Smart Phone usage has skyrocketed in the past year and it is evident that smart phone activity and mobile apps are going to continue to become more and more ingrained in people’s lives in the future.
Below is a video from Sybase that shows just how far the mobile phone has come since its inception in the 50’s and in particular, the rise of the smart phone in the last couple of years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aUQLIPdtg8
An interesting iPhone treasure hunt game from Mini whereby players search the streets of Stockholm to hunt and ‘catch’ a virtual mini. They then have to spend a week basically running away from other players of the game who are trying to steal the mini from them. If you have the virtual mini in your phone after one week of gaming, you win a real Mini!
The biggest news from Facebook last week was the announcement of Facebook Deals, a deal function that allows businesses to advertise its deals to users of Facebook Places. Businesses can offer individual deals, for example, a free pastry with a purchase of a coffee, to customers who check into their location on Places.
Users are encouraged to share deals and get their friends to check in as well and are rewarded with special ‘Friend Deals’ for doing so. Another aspect of Facebook Deals are ‘Loyalty Deals’ which work in a similar way to loyalty cards whereby users are rewarded after multiple visits. Businesses can also offer ‘Charity Deals’ were they offer to make a charitable donation for every check in that is made on Places.
Facebook Deals is being rolled out immediately in America and is being tested by up to 20,000 small businesses. The interesting thing about this idea is that, while it will surely be used by big brands too, it looks like it will be very accessible to small local businesses, giving them an outlet for tapping in to the mobile advertising market that they wouldn’t have otherwise had.
Price comparison mobile app, ShopSavvy, has been updated for the iPhone and comes freshly equipped with a host of new features including product tracking, crowd sourcing deals, finding out price-matching policies at various stores and finding out what store near you has a product in stock. The new version also lets users add product photos, prices and reviews as well as share items via Facebook, Twitter, email and SMS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4npZvsq12GE
With Group Deal sites such as City Deal, Living Social & Gruupy becoming more and more popular in Ireland of late, and customers seemingly eager to snap up the huge deals on offer, it’s important to take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of these promotions to the businesses that offer them. While these deals are great for the consumer, who sometimes gains up to 90% off the R.R.P, they can sometimes provide little benefit for the businesses themselves.
The whole aim of running these group promotions is to build up a set of returning customers, yet, in too many instances it would appear, this does not seem to materialise. In a recent survey, 40% of businesses that have run Groupon promotions said they would not do so again with the main reason being that the customers they gained through Groupon didn’t return to the store as full price customers. It begs the question, what type of customers do you attract with these huge offers and will they return when the deal is over?
In addition to not being conducive to growing a loyal customer base, Groupon also comes under fire for charging a massive 50% commission on all the deals it runs. If margins are stretched and group deals are run at a loss, these promotions can actually have quite a negative effect on the business. It’s important to realise that, while going down the group deal route can work very well for some businesses, it certainly does not suit everyone and businesses debating over whether to use them should think carefully over how they would fit in to an overall promotional strategy before taking the plunge.
I’m a Digital Strategist passionate about the intersection between technology and creative marketing. Last year I moved to London after 11 years living in Dubai.
