For those in the home services industry—remodelers, home cleaners, landscapers, roofers, real estate agents, etc.—this is especially true. Smart phones and access to productivity apps offer an opportunity to effectively market, manage, and grow business in between appointments, from virtually anywhere.

Below are just seven of the apps you may find in a road warrior’s mobile office.

Dragon Dictation: I personally love this application. Dragon Dictation makes sending texts, emails, and posting updates to Facebook and Twitter a snap. Just say what you want to type and the speech-recognition software converts it into text. For those constantly behind the wheel or frustrated every time they attempt to compose a message via a smart phone’s tiny touch-screen keyboards, this app is a great solution to consider.

Dropbox: Dropbox is a cloud-based file storage tool that allows users to save documents, presentations, photos, videos—anything, really—and then access the files from their smart phone, tablet, and desktop computer as long as the Dropbox application is installed. An app like Dropbox makes it easy for a person to access pricing sheets, instructional diagrams, product demos, etc. while away from the office.

Genius Scan: This app turns a smart phone or tablet into a pocket scanner. Users can take a photo with their device’s camera or choose files from their library, crop and straighten, group them into a single PDF, and then share documents via email or export to cloud-based storage like Dropbox, Google Docs, and Evernote. Instead of hunting for antiquated fax machines or waiting until returning back to the office, this app makes it easy to scan and share time-sensitive documents while on the go.

Square: There’s almost nothing worse than missing out on a sale just because there’s no easy way to capture funds. The Square app along with Square card reader turns smart phones and tablets in to a credit card terminal. It’s super simple to use and transaction fees are minimal.

QuantumCards: Through this mobile application, users can create, print and mail vibrant, full-color postcards to market their business in local neighborhoods–right from their iPhone or iPad. What’s unique about it is that QuantumCards offers users the ability to generate neighborhood mailing lists on the fly by using their smart phone’s geo-location feature or by typing in a target location. Service-based business professionals–like house painters, landscapers, real estate agents, or residential cleaners–no longer have to walk door to door distributing business cards or door hangers to prospects surrounding job sites. They can simply take a picture with their iPhone, write a personal message, and even link to their website or a video via QR code, then mail postcards to the neighborhood audience. SMBs can market their business in a matter of minutes; postcards mail next business day so they can start seeing results quickly.

Shoeboxed: Frequent business travelers and mobile workers often find themselves spending a good amount of time after a trip or work day trying to organize receipts, invoices, and other items for expense reports. The Shoeboxed app streamlines that process. As users scan documentation, the app uses OCR to extract data and organize items for easy management.

MiniBooks for Freshbooks: This app allows users to invoice and manage accounting on the run. From the MiniBooks app description: “Manage clients, send invoices, enter payments, check on rates from past jobs, run timers, and much more, all from the palm of your hand.” The sooner one is able to invoice, the faster they’ll get paid.

Through their questions and commentary, they provided the following tips on how to successfully pitch a business and/or product. Although the guidance was for pitching to investors, these same tips apply when speaking to, or marketing to, your customer base.

1. During development and pitching, don’t try to be all things to all people. You’ll end up diluting the value or benefit of your product and fail to meaningfully connecting to anyone.
2. Describe your product or service in a way that presents a solution to a problem or existing need; don’t simply read off a list of features. By focusing on the core audience and speaking to their main need (see tip #1 above), you’ll be able to frame your product or service in a way that makes it compelling to that audience. That, in turn, does better at motivating action (to buy, to share, etc.)
3. Use real-life or persona-based examples to tell your product’s or service’s story. Give it context so that it is relatable; people will be able to better visualize your product or service as something that fills their need; solves their problem; as something that can be easily integrated into their life.
4. Use your authentic voice when you are explaining your product or service; show that you have passion/enthusiasm for what you’ve developed. Face it, no matter how exciting a thing is, if it’s presented in a neutral–what I really mean is boring–way, not a lot of people are going to jump out of their seats to support it. If you can’t even get animated about what you’ve developed, how can you expect others to be excited about it?
5. Listen to the questions you are asked (with deep concentration); then provide a specific, concise answer. You will lose people’s attention fast if you can’t deliver the information they expect or if you take them down a random path they did not anticipate.
6. Plan to iterate and develop based on user needs; don’t make changes based on emotion or assumptions. You may LOVE feature XYZ of your product or service and think that it’s exactly what people need (even though they may not realize it yet). But, if you don’t pay attention to what the market is telling you, you may lose momentum and be passed up by someone else that knows how to listen better than you.

