Every time a study is conducted about marketing programs, researchers come up with the same results. Referral marketing is the best form of marketing, yet many businesses overlook this simple tool.

Further research indicates that most businesses know this fact, but fail to act upon the information. Only approximately 37% of businesses actively use referral marketing as part of their strategy, even though they know it provides the best results.

So the question is why. Some professionals believe implementing a referral program is too complicated; others believe it to be too time consuming. However, both opinions are wrong. All companies have a customer database. An e-mail list is all you need to begin your promotion and a newsletter is simple to create.

There are a few things that businesses should keep in mind though, before starting any referral promotion.

1. Let your customers know why you stand apart from other companies. When you promote your referral program remind your customers why you stand apart. Let them know how you are connected to your/their community.
2. Make the reward for the referral worth the effort. Honestly look at what you are offering and decide how you would react to the offer. If you are not impressed your customers will not be either.
3. Keep it simple. If your customers have to sit and figure out how they are going to be rewarded by referring your company they are going to pass on the offer. Digital marketers must remember that attention spans are short, the point must be made, and made quick, or you have lost their attention.

The overall picture is quite plain. Utilize the information you have about your current customers to your advantage. Take that information and let them know why you are special. Reward them for a referral, and thank them once you have received one. And, finally, keep it simple. Referral marketing works best when it is basic and feels natural. Customers do not want to “feel” like they are promoting your company. They want to refer products or services as part of a conversation where their input is appreciated.

Ideally, a business would like to be present on as many channels as possible in order to engage their audience at every available touch point.  However, the reality is that time is finite, and most businesses don’t have the resources to dedicate toward creating meaningful conversations on every channel.  Therefore, a good rule of thumb when choosing a channel would be to think hard about your customer, and try to predict where most of them are spending their time engaging with friends, family, and colleagues online.  First evaluate each potential social media channel, create an account, and get a feel for the demographic of the people who use it.  Because most businesses spend a lot of money on search, try searching a public engine for social media networks and tools which appeal to your demographic.

In my experience, 1-3 channels can be managed by a small to mid-size business in a time effective manner.  Typically, most businesses invest in Facebook, Twitter, and a company blog.  Again, make to to choose channels that are used by the people that you want to talk to.  For the most part, most people use these three channels.

Once you’ve found a few social media networks that “feel” right, make sure that if you move forward and commit to building a presence that you do so with force.  Simply creating an account and expecting your customers and prospects will not lead to success.  Remember, successful social media marketing is about quality, not quantity.

In what may be the biggest marketing tool to hit the free market in decades, location based text messaging is soaring in popularity. This opt-in type of program will reward customers with digital coupons via their phone as well as location based networking capabilities.

What does this mean to the retailer?

You now have the ability to reach a broad range of customers, virtually cost free, and connect with them on a personal basis. What is more personal than a text? You customer receives a text message for a free item or discount with a promo code from the message designed for them. The customer feels special. They were not planning to stop by your store this week, but…

Another option that works with this type of program is geo-fencing. If your customer opts-in for this service, once they have entered your store the store will be notified by signal and will text message the customer about any new products, sales or promotions designed for subscribers only.

It is the perfect way to generate a word of mouth campaign and earn more customers. As word spreads through the networks, more people will subscribe. You will create a digital society of customers that you can communicate with personally. It is the perfect opportunity to create the bond that retailers need to establish to gain loyalty.

Social networking is great for internet based businesses, but the trend has taken on a new direction, and can now boost land based businesses as well. This new trend referred to as Location Based Marketing enables businesses to communicate with their clients at all times and drive more business in their front door.

Using platforms called “Lo-So” or Location Social Networking, businesses have a connection in the social networking scene that gives them a continual presence where their customers are – online.

So what does a standard business owner do to become part of this new trend? There are 9 things which will help integrate any business into the Lo-So network.

1. Become familiar with the Lo-So platform. There are several different platforms that can be used, many even have phone apps. Take the time to understand how they work and find the one you are most comfortable with to use.
2. Decide what you want this networking to accomplish. Do you want new customers or repeat business? Determining your goals will help you plan your marketing
3. Make your business known. With each network you join, place reminders for your customers such as “Follow us on…” “Check us out on…”
4. Stand out by customizing. Once you are established on the network make sure you take advantage of customizing your site and adding links to your other networks.
5. Offer a promotion for visitors. Everyone loves a discount, freebie or token of appreciation. Many times this will drive people to your site that would have never visited before.
6. Interact. If you have customers or potential customers leaving opinions make sure you reply. Customers like to feel special.
7. Watch for new trends. The web is always changing; don’t let your site go stagnant.
8. Know your stats. These sites will let you track information about your visits. Know it, learn it and use it to your advantage.
9. Avoid common errors. Poorly designed ads, boring or overabundant text will drive people away. The attention span has grown short. You need to catch them fast or risk loosing the sale.

Following these simple tricks will help any business integrate into the Lo-So network and boost their walk in sales.

Using SMS to market to your existing customer based can be an innovative and fruitful way to keep your customer base engaged, however, you have to be very careful; most of your customers do not expect to hear from you via SMS, and it could be considered too invasive.

When marketing via SMS, use common sense principles and think about your message from the perspective of your customer.

To be successful, try to remember that your customers only care about you to the extent that you add value to their lives.  Toward this goal, I believe 3 simple “best practices” can be put into place in order to improve the likelihood of success.  These best practices come from a combination of e-mail marketing experience and good old fashioned common sense:

1. Don’t Spam — Quality over quantity.  Consumers are even more sensitive to spam via SMS then e-mail.  First, they’re not used to it, and second, it’s a channel historically reserved for more personal lines of communication.
2. Opt-out — Just like e-mail, ensure your customers can tell you if they’d rather not receive messages from you via SMS. One way to keep the lines of communication open.  If someone opts out, ensure they have the option of directing messages to e-mail! They may still want to hear from you, just not via SMS.
3. Contextually Relevant Call To Action — If you’re going to send an SMS message try to make sure the offer is contextually relevant to the medium.  If it’s something you can just as easily send via e-mail, it’s probably not adding much value being sent via SMS.  For instance, if you’re a night club, you might want to send out an SMS message offering a free drink for “you and a friend” on a Friday night for a “limited time” thereby justifying your use of SMS to reach out.

In conclusion, SMS marketing can be a very effective channel for generating new business and building customer loyalty, however, like all marketing channels, the common sense rules still apply.

Every where you go the topic of social networking arises. From your local coffee shop to the skating rink, at some point a social site will enter into the conversation. Businesses know that it is very important to become a part of that network. To generate a following of customers is a sure way to create sales. Building a bond with your customers is imperative in this new digital age.

It may seem simple. Create a page, add some interesting content, respond to a few of the postings and keep it fresh- Right?

While this plan may have worked in the beginning, this is no longer the case. You see, every business is promoting their brand this way now and you will no longer be set apart. So the discerning business must, yet again, evolve and make themselves noticeable on the social sites. But how?

There are five, not so easy steps to follow to set your company apart from all the others:

Listen to your customers and learn from their input.

React and Respond to that input. Lip service will kill your brand – actions always speak louder than words

Address the issues with the right employees. If there are issues being discussed about your HR department – have HR respond. The same with sales or product design. A generic response leaves the customer feeling slighted.

Change is good. You must adapt to the ever changing climate of the Web and your customers. Staying stagnate will kill your online presence.

Check your performance. If your social networking does not have a response you hoped, keep changing it until it does. Social marketing is the way of the future. You must fine tune your company’s ability to use this as a marketing tool.

These steps, when taken by any company, will improve their visibility on any and all social sites.