Mobile Marketing Tips for New Business Startups

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?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????There must be hundreds of tasks to do when you’re planning your new business startup. From carefully crafting your new website, to getting your location and office set up, it can be a bit mind-boggling by the end of the day. One of the best ways to market your business is via the net, and that includes having a mobile website that is optimized for smart phone users. This means that customers can quickly find you online, and find out what you can do for them in less than ten seconds.

Here are a few tips for helping the small business owner to get started with their mobile marketing website.

1. Who’s Your Target Market?

Right around when you had a vision for your company, you must have known exactly who would be purchasing your products or services. Once you put the business plan into play you likely had to tweak your plan to include a wider range of demographics. Keep this in mind when you create a mobile website. Products aimed at teens need to be catchier, while older people may appreciate a more conservative look.

2. SEO 

Likely you keep on hearing about search engine optimization. Be sure you utilize keywords on your website, and that your business is listed with the main search engines as well, so you show up on the Google map. Your customers may need map guidance to lead them to your door.

3. QR Codes

Either consumers use QR codes or they don’t. But as these special bar codes catch on, you may wish to take advantage of their benefits. You can add them to your marketing materials, signs, and packaging, and consumers can scan the code when they’re on the way to work, bus, or shopping, to get more information about your business on their smart phones.

4. Make An App

Many people worry that having a special app created specifically for their business is going to cost a lot of money. There is software that makes creating apps a snap, for a minimum investment.

5. Don’t focus on only mobile marketing.

While you can have special deals on your mobile website not available in-store or online, you must remember not to neglect the other portions of your market who still use a real computer, or prefer to make a telephone call to learn more information about a company. Keep focussing on your mobile marketing first, but make your products and services the second focus. If you have great products, word of mouth will spread, and consumers will be drawn to your business.

Start implementing these tips as soon as possible, so you won’t leave any customers out in the cold, when they go searching for you online. If you need help reaching your customers, or if mobile marketing is still a puzzle to you, contact Direct West Media Group, and we’ll be happy to help you out with your new business start up.

Start with a Mobile Site

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images-4Running a business can keep an entrepreneur busy, so oftentimes they won’t know where to focus their next marketing campaign. There are so many different aspects of business, including print materials, advertising, website updates, and signage. Let Direct West Media Group help you to wade through your inbox, and get you started with a mobile optimized website. A mobile site is designed to work on any iPhone, Android, Galaxy, smart phone or tablet device.

If you’ve ever surfed the net from your phone, you know how frustrating it can be at times. It takes forever for a site to load, and you may never be able to pinch everything down so you can view a page within the window of your device. What generally happens is that a consumer ends up leaving the site, before they ever find their information. One of the most negative aspects of online business is that your customer could end up visiting your competitor, as their online site has been mobile optimized.

For those smart business managers who have had someone set up a mobile optimized website for them, what it means is that a customer can visit their site from their mobile phone, and be pleasantly surprised at how well it works on their device. A mobile optimized website will be streamed down, and the home page will fit within the confines of your smart phone screen. Immediate contact information will be at hand, including a phone number and address. A basic list of products or services will be available from a submenu, which should pop up with only one click.

A mobile website may list specials and have coupons that may not be available on your regular business website. This will entice customers to visit your mobile site. When your customers see the great deals that they can get via your mobile site, they’ll remember to visit again and again. A mobile optimized site is like sending a mini flyer to all your customers, but instead of being through the mail, it’s online.

A mobile website is also simple and easy to update. Specials and coupons can be added and modified at will. Some types of businesses such as restaurants or service-oriented businesses such as lube and oil, or salons may have weekly deals that can be promoted on a mobile site.

Did you know that you don’t need a website first, to get started on a mobile site? You can start with a mobile website first, then once it’s done, you can have your own online site set up. Today, most people are using smart phones, and most likely will be looking up a business from their phone, and not an actual computer. With corporate policies in place, most office workers aren’t even allowed to surf the net, so they’ll reach for their smart phone first, before doing any web surfing.

If you’ve been wading through your inbox wondering where to get started on your marketing, give Direct West Media Group a call. We’ll help you to get started on your business mobile site today.

Do It Yourself Marketing or Not?

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manatcomputerAs a small business owner, one of the most neglected areas of your business is likely having a good marketing plan. For any number of reasons, you may have neglected to set up an advertising or marketing program for your business. Perhaps you’ve been too busy on other details of your business, or maybe you just don’t know where to start. Many businesses will place advertising on hold, as there’s not enough cash left in the monthly budget. But you could be doing your business a disservice by ignoring the marketing needs of your business.

Should you be trying do it yourself marketing or not? Here’s a few reasons why you should step back and hire an advertising and marketing professional instead.

Marketing professionals have access to market research that you do not. Several business firms focus only on online market research, and publish their findings each month. Marketing firms pay a subscription fee to have access to this information, and can pass on the information at a fraction of the cost to you.

It’s more than a matter of having access to online market research. It’s also a matter of analyzing the data, to see how it fits with your particular industry. Sure, you can receive a report full of numbers, figures, and graphs, but do you know how to read it, and do you even have the time?

Time is a big factor in how a business owner divvies up their daily schedule. There’s many demands on their time, from ordering supplies, to accounting, and handling staff. By the end of the day, there likely isn’t time to figure out where you should be advertising, or what marketing methods you should be trying.

What works for one particular type of industry may not work for another one. A billboard may be perfect for a hospitality type of business, but not do so well for a dog grooming business. Websites generally are the perfect fit for all types of businesses, and mobile sites work well for many businesses as well. There are also new marketing methods, such as social media advertising, and Google advertising that may be effective for your business. Traditional businesses may benefit from a Yellow Pages listing, whereas a progressive sort of business may bomb in the Pages.

There’s nothing wrong with your initial efforts when starting out marketing your business, but the more you want your business to succeed, the more you need to hire a marketing expert to attend to the special needs of your business.

Do it yourself marketing may be fine for when you’re just starting out, but after a few months of operation it’s time to call in the pros. Why sit around in an office waiting for the calls to come in, when you can hire a marketing expert who can take your business to the next level? Please contact Direct West Media Group Inc. about how you can make your business succeed in your particular market.