Is QR Your Code for Success?

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QR codes are a convenient and simple way for customers to connect with your business. For your customers, typing your website URL is like a long walk between printed collateral and the mobile web; QR offers them a ride.

Does QR Technology Fit Your Business?

For your company to enjoy the many benefits of the quick response code, there are a few requirements:

•  Are you actively marketing your company?
•  Does your company have an updateable website?

If you answered yes and yes, you’re in business. QR codes can be easily integrated with your existing marketing strategies. Think of your marketing campaign’s destination as a room with multiple entryways; QR codes are one of these doors.

The Web’s Skeleton Key

So what “rooms” can QR codes open when scanned by a smartphone? Any you’d like customers to find. QR codes can access anything with a web address:

• Targeted site pages
• Newsletter signup or special offers
• Social media pages

Applications for All Industries

Any printed marketing piece such as a display, flier or sign is prime real estate for your QR codes.

Grocery store point-of-sale receipts are perfect for informing customers of upcoming sales or providing “your next purchase” coupons. The customer scans the QR code after putting their purchase away in the fridge or cupboard to see where they can save next time.

Store signage codes can declare the day’s specials and point the way. “Save $1 on Store Brand Cereals! Just head to aisle 7!”  Storefront displays can be scanned for a similar “Come inside for…! “ message.

For retail businesses, product tags and packaging can have codes that bring up customer review forums or similar product suggestions.

Codes placed on brochures, mailings and business cards can reveal your manufacturing or contracting company’s most pertinent information, key benefits and unique services and selling points.

Start by asking yourself; “What kinds of focused content do we want to push?” Then take a look around your store, office or at your print pieces to determine your code’s placement. Start with a basic strategy and up the creativity as you go.

Scanning a Win-Win Strategy

QR codes let you control where the customer goes, conveying your exact desired message. This powerful square of pixels comes with a long list of benefits:

• Create QR codes for little or no cost
• Widen your marketing net to the increasing number of tech-savvy customers
• Print marketing can offer limited space; QR codes direct customers to your readily available, more detailed website
• QR-coded collateral can allow customers and networking partners to save your phone number to smartphones or email with no typing
• Determine your successful products or offers with code scan tracking
• The customer feels appreciated, like you took extra steps to save them a few of their own

On the flipside, your customer gets the convenience of skipping a backslash-heavy URL typing session. A direct line to more detailed mobile content is provided, as are coupons or an inside track to sales and specials. QR codes benefit everyone involved.

Some Must-Remember QR Essentials

• Include a direct link with the code for the QR uninitiated
• Include a concise, one sentence description/pitch
• Ensure the code is big enough to get attention and is placed where customers can scan on the go, at their convenience or while waiting

Quick Response, Quick Connections

You’re always thinking of new ways to connect with your current customers and new prospects. Bringing new and familiar faces through the door of your business is what QR codes are all about.

QR codes open up a fresh dialogue, resulting in customer excitement and loyalty, added revenue and an effective tool in your marketing belt.

The Great Mobile Debate: Site or App?

Look up from whatever you’re doing right now. How many people are fiddling with their smartphones, entranced by a glowing screen of content? If they’re not texting, they’re preoccupied with either a mobile app or a mobile site. Can your small business be found in either of these realms?

Differences in Purpose

Mobile sites and apps have very similar DNA. Both give your small business:

• Extended marketing reach
• A fresh visibility on the essential mobile platform
• Smartphone-friendly information
• Customer interactivity

Apps match sites function-for-function with one big difference; apps are essentially a piece of software for your smartphone. They are native to your phone and dedicated to an explicit function, much like Microsoft Word is housed in your PC for word processing.

Mobile sites and apps are virtually neck and neck in functionality, but which does your small business bet on? Here’s a look at both horses in this race.

Mobile Sites in Small Business

Waves of studies point to droves of people accessing mobile sites daily. They prefer mobile browsing over apps for business searches and shopping . If you present customers with a compelling mobile site, they have no need to comb through an app store.

