Mobile Marketing tips for Small Businesses
by: Chris Smith
Welcome to the next frontier in marketing – wireless or mobile marketing, also known as m-commerce.
Analysts predict that 2005 will be the year that mobile marketing really takes off and that companies will take advantage of this medium in much the same way as they did in the early days of the Internet.
>>>>The benefits of mobile marketing
The key benefits of mobile marketing are clear to see. Most mobile users carry their phone or keep it within easy reach at all times, which means that mobile marketing offers a very personal way for marketers to communicate their message to customers. Messages are almost guaranteed to be read, unlike e-mail marketing or direct mail. It also allows companies to build a relationship with their customers, track preferences and highly target their marketing.
>>>>And the dangers
There are of course dangers in using such a personal medium and a badly thought-out mobile marketing campaign could easily be considered intrusive and cause the sender to alienate or lose customers.
>>>>Can any business do it?
Is mobile marketing just for big companies then or can small businesses do it too?
If you are a small business person then the good news is that mobile marketing is a technique that companies of every size can employ. There are of course several points you need to consider before embarking on your first mobile marketing campaign.
>>>>What technology is involved?
The options available to you are primarily WAP and SMS. WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is essentially a cut down version of a web browser that enables people with WAP enabled mobile phones to access very basic versions of web pages.
SMS stands for Short Messaging Service and is also known as text messaging or texting and allows mobile users to send and receive text messages of up to 160 characters long. Most small businesses will find it easier to use text messages to communicate with their customers rather than WAP.
>>>>Mobile marketing – how do I do it?
What does a small business need in order to carry out a mobile marketing campaign?
Firstly of course you need to get your customers to agree to disclose their mobile numbers (they must opt in to receiving messages via their mobile phones in order for you to comply with privacy and distance selling regulations).
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Mobile Marketing tips for Small Businesses
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About The Author
Chris Smith is involved with Mano Design ( http://www.mano-design.com ) - a Vancouver design and marketing agency and is also a freelance copywriter.
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