With sales slumping, local businesses are looking for creative new ways to increase sales. Mobile provides an unprecedented opportunity for local businesses to acquire new customers and increase repeat customer traffic. Businesses with tight budgets have never before had the means to improve their bottom line without requiring a large upfront investment.
CornerBlue has put together the following step-by-step guide that will show you how to increase foot traffic for any business.
Step 1: Figure out who you are targeting Knowing your customers’ profile is a crucial step in planning a mobile campaign. Some businesses are geared more towards men than women, while others cater to a younger audience or possibly a specific niche, like artists. Knowing the demographics of your current customer base will allow you to spend less and get more. If you’re not sure who your target audience is, it’s never too late to start keeping track. Even a week’s worth of data will prove invaluable when it comes time to purchase mobile ads.
Step 2: Start building a list The best way to reach customers is having them willingly give you their contact info and asking you to be contacted. This is exactly what an opt-in SMS list or email newsletter does. In exchange for providing contact information, customers expect to be notified of specials and new products, as well as discounts. Companies such as Mobile Messenger provide simple, easy-to-use tools to build, manage, and contact your various lists. It takes time to build a list, but over time this list will become as critical to your business as any other form of marketing. While it’s tempting to send an SMS blast often to increase sales, it’s important not to inundate customers with ads. Instead, send bi-weekly or monthly text messages to gently remind customers of updates and special offers. Additionally, customers tend to spend more money around holidays, so use this opportunity to send out a holiday-related special. Make sure to listen to your customers’ feedback and scale back if you start receiving complaints about too many text messages or emails. Long-term customer satisfaction is much more important than a short-term burst in traffic.
Step 3: Make a simple mobile site While apps and sophisticated mobile sites receive a lot of attention in the media, most local businesses don’t need anything as advanced. All you need is a simple, yet modern, mobile page that describes your products or services, provides important information such as hours of operation and address, as well as mapping and direction services. You can easily incorporate a program like Google Maps for this functionality. This is also a great opportunity to collect email addresses and mobile numbers in exchange for a mobile coupon to grow your lists. Use free analytics services such as Google Analytics to track visitors and the effectiveness of your site.
Step 4: Utilize local mobile advertising Lists are a great way to increase repeat traffic from existing customers, but how do you use mobile to attract new customers? Local mobile advertising is the answer. Companies such as WHERE provide mobile apps that allow businesses to advertise to local users. You can target specific cities to make sure your ad is only seen by customers that would be interested in your local services. This allows you to maximize your ad budget by only focusing on people that are likely to visit you in person. Your ads should clearly explain what you do and lead to your mobile page with contact information and exclusive first-time customer specials.
Step 5: Rinse and repeat As you learn what works in mobile for your business, it’s crucial to constantly go back and optimize all aspects of your campaign. Try to differentiate your mobile ads, refine your mobile-optimized site using customer feedback, and monitor your campaigns closely to make sure you are only running ads that provide a direct and immediate benefit to your business. Mobile is still a very new market with a constantly changing mix of users. If you don’t stay ahead of the curve, the effectiveness of your marketing efforts will quickly fade away.
