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Jan

How Are Smartphones Being Used?

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (0)

Why is this study really important to local business? It validates where your customers are hanging out and if you tap into this Mobile Marketing strategy for your business it could possibly increase sales and client database for your business. When I speak with local entrepreneurs I always mention how important SMS texting and QR Codes are for their business these days and in the diagram below, from Pew Research Centers, it clearly shows that. Every business should be thinking of some form of Mobile marketing for their business in 2012. Have you ever wondered though how those smartphone users are using their mobile phones? To help you get a better understanding of how smartphones are being used to support your Mobile and Local Internet Marketing initiative, here is an infographic below.

By the end of 2011 there was approximately a 44% penetration rate of smartphones with an extremely fast growth rate. There are about 5.5 billion mobile devices of which 2.2 billion of them are smartphones. Every mobile device these days being sold can handle texting, that is of course if the end user has it turned on, that is no wonder why it is #1 on the diagram below. However, not all mobile devices can take a picture and have it render to a URL (QR Code Marketing) and that’s why it is #2. The #3 category on the diagram below is Internet Browsing which is used for Local Browsing, your clients browsing for your keyword such as “plumber austin texas”. Then #4 Email Marketing is where you capture their name, email address and cellphone numbers because your clients want to be reached by email on-the-go.

Now it doesn’t surprise me that Apps are #5. Apps have that sexy ring to them but Apps are the most likely to get deleted and not used, faster than anything else on a mobile phone not unless your App is compelling and your clients love it. I always suggest to my clients, put all the other marketing strategies in place first before spending the thousands of dollars to create an App. Apps are the first thing to get deleted also if a phone is reaching it’s storage limits. Apps take a wee bit of time to put together so to help you increase sales from Mobile and Local Internet Marketing faster, it is best to focus on the top 3.

Remember, print media marketing is going down and mobile media is growing leaps and bounds with a continued growth rate from here on in to help businesses increase sales.

Does the data below match up to how you use your own smartphone? Let us know in the comments section below.

Categories : Email Marketing, Local Business, Mobile App, Mobile Marketing, SEO, SMS Marketing

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Dec

Safeway Helping Customers Cook Their Turkeys With A Mobile App!

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (3)

How Cool is this a Mobile App to inspire holiday cooking…..The Safeway Chef Assistant iPhone app.

Safeway Chef Assistant App

When I saw this come through yesterday, of course as a Mobile and Local Internet Marketing specialist I had to download the App. This is really cool! When I loaded it up from my ipod, I was greeted by the sound of a Turkey. It was so funny, Casey (our dog) started to park, thinking an animal was in the house. It was so funny! However, Safeway claims you can cook a turkey in a 2-hour window. Mmmmm, I am not fully sold on that yet. Since I haven’t cooked my turkey yet, I cannot honestly say that this works. I am really curious though.

Safeway is helping consumers prepare for the holidays with a recipe and a Mobile iPhone App. What a concept! Talking about giving customers what they want. Safeway did a survey to their customers and the results showed that there was an opportunity to build a broader awareness of all that Safeway has to offer to alleviate seasonal stress. According to the survey, 58 percent of women said their biggest holiday regret is being so busy that they don’t get to enjoy the food or company. To win back some of the lost time, the Safeway’s new Chef Assistant free mobile application shows how easy it is to prepare a flawless, moist and delicious turkey with an exclusive 2-Hour Turkey Recipe. In addition to step-by-step instructions on how to prepare, cook and carve a turkey, the application features four custom timers and reminders to ensure steps aren’t missed.

Combined with their Holiday Inspirations website and the “Chef Assistant” Mobile App, Safeway provides inspiring solutions to help with holiday menus, events but more importantly their Mobile App. What a way to be connected with their customers even when the stores are closed over the holidays. How many times do you think people will be mentioning the word “Safeway”. What a brilliant way of name branding.

The Chef Assistant app is available for free in Apple‚ App Store.