Mobilewebsites are universal and all-inclusive if optimized properly. Sites will ideally be built to work on rival smartphone giants iPhone and Android, as well as stragglers Windows and BlackBerry. Apps must be built individually for one platform at a time. Unless you have the budget, potential customers may be left out.

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Finally, the simple, critical factor of cost favors mobile sites, as they are considerably cheaper to develop than a mobile app.

Mobile Apps in Small Business

Smartphone users spend more time on mobile apps than mobile sites. A recent study found that 82 percent of “mobile media minutes” are dedicated to apps over mobile browsing. Another survey indicated that most of this time is divided between personal finance managers, calendars, GPS navigation and social media.

An app’s ease of access factors in. Customers click the app homescreen icon, and they’re in. Once the app is downloaded, they don’t have to worry about spotty mobile web reception or password-protected WiFi. The app icon will be laid out clearly and conveniently on their phone. 

Apps give your small business a powerful presence in the customer’s life. If you offer a useful app, customers will dedicate valuable smartphone real estate and memory to your small business.

Base it on Your Business

Your business should consider investing in a mobile presence. Comparing the costs and considering the virtual functionality tie, start with a mobile site. If you have the budget, go for an app or a full-blown site/app mobile campaign. If you decide to dip your toe or dive right into the mobile waters, you will be very happy with the results.

Mobile Websites: Not a Novelty, But an Inevitability

We’re all on the go, all the time, leaving our desktops and laptops at home. Our need for information doesn’t stay behind with these machines; it runs out the door with us, hitching a ride on our smartphones.

Your customers and potential customers are also sprinting in this mass perpetual rush. This means mobile websites are not a novelty, but an inevitability for your small business.

Devices and Demand

Cellphone ownership is borderline universal, coming a long way from the “cool kid” toys that were early models. Flip phones, BlackBerrys, etc. all had their time. Smartphones were the next elite, now they’re a common sight, as are mobile sites on their screens.

People are using mobile sites, and if your small business doesn’t have one, they’ll just find someone else who does. Customers want the convenience of mobile sites, and your business wants the increased visibility.

A Google survey found nearly 3/4 of respondents want mobile and are likely to revisit mobile sites. Other studies conclude that 15% of total US and Canadian web traffic comes from smartphones. Smartphones helped themselves to this generous chunk of the web pie thanks to: 

• The Smartphone Surge: Smartphone sales are projected at 1.05 billion units in 2015 with PCs and laptops lagging in comparison.
•   Wi-Fi Hotspots Heating Up: Not just for Starbucks anymore, 5.8 million hotspots will be available in ’15, up from 800,000 in 2010.

Convert Browsers to Customers

At this point you might be thinking, “I want calls and customers, not mobile site views.” You’re right, small business mobile traffic is a superficial stat without conversion, and eyeballs on your mobile site will deliver more calls to your small business.

According to Google partner DudaMobile: “Users take action on mobile-friendly sites. 1 in 5 website visits lead to an immediate call to the business.” Further Google number-crunching indicates 67% of survey participants are more likely to join your customer ranks if you have a mobile site.    

Mobile Must be Lean and Mean

In regards to the web, the word “quality” gets thrown around more than “like” at a high school. This is Google’s go-to mystery adjective for web content. However, quality mobile sites are more clear cut. All good mobile sites have one thing in common: Optimization.

Mobile sites need to be simple and stripped down with blatant, direct paths to your company’s essential information. Efficient design means efficient navigation to your most vital content.

Mobile Function Musts:

• Easy-to-use navigation
• Minimum of scrolling and pinching
• Quick load times 

Mobile Content Musts:

• Business contact info: Address and business hours
• “Click to call”
• Social media links

Go Mobile or Go Home

Instead of sliding in front of a PC, more people are reaching into their pockets for information. It’s a trend that’s growing toward mainstay status.

