mobileStorm\’s Digital Marketing Executives are highly experienced in targeting technologies, including SMS/text, mobile marketing, and email. The following is written by Elyse Rossler. Feel free to contact her with any questions.

\”Brick and mortar\” retailers with or without a strong online retail presence are turning to text messaging to drive customers through the front doors. For many retailers, an online presence has been simple product lists, online catalogs, or perhaps directions on a website. It\’s hard to cut through the noise –and expense – competing with the wholly online retailers to get your message out to buyers through the Internet. They just spend too much.

But over the last 12 to 18 months I\’ve seen scores of success stories from retailers using guerilla marketing tactics with SMS/text messages. They can beat out the big budget online marketers by using text messaging to leap-frog internet marketing. One of my favorites is the \”secret sale\” promotion.
With in-store signs or print ads, ask customers to join your \”mobile club.\” In return, you agree to update them on specials and discounts that only they receive.

We all love special status. Your customers love it, too!

You can easily tie your promotions in with mobile coupons to accurately track the success of your mobile programs, and do so separately from your other advertising.

How about costs? Text messaging cost is literally pennies to send each highly targeted message, and the open rates are above 90 percent! How is that for precision targeting and ROI? Imagine that the next time you send a direct mail piece and are waiting for the surge into your store!

Companies may think that SMS (the technical term for text messaging) is only for the \”younger generation,\” and that if you\’re selling to a demographic with significant representation of people ages 18 to 35, SMS is the best way to reach them. After all, adoption of SMS in this group is well over 85 percent in the United States.

But think again. What generation loves coupons the most? You got it: The older generation! Give this consumers an incentive to text-in and join your mobile club for discount coupons, and you will receive a flurry of responses. Users from age 35 to 65 text; depending on who you talk to, adoption ranges between 22 percent to 43 percent. Some of your best prospects are sending texts right now!

Whether you are a Fortune 500 company or just Tom\’s Crab Shack in a small town, you can benefit from this great marketing tool. The key is to build your customer base, one number at a time!

-Elyse Rossler, Sales Director, mobileStorm. Email me at elyse@mobilestorm.com or call me at 1-818-465-6531