P.T. Barnum said it best: “Without promotion, something terrible happens…Nothing!”
Promotion is the life-blood of all businesses. If people are not aware of your business, they cannot buy from your business. Out of sight is out of mind.
You can promote your business by placing ads in newspapers, magazines, on Web sites, and through cable TV and radio stations. Money can be spent to create roadside billboards, bus stop ad signs, taxi cab ad signs, and so much more.
How can you effectively promote your business without using and paying for these expensive methods of advertising? How do you get customers to come back to your business?
You can do it by using mobile applications (a.k.a. apps) and text messaging.
The incentives to return to your business are discount coupons and special offers. You send coupons and offers not normally displayed at your place of business or Web site.
With a mobile app, customers with mobile devices gain immediate access to all the key information about a business.
Mobile apps provide more direct access to the information that a customer is more likely to need while away from home, the office, or in case of an emergency. Such as a business phone number, business hours, directions, menus, maps, sales events, etc.
There are plenty of mobile app creation companies out there that can create a mobile app for your business. Look for a company that can enable you to access your mobile app account whenever you want to make changes.
Look for a mobile app company that can enable you to broadcast messages through your mobile app account. Message broadcasting is a very important feature and it’s necessary to promote your business.
Once your mobile app is active and ready to use, tell your customers about your mobile app and ask them to download your mobile app to their mobile devices. Use your mobile app to offer special “mobile app only” discounts and offers that are not found at your place of business or Web site.
To promote your mobile app, create promotional items such as highly visible window and wall signs, or create small post cards, pens, stickers, or buttons to hand out to customers. Your promotional items should display the Web address to your mobile app’s download page and the incentive offer to download it.
Customers could use your mobile app to view and use a discount coupon at your place of business or online, stay informed of any sales, special offers, or news updates, and receive automatic updates through your mobile app.
Got a special sale tomorrow? With a mobile app, you could tell your customers about it today. If your mobile app can broadcast messages, you can create and update your sales message at any time of the day. This type of mobile app can enable you to send the sales alert to all the customers who have downloaded your mobile app to their mobile devices.
When you update your mobile app and broadcast a message, all the mobile apps that were downloaded are automatically updated as well and alerts are displayed to notify the customers of your mobile app update.
Mobile apps are great tools you can use to keep your customers well informed without breaking the bank on advertising costs. Customers can have direct access to your business without any interference from your competition.
Text messaging is another great tool to alert your customers of upcoming sales. You send text alerts to customers who have joined your text advertising subscriber list.
Before you build the list, you open an account with a text messaging service provider and create your first auto-responding text message. This message is sent to everyone who joins your list for the first time.
This message could be a greeting or a discount coupon the subscriber can use at your place of business or online.
Your text messaging service provider will enable you to create a keyword and will give you a numerical texting short code. Customers will use their mobile devices to text your keyword to the provided short code in order to join your list.
Once your account is set-up, you tell your customers about your list, and ask them to join it. Use this list to offer special “text only” discounts and offers that are not found at your place of business or Web site.
To promote your list, create promotional items to hand out to customers. Your promotional items should display the keyword and short code to join the list, as well as the incentive for joining your list.
When you have any important news or sales info to text to your customers, you simply log into your text messaging account and send one text message. The text message is then broadcasted to everyone on your list.
Having a slow business day? Send a discount coupon or special offer to everyone on your list. Many companies use text messaging to turn slow days into busy, profitable days.
When you use mobile apps and text messaging, you don’t have to spend time or money on direct mailings or other methods of advertising. With mobile apps and text messaging, you don’t have to wait days, weeks, or months to see results.
Why spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to promote your business when it’s less expensive to use mobile apps and text messaging to keep customers coming back for more? Mobile apps and text messaging are easy to use, can produce fast results, and are cost-effective marketing tools.
Charlie Morelli is a mobile Internet marketing consultant and Webmaster of 56 Web sites. One of those sites is CMMApps.com, a site that shows you how to create your own mobile apps. Want to reach your customers before your competition gets the chance to reach them first? Visit CMMApps.com to learn how to create a free starter mobile app for your business and how to set-up a text messaging account.
This article is copyright free.