Hit Your Audience Where They Live With These Phone Marketing Strats

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When it comes to the most effective methods of marketing, then one question that must always be considered is: where are you going to find most of your audience? The demographics can change the answer to some degree, but the one device that’s already nearly ubiquitous and only growing more common in use is the smartphone. So, what are the options available to you when it comes to reaching your mobile audience, and which are worth looking more closely at?

Mobile websites

In 2018, over half of all website traffic across the globe was generated through mobile devices, with the smartphone being the most common option of them all. As such, you need to consider your mobile users when designing your website. Invest in a responsive website that ensures content is laid out in a way that’s more pleasing to mobile users. You can have a mobile version of your website that doesn’t have as many elements, simplifying both the content and the layout so that people browsing by thumb can navigate it just as easily as people who are on a desktop or a laptop. People are only going to be more likely to use mobile websites as time goes on, so this one is a must.

Apps

Not every business needs a mobile app, but if yours can make use of it, then it’s almost always worth investing in. There may be parts of your service that you are able to convert to online steps, such as making an order or getting a quote. However, when you’re considering an app, you also need to consider how likely a customer is to return and repeat visits to your store or business. People aren’t going to install an app for a service they’re only likely to use once a year. However, if you can convince them to install an app, then they will have a constant reminder of your brand on their phone, making them more likely to become a repeat customer in the first place. Consider developers like WillowTree if you think your business could benefit from an app.

Texting

Though it has been superseded in some respects by online messaging software, the text is still the most widely recognized way to communicate on a smartphone. It’s certainly a lot more common with younger demographics than calling. With services like Drop Cowboy, you can make use of this popular platform to reach a huge range of your customers at once. This is known as a text blast and it can be highly effective. You can also make use of shortcodes that people can follow through text easily to access content or services. It works well as a convenient and quick way of delivering a call-to-action.

Cold-calling

Certainly one of the more contentious methods of marketing via phone, cold calling has existed well before the smartphone but has grown no less popular since then. If you have a lot of leads that you would like to reach, then one of the biggest benefits of cold calling is that you will reach a lot of people, and you may be likely to convert some of them. Similarly, cold calling can be done from anywhere, so you can cut the costs of marketing by having people do it remotely. However, the biggest downside of remote calling is that it’s annoying. For as many people as you win over, you can lose customers as well, so be careful.

Voicemail

There is a way to reach people by calling them and getting in touch, voice-to-voice, but without being as annoying as cold calling is. This is one of the biggest benefits of ringless voicemail. As the name implies, this means that your call goes through directly to the customer’s voicemail without ringing them once. As such, you can leave a message that they can get to in their own time. People are more likely to check their voicemail than they are to accept a call from an unknown number, as well. With ringless voicemail, you put the ball in the customer’s court, allowing them to decide whether or not to engage with the brand in their own time, which means you’re not interrupting or bothering them.

Local targeting

If you’re using online smartphone methods of marketing to your customers, such as having them download an app or visit your mobile website, then you could also leave a lingering influence that reaches them in the real world. You can ask them to enable notifications to come through the phone for instance. As such, when the customer is in the vicinity of any of your stores or locations, they will get a notification. You can even customize it so that you can offer them a discount or deal for having the app or for having your mobile website notifications enabled. This is known as geofencing and is one of the most effective ways of using the smartphone’s location to target your customers locally.

QR Codes

Geofencing uses the mobile nature of the smartphone to blend the digital world with real-life locations. QR codes do that too but in a much more versatile way. VR codes can be printed in magazines, on brochures, on posters and billboards, even painted onto things. When someone scans the QR code with their phone, it acts as a hyperlink that redirects them to a website or an app. They have proven effective for guerilla marketing, as people tend to follow their curiosity when they see a QR code they don’t know the logic for. However, you can partner with teams like QR Stuff to create QR codes for pretty much any kind of purpose. They work as another type of call-to-action.

Deciding to hit your audience on their phones is one thing. Figuring out how to do it is another. Hopefully, the guide above gives you some options to consider and helps you decide which one best suits your business as well as the time to marketing or messaging you’re trying to achieve.

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