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It is undeniable that mobile devices are here to stay, and the number of consumers with smartphones and tablets will continue to increase. In fact, there is so much buzz in the marketplace right now over new mobile device applications that merchants and customers are having a hard time keeping up with the explosion of new possibilities. We all know that time is money, and there is less of both to go around these days. At MBN we want to help you cut through the clutter and discover what options could be a real solution for your business.

The widespread adoption of mobile devices is allowing merchants to reach their customers in more effective ways than ever before. It is now possible to send coupons to customers only when they are in your area, connect QR codes with your customers, or, provide customers and app that makes it easier to purchase online from their mobile device. In 2012, for the first time ever, the number of mobile marketing messages opened in the U.S. per month surpassed the number of desktop opens – emphasizing the considerable importance mobile devices should have when creating your marketing campaigns. It’s becoming increasingly clear that mobile smartphones and tablets are the engagement channel of choice for a large growing number of consumers.

Therefore, mobile marketing is not just a nice-to-have addition, but imperative for many business fighting to differentiate and provide customers with a completely great experience of their brand both in-store and online.

Key benefits provided by mobile marketing tools

Immediacy

Mobile campaigns are simple to create and distribute. Messages are delivered to recipients within seconds. With the advent of ‘mobile text marketing’ it has never been easier for merchants to quickly realize higher ROI through their promotion efforts. By design, you must see a mobile text message before you can delete it, unlike email messages that can be deleted without opening the content. People now carry their phones with the same importance as a wallet or set of keys. When a message is delivered it is opened immediately in most cases.

Affordability

No need to pay for postage, printing or air time, just a nominal per text message fee. Prices are very modest and they decrease as volume increases. Simply put, you can do more with your marketing dollars using mobile platforms.

Distribution

Reach out to people all over the world. Delivery is almost always guaranteed, unlike email, direct mail, and other forms of advertising. Some people will argue that, as of now, only about 53% of U.S. consumers have a smartphone or tablet – so mobile apps or mobile Facebook campaigns do not cast a wide enough net for their business on a tight marketing budget. Well, this decision comes down to knowing your audience extremely well. A recent study from SAS found that only 56% of companies believe they clearly understand their customer.

This lack of specific understanding helps explain why many merchants have been slow to adopt mobile even as their customers were quickly embracing it – they didn’t know. However, if you opt for a text message marketing strategy to start out, rest assured that text messaging capability exists on 99% of all the mobile devices in the U.S. Mobile helps you reach your customers where they are looking most often.

Response Rate & Effectiveness

The average response rate is approximately 15%-30%, versus 1 – 3% for other advertising mediums! That’s a huge advantage, and when you have to make budgeting decisions for which platform to use most, mobile makes lucrative sense. According to Google research, a whopping 82 percent of smartphone users reported noticing mobile ads. And 49 percent of those reported taking action on mobile ads. These numbers represent a marketplace that is being transformed by the ability for consumers to constantly connect through mobile devices. Understanding the impact of smartphones and other mobile devices on customer behavior is key for your business reaching today’s always on-the-go customer.

Personal & Targeted

Content is targeted to individuals who have opted to receive them. The medium provides the ability to customize the brand message to a specific audience. And since people rarely change their cell phone numbers, the value for businesses to be able to market directly to an opt-in consumer base via their mobile device is tremendous. The mobile platform opens up the ability for merchants to respond to their customers using past purchase information to send specific product recommendations, coupons for products you know they have purchased before, etc. The customer appreciates the personalization, and registers that you are making the effort to send them offers that are helpful and highly relevant to their habits.

Interactivity

Mobile technology provides the ability to reach customers on-the-go, and creates a highly effective two-way communication opportunity. This is powerful because it gives your customers a way to respond back, giving you feedback almost instantly.

Marketing Campaign Integration

Mobile provides new ways to integrate innovative forms of advertising and promotion of your brand with existing strategies to enhance their interactivity and impact. This means that mobile marketing should be thought of as a key new touch-point to your existing marketing efforts. It improves your ability to get your message or promotion in front of customers at the exact right time. So if you already have print marketing efforts going on, it makes it easy to extend the same offer digitally out to mobile users, and you get to use location filters to ensure the people that see your promotion are in your area and capable of buying.

Quantifiable

Campaign results can be tracked through downloads, page visits, customer opt-ins, and a variety of other methods as well dependent upon the mobile marketing method being utilized. A huge plus for business owners who need to attach their marketing efforts down to the bottom line.

WOW Factor

The mobile marketing medium is still so new the largest percentage of potential customers have not yet seen it firsthand, this allows your firm to establish itself as a leader in your industry and insures your messages will achieve higher impact with their target audiences.

Viral Potential

The ease with which mobile marketing messages can be shared increases the potential for your message to be shared with new audiences and potential customers at no cost to you. Shares are free to you!

Call us today if you have any questions about mobile processing devices, or software apps that allow you more ways to reach your customers cheaper, and more precisely.

Happy Processing!

Your MBN Team