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Mobile Marketing Basics for Local Business is written for owners, managers and advertising managers of small or local-focused businesses to learn the basics of how the latest mobile marketing techniques, services, and strategies can be used for their companies. It explains what makes up mobile marketing as well as the latest products and services available.
It is written in a common sense manner with a minimum of marketing jargon and statistics. It is meant to convey the most pertinent information in a brief, concise format.
Every business today needs their digital footprint to be "mobile-optimized." Simply stated, anything that a customer may see online such as a website, emails, advertisements, social media pages, text messages or apps MUST be easily understood and navigated on any mobile device. That includes all types of cell phones and smart phones, tablets, phablets, e-readers and devices coming in the future like wearables and even internet connected cars and trucks (yes they are coming soon)!
The majority of consumers now search, shop, review, price check and locate businesses, and check their email on mobile devices. If a merchant in any industry has a poor look or feel on a mobile device, that merchant will lose revenue. Period.
This book will show marketing decision-makers how to get started setting up their marketing campaigns for success in the coming years.
Originaltitel
Mobile Marketing Basics for Local Business A Starter Guide
Mobile Marketing Basics for Local Business is written for owners, managers and advertising managers of small or local-focused businesses to learn the basics of how the latest mobile marketing techniques, services, and strategies can be used for their companies. It explains what makes up mobile marketing as well as the latest products and services available.
It is written in a common sense manner with a minimum of marketing jargon and statistics. It is meant to convey the most pertinent information in a brief, concise format.
Every business today needs their digital footprint to be "mobile-optimized." Simply stated, anything that a customer may see online such as a website, emails, advertisements, social media pages, text messages or apps MUST be easily understood and navigated on any mobile device. That includes all types of cell phones and smart phones, tablets, phablets, e-readers and devices coming in the future like wearables and even internet connected cars and trucks (yes they are coming soon)!
The majority of consumers now search, shop, review, price check and locate businesses, and check their email on mobile devices. If a merchant in any industry has a poor look or feel on a mobile device, that merchant will lose revenue. Period.
This book will show marketing decision-makers how to get started setting up their marketing campaigns for success in the coming years.
Mobile Marketing Basics for Local Business is written for owners, managers and advertising managers of small or local-focused businesses to learn the basics of how the latest mobile marketing techniques, services, and strategies can be used for their companies. It explains what makes up mobile marketing as well as the latest products and services available.
It is written in a common sense manner with a minimum of marketing jargon and statistics. It is meant to convey the most pertinent information in a brief, concise format.
Every business today needs their digital footprint to be "mobile-optimized." Simply stated, anything that a customer may see online such as a website, emails, advertisements, social media pages, text messages or apps MUST be easily understood and navigated on any mobile device. That includes all types of cell phones and smart phones, tablets, phablets, e-readers and devices coming in the future like wearables and even internet connected cars and trucks (yes they are coming soon)!
The majority of consumers now search, shop, review, price check and locate businesses, and check their email on mobile devices. If a merchant in any industry has a poor look or feel on a mobile device, that merchant will lose revenue. Period.
This book will show marketing decision-makers how to get started setting up their marketing campaigns for success in the coming years.
Learn how mobile marketing can be used to acquire and retain customers, promote your business to a bigger audience, and increase your bottom line!
Mobile Marketing Basics for Local Business
A Starter Guide for Owners, Managers and Marketers
By Ric Clark, founder and owner of Elevate Solutions Group
The information packed into this little book will give you a base knowledge of what mobile marketing actually is, and how to use it to grow your business by increasing your customer base and turning them into your fans and promoters!
Copyright 2014
By Rictor Clark, Elevate Solutions Group
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 2 All Rights Reserved
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced or reused in any form without permission from the author.
This book is written to provide information in regards to a specific subject matter. The author takes no responsibility for the interpretation of the subject matter contained within.
The author is not engaged in providing any legal, financial, or accounting services. No claims or guarantees are offered or promised as a result of reading this book or employing its techniques described. The reader assumes all responsibility for the interpretation, use and implementation of any content within. Individual success is determined by the readers background, motivation, desire and willingness to employ the information. As with all business endeavors there is inherent risk of loss of capital and no guarantee of earnings or results. The author accepts no responsibility for any losses or liabilities incurred from the readers individual business decisions.
