20 under 40 headshot - 2013The other day I was on a phone call with a friend of mine. We marveled at the money people dump into traditional media. Thousands for radio, TV, direct mail, yellow pages… the list goes on and on. But the return those businesses are seeing on that traditional marketing is so minimal, is it really worth the money?

Marketing has a lot to do with the status quo. People know traditional marketing. They can see it, feel it, touch it. They understand how to utilize it, and they know since it’s been around so long their customers will know what they’re seeing, feeling and touching as well. The problem is that just because something is familiar and “traditional” doesn’t always mean it’s the best option for your business.

Small business owners have a bad habit of obsessing over new customers. That’s really why they use traditional marketing; it’s broad spectrum. Small business owners rely on mass marketing to hopefully entice a few customers who see their message to come into their store. But did you know that a current, loyal customer could be more valuable to your business?

Roughly 12-15% of customers are loyal to a single retailer. Doesn’t seem like a big number yet, does it? But that 12-15% of your customers typically represent between 55-70% of your sales. Now those customers seem a lot more valuable to you, don’t they?

So what I have a hard time understanding is why businesses choose to spend an incredibly large amount of time and money on marketing that’s aimed at such a broad audience. It costs 5-7 times more to find a new customer than to retain one. Implementing a loyalty solution and utilizing mobile marketing can mean the difference between keeping those most loyal customers and trying to rush as many new people through the door as possible.

Mobile marketing is a highly targeted form of advertising, geared toward those customers you know like and buy your product. When you thank a customer for being loyal to you, by offering them an incentive or reward, you show them they mean something to you. That you understand their business is what keeps you making money. And this targeted advertising, because it’s something new, exciting and high-tech, makes small business owners nervous. They don’t see how valuable it could be to their business.

People know there should be a better way to market to consumers in 2013. Savvy merchants are in the market for new, exciting technology that can help them implement better marketing solutions. And they will be a start of a much larger ground swell.