It’s 2017 and, if you haven’t noticed, everyone has a lifeline now. Yeah, that’s right, ask the person sitting next to you the one thing they have that they truly and honestly could not do without every day. Even my grandfather at 75 years old knows how to stream his favorite Merle Haggard tunes to his Bose Bluetooth speaker. He has even become an avid Amazon Prime member! For the technical-minded, he files under a Post-War Cohort. Yes, I thought only Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, Millennials and Generation Z were the ones who did everything from their mobile devices, but it’s literally the entire human race.
What does this mean for businesses who sell to people from ages 18 to 76?
It means, if you’re marketing your products/services the same way you did just 5 years ago and have not changed, you are losing. Even if you haven’t changed your approach in the last year, you’re losing. When I say losing, I don’t mean like the Seattle Seahawks lost in 2014 against the New England Patriot – I mean you’re most likely paying way too much to acquire your customer and you could be paying much less if you marketed in the year you live in instead of being scared of change.
As John Wanamaker said years ago, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” By marketing in the year 2017, this quote is no longer relevant since digital marketing and technology have truly and entirely changed the game.
So What Has Really Changed?
To start, Google AdWords is really not the place to be from a PPC model and email marketing is beginning to lose market share to SMS marketing with the higher and higher usage of mobile devices and people becoming more and more adapted to text message marketing. Just think about the last time you got a juice at the Juice Bar or the last hotel you stayed at on your summer vacation, there is a good chance you have already been sent a text message from those businesses. According to a study by Adobe, there is a 98% chance you saw that text message. Mobile Marketing Watch backs up the same number of open rates at 98% and explains just how dominate text message marketing is becoming over email marketing. I’m not saying don’t do email, I am only saying if you don’t do SMS marketing with email marketing, you’re losing.
What else has changed? In 2014, Google released data that over 50% of all searches that year were done on a mobile device and the trend continues to pace upward year over year (Source: Search Engine Land). The most recent reports by Search Engine Land are now showing over 60% as of 2016 and we will continue to watch this as these numbers are based on all searches made on Google. I give you all this information because I am still hearing questions, like “do I really need a mobile website? Or do you really think I need to invest in Facebook?” These are just a few of the many questions that immediately present a red flag if you’re in business.
Which Industries Are Thriving With Digital Marketing?
Online Shopping
According to a TechCrunch report, 8 out 10 Americans shop online and over 51% of them do so on a mobile device. So if you have a product that can be shipped, it can be sold online! This is just in the general segment of shopping.
Travel and Tourism Industry
Another industry we seen heavy online activity is in the travel and tourism industry where over 70% of bookings take place online. We are also seeing over 60% of those come through on mobile devices.
The end goal in any business is to build a customer base that becomes loyal to your brand and product. This becomes much easier when you have create a seamless experience online for your potential customers. Whether you’re selling houses, cars, hotel rooms, attraction tickets, carpet cleaning, flooring or any other product, your customer is online and looking for the product/services you have. We are here to help you become the top of mind brand in your industry and ultimately grow your business in 2017!
