How Mobile Marketing Is Different From Other Online Marketing

In the simplest of terms, mobile marketing is all about communicating and engaging with the consumer through mobile devices such as mobile phones. Some examples of mobile marketing vehicles are short message services (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), mobile internet, and mobile applications.

Short Message Service (SMS)

SMS, also known as text messaging, which first came out in the early 90s, continues to be one of the most popular mobile marketing vehicles. There are forecasts indicating that it will remain to be so for many more years into the future.

Although the majority of text messages are transmitted person-to-person, more and more Americans are using SMS to interact with brands. We see a growing number of people using SMS to interact with TV shows (like voting on “American Idol”, joining trivia contests about program content, and getting program alerts). We also see people participating in on-pack promotions (e.g., texting codes found on product packages for a chance to win an instant prize). There are also the mobile coupons which drive buyers to retail outlets (like discount vouchers for Dunkin Donuts Lattes and EA games) and so on.

Text messaging is to the mobile world as the email is to the Internet—just without the graphics. It is a great potential for local business also to promote own brand and to build relationship with clients in limited budget.

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)

MMS, also known as picture messaging, which functions quite similar to SMS. The nice thing about MMS is that it supports images, animation, video, and audio, and that enables marketers to push rich media ads to consumers. Additionally, MMS is interactive in a way similar to SMS that it enables recipients to respond to messages and engage with brands.

While MMS has a smaller reach than what SMS has, promotional MMS is more capable in terms of activating consumers. The ROI (return of investment) on MMS is quite compelling–five percent is actually considered a low response rate to an MMS campaign. There are evidences of conversion rates of over 20 percent on well targeted MMS programs.

Mobile Internet

Just like the banner ads in many web pages, marketers are placing banner ads on mobile contents. There is a big trend for mobile internet usage although it only took about 7% usage rate for Canadian mobile users in 2008 (according to Canada Mobile Association), and there were 54.5 million mobile internet users in the US in early 2009, representing 25% of online users.

One of the greatest benefits of mobile display advertising is that it provides a richer palette for brand advertising (albeit a smaller one), while avoiding the need for opt-ins or consumer-initiated reply messages.

Mobile App

The popularity of mobile application is up since the mobile app download is expected to exceed 4.5 billion in 2010, and will grow to 21 billion by 2013. Many free applications derive their revenue from advertising. This is typically done with banners as well as full page advertising (e.g., between game levels).

Cellular phones have evolved over recent years to the point where they perform a wide variety of functions that were traditionally only available though stand-alone devices or services, such as digital camera, MP3 player, video camera and so on. People could go everywhere with just a mobile phone to do things they now do with computers. The future online marketing success will largely rely on how successful the mobile marketing will be.

Email Marketing Ideas For Local Restaurants

There are two steps to do Email marketing for any type of local business: the first one is list building and the second is to run email campaigns.

For local restaurant businesses, there are many ways of building your email list. Here are just some examples:

1. Include an email sign up on the comment card and bring them with the check to the clients in person when they finish the meal.

2. Insert a card promoting your email campaigns with your take-out and delivery orders. Simply put your site URL in it and tell people to go there to sign up for a special deal or something.

3. Sign people up for your email newsletter when they make the reservation. If you can have a reservation form on your site, it’ll be even better because people already become your email subscribers before they become your clients.

Now comes the email campaigns. What you should include in your email newsletters. Here are some ideas:

1. Menu. It could be your seasonal menu, menu change, or ingredients in your dishes;

2. Coupons. A small discount, exclusive to your email subscribers, will keep customers coming back;

3. Directions. Provide a link to driving routes, tips on parking, and public transportation information;

4. Gift cards. If you have them, speak it out. People are always looking for great gift ideas;

5. Pictures. Colorful pictures of food are the best enticement;

6. And don’t forget to mention your reservation phone number and best of all online reservation form.

For additional information on online marketing for local restaurant, please contact your local online marketing expert.

Multiple Listed on Google Page One in 4 Weeks

Do you know that your business can be multiple listed on Google? That is we called multiple listings in online marketing strategy.

What if you own more than four or five listings on page one of Google for a certain keyword, that is called Google Domination! Once your business listings dominate Google page one, you or your business become the CELEBRITY in your niche.

Think about that for a moment… that means whenever someone type in that keyword and search on Google, you ensure more than 50% of the chance that he will click on any of your four or five listings and go to your site.

Chances are very few traffics (less than 10%) will go check listings on Google page two or after. Once you dominate Google page one, you get over 50% of total online traffics to your site. What amazing!

 

I am on my way dominating Vancouver Real Estate market. I get two listings on Page One of Google for the keyword “Point Grey Luxury Homes” since 3 days ago. It takes a lot of work and efforts in pushing these two listings, and I am continuing to work hard to maintain those spots and trying to get more spots on Page One. I will keep you updated.

Why You Should Do Video Marketing Now!

