Last month this blog gave an overview of near field communication (NFC) and how it can drive highly personalized marketing.  This month we take a closer look at the benefits of NFC and how visionaries see it being deployed for marketing and advertising.

Earlier this year, Google quietly dropped QR codes in favour of NFC, launching Google Wallet, an Android app that allows smartphones to store credit cards, loyalty cards, and gift cards so that consumers can make mobile payments by phone. On October 5 Canadian mobile development company Gauge Mobile and media company NewAd teamed up to develop North America’s first Near-Field-Communication Ad Network starting with NFC-enabled advertising displays on college campuses. What next?

Let me be the first to say that slicker technology does not guarantee successful marketing campaigns. When campaigns fail, the problems are likely more to do with marketing strategy and execution than technology. NFC won’t solve such issues. However, given its many business benefits, I’m hopeful that companies will plan for NFC more carefully in order to deliver valuable information, maximize brand engagement, strengthen sales, and harvest deeper metrics.

Deliver information on-demand

Have you ever seen an advertisement and wanted to know more about the product or company? Then forgotten about it in the next moment? With NFC, users can tap/point their mobile device to an advertising display or product tag and receive information instantly. Not only could information include topics such as product benefits, ingredients, usage directions, and where to purchase, but users would be able to save the information for later action; or the retailer could include a ‘call to action’ such as a coupon or the opportunity to purchase online. NFC enabled media tells a brand’s story more effectively and captures the customer’s attention by providing valuable information when they need it most – at the point of impression.

Maximize brand engagement

Brand engagement comes from a combination of quality content, company involvement, and customer interest. You may choose to engage customers through promotions, gamification, or customer service. NFC can provide new depth to brand engagement and make your advertisements more effective.

1. Promotions

NFC will make coupons, giveaways, sweepstakes, and contests easier. At the tap of a mobile device, users can win a time-sensitive coupon, receive giveaways, enter sweepstakes or contribute content. Much like “Facebook Connect”, individuals will be able to connect to external applications, websites; NFC-enabled media however, responds in seconds instead of minutes, giving users a seamless and positive experience that leads to stronger brand perceptions and a more effective marketing effort.

2. Gamification

NFC will add a new level of customer interaction by making the real world part of a digital world. This means businesses will be able implement a “gaming / rewards” layer into their marketing efforts without the worry of customer hassles. With NFC this fun iniative will be next to seamless and make participation easy. If executed correctly, this addition to the game layer can result in stronger brand involvement and longer customer life span.

3. Instant Response

NFC will provide seamless connectivity to a brand. This applies not only to marketing, but also to a company’s customer service efforts. Reading through product information can take time and today’s audience wants instant gratification. Convenient customer service can be the deciding purchase factor. When a customer connects to an NFC device there is the opportunity to provide them with direct, real-time communication to a customer service agent. Having a company representative available will provide the audience with a positive brand relationship and satisfy time-sensitive purchase inquiries.

Strengthen sales

NFC-enabled media turns every brand impression into a potential point of sale. Every tagged billboard, poster, banner, or branded object is a storefront. Customers standing in line for transit, paused in front of movie posters, or sitting on a bus will be able to take out their phones and make a purchase.  NFC will reduce the amount of time it takes to browse, inquire, and purchase goods. This expands a business’ reach and enhances shopping convenience.

This grocery store in Korea has provided out-of-home shopping in a subway station. They help customers save time by giving them the opportunity to purchase groceries while they wait for a train. Although this was a QR code implementation, NFC will do the same and also provide a simpler, more user-friendly experience.

Increase depth of metrics

One of the greatest advantages of NFC technology is its ability to collect data. Every scan, purchase, view, or inquiry that runs through an NFC ad network can be tracked and recorded. Advertisers can obtain a more granular view of data. Imagine being able to see how many shoppers interacted with a piece of media, or purchased at the point of impression. This is extremely important because most traditional media metrics are not accurate enough to prove success.

With a well-planned NFC media campaign, businesses can make decisions using data unprecedented in quality, relevance, and timeliness. In a competitive and evolving advertising landscape, NFC will help advertisers and businesses do a better job of planning and justifying marketing spend.

The release of GaugeMobile and Newad’s NFC ad network changes the advertising world landscape. It provides new opportunities and new mediums for creativity. It’s simple, smart and engaging. NFC allows business to provide customers more information, create deeper brand engagement, strengthen sales and increase depth of metrics. Businesses that creatively adopt this new platform will no doubt see impressive results.

