Is Mobile Marketing Right for Your Company?

With mobile marketing being hyped as “the next big thing” for every business category, the question remains, “Is it for real, is it for you and how deeply should you participate?” The answer comes in knowing if your customers will seek out information about your company using their smartphones – much like fifteen years ago, wondering if anyone would seek out your company on the Internet. If so, you want to have a mobile presence. With that determination, there are some specific mobile strategies you will want to integrate into your sales-building plan. From a customer-driven point of view, they include:

• Searching for your company’s name, location and driving directions – go to Google Maps on your smartphone and type your business name. Is your complete company information found?
• Searching within your business category – download the Google App and using your voice, ask for your business category. Is your company listed in the results?
• Using a smartphone to get to your website – type your company’s web address into your smartphone’s browser. What does your website look like when “mobilized?” Do you need your website reformatted for the mobile platform?
• Giving incentives to visit or purchase your product or service. Foursquare is one of the most popular location-based platforms.
• Offering your complete services and customer engagement in one package – consider the development of an app.
• Being able to make a purchase immediately from a smartphone – make sure your have e-commerce purchasing capabilities so you won’t miss a sale.
• Offering more detailed information or product knowledge – at various customer touch points, provide QR codes linked to product videos and demos.
• Communicating to your customers on a regular basis with product announcements, special events and promotions – develop a text messaging program, utilizing an in-store sign-up incentive program.

The applications of mobile are limitless and will certainly evolve as technology advances. Since this truly embodies one-to-one communication, it is worth serious consideration. Are you in the process of looking at mobile marketing for your company?