Big minds in small business have begun to innovate toward mobile marketing. Why you ask? After his capture, Willie Sutton was asked why he only robbed banks? His answer: “Because that’s where the money is.”
The reason for the small biz pivot towards mobile advertising is simple. That’s where the customers are! Our mobile phones are always on, always connected and always with us. People don’t carry a value pack of coupons with them to work. Customers cannot be reached with a mailer at exactly 11:15 am to generate lunch-crowd traffic.
The statistical trend and contrast is stark.
- 97% of text messages are opened.
- 83% of text messages are opened in the first hour.
- 70% are opened in the first 20 minutes.
- 57% of men have opted-in to a text campaign
- 33% of women have opted-in to a text campaign
- Women ages 25-35 opt-in at a 58% rate.
- Text campaigns have seen a 45% response rate.
- 90% of emails are never read.
- Prospect mailers have a 1.38% response rate.
The question for small business owners is how to best allocate advertising dollars. Consider this. The cost of a postcard mailer is about $0.29. Meanwhile a text message is $0.05 or less. Ashley Furniture, a regional furniture store saw an ROI of $122 for every $1 spent when it used SMS to promote a secret sale.
Text Marketing is not just for regional companies or Mega Pizza Chains. In fact, local 
businesses should seek to build a customer community around mobile technology, says DJ Williams, Vice President of Technology Marketing for Mozzart.
Although consumers need a “what’s-in-it-for-me” motivation to try a new product or business, most truly want to patronize local businesses. So how can small business make a mobile connection with customers? Look up to the cloud.
Cloud-based services like MozzartMobile SMS make text campaigns easy to create, manage and measure the results. The key to success is your opt-in list. Learn more on List Building on their Textology web page.
And, don’t forget the mobile web. Smartphones make-up more than 40% of all phones currently on the market in the U.S. This number is rapidly climbing every month. Today a mobile website is essential. With +50% of all local searches being mobile (according to digitalBuzz). A slow, cumbersome, shrunken PC site will drive away visitors faster than you can say good-bye.
Moreover, the mobile web strengthens advertising campaigns with mobile-friendly forms, virtual coupons, mobile purchasing, multimedia and information.
Mobile marketing is not just for retail businesses. Essential services like dentists, auto services, dry cleaners and the like can build upon their existing patient/customer base. Non-essentials like florists, health-clubs and restaurants can tap into a lifestyle that increasingly mobile.
Text message campaigns can serve multiple purposes. Use them to build your local brand, entertain customers, increase traffic on commonly slow sales days or build your opt-in list for future marketing efforts. Make it fun and effective at the same time.
