Strategic Social Networking - Archive

Mobile Apps Give New Meaning to Pay as You Go

January 10th, 2012 | Posted by admin in branding | marketing | mobility | smartphone - (0 Comments)

With the smart phone market’s continuing growth, it was only a matter of time before payment apps were developed. According to kmov.com’s “Pay-by-Name Purchasing: Changing the Future of Spending,” one of the newest forms of mobile payments is the Square Card Case, launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Square.

“The Square Card Case totally eliminates the need for a physical card in a merchant-to-consumer transaction. It works by storing a virtual copy of your credit or debit card on your smartphone, and acts as a virtual tab. To use it, consumers must download the free Square Card Case application for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Android. A customer then sets up an account using their name, email address, credit card information and a photo. The customer’s phone will detect local merchants who accept the Card Case form of payment.”

Needless to say, security is a concern, an issue raised in an open letter from VeriFone, a Square Card competitor. The market’s also getting crowded with Google’s Google Wallet and PayPal’s PayPal Instore, both of which use near-field communication technology. This is definitely an emerging market with plenty of potential. The payoff will be big for a player who can address security and ease of use while creating a mass-market brand.

Rita Safranek, January 10, 2012

Next Year’s Mobile Marketing Trends

December 29th, 2011 | Posted by admin in business process | marketing | mobility | smartphone - (0 Comments)

Pointing out that 2011 was a huge year of growth for mobile technology, Jichel Stewart of Business2Community takes on the upcoming year’s mobile trends in her recent article 8 Mobiles Marketing Trends You Should Track in 2012.

Stewart’s piece focuses on mobile marketing – marketing to those already out and about, rather than those sitting at home in front of their computer:

“What is unique about mobile marketing is a company’s ability to reach consumers when they are closest to buying. Ask yourself…Are your customers more likely to leave their homes and their pantry in a storm to get a sub sandwich… or when they’ve been out running errands all day, missed lunch, and you send them a text with an offer for a half-price submarine sandwich — half a mile from you, the nearest sub shop?”

Indeed, the use of mobile websites grew 210% over the course of 2011, with 37% of retailers now using these types of sites. These trends can be linked to the increase in both smartphone usage (growing 14.5% from 2008 to 2009) and mobile advertising, which grew from $1.6 billion in 2010 to $3.3 billion in 2011, with figures for 2012 looking to be double that amount.

However, for all Stewart’s predictions, she does seem to overlook one area: the rise of tablet computing. Opting instead to focus on smartphones, one can’t help but notice the omission of one of the most important technological successes of 2011.

Jody Barnes, December 29, 2011

Cloud Computing and the Future of the Mobile Market

December 28th, 2011 | Posted by admin in business process | cloud computing | mobility | smartphone - (0 Comments)

Leo King at PCWorld writes about the impact of “app internet” on the future of the tech industry. In his article “App Internet and Mobile Devices to Drive Massive Technology Demands in 2012”, King discusses the “death of the web” and the rise in mobile apps and cloud computing.

“Gartner said that “low cost cloud services” would begin a fast growth, forming “up to 15 per cent of top outsourcing players’ revenue” within three years. These industrialised services would “alter the common perceptions of pricing and value of IT”, it said.”

In 2012, market intelligence firm IDC says, cloud computing services will reach up to $36 billion, with 80% of new apps on the market being geared towards the cloud. This means that increased focus will be on media tablets and other mobile devices, with Amazon’s Kindle Fire leading the way, and companies such as Microsoft, HP, and RIM looking to make their mark in an increasingly competitive market.

The eventual winner still remains to be seen, but the growth of mobile computing technology shows no signs of stopping, for both businesses and personal users. At this point, tech companies either need to jump into the market, or fear being left behind.

Jody Barnes, December 28, 2011

Safety First?

December 22nd, 2011 | Posted by admin in guidelines | mobility | News | smartphone - (0 Comments)

Suggesting a middle-of-the-road approach, The Times Leader maintains, “Wholesale Ban on Mobile Devices in Cars Unlikely to Succeed.” Writer Nick DeLorenzo recognizes that mobile device distraction behind the wheel is a serious problem, but insists that human nature will hinder attempts to make it universally illegal. Besides, new cars are coming equipped with interactive devices; the more of these wired wheels that make it onto the roads, the more difficult it will be to ban their gadgets.

Instead of waging that battle, DeLorenzo proposes a compromise of sorts. The write up explains:

“Many new cars have systems that can detect driving conditions — traffic around the car, speed, location and more. If the vehicle is exceeding a certain speed, road conditions are unsafe, there is heavy traffic, the area has a high rate of accidents or driving becomes erratic, begin disabling features, starting with hands-free calling.