Vancouver Web Agency to Attract Over 100 B.C. Marketing Executives to ‘Grand Prix’ Event

PR Newswire

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 7, 2011

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Vancouver Web agency MarketingSmartt announced today some of the top B.C. executives that will be attending its exclusive “Grand Prix 2011″ marketing management conference on February 25th. The list includes companies such as IBM, Houle Electric, Sierra Systems, Blenz Coffee, Accent Inn, DNA Data, and Hemlock Printers.

MarketingSmartt Grand Prix 2011 is an exclusive 1-day conference delivering Web, Social and Mobile marketing strategies. Signup is by invitation only, admission is by donations, and all proceeds will go to MarketingSmartt’s charity partners — Union Gospel Mission and A Loving Spoonful.

The Company contributes the popularity of the event among B.C. executives to several reasons.

“Companies want to keep up with the speed of change in an era of Web 2.0, mobile marketing, and localized search results,” states company CEO Saleh Tousi, “Plus, it’s not often you get to schmooze with other top executives next to racecars and a pit crew. This event will really bring together the local business community.”

For media inquiries about the event, please visit www.emarketingbc.com or contact Agata Szymaszek at (604) 473-9700.

About MarketingSmartt

MarketingSmartt is the only Web agency that helps marketing managers of ambitious companies utilize the latest technologies to build tribes around their brands in an era of Web 2.0, mobile, and localized marketing. For additional information please visit our website at www.marketingsmartt.com.

Read the Reuters article.
Read the Yahoo! News article.

Collecting analytics data about your site visitors is a good thing. The theory behind collecting information is that if you have some sensible data, you can better plan when executing business objectives. But, like most good things, there’s a catch.

You need a way of testing all this wonderful data against your theories of what works. If you don’t, you will be left with a big blob of information that doesn’t do your organization much good except supply icing for colourful reports.

For example, how useful is it for you to know that, on average, your website visitors spend 40 seconds on your landing page?

Or, what intelligence do you get from knowing that your customers drop out at the third step of a registration process on your site?

You can get all of this data from analytics, but so what? How does that translate into implementing changes to your site to help achieve results? If only there was a way to use this data to help achieve business objectives…

Enter Optimizer.

It’s all about testing. No, I am not talking about a 100 question multiple choice exam. Think simpler. Think kindergarten: A or B questions. With Optimizer, you can test two different scenarios against each other to see how your visitors react (split testing) and use that raw data to see which scenario works better. It’s so simple that it makes achieving business objectives a breeze. And the best part is that you can test anything: content, call to actions, graphical elements, even user interface concepts.

Let’s take one of our previous raw data examples and see how Optimizer can help. Let’s say your customers are dropping out on the third step of your registration process and you want to find out why.

You have two theories as to why they are leaving:

#1) You are asking them for too much private information.

#2) The third step is too long and the user gets bored and leaves.

Let’s say you decide to test theory #1: you are asking too much private information (maybe you are collecting credit card data to verify someone’s age). You decide that this step is not necessary and you remove the credit card details and run a split test (some visitors go through the original registration process while some go through the modified version). You let this experiment run for a while and then review the results. The version of your site which successfully converts more visitors into registrants is the more optimized site.

Congratulations, you just ran your first simple split test and achieved a business objective: getting more registrations.

Of course, real life optimizations can be far more complex. You can run multivariate tests to see how several versions of a site perform and you can make the tests more efficient by testing multiple elements simultaneously. For time sensitive projects (such as a product launch) this type of testing becomes crucial as the website success is a function of time. By running split tests, you reduce the time it takes to discover the most optimized configuration for your site.

Running proper test campaigns takes knowledge, a good grasp of usability and a well defined business objective. Next time you are pouring over your analytics data, think about how your site is meeting your business objectives and consider how a test campaign can help you meet your goals.

Image Credit: brockvicky/cc

You need an army of third party developers and partners if you want your product to succeed in today’s marketplace.

Two weeks ago, I decided to upgrade my SensaClip MP3 player to something a little bit more powerful. I wanted an MP3 player with A-B repeat so that I can play the same French phrases over and over. After doing a lot of research online, I found the perfect model: the Sony Z Series Video MP3 Player. I immediately drove over to Future Shop to get my hands on it.

And then the nightmares began.

The sales rep who was helping me could not find a proper fitness armband that fit the Sony. “We don’t really carry any accessories for non-iPods.” he explained, “Maybe you should just go with an iPod nowadays. That’s what everybody else has. Or maybe try Best Buy?”

