The Mobile Internet and Mobile Websites: Why are Consumers Using it?

According to Deloitte’s recent 24th Annual Holida Survey, of the mobile shoppers identified in their survey: 55 percent said they will use their mobile device to find store locations, 45 percent to research prices, 40 percent to find product information, 32 percent to find discounts and coupons, and 25 percent to make purchase.

Now let’s look at mobile internet usage predictions: Mobile Marketer recently reported that consumers will increase their average browsing time from the 4:40 (min:sec) average in 2009 to the 5:30 range. Also, average page views will increase from approximately 105 to 120 per month. According to Nielsen, the mobile web grew at an average of 2 percent month over month for all of 2009. This makes it one of the few things growing for the year. It is predicted that, at this rate, combined with the accelerated adoption of smartphones and mobile-specific sites, the mobile web will reach more than one-half of the consumers on the wired web. That is huge news!!

Most business owners slept when it came to building a website. When they finally got around to it, there was no strategy…they just knew they “needed one.” Years later, most all businesses have caught up to working with and on the web. Now here’s mobile web coming at us like a locomotive at breakneck speeds. And what are most businesses owners doing? Relaxing and “seeing what the competition does” just like the internet’s last go-round. Astonishing. Now, for those businesses who are embracing mobile web, it is helping people on the go find their location, find their offers, and with few competitors utilizing the mobile web space it makes comparisons thin and immediately betters that businesses chance of making the sale.

So, no more sleeping! The time for a mobile-specific website is now. Work with a mobile marketing company on building a mobile website for your business. You can certainly have it built by the designer of your pc website, but it’s not the best idea. Mobile web strategies are different, the build is different, and although your website developer inherently knows this, sometimes old habits are hard to break. Inquire with a mobile firm and see what they can do for you. Any reputable mobile marketing firm should be able to help you create a fantastic mobile internet presence and you will be leading the pack in no time.
Our firm is just one of the few you should look at. Go ahead…call or email the owners of our company directly. You will get an almost immediate response and any mobile questions you have will be answered without a sales pitch. Click here to see how affordable our bulk sms packages are and reach us to get started.

Until next time,

Mobile Search Companies: 2010

In 2010, many are predicting to see a tremendous increase in the number of companies utilizing mobile search. And for good reason! Some experts are posting that the number of mobile web users could approach half that of web-based users by the end of next year.
As a marketer or business owner that is certainly something to recognize and something to which should be responded to appropriately. So where should marjeters turn? Their standard ad agency? Not likely. The standard ad agency, although forever having claimed creativity and ingnuity, often worked/works solely based on getting a businesses cost down…less per spot, etc. Often times, these schedule end up being garbage and the business owner ends up spending more per efficiency, but since there is no guide for that the agencies are able to hole up their rouge. Please note: these are my opinions and I do know there are some amazing agencies in existence…just not most of them. Where you should turn is either a firm that SPECIALIZES in mobile (not just claims to offer it because they know they were caught off guard and are trying to play catch up) or your current search provider, if you have one.
There are pro’s and con’s to going with a mobile search company and in going with your current search provider. If you’re looking to work with your curret search provider, you can benefit from having one contact and one bill. Additionally, you may also be able to get single report. Finally, it means you would be working with a company who already knows our business.
However, in going with a mobile search company specifically there are many benefits to be had. First, although having one bill can be nice, having one same contact can be a detriment. Think about how hard people work to ge your business initially. On the increases or upsells, many don’t work as hard. By beginning your mobile search endeavour with a separate company will put you in position to have someone workin extra hard to secure and retain your new business. (If they are not, you chose a complacent company and you need to move on.) Then there’s that enticing single report: this may again seem like a good idea and time saver, but the more pc search and mobile search phyisically get lumped together, the more they mentally get lumped together. Then the person working on your strategies starts lumping those together and then you might as well not be doing mobile search anyway. The idea is that mobile search is very different and should increase the tangible business you are seeing driven by the web. Work witha separate company and you will find that the strategies they develop are wildly different and better because they are not thinking about your pc search at all. Finally, I mentioned that by choosing your exisiting search provider to perform mobile search, you would be working with a company that already knows your business. Atface value, this seems like a benefit. However, you will often find that the company you work with now has fallen into certain patterns and perceptions and misperceptions regarding your business. Begin with a specific mobile search company an you will have a chance to get a brand new set of eyes an hands on your company. Assuming you choose a good partner, this almost always leads to productivity and growth in business.

