With the rapid growth of mobile, the way businesses are marketing to their customers is changing almost as fast as the phones itself. In the last four years, we have seen a complete reversal in feature phones vs. smart phones. Today almost 2/3 of adults in the USA have a smartphone.
People now have all the resources they need often right in their pocket. If you are unsure, think about what you have done on your mobile device today. On any given day one will most likely be:
- searching - for a store, inventory status, a definition, a location, an offer ...
- downloading - an app, an offer, music, video ...
- creating - a post, content, a picture ...
- consuming - media, music, information ...
- interacting - with friends, with companies, with co-workers, with employers ...
- scanning - QR codes, a document, a picture ...
- checking in - with friends, at restaurants, at stores, on social media ...
- purchasing - goods or services using a method through your bank, with paypal, google wallet...
So how can you compete in today's mobile-friendly world? One obvious way is finding out if you are optimized for mobile. Sounds simple enough. You can test it out by looking at your website on your phone. How does it look? Easy to read? Easy to use? Easy to shop? If you want a more professional opinion, check out Page Speed Insights to get some ideas on how to make improvements and find out how friendly you are by taking the mobile-friendly test.
Another key to mobile success is having your customers come to you. Mobile is personal. So it's very important that your customers are opting-in to whatever you are selling or promoting. Sometimes it can be achieved by a sign on the store front window showing your new app or a text special. A lawn sign in the drive-thru that says "text us for discounts and coupons!" also works.
A good way to start is by integrating mobile into your other marketing campaigns. You can easily make people aware of your mobile friendliness in online advertising and even in a print medium. This can be simply done with a hashtag, or social media link. Remember, it's considered a service to your customers to offer them specials and promotions and they can opt out at any time as well.
Consumers want a more integrated experience. A recent study done by Accenture showed half of consumers wanted stores to have a more integrated relationship between the online, mobile and brick-and-mortar experience. Customers check inventory, they look for real time promotions, and they check-in on social media. This is called free advertising. Let's face it, mobile is really key.
