How Inbound Marketing Would Have Gotten A Local Plumber a New Customer

January 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Like many, Christmas Day was all about family. We stayed up until 5am Christmas Eve wrapping gifts and promply at 8am are kids where awake wanting to start the holiday festivities.

We have a great Christmas, we have teenagers and they got gifts like DF Hero and watches and clothing, we ate breakfast and the kids played DJ Hero all day while we prepared dinner.

We had a great dinner, watched movies and eventually I did the dishes, dumping the garbage in the garbage disposal, ran the disposal and washed  the dishes. Everything was done when I discovered that we had a clogged sink and dispite my working hard to unclog, the sink was full of water, clogged, a disaster.

I'm no handyman but I did try the plunger to no avail, the sink was clogged with standing water and garbage and nothing was working. So, like any good geek, I went to Google and entered "how to unclog a sink", here was what Google returned.


The results where somewhat helpful but what strikes we is the following;

  • Not one local plumber ranks in the search results
  • Not one local plumber is running PPC ads on this phrase.

What I was looking for where some really simple tips from a local plumber. My plan was to try the tips and if they didn't work call the plumber that provided me help. If I had found one local plumber with just that, either a site I could read with pictures or ideally a video, that guy would have gotten my business.

Instead I used Craigslist.com, guessed at a plumber, called him only to be told he could come out for 5 days. I called another plumber who didn't answer and finally called back a few days later. Bottomline, my kitchen sink was clogged for three days with water and smelly food. I eventually go the problem fixed, I did it myself.

Moral of the story, a little inbound marketing guide from a local plumber would have gotten a new loyal customer, instead a half competent do it yourself jobs

To discover how Inbound Marketing can help your plumbing or Service Business, get our free special report by completing the form
 

Filed Under: Inbound Marketing, Marketing, Mobile ECommerce, Mobile Phones, Pay Per Click Tagged With: , , ,

The Big Boy Mobile Marketing Series – Lane Bryant Growing Sales with Mobile Coupons

September 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mobile Marketing is being used aggressively by the big boys and here is another example. Each example in this series has been an example of a mobile strategy and this one is mobile couponing.

Lane Bryant is offering shoppers location based coupons and promotions that can be redeemed on their mobile phones.

Lane Bryand has partnered with Yowza, a company that creates a free application that can be downloaded to iPhones, Androids and other mobile phones.

Users can search for their Yowza app for Lane Bryant deals based on their current location or zip code. They can then present the coupon at the store when they checkout.

Lane Bryant is featuring instant offers as large as $75.00.

How Can I Use This Mobile Strategy in My Business?

This is another example of how major retailers are aggressively using mobile marketing and mobile coupons. If you want to use the Yowza app, you can signup here. But if you want a true mobile marketing strategy, designed to leverage mobile and your business,

 

Schedule a FREE STRATEGY SESSION by clicking here.


 

 

Filed Under: Marketing, Mobile ECommerce, Mobile Phones Tagged With: , ,

The Big Boy Mobile Marketing Series – Mobile will be big this holiday season

September 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Another Big Boy post, this post is a validation of how the big boys feel about mobile from a big boy consulting firm Deliotte. In case you don't know Deliotte, they are an international accounting and consulting firm with office around the world and influence in a wide variety of industrys. 

ALong with their accounting work, Deliotte conducts research in industry's of interest and they recently conducted research on the impact of mobile on thise years holiday season and SURPRISE, the research proved

“We expect mobile to play a significant role in this year’s holiday shopping,” said Alison Paul, retail sector lead at Deloitte, Chicago. “We have seen a real uptick in mobile usage and expect this trajectory to continue.”

Here as some of the ways consumers are using their mobile phones;

  • Comparison shopping. Consumers re using mobile phones to check on prices at stores before they go to the store. They are also checking item availability.
  • Mobile commerce and ecommerce are expected to increase this holiday season.

By reaching out to holiday shoppers using digital marketing, social networks and mobile applications, retailers may be able to add to brand awareness and build store traffic and sales this holiday season.