Go ahead…call or email the owners of our company directly. You will get an almost immediate response and any mobile questions you have will be answered without a sales pitch. Click here to see how affordable our bulk sms packages are and reach us to get started.

The Mobile Coupon, SMS Coupon, or Text Coupon. Call it what you will, but the recession has brought the coupon back.

It’s a fact…with the combination between the recession and the mobile handset, the coupon is at an all time high! It’s prime time for the coupon, Baby! Many couponites, I call them, are the Baby Boomers and the older tip of Generation X. But coupons were lost amongst Gen Y, Z, and Millennials. And using mobile coupons for your business is incredibly simple and cost effective

Please note: if you’re unfamiliar with mobile coupons, this is not equitable to direct mail or email. In no way is a mobile phone list purchased and a message blasted out. If someone is offering you this, they are damaging the industry.
Mobile is always permission-based and, thus, amazingly effective.

Now that coupons no longer require clipping and can be carried in the most sheik of fashions, they are no longer a young demographic faux pas. As a marketer, this presents very exciting opportunities. During the early 2000’s, spending was at a pinnacle and many business owners reaped the benefits simply by opening their doors. As spending slowed, consumers held tight to their wallets before most businesses began offering discounts. In that time, many companies found it difficult to attract new customers. Businesses reacted by discounting slowly in an attempt to wean back lost interest. In today’s economy, however, it seems offering steep discounts is almost a prerequisite to even having an operational business. As many do not want to, and cannot even afford to, discount any further they find themselves again on the same playing field as their competitors.
If you’re running neck and neck with competition and everyone is at their bottom dollar, what do you do? Move to a better location? This might be a relevant option in a great economy, but now not. Spend more on advertising? Good advertising always helps, but it’s also expensive and since many (small) business owners make the attempt to purchase “super affordable” advertising, it’s mostly junk and ineffective anyway.
So what to do? Offer something your competition isn’t. Don’t discount any further and don’t worry about big time out-of-pocket advertising. Instead, offer your current discounts and incentives through the mobile medium. This will separate you from your competition in the minds of your potential customers. They will appreciate you and remember you for making the effort to communicate and do business with them in a manner that they like and is on their terms. It will break through to new customers who were ignoring your old marketing and discounting attempts (most businesses that run discounts through mobile see at least 30% of the redeemed offers come from someone who had never done business with them before). You will also be able to reach out to them for just a few pennies per person…no production costs, no printing costs, and no postage. And don’t let the coupon magazines fool you; they are not using any good strategies when delivering mobile. Work with a reputable mobile marketing company and we will help you design and execute campaigns that inspire the viral effect, lead to more sales, help create higher profit margins, and we will help you analyze your ROI after every campaign.

Go ahead…call or email the owners of our company directly. You will get an almost immediate response and any mobile questions you have will be answered without a sales pitch. Click here to see how affordable our bulk sms packages are and reach us to get started.

Mobile Web, Mobile Internet Use Growing Rapidly: Up More than Double from One Year Prior!

As my readers know, I share information based on studies. And when I do share an opinion, I back it up with quantifiable information. The information I am sharing tonight came from studies performed by BIA/Kelsey and ConStat. They report that heavy mobile internet users (classified as using the mobile web 10 or more times per week) make up 21 percent of all U.S. internet users. This is up from just 15 percent one year ago. Additionally, the overall average number of monthly mobile web visits is more than double that of one year ago and almost three times that of two years ago.

These numbers show amazing growth in an area where growth has been speculated, promised, and challenged by different commentators. Companies and consumer brands were thinking building a mobile-specific website and driving M-Commerce was unnecessary two years ago. The majority are singing a much different tune right now; what do you think they will be saying two years from now? This a repetitive path almost always seen in business: the technology emerges, fads and bugs are worked out, big box stores and international brands begin adoption, regional brands follow suit, and finally the local business is “caught off guard” and tries to play catch up. What I know is that many local businesses are acknowledging mobile web, at least the ones I talk with are because I bring it up. So, they are not caught off guard nor can they claim to be. What they have to admit is they don’t have the guts to do what their supposedly hated competitor is not doing…you know, safety in numbers. Most do not have the courage to admit that and those who do often realize they are being silly and take the steps they should be taking, resulting in them being the local business leaders. And this is not exclusive to marketing, but is relative to any big business decision. And being a small business owner, I understand how they feel. As embarrassing as it may be to admit, it can be scary to invest in something that all of the businesses similar to yours are not doing. However, we have the track record, through our client list and successes, to prove that we know what we’re talking about.

