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Give Your Mobile Subscribers What They Desire

December 2, 2015 by Thomas

Much of what consumers do electronically these days is done on their mobile devices.

People have grown accustomed to the ease and convenience of communicating and getting information without having to sit in front of a computer. Mobile devices are easy, convenient, efficient, and well, mobile.

As a business owner, it’s up to you to deliver great mobile marketing to keep your customers happy and engaged, while reaching out to new ones at the same time.

If nothing else spurs you on to develop great mobile marketing, these two facts from Forbes should:

Ninety-one percent of adults keep their smartphones within arm’s reach. (Source: Morgan Stanley).
Even more important to entrepreneurs: nine out of 10 mobile searches lead to action. More than half lead to sales. (Source: SearchEngineLand).

Yeah – mobile marketing is pretty important.

As the article, “Do You Know What Your Mobile Subscribers Want from Your Business?” looks at, it’s important to know what your subscribers want.

You don’t want to send them the wrong information, or content with no personal value, that’s a waste of everyone’s time.

Know Your Audience

One of the biggest keys to mobile marketing is to know your audience.

Lots of data is compiled to find target audiences, whether through surveys or digital or print campaigns, now use that information to create a target base.

Keep in mind:

Shareable, valuable content

Once you have your target audience, deliver what they want. The more valuable the content you give them is the better chance your audience will act upon it. And that isn’t just purchasing a good or service; it’s also sharing the information to extend your customer base. One of the marvels of mobile marketing is that it’s so easy to share content, for your customers to reach out and share your great business.

Good mobility

Another thing you can do is work the mobility factor. A great website that works well on a mobile device is vital. Even if you have a stunning, easy to navigate, informative website from a desktop, if it isn’t mobile friendly, you’re hurting yourself. Think about how many times you’ve looked up something on your mobile device that doesn’t read well – you usually find something else. Don’t’ let that happen to your business.

Besides your website, make sure you have the right social media and it’s easy to follow.

You also want it easy for your customers to subscribe to any SMS or email services you offer.

These are great ways to engage customers and keep them abreast of anything new going on with you.

You can also send out deals and promotions to your subscribers. If they receive it on a mobile device, they are much more prone to act on it.

Trust that the time and effort you put into your mobile campaigns will pay off.

Just like social media, it may take some extra time, but through the marketing pay out, you’ll be glad you did.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Heather Legg is an independent writer who covers topics related small business, social media, and working from home.

Put Some Bounce Into Your SMS Marketing Plans

November 18, 2015 by Thomas

Your club or other form of entertainment establishment is alive with nightlife.

Excitement and energy pulse through the space and the air is fused with electricity. You want your marketing efforts to exude the same vibe.

Have you thought about bumping up your SMS marketing?

Text message marketing is one of the smartest marketing techniques right now.

You can reach large numbers of people who will follow through on a call to action. Most people have access to text messaging and check their texts throughout the day.

With smart messaging, this can be low cost, high reward form of marketing. Your club will be even more vibrant and exciting.

As the article “6 creative ways to advertise your club’s SMS marketing program” looks at, here are some things to remember:

Motivate people to sign up with incentives – Include a free drink or discounted cover charge when they sign up for text alerts. Think about this for getting current customers to sign up immediately, as in when they are in your club – post the number to join in your club and offer a free drink with sign up.
Make it urgent – With a quick turn-around time, people are more likely to take you up on your offers. For instance, when you say you get free entrance to the club with SMS sign up, make sure you include an expiration date and make it quick, like one week.
Let your subscribers know of special events – They can be the first to know about events like ladies’ nights or special DJ’s. It’s a great way to form those connections with your customers; they’ll love the feeling of getting insider’s tips!
Post your SMS offers on your social media – The people coming to your club are probably pretty into social media, so get this out there. Those that subscribe to your Instagram and other social media will get reminders to sign up for SMS. You can also send texts now and then with social media participation reminders. These work hand in hand.

Easy She Goes with SMS Marketing

The great thing about SMS marketing is how easy it is.

Because you are limited in your text characters, you don’t have to worry about creating long winded content. Short and sweet is the way to go, with a clear call to action, a reward and an expiration date.

Be sure to text consistently, but no more than a couple of times a week. You don’t want to annoy your customers, but you want to keep their attention. Vary your incentives and be creative.

You’ll see more and more subscribers and more and more revenue coming in!

Good luck and please share anything fun and creative you’ve done with SMS marketing for your club.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Heather Legg is an independent writer who covers topics related to social media, SMS marketing strategies, and small business.