Take a look at your business and marketing processes to date. How can you improve on communicating the purpose and value of your business, product, or service to targeted audiences? Based on your own experience, do you have additional tips to offer?

“We’re focused on targeting our customers through an integrated marketing campaign, and direct mail is a key component to this outreach strategy,” says Kate Coultas, spokesperson for jcpenney. Source: Deliver Magazine

This month, I received my first direct mail postcard from JCPenney. The oversized square format along with their bold new logo caught my eye; however, they failed to keep my attention and motivate action. In this post, I’ll outline a few things they can do to make future direct mail touches more effective.

Deconstructing JCPenney’s April Marketing Postcard

Upon review of JCP’s direct mail postcard, I noticed several missed opportunities to:

• provide relevant content
• track the performance of offers and channels
• collect key data that could aid in refining future messages

Weakness: Poor Targeting and/or Lack of Personalized Content

The front of JCPenney’s postcard features a large, colorful photo that fills the entire frame. Images that are colorful, simple, and direct—like the one on their postcard—often work well for conveying a message quickly. However, this image did not resonate with me. It was a photo of a yawning baby. The back of the piece included the message: “Don’t let another precious moment go by without making it memorable. Capture their smiles, the surprises and event the sleepy times that fill your heart.”

I do not yet have children or grandchildren. There are no small children living in my house.

Recommendation #1: Segment your mailing list. Use demographic selections to narrow down your list to target recipients that more closely match your service offering or message. By doing so, JCPenney could have saved money, reduced waste, and realized better return on investment.

Recommendation #2: Personalize mail pieces and include relevant content that matches the interests and/or needs of the target audience. JCPenney could have easily increased the efficacy of their direct mail campaign by using variable data printing to swap out images and copy. Rather than include a photo of a baby, they could have advertised their “business portraits” service to me or let me know if I could get a portrait taken with my pet (my husband and I have two dogs and a cat).

Weakness: No tracking mechanisms to measure campaign response

If you were JCPenney, wouldn’t you like to know if you were generating more business due to a direct mail piece vs. newspaper ad vs. online ad vs. social media campaign, etc? Digital technologies available today—like PURLs (personalized URLs and landing pages), QR codes, and SMS text elements—make it possible to track responses to traditional media. The call to action on JCPenney’s postcard directs recipients to a general website and generic telephone number.

Recommendation: Integrate digital technologies on direct mail and print pieces to track campaign performance and measure response. Print providers and direct marketing fulfillment partners could have included QR codes and PURLs on the postcards that are specific to each recipient. Then, whenever a recipient scans their QR code or visits their PURL to get more information, JCPenney’s team is instantly notified of the activity. JCPenney could also use information about responses to bolster existing data sets and refine messaging for future campaigns.

Weakness: No ability to collect additional consumer data to refine future messaging

Studies have shown that consumers are willing to answer short surveys or provide personal information to obtain coupons that are relevant to them. The JCP postcard includes no opportunity to exchange information in order to download the coupon, tailor future promotional offers to fit the recipient’s interest/needs, or customize how recipients receive upcoming promotions based on their channel preference.

Recommendation: Rather than direct recipients to a generic website, take them to a customized landing page that is specific to the promotion. This not only provides the opportunity to “sell” the offer and track conversions, but also acts as a platform to serve up a questionnaire or ways to share the offer with friends on social networks.

What other ways would you improve their direct mail marketing campaign?