Additionally reported is that heavy users of text messaging is also up over the past year. Nearly one-half of mobile users text more than 10 times weekly, according to BIA/Kelsey and ConStat. As I have preached, the report shows that users have become more active over many mobile activies…text, web, video, and purchasing. In closing, consider this quote from Rick Ducey, chief strategy officer at BIA/Kelsey: “Between waves one and three of Mobile Market View, consumers have basically doubled their use of the mobile platform for non-voice communications. This represents a fundamental and rapid shift in media use, which needs to be considered in determining the appropriate mix and spending levels among local platforms. Media companies that do not currently offer a differentiated mobile advertising option had better get there quickly.”

We take pride in being a leading digital advertising agency with a focus on mobile marketing, bulk SMS, text advertising strategies, and mobile websites. Click here to see some of what we do and view some of what we call our Wisely Asked Questions.

Free Email Marketing Advice: How to Strengthen Holiday Email Campaigns via Mobile Marketing

Want to increase your email open rate and response rate? Tired of gimmicks that promise to do that for you? Did those two questions sound like the beginning of a cheesy sales pitch? Yeah, they did. But they aren’t. And there’s no sales pitch here…just free advice you can implement on your own. Kudos to the great people at Mobile Marketer for another great article (http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/email/4742.html).

Right now there are 139 million people around the world that access their email via their mobile phone, according to a Radicati Group study. That number is anticipated to grow to more than 1 billion by 2013. And currently mobile phone owners outnumber PC owners by a huge four to one! What should you do to take more advantage of this information?

First, you should investigate how many of your email recipients are opening their email on their phones (there are tools to do this). After this, you should use preview technology to see how your email will look on top mobile devices. Then, there are some simple best practices that can be followed when designing your campaign. Many brands have seen increased open rates and sales once these steps have been implemented. Remember to test your emails often to see how they look. Your customers will thank you for it by spending!

Note: this is a fairly specific practice, but with a few bits of information we can help you optimize your email campaign for the mobile platform. Shoot us an email to sales@letstexttogether.com (which comes to one of the owners) and we will happily give you a hand. Feel free to visit our website at Let’s Text Together.

Mobile Marketing Companies Help Increase Black Friday Spending 650 percent on eBay alone!

A recent article on Mobile Marketer talked about mobile marketing’s impact on Black Friday via M-Commerce (http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/commerce/4758.html). eBay alone saw an astonishing 650 percent increase in PayPal payments made via mobile. Is M-Commerce changing the overall bottom line of holiday spending? Not by a long shot. But no other spending index grew like that of mobile and that means good things.

Smartphone owners are becoming increasingly comfortable with making purchases on their phone, as shown by both Pizza Hut and Papa John’s having sold more than $1 million dollars this year through mobile orders. The types of purchases are mainly smaller ticket items such as books and concert tickets. Does anyone expect someone to purchase a car over their phone? Most likely not; I sure don’t. But I do expect being able to view pictures of that car via a mobile website while shopping vehicles to make a difference. And for the retailers of those smaller ticket items, this is great news! Since they are traditionally smaller profit margin items, they rely on economies of scale. So, if they can increase the number of units being sold by selling through another avenue, then that is a great success! And since many smaller ticket items are impulse, making the purchasing process easier is a good, good move!

Any retailer asking if mobile internet, mobile websites, and M-Commerce are really going to play a part are already behind. Early adopters are on board and making money. Are you ready to play ball? We’re helping clients increase revenue everyday in this tough economy and we can help you, too.

At Let’s Text Together, we have an executive team with decades of marketing experience (both the selling and planning/buying sides of the desk) in newspaper, television, radio, web, interactive, search, and of course our firm’s specialty, mobile. Contact us today for a free marketing consultation. Check out all of the features we offer at Let’s Text Together Features.

Mobile Marketing Success: Best-in-Class companies are beginning to invest heavily and see success

According to new reports by CRM Buyer and Aberdeen (http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/Dialing-Into-Mobile-Marketing-68201.html), 71% of Best-in-Class companies indicate that mobile marketing is included in their other marketing/media buys. They also report that the technology is now living up to the hype, from SMS to mobile internet. Companies are finding a multitude of reasons to leverage mobile and are finding quantifiable success in each.

