3 Reasons Businesses Need Location-Based Marketing

Location-based marketing is not something that is brand new to advertisers and marketers, and yet very few effectively understand what it is and how it can be implemented within advertising or marketing campaigns that lead to higher conversion rates, better targeting and more data about consumers. Below are 3 reasons why every business should implement some type of location based marketing within their current or upcoming marketing campaign.

Location is the New Cookie

Just like how marketers gather information through the use of cookies left behind by visitors to sites, location data provides marketers valuable information about where a consumer is from, where they have been and where they may go next. With the help of algorithms, businesses can then begin to group consumers into behavioral and demographic segments for targeting within their next campaigns.

Competitors Already in the Game

In a recent forecast, mobile ad spending was expected to surge 95% in 2013. In total, this is an estimated jump that will account for almost 25% of total media spending this year. With the changes and updates made within Google Adwords to help create an easier and more reliable way to target mobile customers, businesses now have no need to worry about setting up completely new campaigns within Adwords. By simply checking off a box within Adwords, they now have mobile ads. Within the industry, businesses are already noticing lower costs for keywords when targeting mobile specifically, leading to higher visits and chances for conversions versus those businesses that target on desktop only devices. By utilizing location-based mobile ads, companies can reap the same benefit of a person looking on line as they would if a pamphlet was handed to them when walking by the store or business.

Location is Extending beyond Smartphones

The first device that pops up in anyone's head when "location-based" is mentioned is usually a smartphone, and while this may be the major driver of all location-based data for the time begin, we need to look towards tablets and the ever changing technological landscape for the next smartphone. While it is imperative to have location-based ads targeted to smartphones and tablets, it is even more important to have those ads linking to the closest store or business. As more and more smartphone and tablet owners begin to use their device throughout the entire shopping process, businesses must create strong ads that help to engage their audiences while on the go in a mobile and location friendly design and interface.

While these are only a few of the reasons businesses need location-based marketing within their marketing strategies, it is important to also ensure that their web site is equally "location-friendly". This means your site is optimized to be viewed on any type of device, whether mobile or desktop, and also allows for a satisfactory customer experience when it is viewed on their tablet, smartphone, or desktop, failure to do so can lead to lost conversions and customers.

1 in 3 People Now Own a Tablet – 3 Opportunities to Maximize Reach on Mobile Devices

A recent study conducted by Pew Research, a third (34%) of Americans aged 18 or older noted that they own a tablet computer, which is almost twice the amount of tablet owners than a year ago (18%). If your company has been slow to adapt, or even avoiding the move into the digital space, then now may be the time to show this survey to your peers. As a business in today’s ever changing technology landscape, it is important that you leverage each and every form of mobile technology in order to ensure a profitable company. Some of the ways to help your company maximize their reach on mobile devices are explained below.

Know Who Your Target Audience Is

Most people would assume that since tablets are a relatively new technology that it is being adapted by younger generations (18-34) rather than the older generation, right? Wrong.  According to those surveyed, almost half of (49%) of adults age 35-44 now own a tablet computer, significantly more than the 18-24 age group (33%), and the 25-34 age group (37%). So what does this mean for your business? It can mean that either A) your target audience is more comfortable with the smaller, more convenient smartphone and therefore you should begin using marketing techniques geared towards this mobile device, or B) the need to create a mobile friendly website is definitely something that should be put on top of the year’s digital marketing strategy plan. Know your target market and what type of mobile device they prefer or own can help to create a better understanding of how and where you should market your business, helping to maximize your reach.

Begin Your Move From Desktop to Mobile

While 1 in 3 own a tablet and over half of Americans owning a smartphone, now is the time to begin experimenting, working on, and improving your mobile website and brand presence. Does your website layout change to fit the size screen it is on? Or what about a mobile application for an easier purchasing process for customers on the go? These types of things can help to improve customer relationships, build brand loyalty, and make for an overall pleasant experience for customers.

Optimize Your PPC Campaigns for Mobile Searches

With the large majority of your target demographic owning either a smartphone or tablet, and mobile searches accounting for nearly half of all searches, it is important that your PPC campaigns adjust to reach your target users as well as others looking for your products. With the creation of enhanced campaigns in Google Adwords and Mobile PPC in Bing, you can now create or adapt current PPC campaigns to reach mobile device users. You can decide on whether you want to only appear on smartphone searches, tablet searches or more, allowing for your company to reach the device most often used by your target demographic.

These opportunities are available for all companies to use so that they can help to maximize their reach on mobile devices, and shouldn't be overlooked. As more and more customers begin switching to mobile devices at double the rates of years past, it is important for companies to step back and look at the potential benefits each device has for themselves and their customers, and how they can leverage that into a profitable mobile development strategy.

5 Effective Ways to Build and Maintain Customer Relationships via Mobile Marketing Techniques

Whether you own a business or represent a business as an agency, the importance of creating, building and maintaining customer relationships is something that is always being worked on. Customer relationship programs have varied through the years with the rise of technology and the ways we communicate. First there was the direct mail piece, then the email newsletter, and now we are into mobile marketing. Using these five effective ways of mobile marketing, you can help to promote and maintain customer relationships during the mobile era.

Mobile Applications

A truly customized and unique mobile application for your company can help customer relationships immensely. With a complete and well thought out mobile application, a business can help to create a faster buying channel for its customers, enable them to receive unique and special coupons, or allow them to find a store near them faster, among other things.

Push Notifications

Using a smartphones geo-location technology to promote specials, coupons and send personalized messages to customers when they are near your business will allow you to interact with your loyal customers when they are closest to you and persuade them to come and visit your business, whether they were planning to or not.

Social Integration

Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare are just a few of the social media networks that businesses should be integrating into their mobile marketing strategies. These networks can help you spread the word on sales and promotions, as well as give you analytics on who has been to your store, how many times they have been there and when and what day is your busiest days. The knowledge gained from these social networks can help you to create better promotions and sales, whether it is to drive more traffic during slow days or promote a special event via a discount when someone checks in.

Loyalty Programs

 While loyalty programs in the mobile space can range from checking-in to a certain place to scanning a QR code with your phone and taking a survey, the limits can be endless. Send them push notifications for every third time they check-in, offer discounts on special products to those that share your coupons on their social media sites. These and many more options for loyalty programs can help set up a trusted base of loyal customers that are willing to promote and market your products and services to their friends and social networks.

Text Reminders

Text reminders are a basic form of push notifications. These messages can be sent to customers to inform them of new products and services that may be useful to them, or specials that are happening right now. The benefit of text messages is that they can also reach those users who do not have push notifications enabled on their phones.

These five effective mobile marketing techniques can be used together or separately, but whatever way you choose make sure to remember that there is a line you can cross from being “helpful, informative and beneficial” to “immediately deleted, unsubscribed from or ignored”. Listening to customers feedback on your mobile marketing techniques will allow you to fine tune your techniques so you can best serve your customers and gain new ones.