This year’s honorees included:

• Jarret Crippen with the Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas
• Griffin Davis of The Trail Foundation
• Lauren Espinoza of Badgerdog Literary Publishing
• Jenny Eversole with Hospice Austin
• Amrita Moor of The Amala foundation
• Kerri Morrison with New Milestones Foundation
• Misty O’Neal of Texas Hearing and Service Dogs
• Mary Ann Parker with the Assistance League^® of Austin
• Jimmy Shields of The Christi Center
• Ted Whatley with Breakthrough Austin

Their personal stories and action inspires me to find ways that I can make a difference in my community. It all starts with a human element. Whether you’re engaging with people via social networks, through your work, or face-to-face, realize that you can encourage positive change in your community.Businesses can contribute to the awareness and success of these organizations as well. QuantumDigital, the Austin-based direct mail marketing and on-demand digital print provider, supported this year’s Women on Their Toes event as a silver sponsor by providing full-color digital printing services. This marked the first year that the Ballet Austin Guild was able to print their booklet programs in full color, at minimal cost, and have the flexibility of making near-to-last-minute edits.

As an individual or as a business group, there are plenty of opportunities to make a positive impact in your community. Even seemingly little actions can make a monumental difference.

Again, congratulations and thanks to the 2012 Women on Their Toes honorees!

Through QuantumCards, users can create, print and mail vibrant, full-color postcards to market their business in local neighborhoods–right from their iPhone. What’s unique about this application is that it offers users the ability to generate neighborhood mailing lists on the fly by using their smartphone’s geo-location feature or by typing in a target location. Service-based business professionals–like house painters, landscapers, real estate agents, or residential cleaners–no longer have to walk door to door distributing business cards or door hangers to prospects surrounding job sites. They can simply take a picture with their iPhone, write a personal message, and even link to their website or a video via QR code, then mail postcards to the neighborhood audience. SMBs can market their business in a matter of minutes; postcards mail next business day so they can start seeing results quickly.

Other benefits:

• Allows businesses to market to local neighborhoods within minutes while on the go
• Provides a social aspect to traditional marketing (take a photo with happy clients, share real events in real places, include a personal message, etc.)
• Gives users the ability to link to digital content via QR code
• Offers easy-to-execute marketing that both novice and expert marketer can use

QuantumCards is an ideal application for:

• HOA (home owners association) groups and community advocates
• Service-based businesses such as remodelers, roofers, landscapers, etc.
• Locally owned businesses that rely on patronage from nearby audiences
• Busy real estate professionals, home inspectors, etc.
• Temporary and/or pop-up businesses needing local exposure fast

As more and more marketers are adopting mobile tools and technologies to promote their business, many may find the QuantumCards app to be an invaluable tool for keeping in touch with clients and generating additional local business.

Try QuantumCards for yourself. Download the app for free and instantly get your first postcard at no cost. If you post a review of your experience on the iTunes app store, you may also enter to win a $100 iTunes gift card courtesy of QuantumDigital.

What do you think of this new marketing application?

Here are a few great sources to turn to when you find yourself in a creative rut.

BEHANCE

“Showcase and discover the latest work from top online portfolios by creative professionals across industries.”

Explore projects from a wide range of industries and focus in on specific types of talent (copywriting, graphic design, information architecture, fashion, packaging, etc).

PINTEREST

This virtual pin board hosts a collection of images people find on the web. It’s not just for do-it-yourself craft makers and moms; the site allows professionals to share what inspires them in their industry. You can search the site for collections of infographics, direct mail ideas, neat-o advertising concepts, and more.

KICKSTARTER

“World’s largest funding platform for creative projects.”

Kickstarter is a cool site that allows just about anyone to present an idea for a project, business, product, etc. and collect micro investments to turn that idea into a reality. Aside from the fact that this is a cool way to fund your project, Kickstarter is a super resource to see innovation in the marketplace. By looking through the projects on the site, you can gain insight on emerging trends and see the perspective of other entrepreneurs.

LIFEHACKER

“Tips, tricks, and downloads for getting things done.”

This site covers neat shortcuts for just about everything–from how to boost your memory in five minutes and how to get the best sleep to removing paint with a slow cooker or how to speed up the performance of your iPhone.

