I have mentioned here before that small businesses in particular cannot afford to ignore mobile marketing and the enormous potential it has to reach consumers. Countless studies and surveys all point to the fact that consumers are spending more time on their mobile devices to access information and connect with others via the web. In fact, according to a recent Statista report, by 2017, over 63% of mobile phone users will be accessing the Internet through their mobile phones.

These devices are also playing an increasingly prominent role in the purchasing process. U.S. mobile commerce sales via smartphones and tablet computers are projected to surpass $142 billion dollars in 2016.

As consumers have become more confident and comfortable with their mobile devices there has been a rapid development of marketing techniques and tools directed at attracting the attention and purchasing dollars of mobile device users. While it is safe to say that the field of mobile marketing was in its infancy 5 years ago, today we are beginning to see some signs of maturity. Numerous low-cost, easy-to-use tools and platforms are springing up, making mobile marketing doable and approachable. Even social media giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have been scrambling to incorporate mobile marketing and commerce into their feature set.

Mobile is currently the fastest growing segment of digital advertising in the US. Research conducted by Business Insider has found that spending for mobile advertising will surpass $42 billion by 2018.

Why Geo-Targeting and Proximity Marketing are Important

All of this is good news for small business owners working with limited marketing budgets. With mobile marketing it is easier to ensure that marketing dollars are being directed at the right people and at the right times. Herein lies the greatest key to success. On mobile, the marketing race will be won by the businesses that truly understand their customer base and their purchasing habits.

If you are just getting started with mobile marketing then there are two key concepts that you need to be aware of:

The first is geo ad targeting. In the most basic sense geo targeting involves determining the geographic location of a mobile user and delivering customized content to that user. Location targeting helps you focus your marketing efforts on the places where you will find the right customers, while at the same time restricting it in locations that are not relevant. You can specify a location to target based on the user’s country, region, city, zip code, organization, IP address, or ISP, among other criteria.

One popular area where geo ad targeting is taking off is pay per click advertising. These ads appear only to users who live in selected locations and are doing location-specific keyword searches. Google’s AdWords location targeting, for example, gives advertisers the ability to choose in which geographic locations their ads will appear. So, people who do a search for “coffee shop Boston free WiFi,” will see PPC ads in their search results for relevant local cafes and shops. Another example, a person living in Dallas, TX doing a search for “music lessons guitar,” may see ads for locally based music teachers and schools offering music courses.

The second technology that small businesses should be paying attention to is proximity marketing. Proximity marketing uses Bluetooth or WiFi technology to send real-time marketing messages to mobile-device users who are in close vicinity to a business.

In other words, with proximity marketing you can reach the right person with the right message at the right time. So, if you own a cafe, you could send a promotional message or coupon to a customer who happens to be near the location of your store during the lunch hours.

The benefits to both approaches in terms of ROI is self-evident. But more than this, mobile marketing enables a more intimate form of advertising that can not only generate more sales, but also more loyal customers. And, that’s something all small businesses can use.