We’re delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted in two categories (Technology and Family Business of the Year) for the 2012 Red Rose Awards.  The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at Winter Gardens in Blackpool on the 15^th of March.

Date – 23rd February 2012
Time – 08.30 am  (Presentation to start at 09.00am prompt)
Place  – Business Development Centre, Eanam Wharf, Blackburn, BB1 5BL
RSVP – Click here to register

• The bargain hunter
• The digital native
• The loyalist
• The roamer

Here are some ideas on how to tailor your mobile marketing for each group:

Bargain hunter

“I like to use my phone to research products and then buy where it is cheapest.”

Bargain hunters seek out discounts at their favourite stores, but will also check out competitive stores before purchasing. They look for coupons and promotions online and are beginning to rely on mobile sites and smartphone apps to research products and find discounts.

Ways to reach the bargain hunter:

Create in-store signage with QR codes next to products that are on offer.  When scanned, a coupon along with information on the product and user reviews instantly becomes available.

Digital native

“SMS, Facebook and Twitter are my preferred methods of communication. I love downloading music, playing games and buying tickets from my phone.”

The digital native is a tech-savvy younger individual not easily reached by traditional media. This group spends a lot of time online and will use mobile phones to access content regularly. Also, this group is hooked on SMS. For marketers, this is good news because more than 90 percent of SMS messages are opened and read compared to less than 40 percent of all email.

Ways to reach the digital native:

SMS and more SMS. Offer a mobile opt-in club for exclusive offers. Also consider text-to-win competitions as they love the thrill of entering!

Loyalist

“I am prepared to be loyal to a brand or store, but expect to be rewarded for doing so.”

Often creatures of habit their loyalty needs to be earned.  However once secured they tend to stay with you for the long-run.

Ways to reach the loyalist:

Ask loyalty programme members to text in their reward card number to tie it to their mobile phone.  Sending them mobile coupons based on spend patterns and shopping behavior is a fail-safe way to retain their custom.

Roamer

“I am a bit fickle in my buying behavior and can be influenced if the offer or reward is right.”

Similar to the bargain hunter, the fickle roamer is always looking for a better deal (or reward).  However where they differ is their propensity to try new things and follow the latest trends.

Ways to reach the roamer:

Earn the roamers’ purchases through eye-catching campaigns that offer instant gratification – albeit for a short while!  Novelty is the key so new technologies like holographic QR Codes may be a sure-fire way of getting their attention.

Imagine the following hypothetical scenario:

A woman named Jamie needs to visit her local store and is invited to use the retailer’s branded app to enhance her in-store experience.

• 1 p.m.
  As Jamie walks into the store, she receives a welcome message and is asked to check-in to her app for some deals specific to the shopping trip she is about to embark on. After selecting “check-in,” the retailer’s app automatically opens and she receives her first promotional voucher for new products from one of her favourite brands.
• 1:10 p.m.
  Jamie is browsing the cooking sauces aisle and uses the retailer’s app to scan a QR code next to an item which she remembers seeing in a recent email from the retailer.  Through the app, she is given a choice of watching a product demo, downloading a voucher or reading user reviews (the item has received 4.5 stars to date).
• 1:20 p.m.
  Jamie passes by a gondola end promoting seasonal products. She looks through them, finds one that interests her, scans the QR code on the point of sale and the retailer sends her a promotional offer enticing her to buy 3 for the price of 2.
• 1:30 p.m.
  As she is leaving the store, Jamie receives a message thanking her for visiting the store with a link to a store survey. She fills out the survey, makes a comment about the new location of  ice creams and upon completion instantly receives some additional points on her loyalty card.

Although this type of shopping experience sounds a tad futuristic, rest assured these technologies are accessible now.  Our technology team is currently exploring ways in which our retail clients can implement a number of mobile innovations including a QR code payment system.  The future is much closer than you think – drop us a line and we can show you how…

* Source E-consultancy

“If we put a number on it, people will try to make the number go up.

Now that everyone is a marketer, many people are looking for a louder megaphone, a chance to talk about their work, their career, their product… and social media looks like the ideal soapbox, a free opportunity to shout to the masses.

But first, we’re told to make that number go up. Increase the number of fans, friends and followers, so your shouts will be heard. The problem of course is that more noise is not better noise.

In Corey’s words, the conventional, broken wisdom is:

• Follow a ton of people to get people to follow back
• Focus on the # of followers, not the interests of followers or your relationship with them.
• Pump links through the social platform (take your pick, or do them all!)
• Offer nothing of value, and no context. This is a megaphone, not a telephone.
• Think you’re winning, because you’re playing video games (highest follower count wins!)