How Can You Use Mobile This Holiday Season in Your Business.

Start planning a mobile marketing strategy now for the holiday. What products can you feature? What offers can you make to bring consumers to your store or website? Is you site mobile ready? Have you built a customer list with mobile phone numbers? 

Develop your mobile marketing strategy today for bigger profits this holiday season.

 

Want  help developing a mobile marketing plan. Schedule a FREE STRATEGY SESSION by clicking here.

Filed Under: Marketing, Mobile ECommerce Tagged With: , , ,

3 Tips for Getting into Mobile Marketing

September 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Great tips from MarketingSherpa.com

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Your Customers Are Using Mobile Phones. Are You

September 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Noah Elkin, senior analyst at eMarketer, New York, recently reveal a list of trends that reveal how your customers are using their mobile phones. After reading this list, you will know how and what you need to do to lverage mobile marketing in your business.

eMarketing Mobile TrendsYour customers are buying smart phones and consuming and creating information daily. Customers are creating content, sharing content, reviewing your products and  looking for information. These trends create tremendous opportunities for your business and marketing to your customers.

The biggest trend in mobile usage is social networks like Facebook and Foursquare. But users are checking the weather.surfing the net, looking for directions to stores and restaurants and of course they're shopping.

The most important way that you can leverage mobile usage in your business is to design a plan, a strategy to being the process. Emulate the big guys, include SMS marketing and mobile coupons. Check to see how you site looks on your iPhone and your friends Droid. Start either small or with a full blown plan but the important thing is to start and start NOW.

Want  help developing a mobile marketing plan. Schedule a FREE STRATEGY SESSION by clicking here.

Filed Under: Marketing, Mobile ECommerce, Mobile Phones Tagged With: , , , , ,

Social Networking Is All About Mobile, So Why Aren’t You All About Mobile?

September 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 

Over the last few posts it has become obvious that customers are using mobile phones for a variety of reasons and one of the biggest is social networking. 

When you look at the various social networks almost all of them require a smart mobile phone. If you check in on Foursquare.com, Gowalla.com, Where, Facebook Places or Yelp.com you have to use a mobile phone. Each site uses mobile phone location services to tell if you are close to where you want to check in and you typically can't check in if you aren't close to the location.

 

The point is

Social Networking is all about Mobile, So Why Aren't You All About Mobile?

Aren't you already mobile? You most likely own a smart phone like an Android or iPhone. You are probably like most smart phone users, you use the phone to play games, send or answer text messages, look for stores and restaurants, check the weather and you probably have downloaded the PayPal app and you shop on your phone. (Somebody is shopping, Paypal expects to close 2010 with $500 million in mobile payments).

So the question is, Why haven't you started a mobile strategy for your business? If your spending thousand of dollars and hours of time on social networks, social networking marketing.

If you've hired a social network guru, why havn't you include mobile marketing in you business marketing plan. 

It's time to start NOW

 

Want  help developing a mobile marketing plan.

Schedule a FREE STRATEGY SESSION  click here.

Filed Under: Marketing, Mobile ECommerce, Mobile Phones Tagged With: , , , ,

The Big Boy Mobile Marketing Series – Macy’s Prepares for Holidays By Ramping Up Mobile

September 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mobile ShopperSuccess leaves clues and if you are a small business owner that is looking to have a great holiday season it may be time to take your cue from the big boys.

Macy's has ramped up its mobile strategy according to Mobile Commerce Daily, Macy's has revamped it's mobile website to ensure that pictures are sharp and bigger and has optimized it's websites to recognize the various types of mobile devices .

Both Macy's and Bloomingdale's sites have been upgraded, the company has also upgraded and relaunched it's iPhone app.  The new iPhone app lets  consumers  browse merchandise, place and track orders, explore gift guides, read product reviews, find stores and get information on special events and campaigns.

The company also has a promotion on Foursquare.com, when a customers checks in at a store on Foursquare before September 30, they are entered in a contest to win a trip to New York City.