The sole purpose of this material is to inform, educate, entertain and assist the reader. Every effort has been made to accurately represent all information presented.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 3 Table of Contents Introduction Page 5 About Me (the author)..Page 7 Chapter 1: 21 st Century MarketingPage 10 Paradigm Shift..Page 12 OK, Lets Boil It Down.Page 13 Chapter 2: So What is Mobile Marketing?.........Page 16 Chapter 3: Rules, Regulations & CompliancePage 19 Chapter 4: Mobile Marketing for Locally Focused Businesses..Page 22 A Mobile-Optimized Website.Page 24 Text Message Marketing.Page 26 Mobile Apps...Page 28 Search Engine Optimization for Local (Local SEO)....Page 29 Mobile-Optimized eMail..Page 30 Loyalty & Rewards Programs...Page 32 Social Media Sharing..Page 34 QR Codes...Page 37 Paid Ads.Page 39 Chapter 5: Paralysis of NO AnalysisPage 42 Chapter 6: How to Use All This Techy Stuff to Increase YOUR Business..Page 45 Change = Opportunity.Page 47 www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 4 Cmon Ric, I Dont Have Time for Meetings and Plans!...................................................Page 47 Your Customers Have ChangedPage 48 Do You REALLY Need a Professional?.............................Page 51
Chapter 7: Enough Fluff Ric!! Give Me the Bottom Line..Page 53 Final Stuff.Page 55 Contact & Engage..Page 56
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 5 Introduction
Right from the start let me say that having owned, managed, sold to, and strategized with many small businesses, I know that you as a manager or owner dont have the time to read some long, dry book full of facts and statistics showing you how smart I am and trying to convince you that mobile marketing is important to your company. I get that, and promise to keep it as brief and simple as possible while giving you valuable information. Having said that, welcome and thanks for taking the time to find out more about new marketing technologies and techniques. I hope you find it worth the effort!
This book is meant specifically for owners and/or managers of small, local businesses. It is a primer if you will, to give you the basics of what mobile marketing actually means and how it can affect your company. The reason I say primer is because mobile marketing is rapidly growing and changing, encompassing many www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 6 different areas of your business. A book covering all of mobile marketing would be more like a bookshelf!
I am writing this in a person-to-person style, as if you and I are having a casual conversation that is valuable for both of us. My style is direct, informal, and sometimes a bit irreverent. I hope you can relate.
My wish is that you will find it valuable and entertaining and you will be able to quickly and easily find all the parts relevant to your business, and use them to help it grow and prosper.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 7
About Me My name is Ric Clark, and I am an independent consultant in the marketing field for local businesses. For most of my working life I have been involved with companies that are locally owned and operated. I am very familiar with the challenges and opportunities that are presented to businesses every day.
The one thing I am sure that small business owners/managers lack is time, so I will try to make my points in this book as brief as possible. I believe in keeping things simple and to the point. I will not throw a www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 8 bunch of marketing jargon at you or bore you with mounds of statistics and data about why mobile marketing works. You wouldnt be reading this if I needed to convince you of its worth.
I firmly believe that small businesses are the backbone of our country. I also believe that it is harder to run one every day. With more regulations to follow, a lack of qualified employees, and constantly changing competition and technology, I think running a small business is much more challenging than running a large one! I know you have to wear many hats. When you have an accounting issue you cant just have your accounting department take care of it. You ARE the accounting department! I get it.
For the last few years I have had a desire to be my own boss probably much like you, but I really wanted to offer a product or service that has a real value to small businesses. I had a desire to work with companies on a www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 9 long-term basis, helping them grow and showing real results.
I found that in mobile marketing.
Thats enough about me. Lets do this!
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 10 Chapter 1: 21 st Century Marketing ______________________________________________
Check out these two photos above. They were both taken www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 11 in St. Peters Square at the Vatican; the top one when Pope Benedict was announced in 2005 and the bottom one in 2013 at the announcement of Pope Francis. What a brilliant illustration of how rapidly mobile technology has changed the way we do things in our everyday lives now.
The almost universal adoption of mobile devices has completely changed how businesses promote and market their goods and services, especially for local business. Gone are the days when you ran a few print ads and reviewed your (very expensive) Yellow Page ad once a year. Its a whole new ball game now, and if you havent kept up, youre probably losing business to your competition!
If youre not using mobile marketing to attract new customers to your business, dont worry your competitors are already using it and are getting those customers instead. - Jamie Turner, 60SecondMarketer.com (Source: Ecoconsultancy.com) www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 12 These changes are not a fad, theyre here to stay and will evolve more and more. The internet changed everything and now it has gone mobile.