The pro-mobile numbers will only climb as the technology gets sleeker, faster and more advanced. Keeping up with this curve and growing your business means optimizing your own small business for smartphone screens.

Your Ecommerce Prep Checklist

Congratulations! You’ve given the green light to implement ecommerce for your small business! Good call; global ecommerce joined the trillion-dollar industry club in 2012.

This number will only go up in 2013 (projected at $1.2 trillion) and a chunk of that is yours for the making. But where the heck do you start? Short answer, get organized. Long answer, read on.

Start with a Spreadsheet

Yes, the dreaded spreadsheet. Where ever your product information is stored (in Quickbooks, on paper or in your head) start breaking it out via data export or a fresh new Excel doc.

Your web developer needs your best and most thorough understanding of your business according to your existing printed catalog or other collateral. All criteria you want assigned to your products online require their own column in the spreadsheet:

• Product Categories and Sub-Categories
•  Unique Product Name/Product Number or SKU
•  Price
• Keywords and Detailed Product Description
•  Product Image Name
•  Sizes & Colors
• Shipping Options and Fees

Remember, your list must be written and structured based on your business and your products or services. Your ecommercesystem needs to fit your business, not the other way around.

 

Organize Your Product Images

Ever comb endlessly and aimlessly through your hard drive for that one family photo you want to print and frame? Nothing is named, nothing is organized, and you’re ready to lose it. Spare your ecommerce developers the same torment.  

Label every product photo that will be part of your ecomm system. Establish a consistent and simple labelling formula of words and numbers. Don’t get too cute or carried away with underscores and hyphens. This isn’t just for the sake of your web guy’s sanity; it keeps your ecommerce project on track and on budget.

 

Getting You Paid

As a small business owner, you’ve swiped your share of credit cards. You know which cards you take and turn away. Your to-do list on the credit card end of ecommerce is a short one:

• Know what credit card associations (Visa/Mastercard etc) you plan to take
• Compile your merchant account info and reach out to your account contact person

If you’re unsure of what you need, your web developer can advise you on the requirements. From there, you just need to make the call to get started.

When you reach out to your account rep, ask them to establish a “payment gateway.” This makes your account person the gatekeeper between your customer and the credit card company in the payment process.

From the Web to the Customers’ Door

Order packaging and shipment is another common occurrence in your small business’ day-to-day. Yet again, your preferences simply carry over to your ecommerce system.

The shipping options you offer customers over the phone are plugged into your ecommerce system. It’s your call, from shipping method (USPS, FedEx, UPS) to delivery time (Standard, overnight, 2-day etc).  

Let’s Get Selling

Considering the potential customers and revenue, you can’t afford to exclude ecommerce to your small business. Think of a successful, profitable ecommerce system as a roadtrip destination. Your web design company is behind the wheel, and you’re supplying the GPS.

There might be some annoying “re-calculating” moments and wrong turns, but if you punch in the correct information, you’ll get there via a relatively smooth trip.  

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Ecommerce: The Next Necessity?

The small business world and its customers are constantly changing, so you are always changing. Your company has kept up with the trends and changes in how customers pay for products and services.  From cash-only to checks to credit cards - you've adapted your business & systems accordingly.

Everything came down to a business decision. Is the money there? Is the timing right? Will this keep my existing customers happy AND bring in new ones? The new question - is adding ecommerce capabilities to your website the next necessity?

Beyond Ebay & Amazon

Ecommerce is a product of economic and tech evolution. In most minds, ecommerce = Ebay and Amazon. As these companies boomed, people started trusting their credit card information to the web. With their popularity, Ebay and Amazon blazed the trail for any product based company to sell online.

Consumer acceptance has now opened the door for service-based companies to add online payments to their repertoire.  Gym memberships, insurance instalments, account / bill payments, donations; now you can accept payments for any service with an ecommerce system.

