SMS Marketing is a fairly new type of mobile marketing that uses Short Message Service text messaging as a form of direct advertising, and it is usually directed to a company’s existing customer base. A typical SMS marketing campaign involves collecting mobile phone numbers, usually by customer opt-ins using a keyword sent to a short code, which adds their number to a messaging database. Once the numbers are collected, the marketer can easily design and create a series of promotional coupons and offers to send as one mass message to their customers. Although SMS Marketing is considered a trusted form of advertising, some marketers have used it as a channel for spamming. The Mobile Marketing Association however does have set guidelines that prevent spamming and using purchased lists of mobile phone numbers. It is advised to only send SMS text promotions to opt-in only subscribers who have given their consent to receive messages from you if you want to earn and gain their trust.
SMS Marketing is one of the newest and fastest growing types of marketing because if offers a low cost, high return on your investment; plus your target audience receives your valuable incentives, promotions and updates in real time. It is similar to email in cost, but offers much higher response rates as most mobile phone users open and view text messages no matter where they are and no matter what they are doing. Any business can benefit from text marketing offering a discount coupon to national brands engaging millions of customers. Studies have shown that mobile users like text messaging and as high as 95% of all texts are usually opened within five minutes, which is faster than email and other social media updates.
Visit Natimark.com for a customized SMS marketing campaign that will help you reach and engage an existing and potential customer base.

Mobile marketing is a very hot topic right now in industries across the board. Businesses have so many options to choose from including; apps, coupons, text messages, QR codes, or check-ins. It’s become a tool too powerful for businesses to ignore any longer. In the quick-service (QSR) industry it has become clear that more businesses are using mobile couponing to drive traffic and sales.

Cellit, a provider of mobile CRM systems and mobile couponing, published a study that said the most effective ways for QSR brands to engage customers was in a mobile rewards program, including subscriber acquisition, content, optimal timing, and trends. Some of the findings of the study include:

Subscriber Acquisition:
Leverage social media and email databases to convert customers to mobile
In-restaurant signage, and box-toppers for delivery/take-out
Integrate mobile call-to-action into existing advertising campaigns

Content:
The most compelling content for consumers to receive via mobile is a coupon:
Value deals (such as buy-one-get-one-free offers)
Offer free item for new subscribers
Provide discount off menu items
QSR industry coupon redemption rates average 23%
Include sweepstakes, contests, promotions, and announcements

Optimal Timing:
The best days to send text messages are weekdays
No more than 1 message per week
No less than 1 message per month

Future Trends Expected to Accelerate:
Coupon redemption
Near Field Communications (NFC): ex—Mobile wallet
Location Based Services (LBS)

In the end, marketing is all about consumer demand. If your customer is ahead of you in technology, how are you going to reach them? Mobile marketing opens up new opportunities for businesses to build their brand, engage the target audience, and enhance the overall customer experience. If your target audience is using mobile, you should definitely take advantage of it.

Contact Natimark.com for a complete custom mobile couponing marketing plan

Industry experts agree that the mobile web will be a leading breakout mobile channel in 2012 and will prove to be crucial for all brands. With more hands on more internet capable devices, a mobile web presence is becoming indispensable for business, entertainment, information and far more. Brands that are not participating yet need to have a plan, if they want to stay in the game.

According to statistics, more than 90% of mobile phones today have access to the mobile Web through a browser. HTML5 gives brands the capabilities that can be built into a mobile site. Jeff Hasen, chief marketing of Hipcricket, Kirkland, WA. Says; “My bet for breakout star is the mobile Web,” he said. “Black Friday and Cyber Monday have produced a tripling of activity and shows that we’re out of the early adopter phase.” According to PayPal, mobile payment volume on a global scale increased 516% on Black Friday and 552% on Cyber Monday. This proves that not only are consumers accessing the mobile Web more, but they are far more inclined this year than last to make purchases on mobile Web sites.

But there has been an ongoing debate regarding HTML5 versus mobile applications. According to Marci Troutman, CEO of Siteminis, Atlanta, she believes that the opportunity for brands on the mobile Web surpasses that of mobile apps. “I believe that the mobile Web will be the breakout mobile channel in 2012. Businesses are realizing that apps are for their dedicated customers and need to be more personal than just having an app that does the same functions as the mobile Web. Two years ago, the thought for some was, if customers didn’t have a phone that allowed them to have apps then it wasn’t worth the time to reach these customers, and businesses delivered up a degrading text/links scenario that was less than ideal just to check a box. The mobile Web is a good acquisition tool, while apps are more for cultivating existing, loyal customers.”