Paradigm Shift OK heres the only part of this book where Ill throw some stats at you, but theyre worth knowing. Almost everyone has a cell phone now right? Well, over half of them are smart phones and the number is growing. Over 60% of emails are opened on a mobile device now (Source: Movable Ink Q1 2014). Notice I said opened well pay attention to this later. Most people have their phone within their reach all their waking hours. 75% of us have even admitted to taking them into the bathroom (Source: CBSNews.com).
From a marketing standpoint the shift is even more striking. In January 2014, more people accessed the internet on a mobile device than on a desktop or laptop computer (Source: CNNMoney). 79% of smartphone owners and 81% of tablet owners use their devices to www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 13 search for info on local businesses (Source: Neustar Localeze).
Right about now youre saying, OK marketing dude thats great. Customers find me on the internet all the time. Yes, but check this out (last bunch of stats I promise); 74% of consumers will only wait for a mobile site to load for 5 seconds before moving on to the next one (Source: Compuware). 57% of mobile users will not recommend a business if they have a bad mobile website (Source: ecoconsultancy.com). 61% of local searches on a mobile phone result in a phone call to a business (Source: Google).
OK Lets Boil It Down Consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to shop and buy. Almost all mobile users search for local businesses on their mobile device. If a business isnt mobile-friendly online (i.e. their website loads slowly or their emails dont work on a mobile screen or they cant find or call the business easily in 1-click), then customers www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 14 will move on to a competitor. Marketers call this a bad User Experience (whoops sorry, I promised not to use buzzwords didnt I?).
What doesnt show up directly in these stats is that mobile devices are very personal to people. Businesses now have a way to instantly communicate one-to-one with their customers. While this is a tremendous opportunity, you must be careful. Remember, mobile devices are personal. It is critical that you send people information that is valuable to them. With mobile its not all sell sell sell. Imagine this; your home is very personal right? Would you want someone knocking on your door at 4pm every day saying Come eat at our restaurant now!? Of course not. But, what if a friendly kid came by and left a notice informing you of things like a new menu or new happy hour pricing, every couple of weeks? That is valuable to you and not intrusive. That is how mobile marketing must be done or it will result in an epic FAIL.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 15 One of the best things Ive ever heard is that Customers hate to be sold, but they love to buy. (Sorry I cant source that, its been around forever).
The KEY to future marketing success is building lists of happy, loyal customers (email addresses or phone numbers) who look forward to receiving info from your company, share that info with their friends, and keep coming back, and that you can continue to market to in the future.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 16 Chapter 2: So What is Mobile Marketing? ______________________________________________
While it is not quite as simple as just hitting the key like in the picture above, mobile marketing can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it.
The Mobile Marketing Association defines mobile marketing as: www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 17 Mobile Marketing is a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through and with any mobile device or network (Source: MMA). There are 4 key words in that definition: communicate, engage, interactive and relevant.
There are now many types of mobile devices and more coming in the future; cell phones, smart phones, tablets, e- readers, Google glasses, smart watches, wearables and more. Even your car will be a mobile device soon! The touch screen in your dash will have internet access, just like a smart phone! Feel like the Jetsons yet? (Lets see how many of you dont get that reference, LOL).
There is also a growing list of mobile marketing products and services used to market goods and services on those devices: Mobile optimized websites SMS & MMS text marketing www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 18 Mobile coupons Mobile landing pages Digital loyalty rewards Programs Kiosks for opt-ins Mobile apps Mobile punch cards Mobile appointment reminders/confirmations Mobile optimized email marketing & newsletters Social media sharing QR codes Virtual business cards mCommerce Text-to-Donate for non-profits & places of worship Location marketing & Geo-fencing Mobile-optimized social media channels Ratings/reviews on mobile Search engine optimization for mobile Mobile-optimized email Paid mobile ads
Dont get scared! I know it looks like a lot, but Im here to simplify for you. Most businesses only need a small number of these items to show a great return on the investment. Well talk about the important ones in Chapter 4, but first.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 19 Chapter 3: Rules, Regulations & Compliance
Ok, you probably wont get thrown in jail for breaking the rules of mobile marketing, but you can be heavily fined, shut down by cell carriers and banned from internet sites if you mess it up. www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 20 There are some really important standards that must be met when engaging in mobile marketing. The CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association), the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) and US CBP (Consumer Best Practices) have all established sets of guidelines and requirements for companies engaging in mobile marketing with consumers. Also, on October 16, 2013 the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) went into effect. These are laws that pertain to both voice and text messaging transmitted for marketing purposes. They are very specific and breaking these rules can result in cancellation of your message services by cell phone carrier networks, lawsuits or worse. Needless to say you want to stay clear of this mess!
