3 Tips for Getting into Mobile Marketing

September 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Great tips from MarketingSherpa.com

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

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: , , , , ,

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: , , , ,

Local Search is Driving Foot Traffic to Local Business

July 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Kantor Media Compete's Q1 Smartphone Intelligence survey reveals that 1/3 of smart phone users that search for local business with their phones end up calling or going to the store they found. Just another reason why your business needs to focus some marketing dollars and claim your online business real estate. According to an interview with Compete's director of technology and entertainment Danielle Nobe, the survey reveals,

  • Smart phone users are using their phones to search for local busines
  • One third of all smart phone owners reported calling or shopping at local business after finding that business using a local search application
  • Smart phone users use their phones to find addresses and phone numbers of local businesses

What should business owners do to take advantage of these new findings

  • Make sure your website is optimized for smart phones. Customers are finding business online and it's important that when they find your site on their phone that the site helps them find the information they need including address and phone number.
  • When in your store, users are using their phones to send pictures and to get opinions via text message.
    • 39% of users send a picture and 33% send a text to get an feedback about your product
    • 40% of users call someone to get an opinion while in your store.

Based on this evidence smart business owners need to start thinking about how to incorporate mobile marketing into their marketing mix today

Filed Under: Marketing, Search Engine Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Do you know your clearly customers

October 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment

One of the hats I wear is as a consultant to businesses that are looking to use the Internet to find leads and customers. We recently got a new customer on a lead generation strategy on the Internet. This is a rather large internation company  (Can’t even say the industry becasue they may see this post) and as usual I asked my normal questions.

  1. Who is a lead?
  2. What is a prospect?
  3. What is a qualified lead?
  4. How are leads moved to a buy?

and to my surprise I got this response. “We don’t know”.

I must admit I was floored. How can you find a lead if you don’t know what a lead is. Now mind you this is a large business (+$200 mil in sales) and their marketing department couldn’t define a lead, a qualified lead or an ideal customer. No wonder they are getting creamed in the marketplace.

If you own a business (my passion is small business) then you MUST define your ideal customer  or client. Define what they look like (demographics) and what they want (Psychographics) as clearly as possible. Just the definition could help your business tremendously.

Dedicated to your success.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Avoid Financial Disaster, Leverage YOUR Business’s Social Network

October 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Will your business face “Financial Disaster” For the first time in 4 years the DOW is below 10,000 and the world seems to be in financial panic.

So the question is “How do you avoid Financial Disaster?” How to do ensure that your business will prosper in these tough economic times.

A couple of posts ago I talked about using your existing social network. You know the customers that have decided they trust you enough to spend money with your business. Well these people, current customers could save you and your business from Financial Disaster.

How, using your relationship with those customers. These customers, clients know and trust  your business. They have decided that their hard earned dollars are best spent with you when the want or need the product or service you sell.

So why not capitalize on them. What you say “I have no relationship!!!!” Well it’s time to start building one.

The reason many business owners can’t leverage their existing customer base as it turns out is many  business owners don’t even know who these clients or customers are. Many don’t have any systematic way to stay in touch so they can’t leverage them. Many business owners never even talk to this powerful network, never even ask them what they want.

Well starting today, if you want to avoid “financial disaster” start talking to the 20% of your customers that provide most of your business, find out what else they want or need and sell it to them. Just that could save your financial hide.

Dedicated to your success….

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: , ,

You already have a Social Network.. Just use it

September 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Are you using your businesses “social network”? Not the online social network like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter etc but your businesses social network? Do you even know what your Businesses Social Network is and who is in it?

Well lets define “Social Networks”. I checked some definitions on the web and here is a list of definitions of social networks none of which has anything to do with computers

  • The personal or professional set of relationships between individuals
  • The extent to which individuals or groups are connected to or isolated from others, family, friends, work colleagues or schoolmates
  • a social structure made of individuals or organizations that are connected through various familiarities ranging from casual acquaintance to close relationships

When you read these definitions they have nothing to do with computers. Social networks have existed for years and they live in your business.

This is no great mystery folks, every business that has customers, clients etc has a social network, you may not be using it but your businesses social network is the people that have evalutated your product or service and  trust your business enough to spend their hard earned dollars with you. That is your businesses social network.

So you have a social network if you have clients or customers the question is are you using that network?

Dedicated to your business success

Next post – How to use your businesses social network.

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