Here are just a few amazing statistics – which explain why Mobile Marketing is set to transform the world and why you should get into it NOW:

• By July 2010 – 5 billion phone had been sold globally – which means that there are 3 times as many phones as there are personal computers.
• By 2012, an estimated 10 trillion text messages will be sent and delivered globally.
• Over 250 million Americans carry mobile phones—over 80% of the nation’s population – and that’s just America.

It’s still growing at an incredible rate -
• Customer time spent on mobile devices is growing faster than the time spent on any other form of media!
• According to multiple analysts, Mobile Marketing and advertising will explode from just a couple hundred million dollars in revenues in 2008 to around $5 billion by 2012.

Here are some more benefits:
• Text messaging alone gets seven to fifteen times the response rate of an email and has an astounding 97% open rate.
• The speed in which a text message is opened and read is also usually much faster than an email – often within the first few minutes. An email might take several days before it is read.
• Text messaging has a proven ROI of over 20% – and has the power to double a local business incredibly fast.

Given that there are more people using mobile phones than are on the internet, you can see that the reach of mobile marketing is incredibly powerful.

And more and more people are accessing the internet and especially the social network sites, Facebook, Twitter etc, via their mobile phones.

Mobile marketing is especially powerful for local businesses such as restaurants and pubs. Just imagine you have a last minute table cancellation – so you just send a quick bulk text message to your loyal customers with a great last minute deal. One of them will be tempted! End result -  you have a happy customer, plus a full table.

The possibilities are endless!

Text message marketing is all set to become the greatest opportunity of all for small and local businesses to connect with their customers.

Please do share your ideas and comments

Far from it. In fact email marketing is the foundation of your online marketing – and should be top of the list for any small or local business.

Why?

Quite simply there’s no better way to connect and build relationships with your prospects and your customers.

Just imagine being able to contact your prospects and customers every week or every month – even every day! You can keep them up to date with your news, events and promotions.

(We don’t recommend you email every day. A couple of times a week is usually the max or you will risk being seen as a “spammer” and annoying people).

With your prospects, as you’ll be well aware, if usually takes multiple points of contact to convert into customers. Some say 7 times, some say 9, on average – actually it all depends on the market you are in.

Whatever the figure, keeping in touch and providing value rather than heavy selling, is the best way to build trust and convert those prospects into long term loyal customers, who come back to you again and again.

Email is so quick and easy to use if you have a good system. One email sent to all those prospects and/or customers, with just a few clicks. You can send different ones to prospects and to customers – and different offers to different categories of customer.

Plus you can schedule them in advance – so you can prepare a month’s worth of emails all at the same time – a very effective use of your busy time.

It’s also important to track results and stats – and this is where a good email management system comes into its own. You can track who has opened their emails – and resend to those who didn’t open theirs – they may have just been busy.

Which is another key point when choosing a system – some have better “open” rates than others – and yes the free systems generally have poor results, with a large percentage of emails being delivered straight to spam boxes.

It’s really worth investing in a good system – which doesn’t mean it will cost the earth. Our own systems cost from just £100 per month and come with full management and back-up.

If you are happy to set up your own system with the opt-ins and put all the codes into your website etc, then we recommend AWeber – it’s very cost effective and one of the market leaders.

Email marketing is simply the very best place to start connecting with customers, and building relationships, for long term customers, sales and profits for your business.

If you do nothing else, just make sure make the most of your website by capturing your visitors email details – and start marketing!

Please do share your ideas and comments 

If you are in any doubt about it, and what it can do for your business, just watch this short video -

Wow! So, now you’ve seen the statistics –

Facebook has over 700m users and over 50% of them visit every single day.

If it was a country it would be the 3^rd largest in the world! It’s larger than the US… and only behind China and India.

Twitter – has over 100m users (and many more accounts).

LinkedIn – has 85m active users.

So how can your small or local business take advantage of all this?

The real key to using social media effectively is to focus on building relationships with prospects and especially with customers

Social network sites offer unbelievable opportunities to connect with your customers.

Just imagine, if someone had told you 10 years ago that you would be able to contact your customers every single evening, while they are relaxing at home, and just connect with them, share some news, tell them something interesting, even a joke, offer them a special deal. And they could pass it all on to all their friends in a second, with just one click.

Would you have believed them?

Well now you can. And for a fraction of the cost of advertising in your local paper, let alone a direct mailing (which would probably just go straight in the bin). In fact you can contact people as often as you like – for free.

A customised Facebook Page costs a tiny amount compared with your old Yellow Pages ad (which only lasted a year) – and will be seen day in and day out.

Just a word of warning though. Social networking is just that – a social environment, not a heavy selling one. It’s essential to respect this if you want to gain the real benefits of social media marketing.

Don’t be put off, it’s actually very simple. All you have to do is think about what your customers would be interested in and share it. For example, if your business is a restaurant, you can easily share a recipe or a home cooking tip. Or comment on the latest Masterchef series. Then offer a special weekly deal or voucher just on Facebook.

What about your business? What can you offer?

The more value you can offer, the more you will build great relationships – and create loyal long term customers, who will share your news with their friends. (You don’t need to do it every day either, just once or twice a week is fine and may even be better. It’s important to be consistent, but low key is best).

Please do share your ideas and comments

So, you’ve now got your website up and running (if you haven’t then click here) so what do you do with it now?

