MediaSalesToday
Monday, Oct 10, 2011
by Kathy Crosett
During last week’s Local Mobile Advertising Conference, hosted by Borrell Associates in Chicago, attendees heard from industry experts and platform providers. The buzz grew about local mobile opportunities. But what made the conference real for most audience members was the panel discussion by small business owners and their honest talk about how they advertise and what they really think about media sales reps and mobile.
For the folks who run Santa’s Village, an amusement park based in the Chicago area, advertising is seasonal. The business operates from early spring to late fall. Their ad budget, at $140,000 a year, has typically been spent on traditional media. This season, the company began a mobile marketing campaign with American Marketing and Publishing. The goal of the program was to build a list of followers who wanted to receive simple text messages about Santa’s Village promotions. Over the course of several months, the business accumulated 1,364 subscribers, sent out over 11,000 messages, and experienced immediate and positive feedback.
William McMahon, owner of the Lincoln Inn in Dekalb also started a mobile marketing campaign. Using text-message promotions, he sent out offers ranging from heavily discounted lunches to menu specials. This year, about $1,000 of his $24,000 marketing budget went to mobile . McMahon said customers appreciate a deeper discount being offered on a less frequent basis, perhaps weekly, instead of being texted every day. As far as the rest of his advertising goes, he is overwhelmed by the number of sales reps contacting him. One way for reps to close the sale, according to McMahon, is to help the business owner learn about his or her customers.
Likewise, the owners of European Tan, a 4-bed salon in the Chicagoland area, started using mobile marketing this year. Simplicity and the low cost were the 2 key selling points of this advertising format. The owners also appreciate that they can use SMS text messaging to control business volume. When they have extra staff available, they know that a text message campaign offering a discount will immediately increase traffic. SMS text messaging has also been far less expensive than direct mail coupon packages which can cost between $400-500 quarterly. Co-owner Mary Jo Edwards remarked, “Sure, those coupons reach 60,000 homes – but do any of those consumers want a tan?” Using her proprietary list and mobile text messaging, she knows she can generate traffic with a buy one get one deal.
The business owners also maintain Facebook pages but they “don’t see what social media is doing for them.” The mobile text marketing approach is seen as much more immediate, interactive, and effective. Email marketing was also mentioned as another effective strategy. The life of an SMS text message is several hours while the life of an email might be one week.
And their advice for sales reps? Be honest. Come to the table with knowledge about exactly what you are selling and how it fits the business owner’s needs. And always remember that a small business has a small advertising budget
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