“Customers are using their mobiles to research everything, from where to order flowers to where to find a cab"

Annette Iafrate, UK MD of Constant Contact, said: 
“2012 will be the year that businesses see real results from social media marketing"

Following on from this, new tools and technologies will allow companies to better engage in order to build on their existing customer base and augment word-of-mouth recommendations.

“Customers are using their mobiles to research everything, from where to order flowers to where to find a cab. While we are still not at the results stage with mobile marketing, 2012 will see more companies using it to effectively target their customers. Small businesses need to address the fact that they can be located easily by mobile users.
“With the consumerisation of IT and the rising use of smart phones, targeting specific, local customers is also now much easier than it has been previously. Small business owners are time- and resource-starved and, as such, need advice on how to easily implement mobile tactics that can deliver true value to their companies.
“Deals and vouchers can now be tailored to exactly what each consumer wants, based on their behaviour across all channels. Most importantly, these promotions are now measurable, so business owners can see the return on their investment.”

Waltham Massachusetts-based engagement marketing specialist Constant Contact has opened an office in London through which it will provide UK support for its suite of e-mail, social media and event marketing tools, and its online survey solutions.
Web site: http://www.constantcontact.co.uk/ . 
The firm has recently launched a tool, Social Campaigns, which will , sit alongside its social media monitoring solution NutshellMail and online resource Social Media Quickstarter.  Constant Contact says around 10,000 of its c.450,000 clients are in the UK. These clients will now be supported from the company’s new office in Devonshire Square, London, led by Annette Iafrate who has recently re-located from the company’s US operations to take up the role of UK Managing Director.
Commenting on the opening, Iafrate said: ‘I’m already inspired on a daily basis by the wealth of talented and ambitious small business owners that play such a crucial role in the UK’s economy. We’re thrilled to establish a permanent base here to provide our customers with the support they need to succeed.