To make a long story short, I ended up driving to FOUR different Best Buys and Future Shops across town. I even tried a few street vendors. Here’s a summary of what I encountered:

• The Sony armband was such an unpopular item that there were discrepancies between their online database and the actual inventory. Both Best Buy and Future Shop were sure that they’d have stock “somewhere” in the lower mainland. But because their staff had shoved aside most non-iPod accessories to make room for more iPod accessories, they just didn’t know where they were.
• Staff members at all four locations told me they too preferred the Sony MP3 player because of its rich features and compatibility, but that the lack of compatible accessories is a real problem.

In the end, I chose to return the Sony MP3 player. I could have ordered the armband over the Internet and waited a week for it to arrive. But as one of the blue shirts at Best Buy put it, “If you are having so much trouble getting a simple armband for it, what kind of support do you think you can get when you need a new accessory in a year?”

I was ready to become a Sony evangelist. I was ready to be different. But unfortunately, my passion was killed by a simple lack of accessories for an otherwise very solid product.

Image credit: Rojer /cc

Being an Englishman living in Canada, I continuously find myself asked the same questions:

“Do you like it here”?
“How does the weather compare to London”?
“What is the queen really like”?
“Do you really eat baked beans for breakfast”?

Ok, so the last two may not be quite as common. It may be my stereotypical, satirical British humour shining through, but just in case anybody reading was wondering, to me the queen is just a very rich old lady with a shiny hat and a big house. And baked beans are a delightful snack that can be eaten at any stage of the day.

But enough about menial cultural discrepancies. The topic of my blog post today is to discuss the differences that I have noticed in the business culture between here and the UK. And I was wondering if local Vancouverites also felt the same way.

Allow me to explain. First, some background on myself: I have worked in the field of Sales and Business Development for several years, and I am always on the lookout for new business opportunities. After I moved here from England two years ago, I quickly noticed the cautious approach that some business managers and owners took when it came to business.

This is very different from the UK. This isn’t to say that business owners in the UK aren’t cautious. When a good deal comes my way, I weigh up the pros and cons and perform the necessary due diligence, just like you do. The difference I find is that once everything comes up clean, I quickly jump on the opportunity. But in Vancouver, I’ve noticed that some business professionals don’t move as quickly to seize the opportunity.

To clarify, I love living in Vancouver, and I also enjoy doing business here. But I’m curious to know if I’m the only one that feels that there is a lack of urgency when doing business in Vancouver. Maybe it’s related to the laid-back lifestyle we enjoy in Vancouver. Maybe it’s due to our apprehension and fear of becoming a victim to one of the many scams which the press seem to circulate on such a regular basis. But recently I have seen too many small and medium enterprises fail because of a lack of willingness to take a leap of faith, and try a technique or strategy which may be new to them.
Time is the enemy when it comes to building a business of significant value. Opportunity is nothing more than a window that time will ultimately close, and if we don’t capitalise on good opportunities, then it is very likely that time will run out.

One of my fellow Brits, a gentleman called Richard Branson (slightly more successful than me), was once quoted as saying, “if you don’t take risks you will never achieve anything,” and I think this is great advice for any business owner, whether they live here or elsewhere. Take your chances and become a success story, don’t get left at the starting line —achieve your business goals by acting with urgency and make the most of any opportunities which come your way.
I’d love to hear your comments on this topic. Do you feel that business is too “laid back” in Vancouver, or do you think it’s the complete opposite?

Image Credit : KennyMattic /cc

We are growing once again! In response to an increase in demand for our web hosting and technical services, this week are welcoming two new employees, Chris Ninkovich and Arvin Guo, to the SmarttNet team.

Chris Ninkovich

Chris is our new Technical Document Specialist. He is a trained technical communicator with over 10 years of experience in developing technical, business, and marketing communications for the aerospace, transportation, and software development industries. Several of Chris’ documentation products have won awards for usability from the Society for Technical Communication.

Chris is a graduate of the technical writing program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, where he also works as a part-time instructor, developing and delivering several courses that are part of the technical writing program. Chris brings his years of experience in communications and his specialization in product documentation, content management, and training development to SmarttNet’s Sales and Marketing team.

Arvin Guo

Arvin is our new Junior Technical Consultant. With a Network Administration and Security Professional Certificate from BCIT, Arvin possesses comprehensive skills to manage, plan and secure the mission critical infrastructure in our Burnaby data centre.

