Proudly serving the industry for which it was named for more than 50 years, Outdoor Power Equipment provides dealers who sell and service outdoor power equipment with valuable information to succeed in a competitive market.
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and make it convenient for them to not only browse, but also find what they're looking for. Use these tactics to develop your own mobile marketing strategy and connect with your customers wherever they are. OPE Enhancing the shopping experience A lot of customers use their smartphones to find store locations. Having GPS capabilities tied into your mobile site will help them easily find their way to you. At least 50 percent of smartphone shoppers utilize GPS or mapping applications to locate store locations. What better way to give those shoppers a great first impression than through a convenient store locator? A mobile site that allows customers to pull up a map or easily access point-by-point directions could mean the difference between potential buyers choosing you over the competition. A lot of customers visiting your mobile site may also be looking for contact information. Is it easy to find that information at first glance? Is a potential customer able to call you with the click of a button? Giving them the opportunity to do so will increase your opportunities to engage with that customer, which is likely to result in traffic and sales in your brick-and-mortar store. Even if your desktop website platform includes this information, it's not enough to capture the smartphone crowd. If customers have to squint and attempt to "zoom in" on their screen in an effort to find your contact information, they're likely not going to take the time to do so.This is why mobile-friendly sites are so important. 1 http://bit.ly/1gLsub5 http://bit.ly/JQFvSY 3 http://bit.ly/1iWDrYQ 4 http://bit.ly/1iWDrYQ 5 http://read.bi/1aFYd4Y 6 http://bit.ly/JM9ivr 2 Brad Smith is ARI's Director of Product. ARI creates award-winning software solutions that help equipment manufacturers, distributors and dealers "Sell More Stuff!" — online and instore. ARI removes the complexity of selling and servicing new and used inventory, parts, garments and accessories for customers in the outdoor power equipment, powersports, marine, RV automotive tire and wheel, and white goods , industries. More than 22,000 equipment dealers, 195 distributors and 140 manufacturers worldwide leverage ARI's website (www.arinet.com) and eCatalog platforms to "Sell More Stuff!" Smith holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and is an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran. Text marketing When you're hosting a community event or in-store promotion, how are you letting your customers and prospects know about it? A great way to reach customers is directly through their mobile phones. With the click of a button, you can disperse your message straight to their handheld device through a clear and concise text message. When you send a text message to your customers, they're almost guaranteed to see it. Most people are alerted when text messages arrive in their inbox — and most mobile users read those text messages. In fact, research shows that between 95 and 98 percent of recipients read their text messages within minutes of the message being received. Mobile coupons are also increasingly becoming an effective way to reach customers and draw them into your store. Research6 indicates customers are 10 times more likely to take advantage of text coupons than traditional print coupons. While text marketing can definitely work in your favor, it's important to remember that not all text marketing efforts are created equal. Before you send a text out to your customers, ask yourself whether they'd be excited to read it. Is your text list targeted at those who have already shown interest in your products through purchases or inquiries? Would they likely come in and take advantage of the in-store promotions? Make sure you're providing them with information they'd likely want to receive; otherwise, you'll overwhelm customers and cause them to unsubscribe from your text messaging list. Of course, text marketing doesn't work without the mobile numbers of customers you're attempting to reach.When you make a sale or help a customer with an inquiry, be sure to ask those customers or prospects if they'd like to be notified of in-store promotions and coupons and ask how they'd prefer to get them — text, email or both. OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT JANUARY 2014 25