Calling out the online marketing avenues that have been the most ineffective for some small businesses and why.
If you’re regularly sending emails to your customers, then you might already know the value of email campaigns. With a low capital outlay required and a high potential for return on investment, email is one of the lowest-cost marketing mediums you can employ. There are, however, special considerations for email marketers hoping to capture the attention of users viewing their emails on mobile devices. If you don’t how many of your recipients are viewing emails in this way, then you could be missing out on sales from a critical segment of the population. By following the simple tips below, you’ll engage mobile users and convert them into buyers — thus broadening your customer base beyond the traditional email inbox. Offer both HTML and text versions of your emails. This is the simplest way to ensure that all users are able to view your messages. Survey recipients from time to time to determine their preferences for either HTML or text emails. Restate your offer or subject line within the body of the email, preferably as the first line of the message, right before “If you can’t view this message, click here.” Users will be more likely to read and act on your message if they can instantly understand your offer. Side note: Make sure your subject line is concise and that it clearly conveys your offer. Track responses. Measure which recipients are opening your messages on mobile devices, and segment them into a special group if they represent a significant portion of your audience. Incorporate social media. Customers who use smartphones likely access Facebook and Twitter and would be interested in following you on these social mediums. Include your social media URLs or icons on every email so that you’ll build a social media fan base. With consumers increasingly using their smartphones to access information, mobile marketing must be a key element of your email marketing campaigns. The good news is, it doesn’t take much to incorporate it into your business strategy and begin reaping the rewards.
The world of technology is ever-changing. New ideas are emerging in the marketplace each day. Here are a few of the promising technologies you should expect to be using for your business in the near future. QR codes A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by QR bar code readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, URL or other data. QR codes are popular in Asian countries and are gaining ground in the US. They are being used in many ways to convert print advertising into foot traffic.Today you can create a Facebook “like” button using QR codes. In no time at all, you should expect creating coupons and business cards with QR codes. Mobile based payment Mobile banking is common place and now cell phone are charging forward to replace your wallet. Many companies are working on products that will allow cashless cardless purchases. Visa has a contact-less iphone based payment system called In2Pay and is working on a system to make payments by waving the phone at checkout. Starbucks has an app that allows its patrons to use iphones for payments. Google along with Citi and Mastercard has Google Wallet which facilitates funds transfers by tapping the cell phone. Given the foray of big companies in the world of mobile based payment you should expect to see more of your customers paying you through their phone. Cloud Computing Simply put it is the ability to use any web-friendly device connected to the Internet to access/borrow computing power, storage, applications and files from the internet.Cloud services are pay per use software and/or hardware. You would no longer need to purchase licenses for the software you need nor would you have to worry about data back up. Most of the prominent players in the software industry like Google, Microsoft offer cloud based services. Salesforce.com offers many apps for small businesses on pay per use basis. This technology in conjunction with tablets will take the place of your PCs,Macs and Laptops. Tablets The new breed of tablets that are making it to the market are competing head on to provide all the capabilities of a laptop. In a tussle of companies to offer more than a web surfing device the consumer is the clear winner. The latest addition to the tablet features is an USB port that should allow easy transfer of data between devices and enable printing capabilities. Battery life is steadily improving too. That said you would soon be doing everything from your business checklists to your taxes on the go with your tablets. Personalized TV Advertising Personalization on the internet is now an expectation and now the same technology is set to make into our homes. Personalized TV ads allows different households to be shown different advertising in real time. The advertisement shown will be chosen based on the tracking information gathered from the internet and other traditional tracking sources.Although I expect this technology to have a higher price tag than the rest of the upcoming technologies mentioned in this article, it still needs a mention because of its reach and inevitability.And also because it could open up national television for local advertising. Adoption of these technologies can give a boost to your business.
Conduct your own competitive analysis from your customers' perspective. Knowing and understanding what the customer sees is the most important competitive anlaysis you can do.
