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FOURSQUARE FOR BUSINESS

By Seb on Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 | No Comments

Foursquare is part of the next generation of mobile applications. Described by the company that created it as “a friend-finder, a social city-guide, and a game that encourages users to explore their neighborhoods and rewards them for doing so,” Foursquare is an application that is designed to allow people to “check in,” or, in other words, indicate their whereabouts. People check in at a variety of different types of places, including their homes, parks, offices, restaurants, bars, cafés, and various businesses.

The idea is to allow friends to share their favorite spots in any new places that they may discover. In this way, Foursquare is very much so an application that is tantamount to viral marketing and it can be used to occur age word-of-mouth participation by your customers; here’s how:

Customer Loyalty:  first, consider using Foursquare to offer customer loyalty promotions, such as offering a complimentary appetizer to any customer that checks in three times in a given week or writes a positive review. Foursquare makes offering these types of so-called “Foursquare specials” easy by providing free tools to allow businesses automatically fulfill or unlock the Foursquare special (e.g. Foursquare says you have been here 3 times this week! That’s a free appetizer!; Foursquare users get 20% off their order every 10th check in!).

Points: Foursquare operates almost like a game as well, in users gain points for checking in, adding a new venue, repeat visits, etc. The points are assessed by venue, as well as a whole. Businesses can encourage customers to check in by providing value for the number of points accrue,  such as offering to donate a nickel per point to a charity or allowing users to earn discounts in relation to the number of points they have.

Mayors: the user that has the most points for a specific venue is designated as the “mayor” of that venue. Such, many businesses will choose to offer something of a larger value to the member who becomes the mayor of their venue, such as a gift certificate or a complimentary bottle of wine. Many Foursquare users are very competitive over the “mayor” status and this “battle” can translate into increased exposure, and accordingly profits, for a business.

To do lists: next, consider creating a “to-do” list for Foursquare users. A Foursquare to-do list operates very much like a contest or scavenger hunt. You would create a to-do list based on aspects of your business you would like to promote, such as your new line of cocktails or a new fitness class.When a user completes the to-do list, you could award him much the way you would award the “mayor” – by providing a complimentary item or service.

Everyone’s a winner: lastly, consider making everyone a winner by offering a free upgrade to anyone who checks in (and shows they did to the cashier) or by offering 10% off to everyone in the store when the analytics show that 100 people have checked in at your venue.

Without a doubt, participating in sites like FourSquare  can be a key part of growing your business presence in the eyes of  internet dependent local consumers.

An online marketing strategy includes being findable in multiple places when local consumers are looking for your product or service.   A Local Internet Marketing Consultant can help you strategize and implement your online marketing plan, including opportunities like FourSquare.

Traffic Generation – The Basics

By Seb on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 | 4 Comments

Websites are an ingenious tool to market and establish your business in the virtual world. Once you launch your company on the internet the target area of your customers increases to incorporate the whole world. With that kind of endless limit, it becomes absolutely necessary to utilise this prospective tool to the maximum benefit and make it more useful for the actual business.

Your website can cater to you as a virtual store and it should be your company’s identity on the internet. It is the representative of your company in the virtual world and therefore it is very important to make sure that it is well maintained to present the best image of your company to the potential customers and visitors.

Having said that it is important to understand that the customers or visitors to the website are the website’s primary target and all of the effectiveness of the website depends on them and for them. Keeping this in mind it is not difficult to understand why it is important to apply tactics to generate the maximum visitors to the website. This is called traffic  generation.

There are many ways that can assure you a healthy amount of  traffic to your website. Some of these ways I have discussed below.

· An interesting website is its own ally in generating web traffic. It thrives on the cheapest marketing ploy of word to mouth publicity (going viral). If your website has a target age group or sex of the customers in mind, make it as interesting as you possibly can keeping in mind this category. This will ensure repeat  traffic which can form a large part of the over all traffic for the company.

· Link your website with other websites and search engines. Choose the websites that already cater to a similar group of customers and link with them to capitalise on their already established web traffic. Make sure that the websites that you associate with are credible and authentic. Associating with less than reliable  sites will only mar your reputation and decrease the suitable amount of  traffic that you need to make sales.

· Learn to optimise the keywords in your website. This is a very essential part of generating traffic. The keywords determine the popping up of your website in searches that are conducted on search engines using certain keywords and phrases. They are very important and useless keywords will ruin your chances of a healthy amount of  traffic.