This looks like winning (the numbers are going up!), but it’s actually a double-edged form of losing.  First, you’re polluting a powerful space, turning signals into noise and bringing down the level of discourse for everyone.  And second, you’re wasting your time when you could be building a tribe instead, could be earning permission, could be creating a channel where your voice is actually welcomed.

Leadership (even idea leadership) scares many people, because it requires you to own your words, to do work that matters. The alternative is to be a junk dealer.

The game theory pushes us into one of two directions: either be better at pump and dump than anyone else, get your numbers into the millions, outmass those that choose to use mass and always dance at the edge of spam (in which the number of those you offend or turn off forever keep increasing), or

Relentlessly focus. Prune your message and your list and build a reputation that’s worth owning and an audience that cares.

Only one of these strategies builds an asset of value.”

SETH GODIN has written thirteen books that have been translated into more than thirty languages. Every one has been a bestseller. He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything.

Visit his website

That’s not say that we’ve been resting on our laurels; December was a great months  for new client wins – we’ve welcomed three successful businesses onto our roster: Art Décor of Whalley, Express Freight Solutions & Winterbottom Schoolwear.

Why use online marketplaces?

• Ready-made audience
  Both eBay and Amazon have a massive audience, providing a ready-made marketplace for products.  In the UK alone, eBay has over 14 million active users. Whilst other online sales channels, especially natural search traffic from Google, take time to build, online marketplaces provide instant sales, getting a business off to a flying start.
• Simple
  Setting up a presence on an online marketplace requires no technical knowledge, although knowledge of HTML is a help when creating attractive, compelling listings on eBay.
• Trust and protection
  Consumer trust is a real problem for new retailers. With their well-recognised brands and protection schemes, the major marketplaces can help online retailing newbies avoid this problem. Both eBay and Amazon, to different extents, offer a level of consumer and retailer protection. Amazon acts as an intermediary guaranteeing every sale though its marketplace. eBay offers buyer and seller protection for customers who use its PayPal online payment service.

In our experience there is no “one size fits all” silver bullet.  Invariably the industry sector you operate in will determine which options works best for you. One of our sister companies has found that electronic products priced above £100 have sold more successfully through its own e-commerce website and Amazon.  Conversely items with a lower price point have sold in larger quantities on eBay.

1.  Keep it Simple

Design your mobile site so it is easy for consumers to find what they are looking for. Simple layouts and pathways will make it easy to navigate your site and quickly locate the products they want.

Your site should reflect your brand presence but does not need all of your website’s functionality – not all of it is relevant or conducive to the mobile environment, e.g. video demos may be valuable on a website, but given limited space and bandwidth, might be frustrating on a mobile device.

2.  Design with the unique capabilities of mobile in mind

Mobile provides new and unique ways to engage your consumer.

New touch points, such as store locators, QR codes and location-based promotions can assist businesses eager to generate incremental revenue from new and existing customers.

Hence simply repurposing an existing e-commerce website may only be considered as a stop-gap whilst you craft a bespoke mobile experience.

3.  Personalise the experience

Given the personal nature of mobile devices, it is the ultimate means of reaching an individual.

Enabling consumers to find the products that interest them (based on their past purchases or stated preferences) provides for a better overall experience and higher conversion rates.

4.  Speed is everything

Remember that speed of use is perceived differently on the PC compared to the mobile. Users are willing to browse at leisure on the PC, but they are not so patient on a mobile device – they invariably want instant gratification.

5.  Integration between channels

Consumers want to seamlessly interact with your brand across all channels without feeling like they are not recognized or remembered at each new touch point. They do not see the world in terms of marketing channels. They simply want to interact with your brand and products through whichever means is easiest at the time.

Next Thought leadership Event “Unleash the Power of Mobile for your Business”

As you will have noted from our last newsletter, mobile commerce is really starting to take off in a big way as smartphones become ever-more ubiquitous.  The headline figures are compelling – 51% of mobile owners (23 million people) have already used their mobile device to make payments, redeem coupons or research products and services.  (Source: IAB)

It goes without saying that it would be great if you can attend – however we appreciate you can’t be in two places at once with the best will in the world.    If your existing diary commitments prevent you from making it, we would be happy to share our presentation with you (and your team) at a time of your choosing.

Where & When?

Date – 6^th December
Time – 08.00
Place  – Fir Hotel, Knutsford Old Road, Warrington (View map)
RSVP – Amanda Rawcliffe 01254 279 998 or amanda@ebusinessuk.com