8 Mobile Marketing Tips to Increase Business
If you take a quick glance around – virtually anywhere you go – you’ll see that everyone has a smartphone. The sad truth is, even kids have their own devices nowadays. Did you know that there are nearly 3.5 billion unique mobile users. By the end of 2017, it is projected that there will be approximately 5.9 billion connected devices. Incredible right!? (kinda scary at the same time)
Due to the growth of mobile usage and it monumental rise, the culture of communication has forever changed, and marketers need to clearly understand how their prospective customers prefer to communicate in today’s modern tech savvy world. (especially millennials)
Most people prefer to communicate on their mobile device because of convenience alone. Whether it be by text, email, apps, video, coupons, social, talking, or emerging ideas popping up all the time; it is essential to understand how to properly position your brand in front of your potential customers.
If brands aren’t smart and aware about their mobile marketing strategy, it could end up damaging the brand and its potential customer’s decision to move forward with a purchase. It is quite possible brands fail to connect with customers because their mobile strategy is missing the target on a few crucial components.
We’ll touch on eight key pivotal mobile marketing tips that your brand needs to think about before you start a mobile marketing strategy. If any of the items listed below are off key, you may fail to emotionally connect and convert a majority of your potential customers.
#1: Make Your Content RELEVANT
Put on your customer hat. Which brands do you admire and why? Are you a fan of brands that spam you by sending you irrelevant communication pieces (whether it be by email, text, or social messages)? Brands have to make sure they’re creating content that is perfectly aligned with their buyer persona’s needs. Brands also need to recognize that they have many persona’s and to associate customer segments with these personas, so they can effectively communicate and not send irrelevant information. If I get one more phone call for my student loans that I payed off 17 years ago…argh, needless to say, will not be doing business with them or the solar panel company that has not updated their records, as I sold my house a year ago.
Focus on the outcome and satisfaction your potential customer will receive after purchasing your product(s) or service(s). Trigger those emotions with relevant content tailored to those desires the customer FEELS when pleased with your product(s) or service(s). Also remember that you are building a relationship with your customers; not all communications are selling messages. You should be providing valuable content that is entertaining, educational and engaging 80% of the time and cleverly selling 20% of the time. You will find that lots of your clever selling is leveraged by the clever non-selling content that proceeds it.
#2: Avoid Poor Timing Of Communication
Marketers pay attention to the timing of emails, social posts and even direct mail. That means we must think about the customer, their habits, desires, needs and time-zones and serve them the perfect offer at the perfect time with the right message.
Understanding when a customer purchases your product or service is a crucial part of your mobile marketing strategy. You must be able to identify your buyer persona. If a text based offer for a lunch special comes to their phone at dinnertime, guess what? This could happen with a simple time zone error in your database. You’ve missed the opportunity. Knowing when your messages are going out and what time they will be received by your customers will allow you to position your message in front of them when it matters most.
#3: Keep It Consistent
The key here is “consistent” communication. As a brand, it is considered a cardinal sin to constantly send communication and marketing messages to prospective customers and even existing customers if the message is not relevant.
This will annoy your customer and soon they may unsubscribe from your communication channel. You invested time and money to get them, now you need to spend the extra time to figure out what they want, how many times they want it, and when they want it. By keeping your core message consistently in front of your customers, this will increase engagement, website traffic, customer lifetime value and ultimately revenue as well.
Focus on nurturing campaigns – everything from email drip campaigns, to SMS follow up text; make sure the content you send out is spread out over time and relevant to the desired feeling of satisfaction a customer will get after purchasing your product(s) or service(s).
#4: Location, Location, Location…It’s All About Location in Mobile Marketing!
A properly executed mobile marketing strategy is not just about connecting with the customer. It’s also about understanding their location. The retail market is a great business model to leverage the power of mobile, especially when you take advantage of location data. This data enables the marketer have more complete data, which allows you to craft and create mobile marketing strategies more effectively – thus increasing engagement, store traffic, conversion/transactions, decrease in time between purchases, increase in average transaction value and retention.
According to Google research, “4 in 5 people use search to find local information. Collectively, these searches provide a view into consumer interest and intent in a given place. Today, we can use that intent to offer the most relevant ads, but that’s only half the picture. Location data can also provide rich consumer insights that inform strategy from the start, before there’s even an ad to distribute.” – Lisa Gevelber, VP, Americas, Google
#5: Coupons
According to Juniper Research; there will be over 1 billion mobile coupon users in 2019 Whatever type of business you may have, a coupon can be used to drive in-store foot traffic, online conversions, and customer retention or even help promote a new product or service. In a highly competitive market, coupons show value to the customer, especially if it is delivered in a timely manner with the right message. There are a variety of methods to use a coupon and a mobile device is the perfect strategy to deliver your brand message anywhere, anytime.
#6: Value Each Customer
In marketing it is said, if the brand is not offering value for the customer, a transaction won’t happen. When a mobile marketing strategy is not offering value to each and every customer, the brand in essence is communicating to them that they just want their name, mobile phone number and eventually their money, not their respect, trust or time.
#7: Find The Correct Mobile Partner
This is crucial for any CMO or CIO looking to dive into mobile marketing. The tip here is to find a mobile marketing company that knows how to effectively execute a mobile marketing strategy and use the technology that goes along with it. You don’t want a company that’s just a reseller of another knock-off service.
Furthermore, make sure the mobile marketing company has a reliable customer centric service team to help when you need it most. When you do find a company that can do all of these things, you will soon realize they are the smartest mobile marketing firms out there, and you want them to always be on your side.
#8: Know Your Data Sets
Don’t allow your mobile marketing strategy to negatively impact your sales. Make sure you take full advantage of the data sets that are available to your company. This will help you not only understand your customer, but communicate with them on their mobile device in a particular manner and location that truly captivates and engages them to want to make the effort to purchase. Take advantage of all your customer data sets and think like a customer, but act like a smart brand.