Here is where you get to say, Come on Ric, gimme a break! I dont have time to figure that stuff out! Well, you have 2 choices to use mobile marketing in your business; do it yourself, or hire a professional consultant, provider or agency. I will tell you that trying to do it yourself(properly and profitably) will take a lot of study and research on your www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 21 part. Employing a professional is the way to go for most businesses. If you have a tech-nerd that you trust who has the time to learn the ins and outs, you could give it a try. But whatever you do, make sure to follow all the guidelines and best practices or dont even start. Some high profile companies have paid big fines for running afoul of these rules! A professional mobile marketer will make sure you steer clear.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 22 Chapter 4: Mobile Marketing for Locally Focused Businesses
A locally-focused business is one whose customers are local to their physical location(s). For example, a restaurant is locally-focused. Theyre not looking for customers two states over to come and eat. A multi- location business is locally-focused, with each location www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 23 focused on their area. A company that sells only online would NOT be locally-focused. Their customers can be all around the world. Mobile marketing works very well and shows great results for locally-focused businesses. Dont ever forget, mobile marketing is also very personal. Think about how you like to be marketed to. Your customers will likely feel the same way.
Mobile marketing is not about fancy new technology. Dont get caught in that trap. It is simply a set of new and more effective tools for connecting with your customers. Remember what I wrote in Chapter 1:
The KEY to future marketing success is building lists of happy, loyal customers (email addresses or phone numbers) who look forward to receiving info from your company, share that info with their friends, and keep coming back, and that you can continue to market to in the future.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 24 Here is a list of the most effective mobile marketing products and services for locally-focused businesses with brief descriptions (Dont freak out! You wont need all of them!): A Mobile-Optimized Website You have probably seen this before; a website that looks fabulous on a big screen laptop, but terrible when viewed on a smartphone. Nowadays, if a user has to pinch or expand the page or scroll around trying to find something, theyre off to your competitors site. Without getting all techy there are 4 types of websites: Static This is the old school type made for a computer screen. It does not change when viewed on a mobile device. Pros: none for most small businesses Cons: Looks terrible on mobile devices. No customers want to use it. Responsive This type of site is designed to re- size itself to the screen it is being viewed on. The pages shrink down, so they have to be designed to look good when they are small. Pros: Easily www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 25 translates to different sized screens, easy to design. Cons: Expensive, usually existing sites have to be totally scrapped, can be a bad compromise for viewing on a big screen. Reactive - This type of site detects what type of device it is being viewed on and loads totally different pages designed specifically for each device. Pros: A seamless user experience, looks good on all screens. Cons: VERY expensive since it requires a completely new website built from the ground up. Dedicated Mobile This is a website completely independent of a static site, designed specifically to be easy to navigate on mobile devices. Pros Inexpensive, quickly and easily built and activated, does not require redesigning existing static website, designed for ease of navigation and giving only essential info (what users want). Cons Since the mobile site is completely separate, anytime content changes are needed www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 26 they must be made on both sites, each site must be hosted and maintained independently.
The bottom line here is that if you have gobs of money laying around, hire a great web design team to build you a beautiful reactive site that works on everything. If your budget is limited, your site may be able to be adapted to a responsive site, or you may want to have a dedicated mobile site. Each business is very different so I suggest consulting with a professional marketer to help make this decision. Whatever you do it is critical that you have something that looks decent and is easily used on a mobile device. If you dont I guarantee youre losing some business.
Text Message Marketing Using text messages is a great way to market to existing customers and even attract new ones, if done properly (see Chapter 3). It is a direct communication tool to your customers. You can decide what to send www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 27 them (appointment reminders, mobile coupons, info about your product/services, related content that is valuable to them, pictures, videos, and more!). Also, you can dictate when exactly to send them; remember most text messages are opened right away. Do you want your restaurant coupon to arrive on your customers phone at 4pm on a Thursday? No problem with text messaging. Non-profit and religious organizations can use Text-to-Donate to solicit and receive donations.
