Mobile Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
One of the fastest growing trends for driving local traffic is 100% Mobile. Recent study shows that the average consumer spent about about 2 hours and 28 minutes a day in front of their computer, yet they have a mobile phone with them 24/7 and virtually never turn it off. 1 in 3 local searches are done on mobile phone and 57% of people report that they want to receive on their phone. Facebook has 500 million users (over 100 million are active Mobile users)… that number of Mobile users along is the size of the entire country of Mexico or Japan.
Mobile marketing isn’t just about tapping into the latest trends. It’s about delivering the highest profit margins. Those businesses which ignore the need for mobile marketing will soon find themselves being left far behind. In business, you are either growing or losing market share. If you are not leading in innovation and operating on the biggest spreads you will quickly be overtaken by your competition and at best face a long, hard uphill battle.
Mobile marketing has become one of the few forms of marketing that consumers are immediately responding to and engaging with.
What types of mobile marketing should you be participating in?
While email marketing and direct mail are often notorious for low single digit open and response rates, 95% of all text messages are read. Those sending coupons also need to know that SMS marketing has been consistently shown to result in 10 times the redemption rates of other advertising channels.
Smartphones and other mobile internet devices have grown tremendously in popularity over the last couple of years. In order to go with the flow, businesses are adapting accordingly. Creating a mobile-friendly website will relay to prospective customers the message that your business has embraced technology and is here to stay.
QR codes can be used to provide additional product information on the spot anywhere. They can enable instant communication or can be used to deliver coupons or lead prospects to your mobile website. Many companies are finding that linking to videos can instantly convey passion for your product and inspire action, while others find driving consumers to product specific landing pages dramatically increases conversion rates.
With mobile users spending more than twice the amount of time they spend eating and more than a third of the time they spend sleeping socializing on their mobile devices, businesses would be remiss not to invest in some time and energy into social media. In fact, while mobile Internet usage as a whole is soaring, 91% of this time is being used to access social networks.
Listing your business on free sites, such as Yelp, Gowalla and Google’s Local Business Center will ensure that it is found during internet searches for local venues/services. In addition, participating in group-buying programs and coupon sites such as Groupon and Living Social will also offer opportunities for attracting tons of new patrons.
So, what are YOU waiting for?
In short, mobile marketing means putting your information in the hands of consumers when they want it and where they want it – enabling them to be rewarded for taking immediate action. Never mind the incredible ROI benefits or speeding up your cash cycle, the bottom line is that if you aren’t on their mobile devices you soon may as well not exist.
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