At the beginning of this month, we wrote Conversion Marketing: Building Relationships With Potential Buyers. I must admit, I’ve been letting fanciful titles fill my head. All apologies to those who want something original for this post like “3 Tips for Technologically Defunct Business Owners“.
Anyway, we had a comment on that post from one Luke Meiser that, I felt, perfectly made the case for us. “Let me tell you,” Luke says, “that the shopper described here is me. I do all these ‘crazy’ things (scan bar codes, search reviews on line, price comparisons) and even my wife thinks I am a little bit over the edge. I got the power, I got the knowledge and you, business owner, have to be my technologically equal!“
His comment reminded me of that song “I Got the Power” by Snap from the 90s or so, and sparked off a half hour stint digging through 80s and 90s music. Thanks for the unintentional, yet musical trip down memory lane, Luke!
Welcome to your New Market
See, Luke is a “techsumer”: a technological consumer. He lives in a digital age, and I’d go so far to guess that he’s an information junkie. Although the title of this post says “power hungry”, I’ll make another guess that neither he nor those like him are really hungry for power; they don’t, for instance, let out a mad chuckle anytime they find a good deal. Well… maybe some of them do, but we shouldn’t judge a whole marketing generation off of a few strange eggs.
What you’re reading in Luke’s statement is true consumer awareness. More than any other, the age of online / digital marketing and PR tactics has provided technologically entrenched consumers with the knowledge that there is a power play going on in business.
- We, the business owners, want their patronage.
- They, the consumer, are very aware of how much competition we have (and if they aren’t, they will be as soon as they download the latest shopping application).
- We, the business owners, are also aware of how much competition we have, because the online market is global.
- They, the consumer, are looking for the best value, whatever that is to them.
- We, the business owners, need to be aware of how they’re finding that best value, and be there with the reason why we’re it.
Shopping Apps: More Bang for the Techsumers’ Bucks
The technological consumers like Luke (and like me, for that matter) aren’t above spending a few hours online to find the best deal. However, you have to keep in mind that the best deal isn’t necessarily the cheapest deal. Sure, they want to save money (who doesn’t), but they’re also aware that quality costs.
So, how does the techsumer find the best value? How do they walk the fine line between quality and cost? Enter the quote, “There’s an app for that.”
Bargain shopping apps like Poshmark, Etsy, EggDrop, and Zaarly help buyers and sellers match up. Do you have too many clothes or they don’t fit? Turn your clothes into cash with Poshmark. Do you create handmade products, or have a slew of vintage items? Etsy is the place of choice. No matter what you sell, EggDrop can match up buyers in your area. With Zaarly, buyers can share what they want and how much they’re willing to pay. Talk about qualified prospects…
Product information apps are also popular. Consumer Report’s Mobile Shopper, for example, had a product database of tested and untested products. You can find information on a type of product and compare between them. Many of the products come with a buying guide to help you decide which product is right for you.
Price comparison apps, such as Google Shopper, are popular for those who like to save a penny or three. Not only does Google Shopper provide deals every day with Google Offers, but it also provides the user with location-based “Nearby Offers”, bar code scanning, online price comparisons and more.
-And these are just a few of the options available to the savvy, highly active, information driven, hooked in, hooked up, technological consumer.
3 Tips for Technologically Defunct Business Owners
At this point, you may be feeling a little out-dated. You may be thinking it will take years and tons of money to meet the challenge Luke so bluntly threw out, “You, business owner, have to be my technological equal.” Not necessarily. Let’s perform some marketing magic, shall we?
Go Mobile
Depending on your needs, it’s really not as hard to have a mobile version of your site as you might think. Several tools, ranging from free to expensive, are available to help you convert your site into a mobile website. If you’re just starting out and have a small budget, one of the free programs will do fine. If you have a large website with lots of traffic, you’ll need to have a more professional option. Program options include:
Help Them Find Your Business
Maybe this is a no-brainer, but many businesses are missing essential location information. When you’re talking about the mobile web, location is extremely important. Consider – the people using their mobile phones to find information are generally already on the move. Make sure your site is listed in every local review site possible (Yelp, for example). For your website, include:
- Addresses (including zip codes!)
- Driving directions
- Pictures of your storefront
- QR Code for easy upload/save of your business information
- Anything else you can think of that will help them find your business.
Provide Sign Up For SMS Marketing Deals
SMS (Short Message Service ) marketing sends permission-based text messages to your customers’ phones. Although it may take some time to get good traction, SMS marketing takes advantage of the fact that over 90% of text messages are read within a few minutes of receipt. It also allows you to directly address your customers (at least the ones who signed up) with your current deals, which allows them to save money. They like to save money.
A few places for SMS marketing:
It May Not Be Your Time… Yet
You may not need to go mobile… yet. You may only have a few people visiting your site, and none of them use mobile phones. Three things:
- If you only have a few people visiting your site, get in touch with us. You know we’re SEO providers of the marketing persuasion, right?
- You can see how many of your visitors are using mobile phones in your analytics by looking at visitor information.
- The sooner you mobilize, the more prepared you’ll be when it happens to you.
Now that we’ve waved the wand of online and digital marketing magic… are you going to accept Luke’s challenge? It’s time to equalize the playing field and match your technological consumers. –Because a little bit of tech goes a long way.
4 Responses
There are lots of different ideas for marketing including SMS. I agree with the fact that all SMS are read within the first few seconds of receiving them, so using SMS for a marketing idea will really benefit companies.
Though I am not eve 2% of what Luke is, but eventually I would like to be just like him, as i sincerely feel that it is the awareness that can make the difference.. I am also a techsumer, but I think I need to be that much aware which I am not!
Last week you “warned” me that you were going to use my comment, but I really didn’t know that my comment will start such big waves, marketing waves and musical waves. I am glad that through my comment you realized how much the market has changed, even that you did all the things I do (scan bar codes, search reviews on line, price comparisons) and I guess that you did them long before I put my hands on a smartphone. Thank you for your post!
lol Well, Luke, we’re big on riding waves as they come. Thanks for your comment that started them going!