NOTE: NEVER EVER buy a list of phone numbers somewhere and shoot out a text to them. This is ILLEGAL! Dont let some shyster come in and sell you something that is unethical and could cost you big time. Call me anytime if you need clarification on this, whether you want my services or not. Ill be glad to help.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 28 Mobile Apps Ok, Im going to get in trouble with app developers for this, but here goes! Most small businesses do not need a mobile app. An app is not a webpage. It is a software application. Heres how it works for a business. First you have to build it in different versions for different platforms (iPads/Phones, Android, Windows Mobile, etc.). This gets very complicated and/or expensive. Then it has to be submitted to both iTunes and the Google Play Store for approval and to be listed. Then you have to get your customer to download and install it on their phone. Then they have to KEEP it on their phone for as long as they want to use it. Now, dont get me wrong, there are good reasons to have an app. Facebook and Twitter are apps and they need to be. Apps have more interactive functionality than websites. If you want to offer games or contests directly to your customers, apps are the way to go. But again let me stress that for most small businesses www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 29 they are not necessary. Consult a professional (NOT an app salesperson) for advice.
Search Engine Optimization for Local (Local SEO) SEO encompasses a big old bag of complicated actions to get your business listing to rank higher in Google searches organically (not a paid ad). Huh? OK simpler; when you do a Google search for a business do you ever look past the first page of results? Rarely I bet. Well would it be any different for people looking for your business? If you have an auto repair shop and it shows up on page three of local search engine results, do you think many customers will find you? Nope. There are a LOT of different things to be done to improve your search rankings including content marketing, directory listings, blogging and much, much more. Im not trying to scare you, just being realistic and honest. Good SEO requires consistent time and effort and never ends. It can be expensive but doesnt have to be. There are many techniques used. If youre not a www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 30 computer nerd with time to do all that is required, then consult a professional. Your search ranking is definitely important and there are many ways to achieve results. NOTE: If someone tells you they can improve your ranking quickly and easily, RUN! Theyre either lying to you or using techniques that are unethical and can get you banned from search engines. Yes BANNED! You do not want this, ever. Improved ranking requires weeks if not months (depending on your market segment and location) of consistent effort in many areas. Whole books are written about this subject so I cant get into all the details here. Being ranked highly in searches is certainly worth the effort, just dont underestimate it. Either take the proper time to learn it, or hire someone to do it for you. The ROI will pay off for you, if done properly.
Mobile-Optimized eMail Remember back in Chapter 1 when I stated that over 60% of emails are now opened on mobile devices? www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 31 Kudos if you do! Heres the deal. What most mobile users do now is screen their emails on their phone or tablet. They keep or read the ones that are important or valuable, delete the junk, and read them on their laptop later when they have time. So what? you say. Think about it. Do you want your emails deleted? No! How to get your emails opened and read by people is part science and part art. First, they must be formatted for mobile devices. Then how the headline reads, the colors in the body of the email, the type of text, when the email is sent, and more are all factors in making those emails effective and of value to your customer. And making them effective for mobile is different than for computers! Yikes this is complicated sometimes. As a businessperson, I would recommend you treat email marketing like SEO. It is worth the effort and shows great results, but either learn the proper methods yourself or hire someone to do it right. If youre going to be sending emails that cant be read on a smart phone you are wasting money. www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 32 Loyalty & Rewards Programs Does your business lend itself to increasing profits by offering your customers rewards for their loyalty? Do you already have a program in place? Still using punch cards? If so, a digital program might be great for you. The short description is that customers opt- in to the program and then a system for keeping track of their return visits is put in place. It can be through a tablet based kiosk on your counter where they check-in each time they visit or they can be entered by your employees on a POS or counter computer. They simply punch in their mobile number. Then both you and the customer have a record of their status in the program, how many visits they need for a reward and more. You also capture their info for future marketing efforts. I know weve said this twice already but it is the most important thing in this book:
The KEY to future marketing success is building lists of happy, loyal customers (email addresses or phone numbers) who look forward to receiving www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 33 info from your company, share that info with their friends, and keep coming back, and that you can continue to market to in the future. (Is this sounding familiar yet? I must think its important huh?)
A loyalty & rewards program using a kiosk for customers to opt-in and check-in is the easiest method for gaining the best results. NOTE: This type of program requires a wireless internet connection for the tablet to connect to.
Customers love rewards programs. Compare the costs to something like a deal-of-the-day website coupon like Groupon and youll be amazed how much more ROI a rewards program will return. Its different for every business, depending on your product, average sale, and amount of the freebie. Give me a call and I can run an ROI report for your business.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 34 Social Media Sharing This is brilliant! I didnt think of it but I sure do use it. So now you agree that reaching out to and engaging with your customers is a good and profitable idea. But lets take it further. What if you can get those customers to advertise FOR you? Most of them, especially millennials and younger, are on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter all the time, sharing all kinds of things with their friends. What if we can get them to share the value of your products and services with them?
