With each passing year, more and more people are using their tablets and smartphones to complete purchases online. Many studies have even demonstrated that these mobile consumers spend more time and money shopping online than their PC counterparts. If you own a small business that doesn’t sell online, you may be thinking this doesn’t apply to you. It does.

An alarming trend for many retail stores that don’t sell online is “showrooming.” “Showrooming” is when customers visit a brick and mortar location with smartphone in hand to look at a particular item in person. Then while still in the store, they go online to comparison shop. Often, the customer leaves the store having completed their purchase from an online competitor. That has grown to become a major problem for many retailers. Those who have learned to adapt to the mobile age fastest have fared the best.

Mobile technology has changed the way customers shop. And whether you intend to sell online or not, you still need a mobile marketing strategy that appeals to those mobile customers. You need to start planning now for the mobile future.

Mobile marketing opportunities

One of the most important things to keep in mind about mobile is that it is a very personal marketing channel. In the span of a few short years, we’ve come to rely heavily on our mobile devices. They are an extension of ourselves. We take them to bed with us, into the bathroom with us—everywhere we go, they go. The major advantage then for businesses is that they can communicate with their customers in real time regardless of where they are or what they’re doing. There are a lot of ways to do this but one of the most popular, and cost effective is SMS, or text messaging.

SMS is simple and inexpensive but extremely effective. There’s no better way to send your customer’s time sensitive information because 99% will see the text, and over 90% of them will view it within minutes of receiving it. SMS is just one mobile marketing channel. There are limitless ways to reach consumers through their mobile devices.

Predictive technology

Another great aspect about mobile is that it allows businesses to gather information about their customers. Mobile analytics allow mobile marketers to observe customer behavior and recognize patterns. This can in turn allow marketers to predict what customers will want even before they conciously realize they want it.

If you want to know your customers better than they know themselves, investing in a mobile marketing campaign and in mobile analytics is a great way to go.

The mobile future

Many business owners are still uncertain about spending the time and money to launch a mobile marketing campaign. Perhaps they worry that the whole “mobile thing” will blow over in a year or two. Each year however is demonstrating that mobile isn’t a passing thing. It’s the future. Each year brings exciting new advancements in technology. Consumers will only grow to rely on mobile more and more. Businesses that want to keep their customers from going to the competition would be wise to take their company mobile.

Source:  Business 2 Community