A Guest Post By Rachel McDonald from Shopify.co.uk, the UK’s Ecommerce Leader.
Ecommerce has grown exponentially in the past few years, with most brand names now represented online. Yet as technology continues to improve, eCommerce must move along with it. The latest push has been towards mobile commerce, as consumers become ever more reliant on their smartphones and tablets. You can now use your smartphone as a tool for communication, business, entertainment, and as a retail device. As a result, eCommerce businesses must not only think about using website builder software to create a professional online shop, but they must also consider how to optimize it for mobile use. Mobile technology can also be used as a marketing tool, using tips such as the following.
Optimize Ecommerce Site for Mobile Use
Webologist uses a different theme on mobile phones.
If you haven’t already ensured that your website is optimized for mobile browsing, you will want to take care of this. A mobile-friendly site is essential to drawing in traffic from smartphone and tablet users.
To make your site more mobile-friendly, be sure that it’s free of clutter, flash animation, and pop-up ads. The best website templates will already give you a clean and easy-to-navigate site, which should translate well to the small screen.
Test a few options out on varying sizes of computer screens and mobile devices before you decide on a final layout.
Create Mobile Competitions
One way to reach out to your customers using mobile devices is via SMS messages. You can
send promotional texts to those who have opted into your contact list or made purchases in the past.
These types of marketing messages should be sent sparingly. Another option is to
use SMS technology for contests or competitions. Customers who make a purchase or visit your website can receive a personalized code to text in to win a prize or discount. They can also choose to opt in at this time for future updates from your business.
Use QR Codes
A QR Code For This Page
Quick response codes are being used more and more for marketing purposes. Similar to retail bar-codes these are two-dimensional codes that can be scanned with any smartphone to receive information or a link. You could place these QR codes on your products or website, allowing visitors to scan them and be taken to a special message, video, or separate website. They can be incorporated into games or competitions for a fun, user-friendly interactive experience.
Create Specialized Apps
If you have a higher marketing budget, you can even create your own mobile apps to engage your customers. These can be used to provide information about your business, streamline purchases, or even be used strictly for entertainment purposes. Although these are probably not the best marketing options for eCommerce businesses just starting out, once you’re more established they can help retain your audience’s interest. There are websites and eCommerce platforms that can help you get started.
With the extensive use of mobile technology today, eCommerce businesses are constantly looking for new ways to harness this technology for marketing purposes. Although mobile marketing is still in its infancy, it provides a wide range of potential for those willing to get creative.