How an you use mobile to boost your business's holiday season?

Copy some of the things Macy's has done. I

  • Check to see how your business site performs on mobile phones. If necessary create promotions with custom designed mobile landing pages instead of a complete mobile website.
  • Initiate an SMS campaign, so you can send offers to customers on their phones
  • Make sure your business is on all of the social media sites and design campaigns for those sites.
  • Claim all of your online business real estate
  • Partner with FourSquare.com, Gowalla..com, Where.com nd reward customers that check in.
  • Encourage customers to follow you on Twitter, Facebook and other sites
  • Reward customers for allowing you to communicate with them on their mobile devices.

By initiating these strategies you can take advantage of your customers most intimate comunication device and enjoy a profitable holiday season.

Want  help developing a mobile marketing plan. Schedule a FREE STRATEGY SESSION by clicking here.

Filed Under: Marketing, Mobile ECommerce Tagged With: , , , ,

Your Business Uses Mobile or Your Business is Bust

September 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I know, bold statement but the facts are the facts. Here are some reasons why from an Adage

Mobile is now even bigger than desktop use, and data/video usage exceeds voice calls.

  • 80% of the U.S. population will have a mobile phone by 2010.

  • 35% of American adults are using their mobile devices for wireless Internet access.
  • The average iPhone user only spends 45% of his on-device time making voice calls – the rest is spent browsing the web or using applications.
  • Video accounts for 69% of mobile data traffic.

Access to the web and applications via mobile is growing and will soon be universal.

  • Smartphone usage of both browser and applications has increased more than 110% in the last year.

  • By 2011, 99% of mobile phones will be data-capable devices – at minimum they can do basics like sending and receiving SMS text messages.

Consumer use of mobile devices is growing exponentially – much faster than PC or Internet use grew – but U.S. businesses have been slow to take advantage of endless opportunities to optimize stakeholders’ mobile interactions with the brand.

Possibilities for interacting with consumers via mobile go beyond delivering content and enabling transactions. Location-based targeting, real-time comparison shopping and QR codes allow businesses to interact with customers in novel ways.

Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing, Mobile ECommerce Tagged With: , , , ,

3 Uses for SMS Messaging in Your Business

August 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

There are many ways to use SMS or Text Messaging in your business.  Here is a list of the different  ways SMS can be used in your business to either grow sales or reduce costs.

In every case, the first step is to make a compelling offer to customers (online or offline offer) asking them to text a keyword to a shortcode. (for example to get more information from me you  text "autolead" to 69302. Once the customer has opted in to your mobile system, you have permission to send them

  • Mobile Coupons. This is a great way to sell products and services. You create offers with a coupon number or word and send the offer to your mobile list. Many businesses have had tremendous success with mobile coupons by asking customers to join a VIP list and then sending the VIP's special offers. You can really get people excited by then advertising your VIP offers to non VIP members and ask them to join the VIP list.
  • Mobile Customer Service. A great way to reduce customer service costs and increase customer satisfaction, mobile customer service allows you to 
    • Provide service locations
    • Provide status of repair
    • Send service instructions
  • Mobile Reminder Service. Remind your customer about appointments an reduce the aggravation and costs of rescheduling and lost time. Mobile Reminder Service is great for service appointments like HVAC service as well as remind patients of upcoming doctor appointments.

There are many more uses for mobile marketing but the point is to start now. How can mobile marketing, text marketing to help grow your business. 

Filed Under: Marketing, Mobile ECommerce Tagged With: , , ,

Consumer use of mobile payments is growing according to recent survey

August 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A recent survey by AT&T's Sterling Commerce and ecommerce service provider DemandWare Inc found that consumers are increasingly using mobile phones to make payments. The study found that 15% of consumers have used mobile phones to make purchases but the same consumers are concerned about security and ease of use. As expected, 25-34 year olds use mobile phones for purchases the most at 21%. Read more here

Filed Under: Marketing, Mobile ECommerce Tagged With: , ,