Since many marketers haven’t realized all the benefits of video marketing, or they haven’t started to do that. It leaves enough room for you if you decide to do video marketing even from Today!

There are three benefits to do video marketing:

1. It has SEO benefit. Because you can put your site link in the video profile. The link which is also a backlink to your site will pass on some SEO value from those high rank video sites to your site;

2. Video is eye catching. Humans are likely to click to view a 2-3 minutes video from the beginning to the end, while rarely finish reading a 300 or more words article. So video marketing is one of the most efficient ways to deliver your message.

3. The more people view it, the higher your video will get ranked on video sites and. At the end Google will most probably rank your video on top of its search result page.

Dental Patients Cancel Visits A Lot, It’s Time For Online Marketing

It was inspired by one of the report in Walt Street Journal. The headline goes: Dentists Step Up Marketing as Patients Skip Their Visits.

Because of high unemployment rate (9.1% in BC), as more patients lose jobs and employer-sponsored insurance, fewer come in for major treatments or even routine cleanings. A lot of dental practices here in BC already experienced big appointment lost as what happens to the whole dental industry in North America.

That means more dentists see the need to step up the marketing of their services. Most of them increase their spending in traditional marketing, for example ads on yellow pages, newspapers, direct mails. Since it gets lower and lower response rate by traditional marketing. Some of the dental practices have started to take advantage of online marketing to push their businesses and brands through internet.

Many small dental private practices are still preferring doing dental surgery as well as marketing by themselves. But the problem is, in dental school, most dentists learn that good location and personal service will earn referrals to new patients. But these days, the old ways alone aren’t enough to cut it and dentists with slumping business want to know what to do differently.

The lack of time and experience in marketing could make all the marketing money and work in vain. Dentists have to outsource the marketing jobs to the experts, who will make huge return to their dental businesses.

How Local Business Can Turn an Exchange or Return Into A Big Upsell

The Adidas manager made a big mistake because although I got item exchanged, I feel very bad about their store and about “Adidas” the brand. They won’t be happy either because they took that damage item anyway. Plus I would no longer shop with them and I will tell everyone about it. Especially with the internet, things get worse more quickly.

Their poorly trained store associates and sales manager make Adidas lose way more sales which they’ll never see or realized. They fail to realize that customers who ask for exchange or return are still buying customers. They are the customers walking in, offer the store another chance to upsell. They are the buying traffics, just like free internet traffics driven by a buying keyword (it could be a negative keyword in this case, but it is still a buying keyword). While many other customers who walk by but never walk in, are like free internet traffic with no conversion which means no sale.

Actually things can be totally different. If I were the manager, I could turn such case into a big profit for the store. Instead of saying: “sorry we can’t accept that exchange or return, for (whatever reason)”, the smarter way is to explain that “we really want to help, but for case like this, we really can’t do the exchange. BUT!”

Good things always start with the magic “BUT”. “But we would like to give you a special deal today to make it up, just for you!” “How about I giving you a special $10 discount when you buy $100 today?” That way, I guarantee store not only save that customer but make way more sales. The store won’t have to take that $10 lost, and the customer will feel happy too because he gets a good deal! That’s what I called win-win solution for the business and the customer.

Or even though customers don’t want to take that special deal, just refund or exchange the item. That way you save those customers. Who says they wouldn’t buy hundreds from you in the near future!

Local retail business owners shall learn the lesson from this. It shows how you could turn an exchange or return into a big upsell to make big profit. Best of all, to get a happy customer, who will shop at your store ever and ever again.

How A $10 Exchange Ruin Customer Relationship Totally!

A true story happened to me yesterday afternoon. It was about how a little $10 exchange turns a royal customer into a raged customer.

It was on September 4, 2009. I walked into the Adidas Langley Store (20202 66 Avenue Langley, BC) with a receipt and a T-shirt. Because I found a small but an obvious hole on that T-shirt after I washed it the first time the night before. I like the color and design of that T-shirt so I decided to ask for exchange. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal but I was wrong.

 

When I talked to an associate about the problem and asked for exchange, she ran to the manager to confirm. After 5 minutes she came back and told me that they couldn’t do that. Then the manager came up and said:”we couldn’t take it back because it is not the manufacture defect. It must be something in your washing machine which made that damage. Something sharp or a zipper…” But the truth is there is no pin, no hard sharp object, no button, no nothing in the washer except several T-shirts just like that one. How could a damage happened to that T-shirt alone?

As I insisted, that manager finally agreed to exchange it if I promised not to exchange or return ever again if same thing happens. So she means I make the damage by purpose?! I was raged. I got my exchange item and rushed out of the store.

To be honest, I was planning to buy several T-shirts and shoes for my husband and my kids after that exchange on that day. Seriously, it’s just a $10 case, but because of its “nice” professional customer service, Adidas lost over $200 sales. Maybe the manager was right that it was not the manufacture defect. But nothing worse than losing a customer even though she was right.

However they don’t know things can be totally different if they handle it the other way around smartly…

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