Steve Timpson, president of Siteminis, Atlanta says: “Use internal data to justify the investment – if your PC site is getting 6 percent or more engagements form a mobile device currently, you better have a plan in place to satisfy those customers with a reasonable brand experience. If the engagement is 10 percent or greater right now, you better run to exploit that customer and quickly, because the consumer will make the choice and vote with their dollar and if you don’t take care of them in mobile cyber space, guess what – someone else will – retail 101!”

For a complete customized mobile marketing plan, contact Natimark.com

Recent information from advertising associations and other research firms report that there is a huge value in including traditional direct mail in a multifaceted marketing campaign. Some companies have started relying more heavily on digital forms of communication, such as social media and email, but marketing professionals will tell you that forgetting about the physical channels could be a mistake.
Social media definitely is changing a lot of things, but it isn’t the answer to everything. It can be over relied on and it needs to be one important part of a wide, but strategic marketing campaign. Companies here and abroad are still spending more on social media campaigns, but combining the time and money spent on search, display, mobile and email advertising with the physical will bring much better results in the end.
Companies can increase their chances for success by adopting a direct mail solution to ensure they have the current data including, updated lists for names, addresses, and buying habits.
Natimark.com can customize a marketing plan that includes real-time information for a successful strategy that includes the digital and print.

“Tweens” are a rising demographic in the marketing world as they are defined as in-be-“tween” a child and a teenager. Understood as the 8-12 age-group, tweens grew up with computers and internet access, making them quite different from previous generations of pre-teens. In fact one-third of the 33.3 million tweens in the US own a mobile phone.
While they are physically still children, socially they are beginning to explore what it means to be a teenager. Tweens are becoming more sophisticated at a younger age, as they race to have the newest and coolest technology and style like their older peers and siblings. Their tastes and opinions are a strong influence on their parents, and their estimated $300 billion a year buying power should not be ignored. This is the ideal demographic list for retail, technology, online services, mobile phones, green aware products and more.
Tips for targeting
Know what drives Tweens- Part of a targeting strategy for tweens is knowing what motivates them to purchase.

The need to belong
The desire for power
More freedom from parents
The desire to have fun — sensory stimulation is key!
Test the waters first – Test your work on tweens before launching. They like being asked about their opinions, especially what they like and why, and they’ll be truthful if you ask how a product or service can be improved.
Find out how Natimark.com can create a custom “tween” demographic list for your business.

While most people have head the term SEO, do they really understand how it can help you increase your sales, while building a personal relationship with your clients? Some important things to remember and practice with SEO strategy are:
SEO is more than just technology and search engines, it is still about people and what drives them to buy. SEO copy should be written with specific keywords true, but it also needs to be focused on the audience, not just the speaker. Only worrying about your Google CTR, CPC and ranking, or if it’s “Likeable” on Facebook will not help you to reach your customers, or increase your conversion and sales. Set SMART goals; specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. It’s easy to get lost in the technology of marketing. Remembering that you are trying to influence a person to buy your product or service, not a computer can help you to realign your goals and strategy.

If you view your website like a valued salesperson and company representative, you may better understand how your customer sees you.

For a customized SEO marketing plan contact us at Natimark.com

Get serious about social media as a marketing tool. Ready or not, it’s here to stay. Even if your customers and potential clients are not participating yet, they will be. The search benefits are enormous if you understand that consistency, keywords, data and links are driving the traffic of social media, and if you do it right, you’ll drive them right to your door.

Establish measurable benchmarks. Marketing and customer care are the terms you should be focusing on. Your customers are becoming more accessible via; direct mail, email, Facebook, and mobile at the same time as being more evasive than ever before via; guarded email, do not call, do not track, spam blockers, and blocked calls. If you don’t have measureable benchmarks, it is impossible to obtain accurate data of the effectiveness of your marketing and customer care efforts.

Customer care is a marketing tool. In fact it is the only way to differentiate your business from the global economic competition, and establish trusting relationships with your key clients. Aligning your service with customer expectations improves loyalty and it reduces your costs. But make sure you KNOW what they want and expect, do not GUESS.