“Make this function optional, allow it to be disabled, and work with insurance companies to ensure penalties if an accident takes place and the system is disabled.”

Interesting suggestion; it may be too reasonable to get anywhere, though.

We have a hard time seeing our tech dependent readers giving up mobile devices in standstill traffic but, for our longevity, please be safe with your tech. With or without the regulations.

Cynthia Murrell, December 22, 2011

Marketing Love in a Time of Mobile Apps

December 20th, 2011 | Posted by admin in marketing | mobility | Privacy | smartphone - (0 Comments)

As holiday shopping hits a crescendo this week retailers are examining how to increase sales, analyze shopper data more efficiently and strengthen mobile advertising all in one fell swoop. The article, Malls, retailers focus on mobile phones to reach shoppers, boost sales and study consumers, on http://www.cleveland.com/, explores some controversial mobile app and Smartphone technologies retailers are employing this holiday season.

Although the Federal Trade Commission and several consumer watchdog groups have put a nix to several Big-Brother-esque programs put in place by malls and large retailers to monitor shopper activity and behavior due to privacy violations, some programs are alive and thriving. Many complain that the programs are all one sided, in favor of the retailer, but that is not necessarily the case. In most instances consumers receive a nice reward for their privacy being violated.

As the article explains of the relationship between retailer and consumer,

“With traditional retailers fighting online competition from companies from Amazon to Zappos.com, the retail industry must give consumers a reason to choose brick-and-mortar. Online retailers collect data about shoppers and use that information to tailor advertising and suggest purchases. Now stores and shopping-center landlords see cell phones as a path to influencing what people buy, how long they shop and how much they spend.”

Before condemning retailers for utilizing scores of data mines waltzing in and out of their stores every day, consumers should examine their habits and devotion to mobile apps. Without consumer usage these app-utilizing marketing campaigns would be a waste of time. If one doesn’t want to be exploited by a retailer, turn off the phone.

Catherine Lamsfuss, December 20, 2011

Growing Businesses Struggling to Maintain Brand Loyalty in the Mobile Age

Brand Dossier’s recent article on the increasing presence of social media and mobile devices, “Social media, mobile devices creating brand loyalty challenges for mid-size businesses” deals with new concerns business have in dealing with brand loyalty.

The growth of both social media and mobile devices has lead to a new type of consumer, who can easily compare products and prices, which is making it harder for companies to build up brand loyalty, a new IBM study says. This global study of mid-market chief marketing officers reveals a number of facts about the concerns of CMOs in an increasingly mobile marketplace. According to the study, 72% feel unprepared to “effectively build” brand loyalty, with 70% seemingly placing this unease on the wide availability of consumer-oriented data.

“Mobile commerce is expected to reach $31 billion by 2016, yet 62 per cent of mid-market CMOs report being underprepared to deal with the proliferation of channels and devices. This increase in the mobile shopping trend further increases marketing challenges, complicates data collection and analysis, and threatens both customer service and customer retention.”

In order to deal with the influx of consumer blogs, social media sites, and other sources of information about consumer products, retailers are focusing on marketing analytics in order to more effectively target consumers. The hope is that computers can analyze marketing data and buying decisions more efficiently and more accurately, allowing companies to reach new customers who will stay with the brand, instead of endlessly seeking to save a few cents on their next purchase.

Jody Barnes, December 15, 2011

Advances in BYOD Require Shift of Focus

December 14th, 2011 | Posted by admin in business process | Knowledge management | mobility | smartphone - (0 Comments)

BYOD Brings New Opportunities, a piece by Leyland Brown of Hewlett Packard, discusses a growing trend among small and medium businesses. This trend, which has grown along with the rise of personal digital devices is “Bring Your Own Device,” or BYOD: instead of relying upon a work computer, many workers are using their personal hand-held devices to deal with their daily business.

“Currently, according to Gartner, approximately 10 billion devices are connected to the Internet, and the number will grow to about 20 billion devices in 2021; by 2014, more than three billion of the world’s adult population will be able to transact electronically via mobile or Internet technology. Gartner also forecasts that media tablet sales will top 326 million units in 2015.”

These new trends in mobile computing require a new way of thinking about the way in which businesses provide information, not just for customers, but for employees as well. Brown emphasizes a strategy of “thinking beyond the device,” that is, working with all aspects of the systems which utilize these devices. Making sure both customers and employees have easy access to these new systems and the various data available are of utmost importance in the current technology-driven marketplace. For Brown, this means “shifting the focus from the devices to the content” in order to ensure that customers and businesses are on the same page when it comes to the use of the new generation of personal computing devices.

Jody Barnes, December 14, 2011