Try this for a what if? You own a steak house. A nice couple have become semi-regular customers of yours. They like your place, your food and maybe even you personally. They decide to check-in on Foursquare while dining one night and say great things about you. They might even go to UrbanSpoon and give you a full-on awesome review. They post on Facebook about how great your food is. The last time I checked, adult Facebook users had an average of www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 35 338 friends. Do you think some of the 338 friends of that nice couple will see their posts and give your place a try? Of course! This is like of word of mouth advertising on steroids!
How about we try some Incentivized Social Media Sharing? I know, I know stop with the marketing jargon. OK, but its really simple. We give customers an incentive to tell their social media family about how great you are. Maybe we tell that nice young couple they get a free entre if they bring another couple with them next time. Or we give them a free dessert for giving you an online review. The possibilities are endless. Your cost is minimal and the results are phenomenal. Theres a reason they say word-of-mouth is the best advertisement, and social media sharing just expands the reach of it. And of course we get all these new customers to like, follow and share on their pages and it grows even more. Very cool. www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 36 You can also have some fun with social media sharing. Run a photo contest for your customers. Set up a board for it on your Pinterest business page, have them take pics of things in your restaurant and post them to the board, then pick a winner at the end and give them a free meal. I guarantee your customers will love it and the pics will be shared on Pinterest to even more potential new customers. I love these new mobile devices!
The end game is to get your customers sharing with their friends however you can. Expand the reach of your good name and products or services. The more people that find out about you, especially if a friend recommends you to them, the more business you attract. Do it however you can on social media.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 37 QR Codes
Quick Response Codes (thats the QR) are funky looking black & white squares that can be scanned by cameras in smartphones and tablets. They are typically used to link to a web page url. Theyre just an alternative way to get a customer to check out something you want them to see, like a landing page, special offer, or whatever you choose. They are just a code, like barcodes at the grocery store, to link to something easily. They look like this:
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 38 Youve probably seen them but maybe never actually scanned one. Heres how they work. Lets say youre at the big orange home improvement store and theres a plant in the garden section that you would like info about. Theres a little tag attached with a QR code on it. The first thing you do is download a QR code reader app to your device, if you dont yet have one. There are plenty of free ones in the Play Store or on iTunes. Then once its loaded you have to open it and using the camera on your device, scan the code. It should automatically send you to a webpage with all sorts of information about that plant. Businesses can use them to link to anything they want. Kinda cool huh?
Well, theres one little problem people dont seem to use them much. When they first started appearing they were the new thing but they havent really caught on in the USA. Consumers seem to be more apt to text a code to get a link, or just type a short link into their browser. QR codes do have an upside; www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 39 theyre easy to generate and can be printed on virtually anything and they are completely tracked. You can sign up for a service that will capture info like when or how many times the code was scanned, and provide it to you in a handy report form. Its a great tool for analysis of your marketing campaigns but if people dont use the codes its all for naught.
I wont say that QR codes are dead there are still good uses for them. But I will say for most small businesses QR codes are in a coma. Ask your marketing guru if your business can use them efficiently.
Paid Ads
Like most marketing, digital internet marketing allows you to pay for ads. The cool thing is that now you can target those ads very effectively. You can set up with Google, Facebook, Twitter or any number of other sites, to have an ad for your business pop up in the www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 40 paid ad section on their site. Typically you have the ad send them to your website when clicked, but you can set it to link to whatever you want. Also, you can target exactly where you want your ads to show. For example, if you own an auto repair shop in Las Vegas, you can tell Google to only pop your ad in when someone in Vegas does a search for auto repair. You can filter by location, search keywords and many other factors. On Facebook you can filter by things like the searchers age, sex or interests. The benefit is that you can target your ads precisely to the market you want to attract. The bad news is that you pay a fee every time someone clicks on that ad, whether they make a purchase or not. You are paying to link them to you but thats all. An added benefit is that all this activity is captured by the site (Google for instance) for you to analyze. You can see what works and what doesnt. Quite a bit better than the old days when you put an ad in the local newspaper and waited for people to show up!
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 41 The act of placing the ads is quite simple. They are usually text based ads (no design work needed), and the site you want to put the ad on will tell you everything you need to know to get it done. NOTE: Give serious consideration to which site you want to try. Dont just place an ad on Google. Go where your customers are. If you provide services to other businesses, a site like LinkedIn may give much better results than other sites. An internet marketing pro could help you here.
