Five Tips For Using Mobile Technology To Improve In-Store Retail Shopping

Ramon Ray the Smallbiztechnology.com Team

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There’s one thing that’s common with just about every retailer shopper who comes into your store. They all carry smart phones with them – and their credit cards.

OpinionLab, is an expert in voice-of-customer (VOC) listening technologies and mobile feedback solutions, and offers five tips to help retailers engage with brick-and-mortar shoppers via smartphones.

“Smartphones are rapidly transforming the retail landscape and blurring the lines between online and in-store customer experience,” said Rand Nickerson, CEO of OpinionLab. “With many retailers generating greater revenues in the store compared to online, using mobile initiatives to incentivize in-store purchases will lead to improved sales. And, with millions of shoppers now engaging with retailers via mobile devices, brands have greater opportunities to listen, understand, and react to customer feedback through the mobile channel.”

OpinionLab’s patented methodology and recognized [+] symbol have helped many of the world’s leading brands collect, understand, and manage actionable VOC feedback across all customer touch points, including brick-and-mortar locations, mobile channels and apps, websites, and social-media properties. Based on insights generated from the feedback of mobile consumers, OpinionLab offers five essential tips to help brick-and-mortar retailers provide a more complete multichannel shopping experience.

Extend the aisle to keep customers engaged. Shoppers in the information age like to research before they buy, and 46 percent of consumers have used their phone to get product information while in a store (source: Briabe Media). Put in-depth product detail at your customers’ fingertips, and you can mitigate their need to perform additional research and boost the likelihood of a purchase. Add quick response (QR) codes to in-store displays to draw customers directly to branded mobile sites that provide one-stop access to far more information than traditional brick-and-mortar aisles can provide: comprehensive product information, comparisons, and more.

Win the price war through exclusive incentives. Consumers today are shrewdly cost conscious, and 25 percent have used smartphones to compare prices while in a store (source: SmartRevenue). Take a proactive approach by pushing incentives through near-field communication (NFC) technology. For example, as a customer browses the outdoor furniture section, send an instant discount on patio umbrellas to his or her mobile device. Exclusive promotions appeal to savvy mobile consumers, and highly targeted offers encourage customers to take action on special deals related to their shopping needs.

Embrace product reviews and demos. According to a Nielsen survey, 90 percent of consumers trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trust consumer opinions posted online. Embrace this trend by making peer reviews and demos easy to access in the brick-and-mortar space. Keep shoppers in your brand backyard by linking them directly to reviews through QR codes on store displays and including store-made videos showing products in use.

Use games to engage and reward loyal customers. For the first time in history, the number of loyalty memberships in the US exceeds two billion, netting out to more than 18 memberships per household. That’s up 16 percent from the almost 1.8 billion memberships counted in 2008 (source: Colloquy’s Loyalty Census). Enhance loyalty programs by adding a social twist: invite shoppers to compare points with others or introduce customers via Twitter, Sonar, etc. based on buying patterns. Weave NFC or mobile geolocation technology in with such promotions to push special offers to shoppers who take certain actions, such as visiting a dressing room, filling a basket with $100 worth of merchandise, or spending a certain amount of time in the store.

Always be listening. Give consumers 24/7 access to customer service through their mobile devices and leverage social media to respond to questions and service inquiries via Twitter, Facebook, and the like. Most of all, make sure your customers can send open-ended feedback directly to you at anytime, from anywhere using simple, opt-in mobile comment cards.

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Six tips for Facebook success for dentists

Kristie Nation

For more on this topic, go to www.dentaleconomics.com and search using the following key words: social media, Facebook, engagement rates, Twitter, posts, URLs, links, Kristie Nation.

Dentists traditionally shy away from online media because they do not understand how it works or they think they do not have time. Neither of these excuses are good enough to justify turning your back on one of the most powerful and effective tools available for connecting directly with a patient community.

A recent study done by Buddy Media evaluated a large amount of data obtained by tracking Facebook posts, comments and “likes” during a two-week period. The statistics gave some great insights into how to properly leverage the power of social media across a range of industries.

Statistics derived from the study show clear and simple ways to run an effective Facebook campaign. By following these six best practice tips, you can take your dental practice to the next level. Boost your online presence, engage patients where they are, and increase interaction with your most loyal followers with these few simple steps:

Keep it short and sweet

According to the Facebook press room, more than 30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook monthly. This may seem like a staggering amount, until you take into account that a mere 19% of these posts have the highest engagement rate and 19% is not the most detailed, most controversial, or most eloquent. In reality, the most powerful posts are the shortest. That’s right. The shortest posts on Facebook (up to 80 characters, far less than the Twitter maximum) have a 27% higher engagement rate. This means you do not have to come up with elaborate posts. Just 80 characters could get people motivated to respond.

Use full-length links

But the same is not true for posts that include Web addresses and use a URL shortener, such as bit.ly, to save space. While this may work on Twitter, Facebook users like to see exactly what they are clicking on, and using the full-length link gives extra text to tell them more about the website. Engagement rates for posts with full-length links are three times higher than for posts with shortened URLs.

Post after hours

While most branded Facebook users post during business hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time), higher engagement rates are associated with posts made in the evening. The reason for this is simple. Many employers block the use of social networks during office hours. If you want posts to show at the top of your patients’ news feeds, post in the early morning, early evening, and late at night. Posts during these hours have a 20% higher chance of engagement. Posts on the weekend are also much more likely to be read and commented on or liked. So you may wish to preschedule posts for best results.

Thursday is your friend

Interestingly, Buddy Media’s breakdown of best times and days to post by industry showed that Thursdays had the highest engagement rate for brands in the health and beauty industry. One can argue that dentists span each of these categories. So plan your biggest and best posts for Thursday evenings.

Use Facebook-centric words

The main words on Facebook are post, comment, and like. Facebook fans tend to follow directions well when terms they are familiar with are used. By asking fans and friends to comment on your link, post one of their comments, or like a photo, you substantially increase the likelihood that they will. You can also increase interest by taking advantage of the events function, using questions to increase interaction, and creating opportunities for your fans to win something by participating.

Ask “Would you?”

Would is one of the most underused words on Facebook, but has one of the best chances of garnering a like when a question is asked. In contrast, the commonly used why has one of the worst chances. When asking a question, put it at the end of the post, not the beginning. Stats show that posts ending with a ? have a 15% higher engagement rate.

By wording posts properly and posting at the best times to reach patients, you can achieve success on Facebook and tap into the power of social media.

Kristie Nation is the founder and CEO of myDentalCMO, a marketing consulting firm that provides strategic marketing “treatment plans” exclusively for dental practices. The firm was founded with a mission to prevent dentists from wasting countless dollars marketing their practices ineffectively. She can be reached at kristie@mydentalcmo.com or (888) 557-6443.

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