One of the main disadvantages of a small business is generally lack of reach or inability to gain more customers compared to large, branded businesses. However, business owners of all sizes and shapes share the same goal of trying to promote their products and services in order to gain more custom. Due to the fact that by 2013 there will be more people accessing the internet via their mobile phones over desktop users, this reflects 2 very important aspects when it comes to the future of advertising: most of your potential customers own a mobile phone and they almost always have them with them. Can you see the potential already?

Mobile marketing offers four main categories:

1) Mobile friendly websites

2) Mobile Apps

3) QR Codes

4) SMS text message marketing

Using any of the four methods above means you have the ability to instantly communicate with your prospects or current customers. Mobile phones are, for many people, integral parts of their lives, making life easier and more enjoyable. Some people don’t use their computers often but almost always use their mobile phones on a daily basis. This means you, as a business owner, have massive opportunities to connect with your customers quickly and in real time.

Having a mobile website will help you stand out from your competition. If a potential customer is looking for a hotel on their mobile, and your competitor’s website isn’t optimized for mobile devices and loads extremely slow, that potential customer will most likely click back and search for another hotel that loads up quickly. If your main website is optimized for mobiles, and loads up in seconds with your phone number immediately visible, guess who’s going to get the call? You!

People are busy these days. They rely on their mobile devices to get them the info they want quickly. Using a service that offers SMS text marketing is also another great way to send reminders to your customers, or offer mid-week discounts, and all this info can be sent to their mobile phone no matter what they’re doing at the time. Mobile marketing should be part of every business strategy. Are you mobile ready?