Why it’s Critical to Utilize Mobile Marketing
Remember the days before virtually everyone had a personal computer? It really wasn’t that long ago. And yet today, about 1.8 billion people use the Internet.
But if you think that’s big, consider this:
More than 5 billion people use cell phones. That’s close to 3 times the market size… and growing rapidly!
In the 1 year period from July 2008 to July 2009 alone, mobile phone users increased a whopping 34% (from 42.5 million to 56.9 million). That more than a 1/3 increase in one year’s time!
And the growth of mobile phone usage has done nothing but accelerate since then. Today just about everybody has a mobile phone.
Now let’s consider the “Smart Phones”… iPhone, Droid, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and similar products.
Although Smartphones are relatively new, their usage has spread rapidly. About 51 million of the cell phone users use Smartphones. And as their popularity increases, prices keep dropping and dropping rapidly! It’s likely that with a year’s time, you won’t be seeing anything except Smartphones!
But the big question you may be asking is “Why it this important to ME as a business owner?”
It’s important because the mobile phone has become a kind of “Mobile Internet” for a lot of people, and the number is growing by leaps and bounds!
It’s to the point that more than 50% of all social media interactions take place by cell phone. Cell phones are overtaking computers as a means to access the Internet.
People are using Smartphones to view webpages, communicate online… and to search for and find local businesses!
And… this is IMPORTANT… not only to find businesses, but find them “on the go” at the very moment when they are ready to spend their hard-earned dollars.
This is BIG!
And it’s going to get bigger.
Why, you can even make purchases on your Smartphone. And while it’s a bit “clunky” right now, within the next 24 months cell phones are going to entirely replace credit cards.
Yeah, that’s right! All you’ll need when leaving your house is your keys and your SmartPhone.”
You can use your Smartphone to access “Mobile Coupons.” These are coupons that reside right on the Smartphone, that one can bring in to a place of business and show from their phone to receive a discount.
If you have a “Google Places Page” a potential customer who searches for a business like yours can access it online, and get your phone number, a map, and driving directions… right from his mobile Smartphone!
Know what “Click to call” is? All the mobile phone user has to do is tap the “click-to-call” icon on his phone, and it dial the business phone number for him. Now how cool is that?
But…
The important question is, when a prospective client searches for a business such as yours using his mobile phone, will you get found!
If your “Places Page” is not in the top 10 search results, he will see your competitors’ pages instead… and guess who will end up getting his business?
We can help with that.
And what about your website (you DO have a website, don’t you?). Should he find your company website, how is it going to display on his Smartphone?
A website may look great on your computer monitor, but not so great on a mobile phone. Remember, the same content will display within a very limited space. A “Mobile Webpage” needs to be designed differently than one that displays on a computer monitor.
We can help with that too.
But in addition to getting found in Smartphone searches, there are other ways you, as a business owner, can take advantage of the “Smartphone Revolution.”
SMS
Did you know that the typical mobile phone user sends text messages more often than he/she makes phone calls? You can use this fact to your advantage.
SMS means “Short Message Service” and it’s a means of sending text messages to those who subscribe to your SMS system. According to Wikipedia it’s “… the most widely used data application in the world, with 2.4 billion active users, or 74% of all mobile phone subscribers.”
You can set up an SMS account for your business, and when a user subscribes you can send him regular messages.
And here’s the best part: Unlike direct mail, where a 1% response rate is considered about average (and a 2% rate is considered excellent!) or email, where you can expect about a 15% open rate, the open rate for text messaging is at least a 95%!
Now let that sink in for a moment… a 95% open rate! And you don’t have to pay $0.44 for a postage stamp (times the number of messages you send).
You can do all sorts of things with SMS messaging. You can send coupons, have a vote, have a poll, and other things to get people to opt in to your mobile messaging. Get people to opt in for your “specials” to get them to take action NOW!
We can help with that too.
QR Codes
No doubt you’ve seen these funny looking matrixes of black and white spaces, like this one:
And you’ll be seeing more and more of them in the very near futures. These are called QR Codes (for “Quick Response”). They are readable by QR scanners which can be downloaded to a Smartphone
You can put one on a business card, a postcard, your website, a social media account (like Facebook) or in the front window of your place of business. When your customer scans the QR code it can take him to your website, Google “Places Page”, it can display a specific text, or any number of things.
It can even take him to a coupon where you can offer him a discount, or pretty much whatever you choose.
We can help with that too!
FREE Consultation – no obligation
Why not give us a call for a free consultation.
Local: 513-828-6200
Toll Free: 888-832-0711
We can talk about your business and discuss how we can use the Internet and Mobile Marketing to boost your bottom line. We’ll even send you a free analysis upon request.
Mobile marketing is overtaking the Internet as a means of driving new and repeat clients to a place of business. Smart business owners are getting in on the ground floor.
Make sure you’re one of them!
Talk with you soon!
Ben Hanania
P.S. Get in on the next BIG revolution of mobile marketing, before the field gets crowded. Grab some market share while you still can… and before your competitors do!