It has been exciting year and we are planning to launch some important new service offering this fall. The combined talents of Chris and Arvin are exactly what we need to expand our services and continue to grow our company.

Image Credit: Gualtiero / flickr

After 15 years of providing integrated Web solutions to businesses across Western Canada, Vancouver Internet marketing firm SmarttNet is setting out to help small and medium sized enterprises enter the profitable world of Web Analytics.

The recent addition of 4 Google Analytics Qualified Individuals to the company is a major expansion, but also a natural progression for SmarttNet, whose Chief Marketing Officer Martin Wong has always put hard numbers first when it comes to measuring the success of any marketing campaign.

“Web Analytics should be a cornerstone for any web strategy,” says Wong, “Especially with the economic downturn, it is absolutely essential for companies to measure and analyze any marketing activities. Web analytics can help you control your costs and optimize your return on investment by observing how your customers react and behave cross-channels.”

Google Analytics is a free and powerful tool that lets business owners measure website traffic and determine the effectiveness of their online marketing efforts. While it is free to install, small businesses stand to benefit greatly from the training and insights that Google Analytics Qualified Individuals can provide.

“Recent research from Forrester Research has shown that 75% of large enterprises consider Web Analytics technologies to be indispensable,” says Wong, “Through our expert implementation services and training programs, we want to bring the power of analytics to local businesses.”

SmarttNet is a full service Internet marketing firm with a long history of serving Vancouver’s business community. The company has roots as a connectivity provider and has since expanded to include co-location, web design, search engine optimization and social media marketing services.

With 4 Google Analytics Qualified Individuals in house, SmarttNet currently employs nearly ten percent of the 53 certified professionals in Canada.

For more information please contact

Jon Mandell
Writer and Media Specialist
jon.mandell@smartt.com
www.marketingsmartt.com

This is an unfortunate decision.  In order to attract more customers, businesses need to do more marketing, not less.  The problem lies with the use of money.  Marketing can be expensive, and with less people able to spend their disposable income on your product or service, many businesses opt to cut back on marketing for fear that they are wasting their efforts.

But marketing doesn’t have to be expensive.  Especially when you use the internet.  The internet gives you the ability to reach millions of potential buyers at a comparably low cost.   This will allow you to gain more clients, without stretching your already tight budget too thin.  The decisions you make during a recession will determine your future success.  So it’s absolutely imperative that you make the right choices now.

How E-Marketing Can Help

E-marketing is the most cost-effective way to reach your customers.  There are many strategies you can use online, many of which are completely free.  Getting your site to rank higher on the search engines for your keywords is one way to increase business.  These days, people are lazy when it comes to the internet.  Most of the time when someone does a Google search, they never make it passed the first page.  First page results are seen as the most important and most relevant results.   Results on the second page or later aren’t looked at nearly as often as first page results.

The good news about this is that, anyone has the ability to rank well on the search engines, by doing a little optimization.   The traffic generated from this method is completely free.  When you optimize your website for the proper keywords, you’ll attract qualified leads to your site that are likely to convert into customers.

Beginning Your E-Marketing Campaign

The first step in any e-marketing campaign is to have a website.  Without a website you’re not even in the game, much less doing well.  A well designed, professional website is key.  It represents the face of your company on the internet and creates an impression with your clients.  Not having a well designed and informative website leaves clients with a feeling of unprofessionalism and creates distrust with your clients.

Not all websites are created equal though.  The trick is to create a website that allows visitors to learn about your industry in a non-threatening, non-sales way.  One of the best ways to do this is by starting a company blog right on your website.  Blogs are an informal way to teach prospects about your industry and give them expert advice.  The best part about blogs is that they tend to rank well on the search engines.

Another useful technique is to do an article writing campaign.  As a rule of thumb you should write 20 articles and submit them to an article distribution site.  This will help you in two ways.  First, every time one of your articles is picked up, it will give you a back link to your website, increasing your SEO.  Second, it will help get the word out about your product and people who read your articles will be able to visit your website to learn more about your company.

E-Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, which is especially important during a recession.  When done right, a successful e-marketing campaign has the potential to bring in a huge return on your investment by attracting more clients and bringing in more business.  For very little money, it allows your business to go from making little or no money to thriving during a time when others are failing.

However, it’s not completely out of your control either.  There are certain actions you can take online to help shape the perception of your company.

Your website is the most important space your company has on the web.  It’s where customers go to evaluate your business and your products and to find out more about you.  Your website is your face on the web and as such it’s important that you let it work for you and not against you.

