Marketing is the single best investment a business owner can make … "if" it is done correctly. Most business activities cost something but do NOT make money. Marketing is one of the only activities that can actually generate revenue.

So the question becomes, "How should I be marketing?" The answer to this question will take on various forms but it should always include – "This is what works for my business."

One marketing medium that is paying off for many is mobile marketing. In fact, mobile marketing is crushing all other forms of media. Nearly all major corporations now have mobile marketing initiatives in place. Why? Because mobile marketing works!

We have become a global, mobile society. Smartphones and the mobile web now reach over 87% of Americans today. In the US, mobile subscribers send over 4 billion texts a day and according to Nielsen, texting has become the primary mobile communication channel in the U.S. The average mobile user now sends three times as many text messages per month as makes voice calls.

Text Messaging, or SMS (Short Message Service), is the workhorse of Mobile Marketing. Have you noticed that texting is everywhere? Think about it: How many text messages do you receive? Of those, how many do you ignore? Probably none.

When you hear a text hit your phone, it is almost impossible to ignore. You just have to see what it says. Don’t you? This is why texting is now the #1 use for mobile phones; more than calls, email, games, web-surfing, and social media … COMBINED.

The 5 main things to keep in mind when using mobile marketing solutions are:

1. Always be aggressively pursuing a database: Growing a database of current and potential customers for future marketing is one of the most tried and true ways to grow revenues. A business’s equity is in their database (and their relationship to that database).

2. Go after cross-marketing opportunities: No matter your particular business, there are other (non-competing) businesses in your marketplace that cater to the exact target demographic your company desires. Working together with them to cross-market your database can be a "game changer" for you.

3. Don’t focus on Apps and Mobile Sites before investing in a database: A common mistake that should be avoided is building a mobile website or app prior to having a database to drive awareness. Remember the old adage of "putting the cart before the horse?"

4. When communicating with database, always think about revenue ramifications: Often times, businesses believe that to use mobile marketing it requires an entirely new marketing and communication scheme. They sometimes feel a need to create new and different messages to target this database (or that they must coupon more aggressively). This is simply NOT the case.

5. Keep your mobile marketing out in the light: Too many times businesses make the fatal mistake of adding mobile to their marketing initiatives and then let it "sit off in the corner gathering dust." Even the smartest and more innovative companies place a mobile Call-to-Action on marketing collateral and then not promote to their database. Or worse yet, they leave some small Call-to-Action hidden on the tertiary pages of their website.

Mobile Marketing is not just another program that needs to sit in the backseat while you promote website traffic, new product awareness, or some new initiative. Mobile should be the tool that is your first line of offense! Never forget that mobile marketing is like social media, IT MUST BE MANAGED!

For a complementary eBook on "How to Steal Business from Your Competition Using Mobile Marketing," contact us today.