You’ve probably heard of SMS marketing or mobile marketing before or maybe you’ve received mobile notifications of sales and promotions with some of the retailers or businesses you frequent. Mobile marketing is an excellent tool to use for small businesses to connect directly with their customers to notify them of the newest items in their stores or newest deals they are running. How does it work? And why is it so popular for businesses? Almost everyone has a smartphone these days. Even those who are rocking it “old school” with their flip phones still use them to send and receive text messages. Texting seems to be the most popular form of communication these days. It isn’t hard to see why. Most people don’t have landlines in their homes anymore, but they all have their own cellphones. Calling people to get ahold of them isn’t always the quickest way to get a response. Often the person you are calling is busy and can’t answer. But sending them the same message via text allows them to view it and respond when they have the time to do so.

Did you know nearly 90% of people check a new text message within a few minutes of receiving it? A lot of people check their new text messages even faster than that.

How does this work to your advantage as a business owner? Let’s say you own a restaurant or bar and are running a promotion or special. You want to run a “$2 Coronas With Purchase of Appetizer TONIGHT ONLY!” special. It’s 11 A.M. and there’s a game on TV tonight. Do you want to give your customers this little bit of added incentive to come watch the game at Your Bar and not Joe’s Bar down the street? How do you let them know in so little time? Shoot them a promotional text message! They WILL see it (because everyone checks their text messages) and it just might give them an extra little push they needed in their decision making process. Chances are if the deal is a good one (which we leave to you, “The Expert Deal Conjurer”) they will choose YOUR bar and not the other guy’s. This relatively new way of “instant marketing” has proven very effective for a lot of businesses. Of course, don’t fall into the trap of overwhelming your customers. You don’t want them to get sick of hearing from you! Don’t be annoying about it. Make sure the deal is worth their time and their money. Don’t message them every day. Keep it short and sweet. And don’t get offended when not every person you text shows up. The nice thing about mobile marketing is you can get your message/promotion out there instantaneously to a lot of people at the same time! As opposed to conventional marketing tools, you can reach your customers no matter where they are or what they are are doing. They don’t have to be watching TV or listening to the radio or reading a magazine to get the message. They could be laying in bed reading a good book and listening to Yanni on their iPod. The second you send a text promotion, BOOM! There it is on their phones right next to them. The best part about mobile marketing is (wait for it…) the cost. It literally costs pennies to use this kind of marketing. Data rates are very cheap and any business can afford it! We all know the financial challenges small businesses face. This is why this kind of marketing can be so useful for your business! Traditional marketing methods tend to get pricey! A commercial on TV? Far too expensive for most small businesses. Running ads in the paper can also get expensive. This is a marketing option you should definitely explore! Keep up with your customers. Let them know what’s happening and what is coming up. Most people like to be in the know. Most people also like the personal touch of a business who reaches out to them directly to keep them informed. There are some rules which apply to this type of mobile marketing which basically restrict companies from “harassing” customers. Give your customers the option of opting out of future promotional messages too. Some people don’t want to receive promotional text messages. Make sure you give them the option to stop receiving them. You can do this by including in the text promotion the option to text a message back to stop further notifications. So your promotional message could say “$2 Coronas With Purchase of Appetizer TONIGHT ONLY When You Show This Message to Your Server! Text STOP to 6452 to Opt Out of Future Promotions”. This is a helpful consideration for your customers who don’t want to receive promotions via text, and will help you avoid “annoying” your public. We’ll leave the awesome promotion creating to you (unless you want help with it, then our expert marketing comes as part of the package!), but we would strongly encourage you to consider this very cheap, very effective method of getting paying customers through your doors any day of the week.

If they came in and enjoyed their experience once, chances are it won’t take too much to entice them to come back. Just keep the good deals headed their way and they will love you forever!

This is a great thing to mix with a loyalty program… so not only are your customers getting great deals, they also get rewards when they come in which they can use for future purchases with you. Brilliant! And profitable! Mobile marketing can most definitely increase traffic through your doors and give your bottom dollar a significant boost if used effectively! For more information or to have your questions answered about mobile marketing or other business related subjects, give us a call at (888) 510-9871. RedFynn support is here to help!