Keeping Up with Convenience

Our need for convenience set off the ecommerce boom. This accessibility brings benefits to both your company and customer. Ecommerce takes the sales & customer service pressure off your business. The customer in turn controls the buying & payment process on their terms. It’s a win-win:

·         Your win: A crucial selling tool and added revenue.

·         Your customers’ win: Getting what they need, when they need it, on THEIR time.

The Consumer Has Spoken

The trend is clear and the statistics are staggering: US consumers will spend an average of $1,472 per year online between now and 2016. Ecommerce has done nothing but grow in recent years: 

·         In 2011, the total tally of US online receipts hit $202 billion

·         It climbed to $226 billion in 2012

·         Ecomm spending projects to spike another 45% to $327 billion in 2016

·         In 2012, total worldwide ecommerce spending reached $1 TRILLION 

Is Ecommerce right for your business?

There is no better time than right now to weigh your options.  Start by researching ecommerce systems that are specific to your industry.  Look at your competitors' websites to see if they have incorporated online purchasing or payments.  Print up an Accounts Receivables report to see if ecommerce can help streamline the payment process.  Get input from employees & customers.  Ultimately if you determine that now is NOT the right time for ecommerce, it's something that should stay on your radar to be re-evaluated every couple of years if not more frequently.

Missing Links in Your Search Engine Marketing Strategy

Back before the dawn of Google, backlinks ruled the web. Through internet natural selection, the search engine evolved into the dominant species. Despite its authority, the search engine has yet to phase out backlinks; they are a crucial tool for small businesses.

Background on Backlinks

A backlink is any link that is directed toward your website from another website. Examples:

• A blogger raving about and linking to a newly discovered site
• A link posted to Facebook or Twitter

Backlinks lost their corner office, but are still an important cog in Google’s grand scheme. The more quality backlinks your site has, the more popular Google considers it, improving your search engine rankings. Think of backlinking as a petition for Google to recognize your site. Quality links are the signatures.

Digitize Your Networking Efforts

You’re always in networking mode for your business. This means a steady stream of business cards flowing from your wallet. Backlinks are digital business cards leading back to your company.

Research and interact on popular blogs or forum sites relevant to your industry. Contact the blogger and let them know about your business and the quality, relevant content you can add to the conversation. This tactic can get the link train moving.

Keep it Relevant

Like with their paper counterpart, be conservative in distributing your backlinks. You don’t pass your card to everyone in sight; you strike up conversations to see who might want your services.

When working the room that is the web, seek out blogs and forums related to what you offer. Like chatting it up with potential customers in person, you’re seeking quality business interactions, not a saturation bombing of your company information.

When playing the good cop, “quality” is Google’s favorite word. If you blindly unload a dumptruck of links (known as linkspam) on irrelevant sites, they send in the bad cop. This side of Google could slap your site with the “spam” label for snubbing their quality guidelines. Even if you’re sharing your link to a relevant site, don’t get carried away; over-linking can also incur Google’s wrath.

Lean Toward Natural Links

Actively backlinking your site is useful, but can become a crutch. These backlinks are lab-grown; focus on the organic equivalent. Cater to your visitors with your site content . This includes filling your site up with:

• Well-written, detailed content
• Attractive photos, layout and visuals

Work toward a site with a strong base of visitors. This will spur organic link-building through these dedicated traffic drivers. Web devotees post at every opportunity, EVERY day. Whether it’s to their own blog, Twitter, Facebook etc, if they like your content, the links will be there. 

Beware the Black Hat

At this point you might be saying, “This sounds time-consuming, I’m gonna farm it out.” Not a bad idea, but be careful.

Many SEO services offer backlinking, but some known as “black hats” will build yours with spam. Google’s spam bloodhounds will sniff out these links, blow them off the web and impose punishment on your site. 

Market, Market, Market!

In the end, you win with a good website. Refine and perfect your content marketing techniques, and with quality web content comes quality backlinks. Inject content into the web that demands interactivity and the backlinks, and improved Google rankings, will come.