Mobile cooker

The app is aimed at moms and families who are looking for tips on cooking holiday meals.
Using the app, users can view step-by-step directions on how to cook a turkey in two hours.
Consumers can view tools inside the app to find the perfect cooking time for their turkey based on its weight.
The app also includes a three-minute video demonstration that walks users through the process of preparing a turkey meal.
Food lovers can also watch a video on how to carve a turkey.
To cater to Safeway‚ target demographic of savvy moms, the app aims to make meal preparation simple with four ingredients.
In order to move forward through each step, users must indicate that they have completed a step by tapping.
Consumers can also set a virtual timer to cook their turkey with voice reminders.
The app also features a section with commonly-asked questions about cooking a turkey.
For example, one of the questions is, should I not stuff the turkey before cooking?‚
In addition to cooking content, the app is branded with Safeway and its other owned grocery chains.
Safeway has also rolled out a mobile Web site that is holiday-themed with tips for entertaining and cooking during the holiday season.
Users can access the mobile site at mobile.safeway.com for recipes and receive tips from Safeway chefs Jeff Anderson and Debi Lilly.

Mobile Grocery Store

With the holidays quickly approaching, many grocery stores are rolling out mobile initiatives similar to Safeway. For Safeway, the special-edition app is a unique decision because it focuses on Safeway, consumers but does not offer any in-store features, such as a location finder or store deals. However, their mobile site features a location finder, deals and links to follow the grocer’s social media links, which are all important features for a mobile site to have. They created the Safeway Chef Assistant mobile app to help there customers spend less time cooking and more time with their family and friends jsut like their survey showed.

Cheryl’s Final Take

I think this is an amazing App for a grocery store. In September 2011, Safeway surveyed 525 women who have hosted or are planning to host a holiday party via online provider, Zoomerang. Given that 40 percent of the women surveyed said their biggest holiday stress is accomplishing everything that needs to be completed within budget, Safeway delivered affordable solution….FREE App. It is all about the customer and not about them, but yet, their name (Safeway) will be in front of millions of people all around the world even when their door closes for the holidays. What a great branding idea! Many grocery stores may want to model this type of Mobile Marketing strategy for their business.

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,694 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $41.1 billion in 2010. The company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.

If you are thinking in developing an App for your business or you are considering implementing Mobile and Local Marketing strategies and tactics for your business, please visit our website at http://www.cheryllynninternational.com. We look forward to working with you and your business! 905.981.8761

Categories : Branding, Mobile App, Mobile Marketing

Comments (3)

Aug

Small Businesses Using QR Codes to Engage Customers

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (0)

Mobi Highlights With Case Study: Taranta

What’s black and white and read all over? Five years ago the answer was a newspaper, but times have changed. Now the answer is…a QR code.

In its simplest definition, a QR code is a two-dimensional barcode. QR stands for “quick response” and while it might look like a black and white kaleidoscope from the 1980s, the codes hold practical business purposes and are popping up all over the place.

With the help of a smartphone or iPad, consumers can download a free app that enables them to scan the barcode, which directs them to a website or webpage of the business, product or service.

Rather than bombarding the viewer with too much info, a QR serves as a quick link to viewers/customers interested in learning more about a business, product or service.

Already immensely popular in Japan, South Korea and other parts of Asia, QR codes are starting to gain momentum in the US and Canada.

Indeed, they are popping up everywhere from e-mail signatures and business cardsto “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” and even gravestones.

When a QR code is placed in a storefront’s window, shoppers can simply scan the code and instantly learn more about the designers featured in the window display or available inventory. In this sense, QR codes help bring offline customers online. QR codes can help improve your sales. Have a printed QR code on offline advertising material and offer your customers a compelling offer of your product or service.

Case Study: Taranta

In 2000, Taranta opened as a southern Italian restaurant. Four years later Chef and Owner Jose Duarte discovered he wasn’t alone: there were more than 250 Italian restaurants within his two-mile radius. Knowing he needed to make his restaurant stand out in a saturated market, he decided to marry Peruvian cuisine with Italian technique.

Duarte found his inspiration for QR codes six years ago at a conference in Madrid when he saw Japanese chef Seiji Yamamoto using a generic edible code linking to a recipe. Duarte wanted to replicate it, but he had to wait until January 2011 for the device to be ready for the U.S. A customized QR code was designed for Taranta with the shape of a fish on it (as seen above).

Taranta also has rubber stamp QR codes and silk screen QR codes on fish orders so customers can scan the code on the plate to find out where and when the fish was caught, by whom and when it was delivered to the restaurant. Duarte didn’t stop there in his self-proclaimed “code madness” – he even created a branding iron to stamp a corn tortilla with a QR.

