Mobile marketing shouldn’t just be recognized as an important part of marketing strategy. Small business owners need to understand that...
Mobile marketing shouldn’t just be recognized as an important part of marketing strategy. Small business owners need to understand that mobile marketing should be the central focus of their digital marketing efforts. The following are the Top 9 Best Mobile Marketing Tips and Tactics for Small Businesses operating worldwide.
1. Ensure That Your Contact Information is in Mobile Directories
When it comes to surfing the web, one of the most common behaviors for mobile users is looking up contact and location information. Obviously, you should have that information readily available on your website. However, that is not the only place your contact information needs to be. Google Local, Yelp, and other websites are mobile-friendly repositories for business contact information, customer reviews, and other helpful information.
If customers are looking through these resources for your company’s information, or simply looking for a company that does what you do, missing or incomplete contact information could be a problem. You could lose sales opportunities and miss out on relationship development opportunities. In the case of Google local, incomplete contact information can also have a negative impact on SEO. If you want to get one of those coveted top three stops on Google Local, you won’t make it if you haven’t filled in your contact information.
2. Get Customers to Opt Into Receiving SMS Marketing Messages
The SMS messaging opt-in checkbox is the email subscription box of today. It is now so commonplace that people don’t see it as being spam or intrusive. So, anytime your customers interact with your website or app, whether it is filling out contact forms, subscribing to email updates, or placing an order, ask them to opt-in. This way they can see your marketing messages via mobile. There’s still a bit of a wow factor here, as receiving text messages is still a fairly intimate form of communication. This can make customers feel as if they are part of a select group that is receiving special offers and information.
3. Build a Mobile App
To truly take mobile functionality to the next level, consider developing a mobile app. Not only will you be able to create a mobile user experience that surpasses the one on your website, but the development of an app also creates new opportunities.
For example, you can begin wooing new audience segments. You can also use in-app advertising and other monetization opportunities. Your new mobile app can also create new opportunities for engagement.
4. Create a Strong Social Media Presence
Don’t forget that in addition to visiting your website and using your app, mobile users spend a lot of time on social media. Make an extra effort to ensure that you are active and engaged on social media. Create and curate lots of content. Engage with users. Take advantage of the fact that social media can be an excellent customer service platform.
Here is an added bonus. Because Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms are already mobile-friendly, you don’t have to worry about doing any optimizing. Just post and your content is ready for mobile users to consume.
5. Provide Incentives for Installing Your Mobile App
Fresh Thyme, a Midwest-based health food chain recently held an in-store promotion. As customers walked in the door they were greeted by a table filled with organic soaps, freshly baked bread, organic juices, and other items. A nearby sign instructed customers to select an item for free.
The only caveat was that they must download the store’s mobile app, and then show that to the cashier in order to get the cost of the item removed from their final order. This is a great example of a simple, non-intrusive, and effective way to encourage customers to download and learn to use the app.
6. Enable Mobile Payments
The greatest mobile marketing techniques are going to fall flat if customers cannot easily complete a purchase over mobile. Think about it. Why would a customer opt-in to receive your SMS messages, shop your products, keep up with you on social media, and then wait until they were home at their desktop to make a purchase? Mobile payment providers are reasonably priced these days, and the profit will surely justify the cost. Make your customers wait, and you could lose out on important sales.
7. Power Your Website up For Mobile
A few years ago, having a mobile website simply meant having a website with buttons that could be fairly easily clicked and content that could be read without having to resize it or shift your screen around. Today, standards have increased significantly.
Users are no longer settling for websites that merely function on mobile phones. They are demanding websites that work with mobile technology to create great user experiences. If your business cannot meet that demand, customers aren’t likely to be interested in your other marketing efforts.
8. Don’t Forget About Your Emails
Once you get customers to subscribe to your email lists, don’t forget to format your emails so that they are mobile-friendly. Many small business owners forget this. It’s something important to consider, knowing that nearly two-thirds of all emails are opened up on mobile devices. One change that you may wish to make is to link back to content on your website or social media pages, rather than trying to pack content into emails that may be less than mobile-friendly.
9. Test Out QR Codes
Picture this, your customer is out and about, and they come across one of your print ads, or a bit of signage in front of one of your stores. They scan the QR code and are then routed to a mini-website with information all about that product. Even better, you’ve set the QR code up to play a video product demonstration on the user’s phone. In any case, it’s a nifty way to get your message out to mobile users.
Conclusion:
If you haven’t already begun to adjust your marketing strategy to focus on mobile, you are already woefully behind. Fortunately, if you follow the seven tips above, not only will you be ready for mobile marketing, you will be able to take advantage of all of the opportunities that come with that.
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