Having a website is a bit like having a brochure – it doesn’t matter how beautifully designed it is – if it just sits in the stationery cupboard then no-one ever sees it!

In the old days you would have had to mail out or distribute your brochure or catalogue to as many people as you could manage – and afford. You would have all the costs of the initial brochure design, reprinting when they run out, mailing costs, letterheads, envelopes, staff to deal with it all etc……plus other all your other marketing, advertising etc.

Today marketing a website is essential – so all those prospects and customers find it and see it.

The good news is that not only is it much cheaper and quicker to get a website up and running than a brochure – your website can be seen by the whole world every day! It’s not about ‘printing’ any more copies. Or mailing them out. You’ve just got to get it SEEN – and marketing a website is much more cost effective than all of those costs for sending out brochures, catalogues and flyers.

Over 80% of internet users find what they are looking for via search engines

The key to ‘getting seen’ is to make sure that your site ranks highly in the search engines like Google.

All our internet marketing packages are designed to get your website to come up on the front page of Google (and others like Bing and Yahoo), when your prospects and customers search for the phrases (“keywords”) which are relevant to your business. (And of course you need to come up for your website name – even this doesn’t just happen automatically – which is why you sometimes can’t find a website you know exists).

Then we want to make sure you STAY THERE and that’s where ongoing marketing support comes in.

Getting High on Google = More Customers and more SALES

This is known as “SEO” – search engine optimisation.

We specialise in small business seo.

There are lots of different aspects to effective seo. It’s all about persuading google to rank your site highly – ahead of your competitors.

Some of it is about the technical side of your website – making sure that you have the right codes embedded in your website etc.

It’s also about more general forms of marketing such as including your site in directories or publishing articles or videos on the internet – with links back to your website.

Most of these internet marketing activities operate on 2 levels

• First they improve your site’s ranking with google and the search engines.

• Second, they send prospects and customers directly to your site – so you get a double benefit!

Our internet marketing services cover both aspects.

There are lots of different marketing activities which you choose from. You certainly don’t have to do all of them. Some activities will be more effective than others for different businesses. It also depends how much competition there is – some businesses simply need to do more than others to get ranked highly by the search engines.

To find out more about the different marketing options and what we can do for you

Click here to see our Internet Marketing Packages >>>

The world has changed!

Today the majority of people looking for a local service go to the internet first.

And the vast majority search on Google to find what they want.

The days of Yellow Pages and classified ads have long gone! They just don’t bring you customers any more. Advertising in local magazines and sending out flyers doesn’t produce anything either. Even tried local radio? You can spend hundreds, even thousands, of pounds – and have nothing to show for it.

In 2011 the internet is the key to marketing your business. And it is very cost effective, if you know what to do.

It doesn’t matter how small your business is or how successful it is, the fact is you need to go where your new customers are. Today, you simply must be online.

First of all you need a website

• It’s a” must have” today, just like a brochure or catalogue once was
• A great website is totally affordable – our starter package costs just £99
• We can update or redesign your old website too

Second, you need a website which prospective customers find when they search google

• Your website isn’t any use to you, if no one finds it
• We can make sure you come up on google when people search for your type of business or service

Third, you need to market your business and website, using the internet, for lots of new customers

• Your website needs to attract as many interested prospects as possible – and send them on to you, so you can convert them into good customers
• We can help your website attract good quality prospects – and send them on to you
• We can help you market your business and your website on the internet
• We can show you how to use facebook and twitter to get lots more customers
• We can show you how to use YouTube to get still more customers
• We can help you use email marketing to generate more sales

Internet Power 4 Business specialise in internet marketing services for small businesses

If you are worried that a new website will cost a thousands of pounds, that internet marketing is far too complicated and technical for you – and facebook and twitter are what teenagers spend all their time on, then stop worrying now! We can help you. We can provide whatever you need:

• We can do it all for you

• We can help you and do it with you

• We can show you how to do it yourself

It’s up to you – we know how busy you are, running your business!

But don’t let your competitors get all the new customers.

• We can get you up and running with a site which attracts good prospects and customers in a few days.
• We can get your site attracting lots of new customers.
• We can get you new customers from all over the internet.

All our internet marketing services will give you new customers and great returns.

There is more info on our Marketing a Website page. Our internet marketing packages are a great starting point to show you what can be done. Everything can easily be customised to suit your business. Please just contact us to discuss the options – and to get started!

jamesbench@internetpower4business.com – online marketing experts

Today over 80% of customers search online first. There are plenty of prospective customers out there looking -they are probably just finding your competitors instead!

We can help you use Google Places for local business – so you get more targeted visitors.

Your site needs to be designed from a marketing perspective to be effective. Most web designers know almost nothing about marketing… they won’t even include the technical codes for the search engines, unless you know enough to ask. We can set up your site so it works to attract and convert visitors.

Building great relationships is still the key to converting prospects, selling more to customers and free referrals.

The internet offers astonishing opportunities to do just that – with email marketing, plus social media and now mobile marketing. We can set all this up for you.

When you know how to maximise your website, how to use the internet to attract customers… and then to build relationships, you can transform your sales and your business – easily and quickly.

We can show you how…

>>> jamesbench@InternetPowerforBusiness – online marketing experts, Bristol UK.

Please do have a look around our site to find out more about internet marketing for small business – or just contact us now