Mobile Marketing Strategies Are Critical for Local Business Now

October 26, 2012 by Profits Marketing Group • email marketing, featured, Follow-up, lead capture, lead generation, List building, local business, local business marketing, Mobile Marketing, reputation management, restaurant marketing, san diego business, san diego marketing • Tags: digital marketing, lead capture, lead generation, local business marketing, mobile marketing, restaurant marketing, san diego business, san diego marketing • 0 Comment

Most of you have read the statistics. 65% of smartphone users have made a mobile purchase this year. The mobile retail industry will exceed 12 billion dollars by 2014 (a little more than a year away). You can’t go anywhere without seeing everyone on their iPhone, Android, or tablet and trust me, they aren’t all texting. Shoppers or potential shoppers are researching your business not only before they arrive (whether they choose your business or another), but also even while in the store. Price comparison is easily done on-the-go with a mobile device so business owners need to be competitive.

So, what is a business owner or manager to do? Ignore this trend as a fad that will soon die off? Not a good strategy as the projections are astronomical. If you do not have a strong mobile presence and are actively engaging your customers, you have competitors who will be glad to do so. This phenomenon isn’t unique to particular industries such as electronics or clothing stores but it is in all business niches. Customers can search for your business, compare it to others, make a purchase, and even review your business all at the same time on their smartphone or tablet.

What kind of strategy should a business owner strive for in this mobile economy? Most importantly, your website should be at least mobile-friendly, if not a dedicated mobile site. Again, stats show that mobile searches are rapidly approaching those done on desktop and laptop computers. If your site doesn’t display on a smartphone or is difficult to view and navigate, shoppers will look elsewhere.

Secondly, a strong presence on directory and review sites, such as Yelp, Merchant Circle, City Search, etc. is a must. Your customers search for and review your business on these sites and they can’t find you if you aren’t there. Additionally, Google and other major search engines like content from directory sites and will list a business higher who shows up regularly via reviews and engagement.

Finally, your business needs to be capturing leads and marketing to that list of leads. For example, if your restaurant has a “VIP Club” and offers discount coupons to diners who opt-in (they register their name and contact info), they benefit by getting discounts and other valuable info but you benefit as well by being able to market new items or programs to them in the future. Remember, it isn’t spam if they gave you permission by registering first.

It may sound like a lot of stuff for a local business or restaurant owner to manage but there are many companies who specialize in mobile and directory site optimization. Give it a try yourself and if you hit a snag, contact a pro.

Restaurant Marketing- Are Food Critics Irrelevant?

October 23, 2012 by Profits Marketing Group • List building, local business, local business marketing, reputation management, restaurant, restaurant marketing, san diego business, san diego marketing • Tags: digital marketing, local business, local business marketing, marketing, reputation management, restaurant marketing, restaurants, san diego business, san diego marketing • 0 Comment

Restaurant owners for years have lived and died by their reviews. In the past, these reviews took the form of restaurant or food critics posting in newspapers and magazines. Not only are many of these forms of media less and less relevant, but so too are the critics themselves. Today, a restaurant or other similar local business depends upon customer reviews for their reputation. These reviews appear on directory websites such as Yelp, Google +, Merchant Circle, City Search, or for restaurants, Urban Spoon, among others.

These reviews are critical to such businesses not only because potential patrons see these reviews when researching where to dine or shop, but also major search engines such as Google or Bing love them! This means that they rend to show-up on the first pages when someone looks up that restaurant or biz online. And, let’s face it, that is the only way people are looking for information about your business now (but that is the subject of a future article).

So, what is a restaurant owner or manager to do? First, make sure you actually have a presence on these major directory sites. After all, your patron can’t review you if you aren’t there. Second, read and pay attention to the reviews! It amazes me to see that many business owners don’t even know if they have reviews, let alone what they are saying.

Next, follow-up on these reviews. If they are positive, you may want to send a direct message thanking that reviewer for their feedback. You should also follow-up on the less than perfect reviews making sure that the reviewer knows that you care and that, when possible you will make efforts to fix the issues.

Finally, restaurant and business owners need to develop a strategy to promote additional reviews. Now, by no means am I suggesting anything unethical like coercing patrons but some kind words or even a discount coupon on their next visit may elicit that reviewer to take the time to post it online. As business owners are often times-strapped, they should strongly consider hiring a company who specializes in reputation management to follow-up for them.

Remember restaurant owners, these reviews will not go away if you ignore them. A business is only as good as its reputation and you want yours to represent you well.