Paid ads can get great results for some businesses but may not be a good fit for others. Factors to consider are; the vertical your company is in (oops more jargon I mean the type of product or service you provide), your local market and competition, your marketing goals and budget. I would suggest consulting with an internet marketing pro for some advice. You can always start with a small trial and just give it a shot. You never know what might generate traffic for you! www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 42 Chapter 5: Paralysis of NO Analysis ______________________________________________
Remember the old saying paralysis of analysis, referring to analyzing something so much that you never take action? Well, you can also get paralyzed by not analyzing data to see if what youre doing is working or not.
Personally, Im not a big fan of analyzing reams of data, especially for a small business. But I absolutely believe in www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 43 tracking the results of your marketing campaigns to gauge your success and plan future efforts.
A tremendous benefit of the digital marketing age is that almost everything you do can be tracked and used to improve your campaigns for better results. What good is all this flashy techy stuff if you cant use it to make more money right?
Heres my philosophy about analyzing marketing campaigns for a small business. It is essential to do it, but keep it simple. Its easy to get wrapped up in pages of data and lose sight of your objective. Most small businesses I know dont have a marketing department with MBAs and MMAs sitting around analyzing reports! Spending money on a bunch of disorganized shotgun style mobile marketing efforts just because its the latest marketing fad is just foolish. It doesnt have to be expensive! You can either do it yourself or hire a pro with experience building and managing successful mobile marketing campaigns for small businesses. www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 44 I like examples so lets show one; you decide to run a text message marketing campaign and offer customers a discount for a specified amount of time. You can track how many messages you send, who you send them to, how many of the messages are opened, and how many customers take advantage of the discount. If you design the campaign properly you can even extrapolate out how much your business increased from offering the discount. Maybe youre not happy with the results and you try adjusting the campaign by changing the offer, and see what happens. If the results are better you stick with the change. If not, you can try a different idea. Every business and its customer base are different so results vary.
The most important thing is to track at least a minimum portion of your results, analyze them, adjust, and repeat. Its a process that takes effort and consistency but yields very good results when done properly. NOTE: Any good, reputable consultant or agency will require a plan like this at least on a monthly basis. You want that. www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 45 Chapter 6: How to Use All This Techy Stuff to Increase YOUR Business ______________________________________________
First off, if the sum total of your marketing efforts looks like the picture above, we have quite a distance to travel my friend! Lets do it.
So Ive told you about all these products, services and techniques in mobile marketing to use for your business. www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 46 The decision you need to make now is this; what result are you looking for? Do you want to attract more new customers? Maybe increase your customer retention rate? How about getting existing customers to spend more each time they visit you? These are all good things for most small businesses but you need to give some thought to exactly what you want.
Stop right here for a sec. Look, I KNOW you dont have a big marketing budget, or a marketing department or maybe not even anybody who helps you with marketing at all! You may even think I dont need marketing. Ive got news for you; if you do any kind of advertising, if you have a sign out front, if you have business cards, heck, if youve ever TOLD anyone about your business, you are already in marketing. You have to be if you run a business. Period. If you have all the customers you will ever need or are about to retire or dont want to maintain the level of business you have now, then dont worry about marketing. You dont need to do a thing (I dont know many business owners in this situation though!). www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 47 Change = Opportunity
If you want your company to grow, you really need to keep up with these radical changes in how your customers spend their money. The world is going mobile and like all change, you can fight it or embrace the opportunity and capitalize on it. OK, no more preaching from me.
Cmon Ric, I Dont Have Time for Meetings and Plans!
Do you need a plan? Yep. Does it need to be complicated? Nope.
Once youve decided that you need to use mobile marketing in your business, the rest is easy. Just decide what you want to accomplish, get a free consultation from a mobile marketing pro (hint: we all do it), put together a basic plan, launch it, evaluate the results once a month, make any changes and keep going. The key really is consistency whether youre trying to improve your search ranking or get more repeat customers through a rewards www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 48 program or whatever. Marketing, especially mobile marketing, is not a one and done deal. Notice I said consistent not expensive. If youre spending $1000/month to get an extra $500 in business, you wont be in business long right?
I just realized I have mentioned campaigns in the previous chapters, so let me explain. A campaign in mobile marketing is just a part of your plan. A special offer that lasts for a month is a campaign. A loyalty club that has no end date is a campaign. Heck, a Yellow Page ad is a campaign. You want to keep campaigns separate for the purpose of evaluating each one for ROI.
