How to tap mobile commerce (SMS marketing) to sell via cell phone
Add this to the changing face of how commerce happens: More and more, it’s going mobile. Many small businesses are already using mobile marketing to spur sales, from pizza parlors, health clubs and local retailers, to real estate agents and home-based entrepreneurs.
Buying and selling via mobile devices – mainly cell phones – is accelerating rapidly in the U.S., according to findings by The Nielsen Company. Nearly 10 million U.S. mobile subscribers have already used their cell phone to pay for goods or services. No surprise that young adults (ages 25-34) are most likely to have made a purchase using their phone – about 5.4 percent of that group, compared to 3.6 of all mobile subscribers.
Websites designed specifically for mobile users are one popular way that consumers make purchases by cell phone. The “mobile web,” which basically means people browsing the web on their portable devices, has mushroomed. Here are the trends you should know:
1. Between '07 and '08, the number of shoppers who made a mobile web purchase jumped 73 percent, according to Nielsen.
2. eBay is the most popular destination on the entire mobile web, with some 3.4 million unique visitors monthly.
3. Buying via text messaging is another fast-growing form of mobile commerce.
4. Some services let consumers send text messages to a phone number or mobile short code (a number that works only via cell) in order to charge goods or services directly to their mobile phone bills. Already, 6.5 million U.S. mobile users say they’ve used texting to buy something.
One example: Milwaukee, WI-based Pizza Shuttle now offers a text message club (“Text Msg Club” in texting shorthand), that will text message subscribers up to four discount offers monthly. The effort nabbed 400 signups the first week alone.
Business.com's "What Works for Business" blog is a great way to keep up with the latest solutions, trends and strategies for small and medium business -- including business technology and Internet news.
These solutions can get you started in mobile marketing:
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Work with mobile marketing experts
The key to success is helping consumers trust that their mobile transactions are safe, affordable and efficient. One way to do that is to work through a mobile marketing firm that can help guide you.
I recommend: The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is non-profit membership group of companies involved in mobile marketing, including agencies, advertisers, device makers, retailers and service providers. Their website has lots of case studies (find them on the home page) and access to solution providers. The 28-page Mobile Marketing Guide (pdf) appeared as a special section in Advertising Age magazine.
Stay ahead of the mobile marketing curve
It's a new and fast-growing field, so keeping up with the latest tools and tactics is crucial.
I recommend: Mobile Marketer is an online publication that has all the latest news and developments in the mobile marketing field. It’s a terrific place to see just how other businesses are using mobile tactics to woo prospects, drive sales and foster engagement.
Use solutions geared to your size company
Many big companies have been first adopters of mobile marketing technology, and mobile marketing firms are often geared to enterprise level solutions. By a growing number offer help for smaller businesses.
I recommend: Cellit Mobile Marketing provides a wide range of mobile marketing solutions for both large and small companies. For smaller companies, they offer ways to self-manage a mobile marketing campaign and monitor the results. With Cellit Studio, business owners can create trackable mobile marketing campaigns that include text-for-info, contests and games, text-to-win, CRM programs and customized appointment reminders, among others. CouponZap lets you create mobile coupons. They also have specialty solutions, such as House4Cell that lets real estate agents text property information to clients.
Get a "short code" for receiving SMS text messages
Short Codes are short mobile phone numbers (five or six digits in the US) to which consumers can send SMS Text Messages, from their cell phones.
I recommend: Common uses of shortcodes include alert services, business contests, coupons, and opt-in marketing lists. Shortcodes make it easy for consumers to respond to and engage with your advertising and marketing programs. Club Texting and GoMoText are two wireless promotions firms that offers short code services.
Target mobile customers globally
If you aim to reach potential buyers outside the U.S., there are services that can help.
I recommend: AdMob bills itself as a complete mobile advertising marketplace. They offer ways to target customers in 160 countries through the mobile web. This young Silicon Valley firm already serves up billions of targeted ads to mobile devices monthly.
Combine your electronic efforts in a single send
MobileStorm offers an online platform where you can combine various marketing forms all in one place, including email, sms, voice, rss, video and fax.
I recommend: With MobileStorm SMS (Short Message Service), you can quickly become a moble marketer by sending alerts, coupons, polls and even manage event attendance.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Surcharges and restrictins imposed by cell carriers can make mobile campaigns challenging. Working through third-party vendors canhelp.
- Mobile "short codes" let people sign up directly for something from their phones. You can buy or rent such a 5- or 6-digit number for sending and receiving texts. Some businesses now publish such codes on billboards or in print ads with a call to action.
- The most common form of mobile ad is a display banner that appears on the cell phone screen. Such ads are created
source: business.com
