Marketing isn’t what it used to be. Today we have mobile apps and vending machines that use facial recognition to give people product samples for interacting.
In London, Unilever’s “Share Happy” vending machine gave out 52,000 ice cream bars in two days to everyone who smiled at the vending machine. This happened without any media support or advertising and that’s just the beginning.
We have evolved from broadcasting messages to engaging customers. Perth’s only Infusionsoft Certified Consultant says, “There is definitely a renaissance of marketing technology where the Internet and the digital revolution provide fascinating new ways of connecting brands with customers.”
Here are 3 must-have technologies that will impact your marketing and grow your business quickly:
- Cloudy, with a Good Chance of Success
According to research 52% of small businesses have leveraged cloud computing solutions by the end of 2012. No large financial outlay is required and it’s accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Solutions include a wide variety of online cloud computing services from accounting software like Xero to email marketing on free and paid-for systems like MailChimp and Aweber. Online shopping carts like 1ShoppingCart and customer referral programs. It comes down to having a plan that connects your business model to the technologies right for your business. -
Databases, are you keeping track?
Businesses can unearth profitable insights from their email opens, transaction logs and social media activity feeds. Yet, only 18% of small businesses have implemented a business intelligence solution in the past 24 months.
The trick is to find a simple-to-use online customer relationship management (CRM) system or database that seamlessly integrates with your existing business applications. Are you keeping track of your customers and their behaviour to sell more?
An all-in-one system like Infusionsoft allows you to store customer data and online purchase history, tracks where leads came from, emails customers automatically, reminds you when to follow up and helps you to build a strong word-of-mouth referral system. -
Mobile is a Must
Checking email or visiting websites on the run is on the rise, as more people own a smartphone or tablet. Up to 65% of all emails being opened are on mobile devices, depending on the industry and product. (eMailMonday 2013)
People tend to open special offers, vouchers and real-time tracking like with Domino’s Pizza website most often. 70% of people will move on immediately if an email or website doesn’t display correctly. (BlueHornet 2012) Is your website optimized for mobile devices and doing the best job it can to capture leads for your business? Do you know if your emails are displaying correctly?
What are you doing to engage and optimize your client relationships in an online world? Are you using online technologies in your business to automate repetitive tasks or to help you cope with increasing workloads?
If so, which ones do you use and how effective is it for you?
Alicia Menkveld, an entrepreneur for more than 16 years, loves to travel and lived on three continents to date. She’s an inspirational speaker, twice-published author and performance coach. She helps people to be more confident and reach their full potential in their personal and professional lives. She offers a complete range of training workshops and coaching services to help you and your organisation win at work and in life.
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Neil Steggall, Partner at Wardour Capital Partners
Alicia, A good and relevant article, I enjoyed the tying together of smiles and technology. Two very important aspects of life but unfortunately the former is often overlooked and yet its so easy to give!