I recently received a text from a store I shop at – offering me a “special discount.” Does this type of marketing really work?
The short and long answers are, “YES!” And here’s why: mobile marketing is coming along like a speeding train, and nothing is going to stop it. The key is to harness the power now, before everyone else gets on board.
Here’s a statistic that’ll blow you away: by 2015, most emails and texts will be sent and read on mobile devices – smart phones, iPads, laptops, etc. We live in a mobile society, and your customers are on the go. So you’ve got to go along with them. And the best way to do that is with mobile marketing.
The text you received from your store was based on your permission – somewhere you “opted-in” and said, “sure, let me know about your special sales.” Now the store is using texting, or SMS (short message service) from one cell phone to another. Except in the case of the store, they probably sent it to every cell phone of every customer they had. It’s a great way to reach every customer IMMEDIATELY – to promote a special sale, offer a special discount, and send out a coupon and more.
So what should you do? If you’re a storeowner, you should be quantifying your customers – gather their information (email address, cell phone numbers, etc.) and getting them to “opt-in” (getting their permission) to receive your special sale announcements. You should also familiarize yourself with those QR codes – those funny little bar codes you’re seeing in magazine ads and other places. If your customer has a smart phone and a QR app – they can scan the bar code and receive a coupon with a variety of money-saving offers. You’re going to be seeing more and more of these as more and more advertisers begin to understand the power of mobile marketing.
Mobile marketing is also a great way to build a better relationship with your customer base. If you’re wondering why you should be building this better relationship, let me toss out an amazing number: researchers at Harvard found that a mere 5% increase in customer retention will cause an increase in profitability of 25% to 85%! And another study found that returning customers spend MORE than new customers. So it’s simple math: keeping the customers you have – and keeping them happy – is far more profitable than trying to reach out and find a new customer.
Just imagine – contacting all of your existing customers within the next 60 seconds, and have 95% of them read your message within five minutes. Wow! Put that mobile marketing to work!
The short and long answers are, “YES!” And here’s why: mobile marketing is coming along like a speeding train, and nothing is going to stop it. The key is to harness the power now, before everyone else gets on board.
Here’s a statistic that’ll blow you away: by 2015, most emails and texts will be sent and read on mobile devices – smart phones, iPads, laptops, etc. We live in a mobile society, and your customers are on the go. So you’ve got to go along with them. And the best way to do that is with mobile marketing.
The text you received from your store was based on your permission – somewhere you “opted-in” and said, “sure, let me know about your special sales.” Now the store is using texting, or SMS (short message service) from one cell phone to another. Except in the case of the store, they probably sent it to every cell phone of every customer they had. It’s a great way to reach every customer IMMEDIATELY – to promote a special sale, offer a special discount, and send out a coupon and more.
So what should you do? If you’re a storeowner, you should be quantifying your customers – gather their information (email address, cell phone numbers, etc.) and getting them to “opt-in” (getting their permission) to receive your special sale announcements. You should also familiarize yourself with those QR codes – those funny little bar codes you’re seeing in magazine ads and other places. If your customer has a smart phone and a QR app – they can scan the bar code and receive a coupon with a variety of money-saving offers. You’re going to be seeing more and more of these as more and more advertisers begin to understand the power of mobile marketing.
Mobile marketing is also a great way to build a better relationship with your customer base. If you’re wondering why you should be building this better relationship, let me toss out an amazing number: researchers at Harvard found that a mere 5% increase in customer retention will cause an increase in profitability of 25% to 85%! And another study found that returning customers spend MORE than new customers. So it’s simple math: keeping the customers you have – and keeping them happy – is far more profitable than trying to reach out and find a new customer.
Just imagine – contacting all of your existing customers within the next 60 seconds, and have 95% of them read your message within five minutes. Wow! Put that mobile marketing to work!
