Monday, December 12, 2011

Understanding The Mobile Movement

If you're new to the concept of mobile marketing, it may seem like a rather complicated business.  With today's smartphones and ease of connectivity, the mobile marketing industry has flown by the simple SMS techniques that it started.  Text messaging is, of course, still a staple of the industry but there are many other ways that mobile marketers may interact with their customers and potential customers.

Today, the mobile marketing industry also encompasses mobile web design, email, voice and other media that can be accessed via mobile technology.  All of these can be highly interactive, even text messaging, by incorporating things like polls, sweepstakes or even quiz applications.  For some markets, simple SMS is a perfect fit such as an auto center that sends oil change reminders or service specials.  For other markets, a deeper level of interaction works better.



The first step in any venture in the mobile marketing industry is to know your audience.  That shouldn't come as a surprise since knowing your audience is the real key to the success of any type of marketing or promotion.  You need to find out who your target market is, where they hang out and what type of media format they like best.  Once you know this information, it becomes an easy matter to craft the kind of marketing that will capture their attention and increase your bottom-line.

You also must figure out what your main goal is with your mobile marketing.  Are you trying to keep in touch with previous customers and keep them coming back for more?  Are you trying to brand your company and increase awareness of your brand within the marketplace?  Is your main goal instead to reach a new audience?  By answering these questions, you will be able to tailor your marketing message directly towards your target market, always keeping your main goal in the center of your mind.

All businesses can benefit from the mobile marketing industry but they may benefit in widely differing ways.  By knowing the intended audience and knowing exactly what you wish to accomplish with your mobile marketing campaign, you can create messages that will resonate with those that you wish to target and in exactly the way they wish to consume such messages.

Retailers can benefit in several ways from mobile marketing.  To reward and bond with existing customers, you can send them special promotions directly to their phones.  This will not only make them feel appreciated, it could get them back into your store more often than before which increases your revenue.  You can expand your customer base by offering a free reminder service on your website where the person gets a text message reminder of the events they input.  Along with the reminder, it's easy to offer a discount or even just suggest a gift item.

Just like the auto center mentioned above, any type of business with regular appointments could easily use mobile marketing to remind customers that it's time for their next whatever... could be their next dental checkup or that their computer hasn't been serviced recently.  Hairdressers could send reminders when it's time to get a trim or even ask how the customer likes their new color.

The real power of the mobile marketing industry is the ability to reach customers or potential customers instantly and with laser-targeted focus.  You can bet your competitors are using it so you better be using it, too, or you may get left behind.