There are more mobile devices in the United States than there are people! Mobile has a 102.4% penetration in the US. In 2014, there will be more than 2 billion smartphones globally. Marketing on mobile devices is growing at an exponential rate and you don’t want to be left behind!
However, before you go any further with mobile marketing you need to be aware of these common Mobile Marketing Mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Failure to aggressively build a database
Growing a database of current clients for future marketing is one of the most tried and true ways to grow revenues. It is easier and more cost-effective to market to your current customers and get them to buy more frequently and/or buy bigger ticket items.
Since the Stone Age people have been building a network of current clients and potential customers and sending them invitations, offers, VIP discounts and more. Initially these offers were sent via snail mail, then e-mail, and now directly to their clients’ phones.
So it all comes down to this. If you could have one piece of information from your clients today, what information should you want?
Home Address? Then, you could send them direct mail pieces that would have an open rate of less than 1.5% and would have a cost starting at 49 cents per piece. That amounts to almost $49 per opened piece of mail. In addition, people in America today move every 4.5 years which means a lot of the mail you send will not even be delivered.
E-mail Address? E-mail has proven to be one of the most cost-effective loyalty marketing campaigns any business can be a part of today. However, because of spam it is becoming less and less effective. Consider the following statistics:
• The e-mail address of your clients will change every three years.
• The best e-mail campaigns typically do not see higher than a 15% open and read-rate. 85% of the e-mail you send out are not even opened.
• Today only 37% of Americans are active e-mail users, checking their e-mail 3x or more per week.
Mobile Phone Number? The hands-down WINNER! Here are 4 reasons you can’t ignore mobile:
1. Your customer’s mobile phone number will likely be the same for the rest of their life due to mobile phone number portability. Americans routinely switch from one service provider to another and take their phone number with them.
2. When sending a promotion out to a database of mobile phone numbers, 98% of them are read! Americans read their text messages.
3. 92% of the US adult population have a cell phone that is capable of receiving text messages and over 84% are regular texters.
4. The final reason is the most important of all. At less than 5 cents per message, this is the least expensive marketing method available today, producing the greatest ROI.
You can connect with more of your customers through their mobile phone than e-mail, for far less money than direct mail, and with a better read rate and higher call to action than any of the others. It is imperative for any jewelry store to begin to build their database of mobile phone numbers today!
Today jewelry stores are reaching out to new customers in a variety of ways: radio, billboards, direct mail, social media, e-mail, etc. When these potential clients see or hear your message, they have to be ready to buy right then, which is unlikely.
However, when stores put the immediate call to action of “Text BUSINESS NAME to 72727” in the center of traditional advertising, it gives their customers and prospects an immediate way to engage with the ad, without committing to buying today. By texting you, they are providing you their permission to text them back and are automatically added to your database. You now have permission to market to them with timely messages over the coming years, driving them into your jewelry store.
2. Starting with a mobile website before you invest in your database
Another common mistake we continue to see all too often is the old adage, putting the cart before the horse. In this instance, it is building a mobile website prior to having a database to drive awareness that it exists.
Today there are 5 times as many people texting vs. using mobile websites. The common sense answer is simple. Build a mobile database today and increase sales with simple SMS (text) messages.
Then, with this growing database in hand, you can send messages to them to drive the other behaviors you are after. Then when you build a new mobile website, or have a desire to increase social network followers, the database can instantly be notified!
3. Not communicating with your database
Too many times we see jewelry stores making the fatal mistake of adding mobile to their marketing initiatives and then letting it sit unused. Far too often jewelry stores create a great Text2Win, Text4Coupon, or other mobile campaign to build their mobile database and then never promote to the database that they developed.
The key to a successful mobile marketing campaign is to simply utilize the database to maximize your store’s current objectives. Often times stores believe that mobile requires an entirely new marketing and communication plan – that they need to create new and different messages to send to this database, that the store has to coupon even more aggressively, or even offer greater discounts.
This is simply not accurate. The communication of text messages is simply another method for your store to stay in contact with your customers. You have information about upcoming sales, special offers, events, social networking, and more. Use this communication channel to support the other programs you are running and you will reap the rewards.
4. Leaving mobile marketing campaigns out of your advertising
Too often jewelry stores leave any mention of mobile off of their traditional advertising. They spend thousands in an effort to get in front of their consumers and then forget the final step. When you work so hard and pay so much to get the one exposure, get them to text in!
Mobile marketing is not just another program that needs to sit in the back seat while you promote your jewelry store and the products and services you offer. Mobile should be the tool that is your first line of offense!
A huge mistake jewelry stores are making today is not integrating mobile with all of their advertising and communications. Some lessons should have been learned a long time ago, yet we know history repeats itself.
Go ask any small business owner today about when they wished they had started building a direct mail or an e-mail database. They will tell you, “From day 1.”
Then ask them when they started building their mobile database. Tell them that it is day 846 – better get started!
Brad Simon is co-owner of Internet 4 Jewelers and specializes in Local Search Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Mobile Marketing exclusively for retail jewelry stores. You can contact him at 864-680-4416 or Brad@Internet4Jewelers.com. For more information on Mobile Marketing go to Mobile4Jewelers.com and download your Free Report.
