Gain More Business By Embracing Smartphone Shoppers

Businesses can gain more customers through mobile marketing. The majority of the U.S. adult population owns a smartphone and uses it to go online. A recent study conducted by Thrive Analytics reviewed how people were using their smartphones during the shopping experience. They focused on four main age groups ranging from 18 to retirement age,and the results were fairly surprising. Regardless, of how old the consumer is, the majority of them are using a smartphone to compare prices and look for discounts. By incorporating coupons and offers into your mobile paid search campaign, you can capture additional market share, even if the consumer happens to be at your competitor’s location.

The Importance of Mobile Marketing

Your website needs to be either mobile friendly or have a responsive design, which is easier to read on a smartphone. If you have a traditional website only, any mobile paid search ads will have a high bounce back rate because consumers won’t be able to read your content when they land on your website. Once you have an effective mobile website it is time to create your mobile marketing strategy. Determine how you will reach consumers on their mobile phones while they are shopping. This should be a combination of excellent SEO to improve your organic search ranking and paid advertisements.

Local Marketing Tips

When consumers are using smartphones to find information, they need to access it quickly. There are several things you can do to provide easy access to your store, current specials, and promotions.

• Google Local Directory. Your store should be listed in all of the search engines local business directory. This will include your location, phone number, website, hours of operation, and reviews that feed in from other sources. This gives users the opportunity to get directions to your store from their current location with one click. This is an extremely effective way to improve your organic search results.

• Reviews. Create a profile on all of the local review sites. Many shoppers will look at reviews while shopping or determining where to go next.

• Information Sharing. You can confidently tie a special offer to a user’s willingness to share information. Depending on the age, 62 to 71 percent are willing to share their location information in order to get a special offer or discount. You can offer a second discount in exchange for them receiving your advertising text messages. Statistically 37 to 52 percent of users are willing to do this so considered creating a layered offer.

The Statistics Speak

The numbers paint a clear picture. If you are a local business, you must have a local platform. If you don’t, you will lose business opportunities across all age groups. In fact, 69 percent of seniors used their smartphone in the store, all the way up to 97 percent of those ages 18 to 29. The largest reason for using their phone in the store is to compare prices and look for discounts. Out of those shoppers, 37 percent of seniors and 65 percent of Gen Y are willing to leave their current store and go to another one if they find a better deal. Your mobile marketing campaign needs to help you retain in store shoppers and capture new ones. Run discounts through a paid search campaign to make sure that the competition doesn’t steel our customers away.