The Simply Sophisticated Blog

It has never been easy to target customers where they are, when you want to reach them. That is changing. Today, 133.7 million consumers, a full 52.5% of the US population, own a smart phone, making them accessible for merchants to reach them in more immediate ways.

The average consumer spends 127 minutes on mobile applications a day. They are responding to their emails, browsing Facebook and other social media, and searching for places and things to do nearby. That is nearly an hour longer than people spend on the Web using their desktop computers or lab tops and only about 40 minutes less than the average time they spend watching TV. Most importantly, the consumer is on the go using their mobile device to solve problems or fill time as they move through their day.

With this, change in lifestyle, Hyperlocal targeting gives merchants the ability to reach just the consumers they want to reach, at the times and places where it matters. With this, fresh technology comes brand new ways to reach consumers, ways such as device level targeting; location enabled impression, positioning targeting, place based and something referred to as Sense Targeting, which is the use of location, behavior and user-level targeting all in one.

However, today, merchants are missing out. Mobile usage accounts for 10% of all media consumption by consumers, yet only 1% of the marketing community’s overall spending. Part of the reason is there are challenges for hyperlocal targeting. There is a lot of “dirty data” in that some complex algorithms and inconsistent standards get passed off as in correct location data. In addition, privacy is an issue and the ability to measure the full benefits of hyperlocal marketing because mobile users often make their purchases offline. However, even as the technology continues to improve marketing involvement in hyperlocal targeting remains behind the curve.

This could be a big benefit to the ICB owners. By taking advantage of the technology that is ready for use and getting ahead of the curve could give the ICB a leg up on its major competition. There are a number of hyperlocal marketing companies on hand today to work for the ICB marketing, and their pricing is very reasonable.  It has always been a problem for major merchants to take the lead in new technology. They tend to want to sit back and watch the entrepreneurs take the risk on brand new development and then come along when they feel it is safe. In today’s world of technology, that is no longer a sound business practice but because of this old-school thinking, the ICB has been given a leg up on their major competitors, and they need to take advantage of the opportunity.

The question is should you offer a Guest Wi-Fi connection to your customers?
If you have ever gone into a Starbucks with your tablet to do a little work, you know how nice it is to be able to make use of their free Wi-Fi connection. Alternatively, you may have gone into Office Depot to make a purchase and used their guest Wi-Fi to get information about the item you are buying. Using a merchant’s Wi-Fi is something the world at large has come to take for granted. While offering a guest Wi-Fi to your customers can have some very positive results, free access in your business is something that takes careful planning.
Unlike wired networking, which limits your network access points, Wi-Fi networking allows users to work from any location within the reach of the Wi-Fi signal. While this is great for customers, it can also open you up to potential security breaches if you allow outsiders to access your Wi-Fi without protecting your information. So when setting up access you want to make sure that you create a Guest Wi-Fi Network.
A guest Wi-Fi network is a portion of your company’s wireless network that is set up for use by customers. Within this sub-network, your customers enjoy full Internet connectivity without being able to access your internal network information. You isolate and protect your confidential company information while still providing your customers a guest access to the Internet during the time they are shopping.
By setting up a Guest Wi-Fi, not only are you protecting confidential business information from prying eyes; you are also protecting your entire network from potential infection by viruses or malware that your customer may be harboring on their devices.
Before offering the service, you need to make sure that you have a wireless router that provides the necessary settings needed for a true “Guest” hookup. If you do have the correct device, then offering this service will be a real no-addition-cost service that will bring a lot of great positive customer feedback. In today’s world of technology, that kind of opportunity does not come along very often.  In our mind, it is just another way of making technology simply sophisticated.

How often can you be involved with something in your business marketing program that is truly effective and has a very strong ROI? It our experience, with working with the ICB community, we would have to say not very frequently. More importantly, usually when this kind of opportunity is available you see it being used by everyone as regularly as possible.

The Internet is one of those marketing tools that is very effective when properly managed, and it is relatively inexpensive there by providing a strong ROI. However, in a recent study by an international business consulting group, it showed that the ICB community was only using 3% of its advertising budget for Internet marketing. The big question is, why is that? It is an effective marketing tool. It is inexpensive, and it can reach over 90% of your customers. Why then is the ICB community apparently ignoring it?

We read one report that said the reason the ICB was not using it was because many of the ICB owners have a long history of family members who were stuck on traditional methods of marketing and another report, which said that ICB didn’t have the financial resources to get the job done.

