Monthly Archives: February 2014

Is Your Business Mobile-Friendly?

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Mobile communication is now an imperative part of a business’s marketing strategy. People are using smart phones and other mobile devices now more than ever. They are using their mobile technology to find shops, restaurants, and services in their area, and it’s important that when they search, they find your business.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, it will most likely lose you business. Anyone searching your business from their smart phone wants to quickly and conveniently access your contact information, purchase your products, or both. If the customer can’t find information, or the layout of your site isn’t compatible with his or her technology, they may become frustrated and bring their business elsewhere.

Additionally, your emails and newsletters must also be mobile-friendly. If people are reading your communications on-the-go, they want to be able to read the email free of excessive scrolling, pinching, and squinting at their touch-screen device. An annoying-to-read email will quickly be sent to the trash bin, or worse, unsubscribed from.

By creating a shorter, more condensed version of your website for mobile-users, you keep current customers happy and new customers coming. You can find more information about making a mobile friendly site in Franchising World’s current online magazine, found here.

The IFA Convention

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We are only two days away from this year’s IFA Convention! The 2014 IFA Annual Convention, this year in New Orleans, has a series of exciting keynote speakers as well as exciting topics that are relevant to all in the franchising industry.

Overarching topics to be discussed at this year’s convention include “issues of our time,” which will delve into how franchising will fare on Capitol Hill over the next year, as well as educational opportunities to learn about other hot topics in the franchising world.

Most people come back to the IFA convention year after year for the incredible networking experience it offers. The IFA Convention is a place to meet people with whom you can share ideas, hear others, learn, and grow. With over 3,000 people attending this year, it is sure to say that all of the franchise industry’s movers and shakers will be present.

Do you plan on heading down to the Big Easy for the event? This Saturday, February 22 through the 25th at the New Orleans Convention Center/ Hilton Riverside & Towers. For more information, check out the official webpage.

Hyperlocal Marketing Technology and How It Can Help You

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There has been a lot of talk recently in the marketing world about a new concept: hyperlocal marketing technology. Hyperlocal marketing uses the GPS feature and a mobile app on your smartphone to send targeted messages from a nearby franchise. The marketing is hyperlocal because the messages are for a small, specific area. This specific area can be specified through setting virtual perimeters around a specific location, an action referred to as “geofenching”.

Geofencing technology allows businesses to track when customers enter a defined area nearby their location through the GPS software on a person’s smartphone.

This technology means big things for a franchise.

Say you’re a Papa Murphy’s franchise in the Charleston,SC area. You can set up specific perimeters around your location so that when someone enters your virtual “fence”, you can send that discounted pizza coupon directly to them via their mobile phone. As they are within say one mile of your business, they will receive an alert on their phone with the pizza coupon and, hopefully, stop in at your shop. The key here is that these are also customers who have opted-in to receive offers; therefore, you are reaching a market of people who are already interested in special deals and offers.

The rapid growth of smartphone technology has delivered an entirely new platform to marketers. Businesses are now reaching customers in ways never thought possible in the past. How can this be translated to your business?

What are your opinions on hyperlocal marketing? Do you think that this could lead to an overflow of information to customers, causing them to become disenchanted, or is it an effective marketing tool that has an ever-growing presence in our future?