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Consumer Focused Mobile Marketing Drives Profits

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A recently released survey by Web.com on small business mobile usage revealed that 84% of small businesses that use mobile marketing have seen an increase in business. But before you jump blindly into mobile marketing, you need to craft a strategy that will most effectively leverage your resources to increase profits.

To know how to effectively reach your target consumers, you need to understand their wants and needs. If you have regular customers, you can ask them what they would like to see on your mobile website, if they are interested in mobile offers and what they feel your business is lacking in terms of marketing.

Another good way to analyze your mobile marketing needs is to see how browsers of your full website navigate your site. You can use free tools such as Google Analytics to see which links are most often clicked on or try a low cost ($9/month) service such as CrazyEgg.com. CrazyEgg creates a heatmap of your site that will show you what parts of your site people hover on and click on, even if they are not links.

Even if you only sign up for an analytics service for one month, this should give you an idea of what people are looking at on your full site – this should give you some ideas of what to include on your mobile website. If you offer discounts or disclose pricing on your website and see heavy activity there, this can be an indication that mobile coupons and offers would be greeted eagerly.

By looking at what areas of your full site generate the most action, you can refine your mobile marketing strategy to be most efficient. For instance, restaurant websites may see a lot of action on their online menu or delivery/takeout options. Dry cleaners may see more action on their price list areas. Based on the analysis, you can design your mobile website interface to get the consumer quickly to their area of interest.

Equally as important, you can eliminate from your mobile marketing program, the portions of your full website that aren’t seeing any action. This will streamline your marketing approach. As well as considering your standard website browsing activity, think about what people ask when they are in your establishment and what they want to know when they call. Your mobile web presence should be designed to provide all of the information people seek via all of your communication channels. Here’s what you are likely to find:

  • Callers may ask your days/hours of operation
  • Callers may ask about special events
  • Callers may ask about discounts or promotions
  • Callers may ask about your inventory/menu/services
  • Callers may ask for directions or landmarks to find your establishment

Once you’ve accumulated all of the input, you can devise a mobile marketing strategy that will meet all these needs using an easy-to-navigate format that will get them the information they need with the least clicks and least hassle possible.

When you meet the needs of potential customers by giving them a positive mobile web experience, you greatly increase the odds of them transacting with you. And if you don’t meet those needs, the results will be less in your favor. If your mobile website doesn’t load correctly or rapidly, 33% of mobile web users will immediately click off of your website and look to your competition and 57% of people will not recommend your business due to an unfavorable web experience.

So by all means, establish a mobile marketing plan for your small business, but be sure to do your pre-work rather than jumping in blindly – remember the customer is what matters!

How to Use LinkedIn to Grow Your Business

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With more than 100 million users, LinkedIn is among the most influential social media networks for business professionals today. According to LinkedIn press, more than 2 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages, which shows that businesses all over the world are starting to see the power in this network.

LinkedIn provides the perfect platform for businesses to connect with other businesses, as well as potential clients or customers.

LinkedIn is not only for the big fish; it is equally useful and effective for small companies because it offers great tools, such as groups which assist in the much needed “networking” aspect of business.

Here are 3 reasons LinkedIn can be extremely effective for small businesses:

  1. Company Pages – Similar to Facebook Fan Pages, LinkedIn Company Pages allow businesses to set up a profile on the network. These profiles contain general information about business, such as their products, services, employee information, owner information, etc. Be sure to fill out all of the fields to give a thorough description about what your company and what it has to offer.
  2. Easy to Make Connections – All of the LinkedIn features, such as sharing, messaging, connections, and groups, make it easy for businesses to connect with others. In fact, it’s one of the best online sites available when it comes to “networking.” Unlike other social networking platforms that are all about connecting with “consumers,” LinkedIn is known for connecting businesses with “like-minded business owners.” Again, networking with fellow businesses in your industry – as well as other industries – can add a lot of value to your own company.
  3. More Search Engine Exposure – As you know, one of the most effective ways to capture the attention of local consumers is by coming up in the results for search terms related to your industry. LinkedIn pages are ranked in the search engines, which is another reason your business should establish a presence on this network. There’s no such thing as “too much” exposure, so LinkedIn is another web property you can utilize to gain more visibility in the search engines.