SoLoMo, the ingenious term for the coming together of social, local and mobile marketing, is altering the way we use information to interact with the physical world.

In a world where 90% of people who search for a type of local business on a mobile phone call or go to that type of business within the next 24 hours, local mobile marketing cannot be ignored. For Retailers this provides an amazing opportunity, but also a complicated one. Here are the big lessons from the infographic:

1) Optimize for local search

You should be optimized for Google+ Local (Google Places), Google, Yelp and other directories in that order of priority.

2) Geo-target deals to customers

The people most likely to frequent your store are those walking or driving by your doors right now. It is now possible to push advertisements to potential customers on their mobile web browsers and even in various apps. Crucially these ads can be tailored to only appear to people in a certain geolocation, which means you are being more efficient with your advertising dollar.

3) Combat Showrooming with Service

Pretty much everyone now indulges in ‘showrooming’, i.e. finding items they like in-store and then comparing the costs with online prices. It’s simply too easy now for customers to find another way to get that product you sell at prices you can’t match. This is a problem when you consider that two thirds of people will delay a purchase for just a 2% price difference! So, you are left with either always offering the cheapest price and eating your margins or differentiating on service. The key here is to build a long term relationship not based on a price, but on all the other ways you are the best place someone could choose to shop.

The Retailer’s Guide to SoLoMo
Trevor Sumner

Trevor Sumner

Trevor Sumner — Founder and CEO of LocalVox — is a technologist and product marketer with 15 years of management experience in digital, social media, and mobile technology. In his spare time, Trevor enjoys sharing his knowledge with the small business community.