The Weekly Wrap - Technology and Marketing News

The theme for the week could very well be "brick-and-mortar retailers embrace mobile." Some big-name retailers are putting technology to work for their business in unique ways. Here's a summary of the top technology and marketing news to make headlines this week. Enjoy!

• Retailers can combat "show rooming" with "clienteling." ow.ly/uMX3m
• 70% of companies have a mobile strategy in place. Business services and retailers lead the way. ow.ly/uZzWl
• Call, click, or come over. Great examples of retailers using big data and multiple channels to fight showrooming. ow.ly/uZzwR
• This study says consumers say no to being tracked via their mobile devices while in-store, yet incentives and discounts may lure them to opt in. ow.ly/uXucR 
• Facebook expands advertiser's reach and targeting potential with enhanced Lookalike Audiences tool. ow.ly/uZAVU
• Taco Bell mails feature phones to super fans and influencers to help promote its new breakfast offerings. ow.ly/uZAhd

Sales Rise When Retailers Embrace "Showrooming."

We've always been big fans of managing the customer experience, particularly when it comes to routing calls efficiently and using call recording and call tracking to ensure that the customer experience always lives up to a company's brand promise.

Lately, retailers have faced a true customer experience challenge with mobile "showrooming," in which customers enter a store, use their mobile devices to compare prices, and then purchase elsewhere for a lower price or more convenience. 

An interesting study published this week indicates that brick-and-mortar retailers who embrace "showrooming" and make mobile devices part of the complete customer experience actually see sales rise, rather than fall. From the study: "42% of consumers using a mobile device while in-store spend more than $1,000, while only 21% of shoppers without a phone spend as much." How is that possible? By blending old with new and using mobile devices to complete the in-store experience.

Examples include use of location-based technology to provide store visitors with personalized offers, providing in-store mobile coupons, and even matching lower prices found elsewhere via a mobile device. It's all about blending in-store shopping with online conveniences to deliver an integrated and superior customer experience.  

Get more details and ideas from the complete article here. 

The Weekly Wrap - Technology and Marketing News

From mobile payments to mobile ordering. New uses for Twitter, Pinterest, and SnapChat (did you see the new lead generation card that Twitter advertisers can use for capturing lead data?). Television advertising moves to mobile. Here's a summary of the top mobile and marketing news to make headlines this week.

• Order that latte in advance! Starbucks plans to test mobile ordering this year.
• New marketing campaign from Crystal Light combines print and Pinterest.  
• Location marketing is making big strides, but what if the location data we're using isn't quite accurate? This study shows that people aren't aways honest about their locations.
• This Dunkin' Donuts franchisee uses Twitter to geotarget customers.  
• Companies are offering new ways to test what makes money on mobile.  
• How five big brands are incorporating SnapChat into their marketing mix.  
• Mobile on the menu: Burger King adds mobile payment capabilities at U.S. stores.
• Big brands move to full-length video on mobile ads, leveraging TV spots.  

More Mobile Marketing Tips

Every marketer needs some inspiration from time to time. Check out these creative campaigns and marketing tips that made headlines recently:

• Marketing to millennials? Combine mobile with user-generated content, according to this.
• Lionsgate targets mall shoppers via mobile with movie trailers, calendar reminders for opening dates. 
• GrubHub unleashes Snapchat's potential with daily challenge, food giveaways. 
• Office Depot demonstrates marketing uses for wearable technology. 
• What's the key to success for a brand's mobile app? Sustained engagement, not just downloads. 
• Twitter is testing a click-to-call button for ads, making it easy to connect with businesses and brands. 
• Better Homes draws 10,000 entries via an Instagram contest. 

Click-to-call and Social Media: Blending old and new

Earlier this week, Twitter announced that the social media site was testing a new click-to-call feature with its advertisers. The goal, of course, is to add new ways that consumers can use Twitter to engage with brands while also offering greater value to advertisers.

While this marks the first time that click-to-call is used within a social media platform, the technology isn't new -- it's been used to date in certain mobile applications and in search engine results. In fact, "location-based apps such as Google Maps and Yelp already offer the click-to-call feature. A recent study commissioned by Google showed that 42% of 1,500 mobile searchers used the function, and about 48% of respondents said that talking to the business influenced their decision to buy the respective service or product." (Read the full article from the Wall Street Journal here.)

This is just one example of what we call "leveraging telephony in a digital world." The value of live discussions and connecting via telephone hasn't gone away. Rather, we continue to find new ways to make the tried-and-true blend with the new. Watch for more examples and insights on this concept in future posts!

Landlines harder to give up than social media?

A Pew Research study that was publicized this week indicated that some Americans have a harder time giving up landlines than social media. From the study: "While 28% of landline owners say it would be 'very hard' to give up that wired connection, that amounts to only 17% of the total adult population. More surprising is the news that, despite the country’s increasing dependence on the internet, survey respondents who have landline phones still thought that their home phones would be harder to give up than social media." (Here's a full summary.) 

For consumers, the growth of Internet Protocol (IP) and wireless technology is rapidly displacing our traditional system of copper landlines. As a result, more and more consumers are shedding landlines in favor of Voice-over IP (VoIP) plans or mobile phones, which can be more cost effective and are completely portable.

