Due to the busy lifestyles millions of people today are living, it is really not that surprising that even marketing techniques have already devised a way to cope with the situation. Since people are now on the go most of the time, one way to keep up with them is through mobile marketing. But what is mobile marketing? Mostly, this term refers to two different methods of promoting products and services. The first one is called “mobile” because it makes use of mobile phones in promoting wares, while the second one does its marketing methods in a more moving around fashion, something everyone is already familiar of, with it being used for a very long time now. Generally, the first method of mobile marketing is still being mastered, even by its pioneers. Especially since advertising with the use of mobile phones can verge into the creepy and extremely annoying if not done properly, it can be more harm than an effective way of making sales. However, this type of promotion, also known as SMS marketing is still a great way to promote, once you know how to really do it.
The simple SMS message now becomes the starting point for much broader and deeper customer engagement. The mobile site can include information about new products, promotions, competitions, or contain photos and videos. Alternatively you can ask for feedback, request a survey to be completed, or provide contact details and a map showing your location. Mobile internet is not used in the same way as desktop internet. Over 50% of mobile search today is used by people wanting to either call or locate a business they already know: they are not doing ‘research’, they just want to find you. So the mobile site needs to have contact details and ‘Click to Call’ and ‘Click to Find’ buttons prominently displayed. This also means that the best way to get visitors to come back regularly to a mobile website to see updated information is by sending them a regular SMS with a link to the site. One of the most often asked questions regarding Mobile Marketing is: “How frequently should I SMS my customers?” The correct answer is of course: “It depends”. Communicating too frequently or not frequently enough can both be bad.
According to the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), “three in four mobile phone users text message at least occasionally.” Over 525 million text messages are sent each day. Therefore, mobile marketing opens the door to an extremely large group of consumers that can be targeted by specific demographics. A further advantage mobile marketing presents compared to more traditional forms of advertising is its ability to generate interaction with the consumer, which ultimately increases brand recognition. Instead of simply reading or watching an ad, users can actively participate by playing games, voting via text message, and interacting in a number of other ways. This idea of interaction also makes it possible to measure an ad’s impact more effectively. Although still a new technology, many are finding that the benefits of mobile marketing far outweigh any risks. Those that adopt mobile marketing solutions can build a vast database of interested consumers that can be contacted instantly. Imagine spending advertising dollars on a campaign that immediately reaches your targeted audience and bypasses the disinterested, saving time, money, and headaches. With mobile marketing, all this is possible.
Online retailers have been using cell phones as a platform to increase marketing but it is also a platform from which you can get orders to come in. You can build an interactive platform so that people can buy right at that point. You will lose sales if people can only find information using their phones but cannot order products at that time. You have to get people ordering when they are engaged. Mobile marketing simply allows you to reach rapidly increasing markets. This can provide additional revenues that you may not be able to reach with any other communications. You can fit this in with your existing marketing or create it as a standalone platform from which people can interact and order products or services. Mobile marketing can be used in a variety of manners. You can use it to increase communications to customers such as limited offers or new information which can make a difference in how they use your products. It could be a way to increase order size through a special promotion that you send to mobile subscribers. This could be a way to get people to sign up for your mobile services as well.