QR codes aren’t the only new media Taranta uses; six years ago Duarte started a blog and he’s also on Facebook and Twitter.

Duarte said Mobile technology is an important way of connecting with foodies. “Mobile technology is growing very fast. We want to be ahead.”

But while Duarte offers his patrons shiny new toys, he’s a proponent of old-fashioned table manners. “I’m not intending to have my customers scan codes during dinner. I consider the use of Mobile devices during dinner very distracting and impolite.”

Primarily, Duarte intends the codes to be used in demos, classes or with customers interested in food sourcing. Plus, tracking the fish also serves an internal sourcing purpose for Taranta.

Duarte plans to also start posting the QR code outside of the restaurant to create coupons or promotions to increase business. “We are at the experimental stages but through our QR codes and website, our customers can seamlessly navigate our menu, make reservations, find out specials, coupons…they can even pay ahead for a glass of wine at dinner.”

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My recommendation is you have a name for your small business. You set up a Web site and Hosting on your own so you own this internet real estate. You set up an autoresponder to capture online clients which is a great source of increasing client base. You start an email campaign. You start blogging and referring customers to your website for purchasing so you are seeing profits from it. What’s next? You could set up a profile page on a social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. These social sites allow you to virtually shout your company’s message from a technological rooftop.

If you require assistance in helping your business getting this setup please visit our list of services. You may also fill out the Contact form, write us an email. Wishing your business much success!

Categories : Branding, Mobile Marketing, QR Code, Social Media

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Aug

Add QR Codes to Headstones

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (0)

In a blog post April 2011 I wrote how people where tattooing QR codes on their bodies. QR codes are so versatile which can be used even in the saddest time of our lives…the loss of a loved one. This past weekend I read an article about a company in Seattle, Washington designing and carving quality custom headstones, memorials and monuments with QR codes on them. Headstones will always be placed at the memorial place of resting for our loved ones. But thanks to the ever changing world of Mobile who would have ever thought of a QR-tagged gravestone. Now amidst the zeitgeist of smartphones, iPads and the Internet (and social media specifically) QR codes are a very real part of memorialization. This is a great idea to remember your love one’s story in stone to help families express their love, preserve their family heritage and work through the grieving process.

With this modern age of Mobile Marketing today, a person can take a picture of a QR code embedded on one’s headstone and sent it to a love one in another part of the world or leave their condolences right on their own website. Below I share with you a youtube video of just how amazing this QR process is. To learn more about our services please CLICK here or you can simply fill out a CONTACT sheet or reach us by cell phone at 905.981.8761. We would love to help you save your client or love one’s story in stone.

Categories : Mobile Marketing, QR Code

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Jul

5 Quick Text Messaging Tips For Your Business

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (2)

: SMS Text Mobile and Local Internet Marketing

Mobile SMS Texting, when used properly, can make your business dominate your industry? There are now more Mobile devices than PCs and the number is still growing. Any savvy entrepreneur who embraces mobile marketing will surely reap benefits. However most people often ask me, ‘Cheryl, how will this SMS texting thing really help my business?”

Well, though there is no rule that SMS texting will gain the same result for your business vs another business, I have some tips that can help you.

1. Always stay clear from texting slang. Slang is usually a turnoff for your clients. Just use normal words and language that the ordinary person is used to. Some trendy terms (example: u, ur, pls, etc) may not harm though but be careful; your language will most likely influence your clients in pulling them to your business.

2. Get a service provider that supports your marketing strategies to increase sales for you and is cost effective. Imagine your business having a VIP text messaging Club with 20,000 clients, as some businesses have and you wanting to fill some empty spots within your business. Sending out tens of thousands of emails may be costly and not as effective as it would be if you texted your client on-the-go. By the time your client reads the email on their computer, your offer may be gone therefore driving no clients to your business and the end result…no sales. You need a service provider that can allow this kind of bulk messages at a cost you feel comfortable with and on a timely basis.

3. Integrate text-message marketing with other offline marketing strategies. Think of sending people and your existing clients to your place of business using text messages. Making your website a web sensation is extremely important. Having mobile and email optins are extremely important these days. Look for ways offline media can be integrated to your campaign. A little creativity is all that you require. Remember you need to test everything. You never know. For example: I was recently at a shoe store and saw on the front counter a sign asking me to optin to their mobile keyword for 10% off my current purchase. I did just that and I received not only the 10% discount but also 2 for 1 special. Ever since that day, that shoe store sends me SMS test messages when they are having their specials. If it wasn’t for that initial optin, I would have missed all the specials and the store would have missed my sale. This is a great example of maximizing your business sales through Mobile and Local Internet Marketing. I am sure you can come up with tons more of mobile strategies for your business.

