In addition to the normal friends, family and the like, what I am especially thankful for this Thanksgiving is a my awesome loyal clients, amazing new job and new friends that I have met via social channels. A couple weeks ago was offered by a new friend Kyle Lacy an offer to submit a guest post on his blog available here: 6 Tips for Successful Cross-Promotion of Restaurants
In return I am giving another new friend Houston Neal a guest spot on my blog. Tis’ the season to give and I am happy to share space on each others blogs to help spread knowledge sharing.
Houston Neal joined Software Advice in 2007, just shortly after the company was started. He spends most of his day writing for the company blog and getting the word out about Software Advice’s resources. He enjoys researching and reporting trends in software and technology, and has a particular interest in mobile technologies. Software Advice, a website that reviews retail software, recently put together a list of 5 mobile technologies that can help retailers grow their business. It’s a good beginners guide for understanding how mobile technologies can be used by local and national stores. Here is a brief look at 3 technologies listed in their post:Mobile commerce is driving the next major shift in retail. Cell phones are ubiquitous among consumers and smartphones are soon to follow. Retailers that can learn to harness mobile technologies now stand to gain a competitive advantage, especially when the economy flips. But, with new tech startups emerging on the scene every day, it’s tough to cut through the PR noise to find apps that really help drive marketing initiatives and sales.
Geolocation Apps (e.g. Foursquare, Gowalla) – Geolocation apps help retailers get increased exposure on social media and the web. Every “check in” gets pushed out to a user’s social network, which not only includes other Foursquare users, but Twitter followers and friends on Facebook. This exposure helps build brand awareness and ultimately generate more sales.
ShopAlerts – Developed by Placecast, ShopAlerts will deliver SMS text messages to consumers’ mobile phones when they enter inside the “geo-fence” or virtual boundary of a business. This has potential to be a sales-driving machine for retailers. Couple this technology with existing customer purchase information and ShopAlerts could be used to upsell and cross-promote merchandise. For example, a sporting goods store could send you an alert to pick up an extra pair of socks for the running shoes you just purchased.
Group Buying (e.g. Groupon) – Group buying websites have been hugely successful. Groupon has already won the title of “fastest growing company ever.” Their success can be attributed to adoption by both consumers and retailers. Consumers love it for the deep discounts. Retailers love it for the increased foot traffic – and sales – they’re getting at their stores
To continue reading, visit: 5 Mobile Technologies Retailers Should Be Using Now.