TED

“Ideas worth spreading.”

TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design) started out as an exclusive conference for the best thinkers within those industries. Today, TED is known for its series of talks and presentations about business, innovation, world-changing concepts, and more. There are plenty of 15-minute-long videos on the TED site that are sure to inspire. One a day may keep the creative block at bay.

Do you have any online sources of inspiration to share? Leave a comment and tell us about your favorite one.

Feel free to use the associated hashtags to discover more information about each panel or leave a comment for this post to get a conversation started here.

Why Small is the New Big and Big is the New Small

Twitter Hashtag: #eggcellent

What was this panel about? Size doesn’t matter anymore. The over-riding lesson we are learning worldwide is that a business that gets ahead of the curve is a smart one, not necessarily a big one. The rapid development and adoption of information communication technologies (ICT) over the last ten years is driving this change. As consequence, businesses are leveraging new web, mobile and social technologies to interact with customers and prospects in a whole new way. A role reversal between SMB and Large Enterprise is taking place: SMB is becoming more ubiquitous and quantitative while Enterprise is becoming more personalized and qualitative. This session explores the causes, corrections, and outcomes of the changing dynamics within the marketplace that now allow SMB and Large Enterprise companies to compete for the same customers.

Takeaways:

• Social is transforming IT, making it more accessible for small businesses to go to market & compete w/ the big boys.
• Everything is becoming more local. Even big business needs to find ways to be unique & visible in local markets.
• Get hyper-personal; make your customers your board members and sales force. They can be the greatest influencers that attract more business for you.
• When customers are cheap to acquire don’t forget to work on loyalty and retaining that customer
• Identify your differentiators and make those things drive your business. It’s not just about price.
• What you do with data regardless of how big (or small) of a company you are is what will differentiate you

FutureShop–Virtual QR Stores, NFC Receipts & More

Twitter Hashtag: #futureshop

What was this panel about? The mobile shopping revolution isn’t theoretical, it’s here and it’s all around us. Innovations abound such as Tesco’s virtual QR grocery store in a Korean subway station, Levi’s digital fitting rooms, Nestlé’s instant deals for UPC scans of ice cream, and NFC payments that obliterate consumers’ need for a physical wallet. Providers of these and other game changing consumer experiences are mashing up new capabilities to create magical experiences and frenzied user adoption.

Takeaways:

• Sears found (during a marketing campaign in a major city) that more people are willing to shop on mobile device via unique URL but not scan a QR code to shop. Reasons? People may not have access to scanner app at the time; they don’t have instruction as to where they’re going once they scan; they’re embarrassed to take a picture/scan something in public.
• Very low response rate on QR in billboards, difficult to scan & consumers are embarrassed to scan billboards. Postcards offer the privacy some may want before scanning codes.
• Make the mobile experience quick & seamless; it should be as easy as making a decision in the store
• Many POS (point-of-sale) systems can’t manage coupons on mobile devices. That legacy system needs to change.
• Sears is making an effort to talk to shoppers 1 to 1 via channels that they (shoppers) prefer – SMS, Twitter, etc.
• Two types of retailers: those that wait to adapt to new tech, and those that lead the charge to innovate
• Retailers/brands must consider what shoppers are willing to do behaviorally & how to make the shopping experience easier for consumers.
• Whether businesses are ready for it or not, consumers are interacting with brands via mobile devices. Accept it and adapt.

• Never stop learning
• Don’t play it safe – seize opportunities in front of you
• Always value ethical actions over expedient ones
• Play poker, not chess
• Challenge your team to help them grow
• Have advisors with different worldviews

As Spock would most likely observe, “to disagree with any of these would be most illogical.” You would do well to apply these principles across all phases of your marketing – dare I say it – enterprise!

Enjoy!

Here are a few highlights from the report and why these mobile trends should matter to you.

Nearly 50% of U.S. and Canadian mobile subscribers used mobile browsers. That means they’re potentially visiting your website while on their smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device with access to the web. If your website is not optimized to look good or be functional on these devices, you could be providing an unsatisfactory user experience or even losing customers.