4. Hold contests, have special offers and give coupons. Wow! This is a big one. If you have ‘a buy one get one free offer’ nothing can bring a flood of customers like text messages. Have people compete for valuable prices by send messages that brand your business.

5. Be patient and allow time to build your Mobile and Local Internet Marketing program. Just like any endeavor of business, time is the determining factor. It takes time to build a mobile number list and it takes time to connect to your client mobile list. So don’t give up too soon. You may not have a mobile list at the moment. However, start collecting your customer’s mobile numbers and email addresses. This is the most valuable asset you can ever acquire for online marketing strategies. Start by giving out coupons in exchange of their numbers. You will be surprised how supportive they will be. But give genuine reasons why you need their numbers. Say something like’ occasionally we do have sales for loyal customers only and we need a way of relying the messages quickly.’

Finally, if you need any help in implementing any Mobile and Local Internet Marketing strategies, please consider Cheryl Lynn International for assistant. We would love to help your business grow in both revenue and clients. Please feel free to comment below and share your success Mobile and Local Internet Marketing stories that has helped your business.

Categories : Affiliate Marketing, Branding, Email Marketing, Mobile Marketing

Comments (2)

Jun

No Wallet by 2015?

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (6)

: Mobile Payments

WOW! PayPal hit a whooping new milestone: the payments platform has more than 100 million active accounts. That is amazing. Who would of thought in a million years people would be paying for stuff with their mobile phone. That little gadget that they sleep with, eat with, travel with, etc, etc, etc, Wow, times have changed!

The news, announced by PayPal President Scott Thompson, also comes with a bold prediction: that by 2015, the wallet will become a thing of the past. That why I think it is really important that business really seriously take a hard look at merging off-line and on-line marketing strategies today and start SMS texting their products to their clients on-the-go. Mobile and Local Internet Marketing is here to stay and it will be HUGE by the year 2015.

“As the trend toward digital currency continues to gain momentum, we are focused on delivering solutions that are not just new and different, but better than what is currently the norm today,” Thompson said in a blog post.

They also predicted and said, “We believe that by 2015 digital currency will be accepted everywhere in the U.S. – from your local corner store to Walmart. We will no longer need to carry a wallet.”

To back his assertion, PayPal is launching a new campaign that will challenge five Bay area residents to only use digital currency to pay for all of their purchases — no cash allowed. It’s an intriguing campaign that could become a good marketing cool for the company.

PayPal has been on a tear in recent years, generating more and more of eBay’s total net revenues and profits. The company is expected to facilitate more than $3 billion in mobile transactions this year alone.

The payments company faces some powerful challengers, though. Google recently unveiled its mobile payment solution, Google Wallet, to the world. PayPal has sued the search giant, accusing two of PayPal’s former executives (now with Google) of stealing and sharing trade secrets.

If we can help you put strategies together for your business please feel free to Contact us at Cheryl Lynn International.

Categories : Email Marketing, Google, Mobile Marketing

Comments (6)

Jun

Google Wallet Isn’t the Only Mobile POS Tool for Small Business

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (1)

Is your business ready for Mobile payments? Mobile is getting bigger, slowly but surely. A few months ago I was shopping at Payless to capture their two for one deal. I was very surprised when I went to the counter to cash out, I saw a sign saying, “Key in the Keyword ????? to ???? and Save 10%”. (Sorry, I forget exacting what their keyword and text # was). But, it was cool. I was so excited for them because being a Mobile and Local Internet Marketing Specialist I want to see businesses grow with Mobile and this strategy was HUGE $$$ for them. When I keyed this information into my Android, I got a message back, confirmed it with the cashier and sure enough I got an additional 10% off my purchase. It would have been even better if I could have paid my purchase with my Android through my Paypal app. So today, when I get a text message from them of their specials, I definitely try to make it to the store.

Anyway, my whole point of sharing this with you is that Mobile is BIG and if you have a brick and mortar business, it is really important that you really incorporate Mobile marketing strategies with your offline marketing strategies. It is really key to help your business. Today if I had a brick and mortar business, I would definitely be building my offline and online customers lists through email marketing and Mobile and Local Internet Marketing strategies.

