3 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Mobile Marketing Efforts

More companies are starting to deploy mobile marketing technologies as part of their mobile marketing efforts. Unfortunately, many are committing mistakes in their efforts to rush to market their products and services over mobile devices. Listed below are three of the most common mistakes I see committed by some businesses trying to deploy mobile marketing technologies.

1. Not having a mobile strategy

Many companies and businesses are running around trying to deploy the latest mobile marketing technologies to market their businesses without having either the slightest idea of what the technology is or what it will provide them. There are several mobile technologies that can be used by businesses but that doesn’t mean that they should use each of those technologies. Why? Because not every technology will fit every business in every situation. Every business needs to review the goal that they are trying to accomplish first before anything else is considered. The goal will provide direction and what technology will be utilized. This all develops from a mobile strategy. Every business must have a mobile strategy first which will include the goal that they wish to accomplish. A mobile strategy will provide a vision and guidance and will direct the small business in their mobile marketing efforts. A mobile strategy will allow the business to deploy mobile technologies via tactics to reach their end goal. A mobile strategy is similar to a map which provides an overall view of what the business wants to accomplish. The absence of a mobile strategy is similar to driving a car without a map. You may get to your ultimate destination but you will make numerous mistakes and it will take longer to get there. A mobile strategy will also allow a business to adjust its strategy as they go along to keep the goal in arms length.

2. Not having a mobile optimized web site

Today, it is absolutely necessary to have a mobile optimized website. If a business does not have a mobile optimized website, then they are leaving a lot of money on the table. Period. They are losing revenue, profits and new customers along with many other things. Yet, I continue to see some businesses without an optimized website. Some of these business owners believe that their website is fine and that they don’t need to spend the additional money to optimize their site. But the truth is that they are losing more money than they would spend on the optimization of their existing website. Other business owners state that their business is running just fine and that an optimized website is unnecessary. I have spent some time with many small business owners and have successfully convinced them the importance of a mobile optimized website and have also converted them to believers by demonstrating to them the importance of the optimized website and more importantly showing them the numbers on how a mobile optimized web site can increase foot traffic to their business and eventually increase revenue to their business. That usually makes them a firm believer but it takes time. Ultimately, the see the advantage of having a mobile optimized website.

3. Not building a customer database.

One of the most important things that a business can do with mobile marketing is to build a customer database. I’ve heard from several businesses that building a customer database takes time and man power. While I don’t deny that, I believe that it doesn’t take as much time and effort as many believe. There are several software choices that assist business owners in this. But it is very important nonetheless. Many businesses engage in mobile marketing but need to build a customer database via either e-mails of cell phone numbers. Why? Because a small business can market to these database customers on a continuous basis over a period of time. We all know how difficult it is to get new customers which is why we continue to market. But a customer in our database is a fan of our business or service and marketing to them will allow us to meet our revenue goals and build relationships with them. We can use e-mail marketing, SMS / MMS messaging or QR codes to reach our customers and have them submit their e-mail of cell phone number in exchange for an offer. Once we have that e-mail or cell phone number, small business owners can continue to market to them via those channels which in turn will increase our revenue and strengthen the relationships. A customer database is very important to build and I believe every small business owner needs to deploy mobile marketing technologies to build this database.