Your Customers Have Changed
Back in Chapter 2, I referenced the Mobile Marketing Associations definition of mobile marketing as: Mobile Marketing is a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 49 audience in an interactive and relevant manner through and with any mobile device or network.
I also wrote that the 4 most important words in that definition are communicate, engage, interactive and relevant. Heres why: Communicate Dont just communicate TO your customers, communicate WITH them! Engage Dont just offer free stuff to your clients, ask them what they want. Involve them in your business as an active participant. Find out what their needs or challenges are and provide them the solutions. But you gotta ask them first! Interactive Similar to engaging your customers, interacting with them is more crucial than ever before. Have a conversation with them (digitally). Make them feel important (they are VERY important to you). Be creative. Relevant I would include value with this. You have more opportunity than ever to connect with your www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 50 customers but dont blow it. Offer them things that are relevant and valuable to them.
Again, remember, mobile devices are very personal. These days a customer who only feels pushed to come buy your stuff will tire of you quickly. Will a customer be more inclined to buy from you if they feel bothered in their own home (mobile phone), or if they feel like a valuable and involved member of your companys family? Cultivate your customers like vegetables in a garden dont just throw your fertilizer on them.
If youve read this far (first thank you!), youre probably saying OK, dude enough theory and vague ideas! How do I use this in my business? Every single company I have ever worked with is different. There is no pat answer. Its all about what is important to, and will resonate with, your customers. Finding what creates the desired return for your business is part knowledge, part experience, part persistence and even some trial and www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 51 error. Like most things, mobile marketing works, if you work it.
Do You REALLY Need a Professional?
I have written a few times that all of these things can be learned, self-taught even, and you can do it all yourself. I have also said that in many areas you can use a mobile marketing professional. That choice is up to you.
The world of digital marketing, especially mobile marketing, is still very new. Its the Wild West right now, with lots of new, complicated services. This environment is filled with some less than honest people. Quick-buck artists mostly. They have a smooth sales pitch, get you to buy, then disappear. For marketing your business you want someone to help you, not sell you.
Most consultants I know (and myself) are providers of the products like text message services or hosting and maintaining your mobile website. They will charge you for www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 52 the product but their advice on strategy and ROI is free. As a small business consultant, my goal is to work with you consistently over an extended period of time and be valuable to you by increasing your revenue more than youre paying me! Sounds simple, but a lot of professionals in our market dont see it that way. They sell you something like access to a text marketing service and tell you to log in and do it yourself. This rarely works and is a waste of your $$. The key is return on investment. I am always telling my clients, If it doesnt make money, dont do it!
Marketing is very important to your business, and your digital marketing footprint is critical to build and maintain. Give it due consideration, and it will pay off big time, for a long time. If you miss the boat now, it will take you much longer to catch up later.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 53 Chapter 7: Enough Fluff Ric!! Give Me the Bottom Line
Here it is: Decide if your marketing efforts need to be upgraded Figure out exactly what your marketing goal is Decide if mobile marketing is needed for your business www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 54 Get a couple of Free Consultations from professionals Figure how much of your time and budget you can commit Craft a plan of action Launch the plan Evaluate the results Make adjustments Dont stop! Keep going and be consistent
If you get busy, be creative, stay consistent and invest a little time and budget in mobile marketing efforts I can assure you that you will see increases in customer acquisition, retention, spending and satisfaction. This should all translate to more success happiness for you!
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 55 Final Stuff ______________________________________________
Thanks! Of course I thank you for taking the time to read my book. As I said in the introduction, my passion is helping small businesses grow and be successful. Whether or not mobile marketing services are right for your business, whether or not you enjoy my sarcastic writing style, even if you think Im a nut who doesnt have a clue about what hes saying, I truly do wish that your business grows and prospers.
Thank you for being brave enough to take the risk to start your business. Its important to you, your employees, their families and our country as a whole.
www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com 2014 All Rights Reserved Page 56 Contact & Engage ______________________________________________
If youd like more info, general help and advice, or just want to talk or comment, you can reach me here:
Ric Clark Elevate Solutions Group Cell #: 210-831-8903 ric@elevatesolutionsgroup.com www.elevatesolutionsgroup.com www.facebook.com/ElevateSolutionsGroup www.twitter.com/ElevateSolGroup www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-solutions-group www.google.com/+ElevateSolutionsGroupHelotes www.pinterest.com/ElevSolGrp http://www.youtube.com/user/ElevateSolGroup