Take Your Company’s Data Integration to New Levels

November 14, 2015 by Thomas

Now that you’ve got your company off and running and your business intelligence all locked up with data integration, it’s time to take it to new levels.

Data integration is the latest way for businesses in all industries to meet the constantly evolving demands of their clients and customers.

It’s also a proven way for businesses to streamline all their department efforts, including HR, marketing and sales.

Take Human Resources to the Next Level

Human resources professionals are always looking for new and better ways to attain and retain quality employees. The task hasn’t always been easy.

In the past, HR professionals had to perform their personnel hunt on the sly, plucking top employees from their current jobs, wooing them over secret lunches and convincing them to jump ship. The entire affair was cumbersome and fraught with frustration and disappointment.

Half the time, after that entire struggle, the caught employee turned out to be not as expected, and ended up jumping ship – again.

With data integration, HR professionals can cease opportunities to finely tune their search for high potential job candidates, to a point where they are nearly certain they are chasing the right rabbit.

Once on board, data integration systems give HR professionals a bird’s eye view of employee’s performance and where there is room for improvement.

Take Marketing to the Next Level

As the following article looks at, your marketing department may be the area where you will see the most benefit from unlocking knowledge and enhancing collaboration with data integration.

With the correct data integration system in place, your marketing team can project trends, target leads and customize marketing strategies in record time.

Using data integration systems, marketing managers can swiftly react to changing patterns and interests in your target demographics.

It’s like being able to read a customer’s mind, and then changing what you say seconds before you say it.

Take Sales to the Next Level

With a data integration system at your sales team’s disposal, they will be able to act on information that is input into the system.

They will be able to collaborate with other team members, whether they are across the room or around the globe.

Sales efforts no longer have to be put on hold because one or more members of your sales team are out of pocket. Shared data is data that can be acted on instantly.

Those who are able to utilize the data and move ahead with projects will be able to update the project status, sign their digital name to the work, and move on to next steps.

The lead, or target customer, will then move automatically and organically to the next stage in the buying decision, ready for the next sales member to take the lead.

Streamlining your business with data integration is the next big thing that technology has brought to the hands of business owners.

Take advantage of this latest wave and find out how data integration can change the way you do business.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Kate Supino writes about business and marketing practices.

Businesses That Market Efficiently Typically Come Out Winners

October 28, 2015 by Thomas

What are you doing to market your brand?

In the event you have trouble answering that question, your business could already be in trouble. Those who fail to properly market their brands end up oftentimes on the outside looking in when it comes to being successful business owners.

Think about it; today’s consumers have a wide-range of products and services to choose from, both in-person and by shopping online. If you’re failing at getting your brand noticed, you stand a very good chance of getting passed over by the consumer, with him or her going to your competition.

So, how can you best spread the word about your brand?

Market Regularly and Effectively

In order to properly market your brand in 2015 and beyond, keep the following in mind:

Have a purpose – Whether you are marketing home furnishings, real estate, entertainment systems for the home, insurance or any number of products or services; make sure you market with a purpose. Having a purpose means making sure you know your demographics and the message you want to send them. It could be anything from get satellite tv service at this site to buy the cheapest auto insurance and still get the best coverage. If you’re marketing home entertainment, you could market to a wide array of people. On the other hand, you’re less likely to market auto insurance to elderly drivers who likely have a policy they’ve been with for years;
Don’t Be a Pest – One quick way to turn off both current and potential customers is by being a pest. While you’re undoubtedly looking for sales, don’t come across as too sales hungry. Most consumers don’t want to feel like you’re reaching into their pockets all the time for more money. One way to offset this is by offering stellar customer service and truly “listening” to what the customer wants. When you offer good products and services and actually hear what the customer wants, you won’t always come across as that guy or gal who is always bothering them;
Get More Mobile – Especially with the holiday’s right around the corner, your brand’s mobility truly does matter. With mobile marketing continuing to grow in popularity, offering your current and potential customers deals and special holiday shopping specials can be a boon for your business. That said keep the mobile marketing non-intrusive, meaning make sure the consumer signs-off on you contacting them;
Be Able to Adapt – Finally, effective marketing also includes being able to adapt to changes in the market. Customer needs and wants will change, so you have to too. When you have a product or services that adapts with the changing times, you are much more likely to have a brand that customers will desire, so go with the flow.