These days having a website is more important than ever.  In fact, your customers expect you to have a website.  It’s no longer an option, it’s a necessity.  Having a well designed site will no longer wow your customers, it’s just expected that you will have a professional site.   On the flip side, not having a website will hurt you and your corporate image.   You will be perceived as unprofessional and untrustworthy in the eyes of your customers.

A well structured site that contains lots of useful and informative information gives the impression that your company cares about its customers and wants to help them.  People like businesses that are helpful and that they can trust.  Using your website as a hub for information will help shape that perception that you care about your customers and their needs.  Providing useful information related to your industry is the best way to get people to trust you.

People who visit corporate websites want to find the information they need quickly and easily.  Product information and content should never be hidden deep within the site.  As a good rule of thumb, customers should be able to find whatever information they’re looking for in three clicks or less.

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can begin to utilize your website to further shape your corporate identity.  A website that effectively expresses your corporate identity to your clients includes the following aspects:

• Easy to understand presentation of information. The web has brought about many changes in the way people read and understand information.  No longer do people have the patience to read long, drawn-out paragraphs and pages like those found in books.  People want short, snappy sentences that are easy to understand.  When writing for the web, it’s a good rule of thumb to imagine you’re writing for an eight-year old child.  This way, customers won’t get lost in frivolous and hard to understand language.  Instead they can focus on what it is you’re really saying.

• Use white space. White space simply refers to the areas of your website where there isn’t any text or images.   Keeping paragraphs short and skipping lines between paragraphs creates lots of white space and helps keep people focused.  Headings, bullets and numbered lists are also excellent ways to add white space to your pages.

• Create a look and feel that expresses your company’s personality. If your company is fun, vibrant and lively, create a website that reflects that.   No matter what look you’re going for, the best websites are clean, simple and to the point.  Cluttered sites that contain too much information or too many links leave customers feeling uneasy.

A blog is like an online opinion column where the author writes about a topic he or she has specialized knowledge about.  It’s generally written by one person and it’s understood that a blog is that person’s own point-of-view.   Blogs are one of the best ways to reach your customers because they contain lots of information.  People like reading them because they take an informal tone while at the same time provide useful information and advice.  What’s even better, blogs tend to rank well on the search engines which improves your SEO and boosts your rankings.  Blogs become an entrance point to your website and are a great gateway for introducing visitors to your company.

2.       Videos

People love watching videos.  If you need proof, just take a look at YouTube.  Millions of viewers watch millions of videos every day.  Videos are a great way for people to learn and a great way for you to attract potential customers to your site.

To use video for lead generation, the first thing you need to do is make a video.  Make your video something instructional that provides useful information to your clients.  The trick with these videos is to make it “useful, but incomplete.”  That way, people feel like they’re learning something, but they still don’t have quite enough information to do it themselves.  The next step in this process is to direct your customers to your website where they will find more informational articles or videos along with information about the product or service you offer.

3.       Quizzes

Quizzes are a fun way to get customers interested in what you have to offer.  To use this technique, create a quiz centered around your product or service.  Make it interactive and relative to your customers.  For example a weight loss company might create a quiz about the nutritional value of certain foods.  After the quiz has been completed, provide advice and information related to the topics covered and make suggestions for how that person can improve.

4.       Forums

Making use of forums in your industry is an excellent way to stay connected with your customer base, to scope out the competition and to generate leads.  Find a popular forum within your industry and create an account.  Right away, join in the discussion, making comments wherever you have something useful to say.  Once in a while (but not too often because people will start to think you’re spamming and you’ll lose credibility) comment about one of your own products and services and link to your website.  Make sure your comments are relevant to the discussion and not just there to give yourself some traffic.

5.       Articles

Writing articles and creating article writing campaigns is a great way to connect with people from all over.  Use a distribution site to send out your articles and they will get picked up by bloggers and article writers all over.  Make sure to include a short bio about yourself at the end of the article and a link to your website.   This way, when readers are finished with the article, they can visit your site for more information and to look at your products and services.

6.       Social Marketing

Social marketing is all the buzz these days.  If you want to get in on the action, choose two or three sites you want to get involved with and then make your presence known.  Before making your decision, be sure to check out the demographics of each site so as to ensure that you are reaching your target audience.  Once you’ve decided on your sites, create a page for yourself and fill it with content related to your business.  Update it regularly with useful content related to your industry and relevant links.  Don’t always direct people to your own website; be sure to include links to other sources as well.  This way you’ll gain credibility and people won’t see you as abusing the system.