“Happy Birthday,” reads the text message on your mobile phone. It’s from your favorite restaurant, and it’s accompanied by an email from the owner, who offers to buy you that appetizer you’ve always loved.

You pass by a poster promoting your favorite band’s upcoming release.

It contains a code, and if you send it via text message (SMS), they’ll give you the inside track on the release date, along with a couple of sample MP3s.

Meanwhile, your local florist texts you a reminder of your sister’s anniversary, and a 15% off discount if you phone in an order to send out a bouquet today.

Personalized, targeted, and, above all else, desired-- For these companies, mobile technology didn’t merely offer a chance to get their foot in the door. They were enthusiastically invited in.

If you’re considering making use of today’s mobile phone technology for marketing your business, you’ll find it surprisingly easy to implement. It’s dramatically less expensive than traditional advertising and promotional methods, as well. And, it allows you to target your message precisely to the ones most likely to buy-- That means, fewer wasted dollars.

Is it the right tool for your business?
These marketing techniques already have nearly a 15-year track history in many European and Asian countries. Regardless of what type of business you are in, someone is bound to have forged the trail ahead of you.

Generally speaking, these are the primary qualifiers:

If your products or services have pricing tiers that you can easily define; e.g., complimentary appetizer when you order two drinks; a free rose with every flower arrangement you order, etc.

If your customers are likely to have and use current G3 mobile technology.

And chances are they do. Most mobile phones in use are multimedia-capable. A large percentage of these owners use them for checking their email and browsing the Internet. And age doesn’t seem to be a big factor-- The market penetration of multi-media phone ownership doesn’t drop off significantly until after age 55-- And even that’s respectable, at around 30 to 25%.

The size of your business.

The size has less to do with whether or not you employ these methods, but how best to go about implementing them.

Software applications are available, for those on a budget. They may also be the right choice if some characteristic of your business is so unique it requires you to create a campaign specifically for your operation.

Or you can turn the whole thing over to a mobile application service provider (MASP). It’s likely you’ll even find one that specializes in your particular industry. You’ll be able to choose from a selection of campaigns with a proven track record, and the company can handle everything from launching each promotion to gathering and managing your database of contacts.

MASPs offer a variety of packages, and choosing the right one will depend on how much creative control you want to have, and, of course, your budget.

Why have mobile marketing campaigns proven to be such a success? Industry specialists say it’s because they forge, or strengthen, a relationship between business operators and customers-- And the fact that this relationship feels personal is the key.

That means, it builds two-way loyalty between customers and business operators. And it keeps the company’s name fresh in customers’ minds. Given the high expense, and questionable success rate, of traditional advertising, mobile marketing offers methods that are refreshingly inexpensive, and that more than pay for themselves.

Daniel Cavalli is an article writer based in Brisbane Australia. He publishes articles and reports for the Australian Telecommunications Service Provider Telcoblue. http://www.telcoblue.com.au