If you have been following the marketing space and industry, you will know by now that the mobile marketing space is expanding and becoming bigger. For instance, 2013 was considered a great year for mobile marketing. So was 2012, 2011 and 2010. In fact, in the last 4 years, we have seen incremental growth in the number of smartphone and mobile device users.
And from all indications, 2014 is set to be an even bigger year with possibly 7 billion mobile subscribers all over the world. It is not surprising therefore, that mobile is fast becoming a marketing tool that’s integral to small, medium and big businesses.
In fact, it’s being argued in some quarters that mobile is giving the small guy an equal advantage and levels the marketing playing field. Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen. The only thing we know is that mobile marketing works when used correctly. As we wrap up 2013 and prepare for 2014, businesses would do well to make mobile a crucial part of their marketing efforts considering the.
And in order to get the best results, you need to combine the following strategies. Please note that adopting one or more of these methods may only get you some decent results. But to get the best results, you need to combine all the elements.
Responsive Mobile Websites
The first thing you need to do in 2014 if you want to do mobile marketing, is to build a responsive website. This is a cornerstone of your mobile marketing efforts.
Think of it as your campaign’s foundation. Responsive websites basically help eliminate the hassle of the “extra” click or asking the visitor if they want to visit the mobile version of the website or the full site. It intuitively identifies the device and adapts/optimizes the website to the device from which it’s being accessed.
Social Engagement and Loyalty Programs
Your customers are social creatures. Treat them as such. Avoid the common pitfalls of SMS spamming that other marketers and businesses use. Instead, find a way to actively connect with your audience via your site and social media.
Create a loyalty program that will help them spread the word about your products and services. As a florist you might want to add an extra bonus or discount after 3-5 purchases. To claim the bonuses or discounts however, they’ll need to either connect with you via social media or your site … or something similar. Whatever happens, just find what works for you and use it.
Verifiable and Redeemable Incentives
Everyone likes a good incentive. But when you make them instant, people love them even more. So, alongside relevant and time sensitive offers that you push to them periodically, create incentives that will make them want to engage with you more. Your offers could be anything. Just make sure that it has a high perceived value and one that your customers would completely love.
In summary, the essence of your mobile marketing efforts should be to make your business the first thing people think about when they want products and services in your niche, and be sure you are accessible to your customers in whatever form they choose to interact with you. Create your campaigns with that in mind and you’ll have an even better 2014.
With Apple slowly taking over a good percentage of the global market, and dominating in the mobile devices aspect, companies getting into mobile integration with their services is definitely one of the trump cards that allows them to prevail. Especially when people are so into getting the latest apps that will allow them to have more convenience and accessibility to things they love being a part of.
And this definitely is useful when it comes to sustaining a loyal fan base, and making sure one is as engaging and gregarious with them as much as possible. Because many amateurs feel that just because they have a large communal base, that they’re suddenly obligated to spam without taking into consideration of how that may turn off others. People want to see that you see them more than just a potential cash crop, and treating them like gregarious beings is definitely the right mindset to apply into this. Thanks for the informative post, Oscar K!
I can definitely agree with you, Linkzelda41 .This is the era of technology, we no longer rely on the traditional things. It is like the phone doing the walking and talking for us. All these top phone companies such as Samsung and Apple must take these essentials into consideration in order to eliminate failure for 2014 and beyond. This is quite informative Oscar
We’re a good ways in 2014 already and this blog post stays true. If you look around on social platforms (reddit for example) you’ll notice users posting links from the mobile versions of websites more often. We acted accordingly and optimized the mobile versions of our websites hoping that user retention and the spread of our links will continue growing.
As for loyalty programs we already have some in place and looking back at the times we didn’t have any we can see how our florist business is growing.