So you ask “How are the numbers stacking up?” The report finds that 65% of Best-in-Class companies are satisfied with their mobile marketing ROI and only 40% of Best-in-Class companies are satisfied with their traditional (radio, television, and print) marketing ROI.

We find the same in our firm. We help each of our clients quantify their results every month and continue to work on more productive campaigns. We will help you do exactly the same. Work with a leader in the mobile space and see the low cost/high results marketing you have been looking for.

At Let’s Text Together, we have an executive team with decades of marketing experience (both the selling and planning/buying sides of the desk) in newspaper, television, radio, web, interactive, search, and of course our firm’s specialty, mobile. Contact us today for a free marketing consultation. Check out pricing at our site: www.LetsTextTogether.com

Mobile Marketing Success Through M-Commerce

Here at Let’s Text Together we have started to see some very cool m-commerce campaigns happening…and paying for themselves hugely! As always, I try to share some information from sources other than myself and our clients. I read a great article recently on Entrepreneur.com (http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/ecommercesolutions/article203772.html). I especially like this article because it is from a business source, not marketing-specific website.

The articles biggest point was talking about growing e-commerce, specifically through m-commerce. The recommendations were to mobile your website, mobilize your existing customers, and close the deal. We recommend all of our customers build mobile websites as one element of their digital advertising and mobile marketing plans. The number of people using the mobile web is growing every day at a rapid pace; many still predict mobile search to surpass PC search by 2020. Get your website mobile. Then mobilize your current customers to ensure none are lost in the transition. For more great tips…email us and we’ll help you make money where your competitors aren’t, too.

At Let’s Text Together, we have an executive team with decades of marketing experience (both the selling and planning/buying sides of the desk) in newspaper, television, radio, web, interactive, search, and of course our firm’s specialty, mobile. Contact us today for a free marketing consultation. Email us at Sales@LetsTextTogether.com.

Mobile Internet Usage is Making Mobile Websites Quickly Necessary

At Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing, Inc. we have been talking with our clients for many months now about the rising importance of having a mobile website. And not the garbage work of some who filters your current website so that it looks okay on a mobile phone. Rather, a website built from the ground up specifically for mobile browsing.

People accessing your website on the go are looking for different information, in a different order, and don’t need all of your flash. In fact, they are even typing different terms into search engines to find your business and your competitors. If you don’t yet have a mobile-specific firm working on a mobile website and mobile search initiatives for you, it’s time to begin.

eMarketer predicts that by 2013, nearly 50% of mobile phone users will access the mobile Internet at least monthly (see graph at bottom). Along with rising smartphone shipments and increases in spending on mobile data plans, this will create a growing mobile content market. “The expected increases in mobile Internet users, mobile data revenues and smartphone sales will produce an environment in which users will be hungry for content,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “Mobile Content: Paid Models Take Shape.” “It is likely that mobile content will follow a trajectory similar to Web content

Let us help you by starting with a free, no-strings-attached marketing consultation. Visit us at www.LetsTextTogether.com to learn more about affordable and custom mobile marketing campaigns from one of the leading mobile marketing boutique firms. Also feel free to email us directly at sales@letstexttogether.com with any questions.

Email versus Mobile: Research Results

There was a fantastic article recently posted on the Mobile Marketing Magazine website (http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk/2009/10/sms-is-best-survey-finds.html). By no means do we feel mobile and email cannibalize each other. In fact, we encourage all of our clients to use both (although not with the same company) because they reach different consumers.

Forrester Consulting conducted the survey. They polled 312 marketing decision-makers and 760 internet users in August 2009. The findings were that 74% of marketers said they preferred to use SMS messaging as a marketing tool, while 44% of consumers said they would rather receive product information, etc. via SMS campaigns versus any other channel.

The study also concluded that UK companies are the best at harnessing multi-channel promotions to build a relationship with customers. What does this mean to Joe and Jan American Business Owner? That the playing field is wide open! We have already helped many of our clients step far in front of the competition.

SMS Marketing is becoming ever more affordable! Visit us at www.LetsTextTogether.com to learn more about affordable and custom mobile marketing campaigns from one of the leading mobile marketing boutique firms. Also feel free to email us directly at sales@letstexttogether.com with any questions.