· Make your site user friendly and interactive enough to amount to repeat traffic. This is essential because there are many websites on the same subject on the internet. If your site does not have an edge over other websites it will lose its visitors to other better sites.

These are just some suggestions to help you generate more traffic and basically focus on repeat traffic. However, the internet allows for a lot of creative ideas and there is no problem in experimenting and coming up with unique methods of generating the maximum web traffic for your site.

What is Google maps and how can it help you as a small local business

By Seb on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 | 13 Comments

Your small business can grow exceptionally fast once in it is on Google maps as it helps consumers find businesses and business owners they want to do business with. And contrary to popular beliefs, it is a free service and can do loads for your small business as many customers these days use the mobile phone. It takes just about an hour to list your small business in Google maps and according to their findings; nearly 20 percent of businesses are looked up at their site.

Best of mapping technology

With Google maps, your business can share your hours of operation and customers can be offered coupons. You can display photos of your business and share videos of services and demos, offer products and do much more. Google maps are a service that offers the best of mapping technology for your business. Much of it is free without any strings attached to them.

By listing with google maps, you can present your business’ products or services to customers through a graphical map interface with the help of a mobile phone or PC.

If someone wants to check out a particular type of business within a geographical region, he or she would type in a variety of search terms in the maps search box. Searches can be easily done on type of business, location, driving distance from address and any other type.

It is the nearby location for which google maps can help small businesses situated close by. As soon as the google map returns the results, all businesses listed in a particular type that will fit the search will come up. So you can benefit in loads as a small businessman.

The graphical map interface will appear on the right hand side of the listings which you can zoom in, scroll, and even view a satellite image.

Available with mobile phones

It is easy for the customer to view the contact information with the help of a marker posted to the map. The customer can even print the exact driving directions from his or her location to the selected address. Mobile devices can also be used for Google maps and in the US; there is the sms where you can also text. Google will automatically send the top searches to the customer’s query.

If the customer has a mobile phone with a browser, local listings, map and driving directions can also be viewed. It is only available with mobile phones that are java enabled and with the Blackberry. With mobile google, you have the potential to market effectively to your customers who are in transit and are looking for a particular business nearby.

If you can list your business with Google, you can be ensured of a large amount of traffic to your site but you need to do a correct listing with Google maps

FROM A LOCAL BUSINESS TO A REGIONAL (OR INTERNATIONAL) PRESENCE: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TRANSFORMING BUSINESS OPERATIONS

By Seb on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 | 1 Comment

Technology is transforming the way business is done, least of all in the arena of small business. As a small business, you have a unique advantage to your larger competitors in that your cost for adoption of new technology is minimal, and the difference the technology can make is invaluable. Aside from being able to connect and communicate with a local consumer more easily and more efficiently than before, technology can also enable you to expand your business’s horizons – what started as a local “Main Street” type business can expand into a regional, or even international, player.

So, how does this happen? It is easier than you may think. Most obviously, technology enables you to conduct business via the Internet. Whether you provide a product or a service, you can reach new consumers, check existing consumers, and obtain valuable market research inexpensively and with little upfront costs. The issue of state, regional, or national boundaries is essentially dissolved. In addition, technology also enables you to expand your operations through its role in communications. You can message, IM, video conference, telephone, or interact on one of the many networking sites (both social and private). Lastly, technology has also opened shipping networks, so that it is possible for you to send a package, be it of a product, a signed contract, or a hardcopy of a service provided (e.g. engineering plans, business plan, photographs), to anywhere in the world, in as little as a few days, if you are willing to pay the extra costs.

However, this is considering technology at its broadest level. If you are like many business owners and managers, you may know that such technology exists, but have little conception as to how to adopt it. The truth is that any modern technology is easy to adopt – they have designed it to be so – you only need to know where to start.

The following is a list of new technologies and ways that small businesses can use them to advantage:

  1. Social Media: Social media (sites like Facebook and Twitter) add another dimension to your business operations. You are able to connect with current and potential customers in a whole new way. Not only are you able to provide information on your product or services and relay the news of your company, but you are also able to inquire as to what features or elements they prefer in your product/service offering, improvements they would like to see, etc. Further, you can run promotions in this way as well. The best part about social media however is that it is free to use and, unlike starting a blog without a unique domain name, you may actual gain esteem in the minds of many consumers for the fact of your adoption of the new technology.
  2. Conferencing: Instead of traveling hundreds, or even thousands, of miles to hold a meeting, you can stay on top of client relationships, project management, and interact with suppliers or distributors via video on your computer. Some technologies will even allow you to interface over a document – each able to read and manipulate the document. Again, the cost is minimal. After all, you don’t necessarily need a huge network like Cisco. As a small business, you can get all the features you need for free through Skype or even just using the video conferencing software already built into many messaging and operating systems, such as iChat on Apple devices.
  3. Networking Sites: Through free technologies, such as Ning.com, you are able to build your own social networking site. Use this technology to provide a platform for interfacing over a project, for internal communication within your company (particularly useful if you have employees in various locations, working various shifts, or if employees need to upload large documents), or providing a valuable communication point for highly integrated clients, suppliers, distributors, or subsidiaries. There are also many low-cist sites, such as Basecamp, that can provide similar advantages.
  4. Communication: Lastly, consider communication. If your employees are wide spread, work autonomously, or travel frequently, you may want to consider providing them with smartphones. Smartphones can allow you to tether (meaning to use your phone’s wireless connection to get “online” with your laptop), access email on the go (and respond professionally), open documents, search contacts, etc. Whereas a larger corporation may only be able to afford to do this for select employees, as a small business you would be able to provide smartphones to everyone for minimal cost, a large part of which would be tax deductible.

The Importance of Technology in Customer Retention

By Seb on Thursday, July 1st, 2010 | 67 Comments

Marketing has entered a new phase where virtual communications are the standard and being “on-line” is a given. Potential customers search for products/services, look at websites, read reviews, email questions, and get an idea of the company’s concept or brand through social media. While these elements are important, the comparative success of marketing techniques is largely variable from one industry to another. However, any business, regardless of industry, size, location, or target market, loses 30 percent of its customers each year. In spite of this fact, the marketing budgets of most firms are 80 percent or more focused on finding new customers, as opposed to retaining customers.

Customer Retention

Customer retention is a serious issue and it can serious affect the bottom line. In order to solve the quandary as to why customers go elsewhere, you have to start by asking yourself a few fundamental questions:

-          Why did they come to you in the first place?

-          Did you deliver on that concept?

-          Did they go to a less costly competitor, one with better service, or one with better products/services (e.g. more features, specific features)?

The fact is that almost 70 percent of customers leave because they are unhappy with the service they receive. Their complaints, while they may include something such as may clarity of rules (e.g. certain items/services excluded from a sale), communication (e.g. received no response to an email or phone call, no notice of a delay in delivery) is a far bigger issue.

Communication Tools

To this end, a variety of services, many of which are free or of very low cost, have emerged. They allow you a framework for communication with your clients: complete with a calendar of milestones and expected completion dates, a place to upload files (including the very large ones difficult to email), a message board to ensure communication between all parties, a common information board (e.g. contact information, project outline), and an overview of what has been uploaded, posted, or added most recently. There are three main players: SharePoint, Basecamp, and Google Wave. Each is very different from the other.

SharePoint

SharePoint is a creation of Microsoft. Its primary function is to facilitate communication within a team; the primary focus is on content management. SharePoint is the best in situations where there is a volume of documents integral to the project, as SharePoint has great sorting features. It also allows for customized workflows and certain automation of processes. It works well in situations that include a large number of players, a large number of documents, and a high need for customization. It is commonly used at an organizational level and is common in larger companies.

Basecamp

Basecamp is a simple program. It is allows its users to share documents, post messages, upload files, record milestones, and have an overview as to what has happened with regard to the project most recently. It is best used in environments where a company has a variety of projects ongoing, each with varying timeframes, and in scenarios where there is a different level of involvement for each player, such as one suppliers may be involved in two projects while another may supply necessary components to all but one project.

Google Wave

Google Wave is an amped up version of Google’s Gmail system. It has a shared calendar, capability for real-time updates and chats, and document sharing. Google Wave is the newest of the three main players but, owing largely to the ease and familiarity of the Gmail system, many users find it easy to use. Accordingly, email integration is the easiest of the three systems profiled here. It is most useful in scenarios that benefit from integration – Google Wave is able to integrate into other websites. It has less of the project management focus (as in Basecamp), but is not quite solely at the organizational level.

In addition, some companies will opt to create a private group on a social media site, such as Facebook or Linked In, or take advantage of a create-your-own network site, such as Ning.

The Concept of “Team”

Whatever method you choose, success in business is all about the team. When you start a business, the focus is on building your internal team. As that business grows, the concept of “team” is expanded to include suppliers, distributors, customers, and complementary product producers. Keeping your standard of communication and team integration high can help ensure that you retain a greater percentage of your customers and, in doing so, achieve success.

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