The following is a guest post from franchise friend, Todd Salerno, Vice President Sales, PowerPlay Mobile, a leader in mobile marketing, providing unique technology that businesses rely upon to connect with customers in real time. I first met Todd at last year’s Franchise Consumer Marketing Conference in San Francisco where he facilitated a panel discussion on social media marketing where I was a panelist. Just this past weekend I visited with Todd again – this time at Franchise Expo South in Miami.

In a recent webinar produced by FranSummit and presented by Jeremy LaDuque, CEO at ElementsLocal, we discussed the continued trend towards mobile marketing dominance. We learned that it is projected that by 2014, more people will access search with their mobile device than any other electronic device. That’s less than two years away! With that in mind, and in my continuing effort to provide integrated franchise marketing solutions, I asked Todd to provide some quick insight into mobile marketing. Here’s what he had to say…

“Just to put a fine point on the title of this post, it’s worth emphasizing – while app’s offer sex appeal in mobile marketing, SMS is still king! With 87% wireless penetration in the United States, and still far less than half of US consumers using smart phones, more companies and organizations are using the medium to reach out to existing and potential customers.

SMS is the most effective channel for marketers because of its simplicity, familiarity, and unbiased reach.  Virtually all phones are SMS capable, which means the channel can reach 5 billion subscribers worldwide.  A study by ABI Research finds that consumers worldwide will send more than 7 trillion SMS messages in 2011, indicating a huge opportunity for marketers.  And, according to Nielsen Mobile, the average consumers sends 600 messages per month compared to using less than 200 voice minutes.

So what does that mean for the franchise owner and groups? It means you need to contact customers and potential customers through their preferred communication.  SMS is growing at rapid rate and businesses are starting to take notice.  Many national chains are already utilizing SMS to bring customers back into their stores to create higher sales volumes and keep them engaged.  The best part about it, is that once the business has the consumers opt in for their program, they can keep reaching them.”

About PowerPlay Mobile

With over 30 years of marketing and mobile experience, PowerPlay Mobile helps businesses immediately capture the SMS market. They understand marketing and the power direct connection between franchisees and customers. In summary, SMS works.  The ROI on SMS can be anywhere from 5X-20X greater than traditional media, online display, and  email marketing.  Powerplay Mobile has the ability to:

• Reach Customers who do not have a smartphone
• Reach Consumers who you have not engaged with recently
• Monetize interactions through incentivized offer paths
• Add the preferred channel of communication for your customers
• Drive Sales through coupons and deals
• Create the program you want
  

Todd Salerno may be contacted by phone at 704-288-0435 or by email at todd@powerplaymobile.com. Be sure to ask him about a free consultation!