We believe them both to be wrong, and it is not uncommon for the large marketing companies just not to understand the ICB owners. After working with independent business for a number of years, we understand their situation. The majority of ICB owners are what we call “Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.” That simply means they are very business running their business and have not had the time to understand, learn and/or implement a business plan which would encompass the embracing of technology. Unfortunate as that may seem it is understandable.

The sad part of this situation is with the proper guidance, learning and using Internet marketing can be simpler than it appears and once implemented, it becomes a very strong tool for keeping a business prosperous and providing new opportunities by being able to compete with their largest competitors not only in the local community, but it can open up a much larger market.

All ICB’s need to determine for themselves what the potential Internet market can bring to them and to what degree it should be used. The tools of using the Internet may be only an email marketing program, but it could be website marketing, a newsletter, social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.), modified e-commerce or full e-commerce, SEO website development, Internet business director enhancement, in-store digital signage connected to your website, store online loyalty programs, website product branding. The list goes on, and it may seem intimidating. However, the benefit of Internet marketing is everyone can start out with the basics such as email marketing and with a good technology implementation program, the process can continue to grow over the next year or two making it very possible for an ICB to have the time to commit to a solid long-range plan. We strongly recommend that the ICB start slowly and get the basics taken care of. Doing that will make a much more successful and satisfying program.

Getting started is easy and does not require a large amount of cash. The first thing is that you must learn as much about your current customer’s technology habits. Do they have an email address, are they connected to any social media site (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and do they “like” business sites, do they buy online, have they done any “Showroom” shopping, and other similar like questions? This is important because once you have gotten that kind of information from your existing customers it will help you develop a more successful program.

The easiest way to get this information is by offering your existing customers some buy benefits if they take  the time to complete a “confidential” questionnaire. Confidential is very important and the customer has to have the assurance that you will not sell or use their information for anything other than your operation.

The offering should be something of true value. A large discount, 25% or 30%, on their next purchase is a great benefit to both the customer and yourself. The customer will appreciate the discount and from your standpoint, it does not require you to put out any cash to get the information which is needed to get the program developed. Granted, your cash flow will be impacted, but at least you do not need to put any cash up front to get it started.

Once the information has been obtained you will then be capable of creating an Internet marketing program which will reach your current customer base as well as allow you to reach out to others on the Internet providing you with a great tool for continued growth.

Watch for other articles over the coming months on how to build a program now that you have the needed customer information or give your Technology Strategist a call and ask how they can help get an Internet marketing program up and running with their help.

We all know that retail technology has been a rapidly changing environment over the last several years, but nothing has been changing as fast as the third-party payments and loyalty programs.  

Many years ago, when credit cards got its start, numerous experts said that we were going to be in a check less-cash less society.  While credit cards did reduce the use of cash and checks, it never came close to eliminating them. Then several years ago the debit card was introduced, and again, many experts said we were going to eliminate check and cash transaction. While the debt card has had a much greater impact on checks and cash, it still did not eliminate them.

Today though, with the rapid change, we are seeing in payment processing, we may finally be on the edge of eliminating checks, except for very few limited face to face transactions and substantially reducing the use of cash. The wallet is doomed!

“Mobile Payments” are changing the way we handle paying for items and as an ICB it is critical that you understand these changes because it will have a major impact on how you do business. So the question is, “Have you spoken to your payment provider recently?” If not, you need to without delay.

With changes that have taken place with mobile payments and more importantly, the significant changes which will be taking place over the next year or two, it is important you have a payment provider who is going to keep up with the changes. If they don’t, you and your customers will be very disappointed.

For years, many payment providers were just a third party who was your representative who got you set up with a major payment provider like Heartland or First Data. Then they sat back and collected a small part of the fee you paid for your credit and debit card transactions. They didn’t do much else. If that is the type of provider, you are still working with you need to take a hard look because it is probably time to change.

From security issues to new uses of payment methods at the POS and Online or the interactive buying processes, if you are not working with a provider who is actively engaged in the changes in technologies, especially mobile payments, then you will be in for a lot of customer frustration, potentially lost sales and the inability of using technology to grow your business. It’s that important, in the pass payment processing was only a function used to close the sale. Today it is now an intricate part of the total sales process.

It may be to your advantage to contact a technology strategist to determine your present payment situation and to help understand what you should be doing based on your future plans prior to call your current or prospective payment provider. Having a stronger payment knowledge base before your call helps  establish the guidelines you will need to follow moving forward. Call us if you think we can help, we are always happy to hear from our readers and answer any questions you may have.