain information and/or a product in which they may well be interested.
In Closing
Utilizing mobile marketing is an innovative way to approach advertising and will almost certainly produce better results than older methods. The focused and personal approach helps gain buy-in from customers who will be confident that the message may well include something that may be of use to them. Building this relationship will mean that advertiser and user will develop a more symbiotic relationship that will prove to be mutually beneficial.
When does the future of mobile advertising start for your company?
About the Author: Vera Mosley is an expert in mobile marketing. She is also a blogger and freelance writer for a premium SMS company. Additionally, Vera loves to spend time outdoors with her family.
Photo Credit: Esther Gibbons
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Seven Ways Small Businesses Can Benefit from Mobile Marketing
Today’s guest post comes from Ola Ayeni, President and CEO of Mobile Dialog. Ola shares his perspectives on a realtively untapped form of marketing that has shown potential and real results for those who have tried it. I think you’ll find the concept interesting.
I was recently asked to write an article for restaurant magazine that caters to independent restaurant owner on the benefits of mobile or marketing through the cell phone.
What I find most exciting about the article is the free or minimal cost it requires for small business owners to play in the new media marketing world.
What is required in order to reap rewards of their free marketing efforts is some of their time, good understanding on what to do and how to do it.
The Game Has Changed
When the first internet store was launched, it was a revolution that leveled the playing field between big corporations and small business.
Where once millions could only dream of becoming entrepreneurs, the internet allowed small businesses and even individuals with no capital to reach thousands of potential customers with a slick, user friendly website and a click of the mouse.
A New Marketing Revolution
Well today, another revolution is afoot in the field of advertising and marketing. There was once a time when only the “Big Boys” could reach large numbers of consumers, specifically targeted and tracked for results; but now with cell phone marketing technology small businesses can reach large numbers of geo-targeted customers who have opted-in to receive their offers with opt-in coupon services.
Many small businesses are getting their feet wet using this new marketing tool; but others are still not educated about the benefits to their business.
Seven Benefits to Mobile Marketing
There are seven major benefits to small businesses who market to customers through their cell phones.
1. Fresh Market
Cell phone advertising is a nearly untouched market, with very few businesses using the technology. Because the market is nowhere near a saturation point, consumers remain open to receiving advertisements. According to “In-Stat” 20% of cell phone users said some form of mobile advertising would be acceptable. There are 283 million cell phone users in the United States as of 2008 and the number continues to grow each year.
2. Large Market
Over 67 billion text messages are sent and received in any given month in the United States starting from June 2008. Consumers 18 – 45 years old are more likely to receive information via their phone than through traditional advertising outlets such as newspapers and radio.
3. Instant Access
Most consumers keep their cell phone on them at all times and over 90% of all text messages received are read. Customers can use their cell phone to redeem a coupon or offer at your store or via your website. As a result there is no added delay in purchasing due to lost or misplaced paper coupons.
4. Qualified Customers
All customers have opted to receive your coupon, promotion or info. via their cell phone by using a third-party cell phone marketing service such as Mobile Dialog, Cellfire and HipCriket so you know that they want to receive your marketing message.
5. Targeted Customers
Cell phone marketing can allow you to target customers by zip code, city, state and stated interest. So, if you’re a coffee shop in Dallas, TX you might target consumers who live in Dallas and expressed an interest in coffee shops or cafés.
Many cell phone marketing companies allow you to track who has received your message and who has redeemed your coupon, giving you detailed and instant reports on your marketing results. You can go with companies who already have consumer information or can gather your own list yourself. The second option is gradual and also cheaper way to go.
6. Viral
When your coupon is sent to a customer’s cell phone that information along with your business phone number and address is stored on the phone and can be forwarded to the customer’s friends and family.
For every customer who receives a coupon directly from you may forward that message to at least 10 additional people creating new customers for your business at no additional cost.
7. High Redemption Rates
Traditional advertising such as mailed coupons and flyers have a redemption rate as low as 1%. With mobile marketing the redemption rate can be as high as 30%.
When Dunkin Donuts text messaged coupons for 99 cent lattes to mobile phone customers in Massachusetts, they increased their Boston area store traffic by 21%.
Marketing through cell phones provides a level of targeting customers and tracking results never seen before in the traditional advertising field.
About the Author:
Ola Ayeni, DVM is the President and CEO of Mobile Dialog. He brings fresh and creative ideas to his clients, speaking at national and industry trade events about mobile marketing, new media and social network marketing.
Ola is passionate about bringing creative integrated marketing solutions to clients, and working with clients to apply and develop high level mobile marketing mix with traditional marketing strategies.
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