For a customized social marketing plan contact us at Natimark.com

Verizon Communications announced it has changed its privacy policy to build a marketing program that uses consumer data to place targeted advertisements online. The program will launch later this year and according to Bill Kula, director of media relations at Verizon, it will provide advertisers with consumer records of website visits, cell phone usage locations, demographics information and interests.
Direct Marketing News dmnews.com received a copy of the email notice that Verizon consumers received on Sept. 26 detailing the program. According to Verizon, they will use consumer addresses to determine whether a consumer resides in a local area that an advertiser is trying to reach. Kula said the program will not provide advertisers with specific information about individuals or their residences. He also said that the notification message contained a link enabling consumers to opt out of the program.
Kula believes that receiving more local and relevant advertising to be a great value to their customers while still adhering to a strong privacy policy that prohibits the sharing of personally identifiable information. Kula added that Verizon has yet to notify all Verizon Wireless and Broadband customers. It is unclear whether Verizon’s new program includes a partnership with brands but Kula did mention that Verizon is “working with a number of entities who will help us with our advertising initiative.”
Targeted marketing is a growing and changing entity, and staying on top of the new consumer who is now reachable 24/7 is something that companies need to be aware of as they identify and reach their targeted consumer.
Reaching today’s consumers requires an intelligent and informed marketing strategy. Let Natimark customize a marketing plan unique for your business with real time information and analysis.

Facebook recently announced they are launching a small business education program, to show businesses how to optimize their individual pages and to use its ad program to effectively target customers. Facebook.com

The social-media giant is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business to conduct an outreach to the small-business community. The program is to include, webinars, case studies and tips, and they intend to sponsor a series of road shows in cities across the country to promote its Small Business Boost. Facebook will also award a $50 ad credit to 200,000 businesses, amounting to $10 million in free advertising.

According to an eMarketer report, 44% of small- and medium-sized businesses used social media as a marketing tool in August, and 59% spent less than $100 on social-media marketing.
“We know that small businesses who use web technology grow more than twice as quickly, bring in twice the revenue, and create twice the jobs as small businesses who don’t,” said David Fischer, Facebook’s VP-Advertising and Global Operations. He said 9.2 million small businesses in the U.S. have pages on Facebook, but only 3.2 million of those pages have active engagement. (Some pages exist essentially as shells, created by user signals on the social graph and without action taken by the business owner.)
“You want to be in front of [people] — maybe it’s a few times a week you’re posting a few sentences, talking about what’s going on,” said Mr. Fischer, noting that engagement is key for small business owners. “In most cases it’s not a matter of this being particularly complicated.”

Facebook itself generates as much as 60% of its ad revenue from its self-serve platform, according to an eMarketer report from January. Mr. Fischer says there’s an internal awareness at Facebook that the company’s tools could help stimulate economic growth and noted that Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is a member of President Obama’s jobs council. “We spend a lot of time thinking about how we can work with small businesses, and we know we have tools that can help them effectively,” he said.
Adage.com

Small businesses can really benefit from targeted marketing, which directs their dollar to the right customer and eliminates the high costs of mass marketing. Social networking marketing can also give you a more personal relationship with your customer, thereby increasing their trust in you. The more you know who your customer is, the more customized your marketing strategy will be.
Contact Natimark.com for a complete customized marketing plan that is just right for your business.

Knowledge of today’s key marketing terms can be overwhelming, but they are critical to helping you decipher consumer desires, needs, beliefs and actions as they relate to purchasing behavior, and your product or service. Targeted market research involves data collection and analysis, resulting in information that identifies your key clients, and helps you develop, brand and market your product or service.
Focus groups
Focus groups are a form of research where small groups of people are asked their opinions, ideas and attitude towards new products, services, concepts, and packaging . Focus groups allow you to “test” a product, or concept before it’s made available to the general public, which can provide valuable insight into potential market acceptance.
Ad testing
Ad testing is a type of research generally done to measure the effectiveness, and perception of ads in a given market. Ads can be tested in a variety of media, including print, television and radio.

Usability testing
Usability testing focuses on researching and evaluating the criteria for a product such as ease of use, intended use, and clarity of instructions. This type of testing is performed most effectively by simple observation.

Mystery shopping
Mystery shopping is a form of market research that uses “shoppers” posing as normal customers to measure the levels and quality of service. This is most effective at the retail level in measuring the opinions and attitudes towards the product quality and the staff’s use and level of customer service.

Consumer panels
These are select groups of consumers from specific sectors who answer research questions relating to things such as product testing, taste testing and ad testing. They are most useful for quick surveys in which a specialist, rather than a probability sample, is preferred.

Intercepts
Intercepts are short consumer interviews typically conducted in shopping malls, retail stores, theme parks or any location where large numbers of a target group are likely to be found.
Any one of these research ideas or a combination of them can help your business to get the best RO.I By effectively targeting your ideal customer and having consumer opinions before you go into full scale production is critical to smart marketing and your bottom line.

Contact Natimark.com today for a customized marketing plan