With the announcement of the Google Wallet mobile payment system last week, small businesses will have new ways to process credit cards while shoppers can make “contactless” payments.

And while this service from Google is new, numerous pass-through services already allow people to use a their smartphones to pay for goods. PayPal had been among the dominant players in this arena, and has already responded to Google’s announcement by filing a lawsuit. PayPal remains a good service for buying things online, but it doesn’t work so well at the point of sale (POS).

Several other tools work well with POS systems, allowing small businesses to Read More→

Categories : Branding, Email Marketing, Google, Mobile Marketing

Comments (1)

May

Mobile Marketing Power

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (12)

Mobile marketing, a permission-based marketing tool, is making waves across the internet and rapidly becoming a major communications channel for reaching customers. Mobile Marketing has tremendous power for our business.

According to an independent survey from Airwide Solutions in 2009, 200 million Americans carry mobile phones and today there is over 5 million phones on our planet. This is more than cars, computers, tv’s etc. In addition, this study reports that 40 percent of major brands have deployed text messaging (also known as SMS, or short message service) campaigns. Nearly 40 million U.S. consumers received SMS advertisements, and 12 percent responded to them, according to the Metrics Study, “Cracking the Mobile Marketing Code.”

Text messaging, also known as SMS, allows short messages (between 140 – 160 characters) to be sent from one cell phone to another or from a mobile messaging platform. This unique way of communicating with your clients and market has capabilities such as website link inserts in the actual text, invitations to enter contests or take surveys and polls, ringtone downloads, mobile coupons, location-based information, and cause donation campaigns, to name a few. By using this platform to inform and send out call-to-action campaigns that will get people back to your site or to your location, you can build a powerful new link to your current connections and use contests to build a larger list. Read More→

Categories : Branding, Mobile Marketing, QR Code, Wordpress

Comments (12)

May

Teens, Cell Phones and Texting

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (1)

Text Messaging Becomes Centerpiece Communication

The mobile phone has become the favored communication hub for the majority of American teens.

Cell-phone texting has become the preferred channel of basic communication between teens and their friends, with cell calling a close second. Some 75% of 12-17 year-olds now own cell phones, up from 45% in 2004. Those phones have become indispensable tools in teen communication patterns. Fully 72% of all teens² — or 88% of teen cell phone users — are text-messagers. That is a sharp rise from the 51% of teens who were texters in 2006. More than half of teens (54%) are daily texters. Read more at:

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1572/teens-cell-phones-text-messages

Categories : Branding, Mobile Marketing

Comments (1)

May

Using Mobile Apps In Your Business

Posted by: Cheryl Lynn | Comments (5)

There is a lot of work and understanding of the development process in creating an app. Apps can be very, very effective to increase sales, create a new stream of on-line customers (increase client base), promoting your business, etc, etc. However, app development is a very expensive and lengthy development process.

Since I work in the Mobile and Local Internet arena I get asked a lot, by entrepreneurs around the world, if I would help them in developing an app for Mobile. Unfortunately, I am not a software developer. There hasn’t been much public information around this topic from Google nor developers of the hows in developing an App until recently. I always kept this in my radar to help my clients and promised them that as soon as I hear of any information pertaining to this I would post it on my blog. So today I would like to share with you breaking news by Wayne Pan from Google on this very topic. Wayne Pan is a Software Engineer at Google and he explains this so well. It is about 36 min. long but so well worth the time.

If any business is thinking of developing their own App, I encourage you to watch the following video from Wayne. You should also check out Google‘s new guide to the app galaxy and learn more.

I would love to hear your stories on your new app development. Please share!

Categories : Branding, Google, Mobile Marketing, Press Releases, QR Code, SEO, Social Media

Comments (5)

Archive for t mobile

How Are Smartphones Being Used?

Safeway Helping Customers Cook Their Turkeys With A Mobile App!

5 Quick Text Messaging Tips For Your Business

No Wallet by 2015?

Google Wallet Isn’t the Only Mobile POS Tool for Small Business

Mobile Marketing Power

Teens, Cell Phones and Texting

Text Messaging Becomes Centerpiece Communication

Mobile Mastery 2 Millions - Ebook

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