If your brand has been in neutral recently, get to marketing it more efficiently and see your revenue stream more than likely increase.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: John Peters covers the world of marketing on the web.

Should You Be Dialed-in to After Call Surveys?

August 19, 2015 by Thomas

If you have ever been asked to provide your opinion or give feedback after you complete a call, you have just been involved in an after-call survey.

You may wonder if these surveys provide any value to the business, especially if you were one who elected not to participate.

Do they have any value in today’s business world? If so, what do you need to know to make them effective?

Know What You Want to Learn

There should be a reason for everything you do in business, and after-call surveys are no exception.

You should know what information you want to find out, how you will learn this information and what you will do with it. If you do not have answers to all of these questions, you don’t need to take a survey.

Creating a goal doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, for these surveys, you should keep it simple.

Learn which call agents receive the best marks in customer satisfaction. Find out what percentage of customers have their problems answered when they call.

Keep your goals to one or two points to ensure that you get the information you are looking for.

Know What to Ask

Even if you know what you want to find out in these surveys, you won’t get the information if you don’t ask the right questions.

Make sure the questions are straightforward with enough options for the customer to answer accurately, but don’t overwhelm the person.

You cannot get feedback for complicated issues in this manner; keep your expectations simple and your questions easy to answer. You will use these surveys to gauge perception about general topics.

This may include finding out if the customer had a long wait time, if his or her questions were answered and if he or she was treated courteously.

Know How You Will Use the Data

Customers don’t mind filling out surveys or answering questions if they know their answers make a difference. They want to see that you make changes in your business based on the information they provide.

You should know before starting a survey what actions you will take with the results.

Obviously, if everything comes back positive, you won’t need to make changes. If you have less than desirable results, you should have a plan of what you will change.

As the article, “After Call Surveys: Are They Really Effective?” mentions, you should have a plan to follow up on any negative feedback.

You may even want to implement a mailed survey or contact specific customers if the reaction is strong enough.

The goal of any survey should be to make your business stronger, better and to improve customer satisfaction. When you accumulate information directly from the customer, this is your best weapon to improving your services or product.

Take your survey results seriously and they will be a valuable tool to help ensure that you retain customer loyalty so that your business thrives.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Joyce Morse is an author who writes on a variety of topics, including customer service and technology.

Do You Have the Right Brand Promotion Mix?

March 18, 2015 by Thomas

Are you looking to grow your company, gain exposure to the media and market your business to a specific clientele?

If so, you’re going to need to carefully plan exactly how you should go about marketing your business. There is no “one size fits all” method, but rather a mix of strategies that work together to give your business the type of growth it needs.

Popular ways businesses go about marketing include networking with other businesses and individuals in the area, asking for referrals, using free forms of advertising (such as Craigslist), developing an online social media presence, placing ads in the newspaper or print media, creating a mass email or text message list, offering deals and specials, donating to a local charity and more.

There are hundreds of ways to market your business, but the trick is finding a mix that works best for your specific industry.

Get More Social

Social media is quickly rising to the top when it comes to marketing. Not only is it an effective way to advertise for nearly all businesses, regardless of industry, but it’s also a free way to advertise.

To market via social media, you first start out by setting up your business accounts on various social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn and more.

Then, start networking with other business and individuals, post information on your company including any specials or promotions you have going on, interact with customers and start developing a following.

Finding the Right Combinations

While growing your online presence is one of the best ways to market your business, it shouldn’t be the only way. A business that markets well knows that it’s a combination of marketing strategies that are the most effective.

The article “Integrating social media, text and email” suggests that the best social media marketing strategy incorporates text messages and email marketing into their plan. Instead of having three separate plans, it’s best to have them work together to form one larger marketing campaign.

So how do you get all three to work together?

A few ideas include asking customers via email to “like” your Facebook page, getting customers to “opt in” to your text message service by offering a discount on your product or placing a “subscribe to my email” option on all of your social media accounts.

By offering discounts or free products to the customers and making it easy for them to share and follow you, you’ll have a much better chance at growing a following and gaining customers.

Once you’ve combined your social media marketing strategy with your text and email campaign, you can begin to seek out other ways to advertise.

Its trial-and-error, as some methods will work wonderfully and others will crash and burn. Your strategies will also change over time as new and improved ways of marketing come on to the market.

Be flexible and be willing to try a variety of methods in order to figure out what works best for your business.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Sarah Brooks is a freelance writer living in Charlotte, NC. She writes on a variety of topics including social media, small businesses and personal finance.