Tips on getting your site ready for mobile devices: choose blog/website templates that utilize responsive design or that are mobile-friendly; choose an ecommerce solution that offers a mobile version of your store site in parallel with the ‘regular’ version; or use tools like Mobify to create a mobile version of your existing site.

40.8% of U.S. consumers used email via their mobile device. If the emails you send to prospects and/or customers—like eNewsletters, promotional offers, order confirmation emails, etc.—are not optimized for viewing on smaller screens, then you could be providing an unsatisfactory user experience or missing out on opportunities to close more business.

For tips on designing emails that work well on both desktop and mobile devices, check out the article, “6 Tips for Optimizing Email for Mobile.”

26.5% of U.S. consumers accessed maps on their mobile device. Maps give consumers the ability to search for businesses around their current location or find routes to get to a local business. To reach these consumers, ensure that your business’s location not only shows up on the maps that they’re accessing, but that the information about your businesses is accurate and kept up to date.

Now, you may be asking, “How do I get my business listed on iPhone maps?” Much of the data displayed on mapping applications comes from Google. If you haven’t already, set up a Google Places page for your business. Be sure to choose the category that best describes your business from a consumer’s perspective and include a keyword-rich description. For example, people often use these maps to search for local businesses via general terms like “restaurants”, “shoe repair”, “book store”, and so on. Additionally, if there are industry specific mobile applications that have mapping features that help consumers find local businesses, make sure your business has a profile set up on those too (I’m thinking about apps like Urbanspoon, for example).

Believe it or not, this trend can also help businesses track the efficacy of offline marketing efforts to engage local consumers and get them into stores. Wingstop recently launched a local direct mail campaign that gave postcard recipients the ability to scan a QR code to get driveway-to-store driving directions on their mobile device. Since each QR code is unique and associated with a mail recipient, Wingstop can track when it was scanned and who scanned it (valuable information for organizing follow-up marketing campaigns).

Postcard that allows customers to scan a qr code or text a phrase to a shortcode to get door-to-door driving directions on their mobile device. Wingstop card produced by QuantumDigital, Inc.

12.2% of U.S. consumers accessed online retail through their mobile device.

More and more people are making purchases directly from their mobile devices through mobile-friendly ecommerce sites and mobile applications. This capability, for many industries, reduces inbound calls and eliminates order errors by allowing consumers to place and confirm orders themselves. As a business owner, ensuring your site is easy to navigate on mobile devices will help remove potential barriers that could prevent or stop a purchase from your mobile audience.

The comScore study also noted that users are increasingly relying on their smartphones to comparison shop, research product features, and share their shopping experience with friends. Keep this in mind when developing content. Make is easy for consumers to find and share information on your website.

1 in 5 U.S. smartphone owners scanned a QR code with their phone.

There’s been plenty of debate about QR codes. Should they stay or should they go? The marketers that are using them in smart ways will argue that QR codes have value and aren’t going anywhere this year. As more consumers are presented with relevant reasons to scan the codes and as more marketers become aware of the tracking capabilities of unique codes, their usage may ramp up instead of down.

Check out the articles below for examples on ways to get the most out of QR codes.

• Connecting the Dots: Using QR Codes, Direct Mail, and Video to Ramp up Local Marketing
• Why Unique QR Codes Aren’t Just Another Nerdy Marketing Gimmick
• Closing the Chasm Between Print and Digital Marketing Channels

This begs the question: Is the USPS worth saving at all? For direct mail providers and their customers, the obvious answer would seem to be a resounding ‘yes!’ But is it really that simple? And are these electronic delivery systems entirely to blame for the problem? Or is it, as Ralph Nader points out, a manufactured crisis resulting from “bad management, corporate barracudas and a bevy of editors and reporters enamored with the supremacy of the Internet?” Should we do everything possible to keep the USPS afloat, or do we bow our heads in reverence as this once-mighty American icon sinks into the murky depths of crushing debt and irrelevance? Give us your thoughts!