But what about businesses? Do copper lines still offer value? Certainly, VoIP systems can offer a host of additional benefits that landlines cannot, such as easily adding or removing users or connecting multi-site organizations across one network for easy call transfer. VoIP systems also allow companies to take advantage of a host of features at a fraction of the cost, including auto-attendant, on-hold music, voicemail and fax to email, call recording, and more. Really, the only benefit that landlines have over VoIP is that they are not dependent on electricity or the internet, so they are always available in an emergency. 

We believe that VoIP solutions will trump copper in nearly every situation, even for smaller businesses, especially when they start growing. Watch for more information on this topic in the future!

Tech Trends in the News

From mobile payments to second screens to new ways to combat "showrooming," these technology tips and trends made headlines recently. We thought they were worth repeating.

• Are mobile payments moving to wearable wallets? 
• Great read on choosing your next franchise location. Properly analyzing your call data can help provide answers. 
• Study shows 84% of smartphone, tablet owners use them while watching TV to place orders, get information.
• Mobile app or mobile website? Both, if possible, according to this article. 
• Study finds that small businesses are especially vulnerable to mobile payment fraud. 
• In Canada, retailers combat "showrooming" with deep in-store discounts for mobile users.
• Can't keep up with the new mobile/social networks? Here's a great read on their branding potential. 

Back from the Big Easy

We just returned from the International Franchise Association’s 2014 Annual Convention in New Orleans. As usual, the event was a great success. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to say hello and learn more about how we help turn calls into customers. And congratulations to Zach Collinger of SkyZone, winner of our iPad Air giveaway!

This year's theme was "Driving Growth in Challenging Times," and educational sessions were full, along with the general sessions featuring Leon Panetta, former U.S. secretary of defense and CIA director; Cheryl Bachelder, CEO of Popeye's; and Todd Rowe, Google's managing director of global channel sales. Topics covered throughout the conference included management and leadership, marketing and sales strategies and best practices, and much more.

We facilitated a business solution roundtable session titled “How mobile is changing the customer experience.” Much of the discussion focused on these topics: 1) understanding which mobile technologies and marketing tools are relevant for the franchise's particular business model; 2) prioritizing the various mobile technologies, software solutions and web-based tools without breaking the budget; and 3) ensuring consistency across franchisees and tight integration within the whole customer experience system to better drive marketing campaigns and measure ROI.

We'll explore these topics further in future posts, so stay tuned!

Notable Mobile Campaigns

Need some marketing inspiration? Check out these creative marketing campaigns that made headlines during February.

• Staples tests mobile offers via SMS text messages for in-store shoppers. More. 
• Brilliant marketing moment: The story behind JC Penney's Superbowl stunt #TweetingWithMittens. More. 
• U-Haul and Calvin Klein create novel marketing campaigns using mobile, Instagram.
• Victoria's Secret creates a digital scavenger hunt. More. 
• A&E's Bates Motel transforms phones into flashlights for a 3D virtual tour. More.

Going to IFA?

We’ll see you there! The International Franchise Association’s Annual Convention is the premiere event for the entire franchise industry, to be held Feb. 22 – 25 in New Orleans, LA. We’re a proud member of the IFA and will be participating again this year. You can find us on the Exhibit Floor at Booth #518. If you’re attending, here are a few items to note:

Business Roundtable: How mobile is changing the customer experience

Since smartphones and tablets are quickly gaining ground as the primary tool for web surfing and telecommunications, it only makes sense that the growth of mobile will affect how franchisors manage their customer experience. In fact, according to Forrester Research, brands that do not use mobile to enhance the customer experience risk becoming obsolete.

We’ll be facilitating a business solution roundtable discussion on Tuesday, Feb. 25, titled “How mobile is changing the customer experience.” The discussion will focus on ways to incorporate mobile as a customer service channel and which tactics have worked particularly well for franchise organizations. Please join us, and bring your questions! (Get the time and location here.)

---

Win a $25 Gift Card and Maybe Even an iPad Air!

If you like games (and who doesn’t?), stop by our booth and fill in the missing letters for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card or an iPad Air. Here are the details:

Our booth contains the phrase, Let us make you say WOW, with three letters missing. At the booth, you’ll draw four letters. (Print this page and present it as a coupon for two extra letters, for a total of six.) If your letters complete the phrase, you’ll win a $25 Amazon gift card. All players will be entered to win the iPad Air.

See you in New Orleans!

Draw the missing letters at our booth and win a $25 gift card. You'll also be entered to win this iPad Air.

Welcome to Our New Site

At AdGeo, we take complicated call routing challenges and make them simple. So we thought it was time for a simplified website! Here’s a peek at some of the new tools and resources that you’ll find on this site to help you turn calls into customers:

• The latest news from AdGeo and the industry   
• A resources section with white papers and published articles, sorted by topic, that are full of practical information to help your business         
• Upcoming industry events worth noting   
• Our Twitter feed, for marketing and technology tips and trends in real-time

If you have other ideas about things you’d like to see on this site, please let us know! We’re all ears. Use the Stay In Touch feature to contact us. Enjoy!