I think there has to be a great value-add to the consumer to convince them to download an app on their phone. Most smart phones can only hold so many apps. I’m not inclined to open that many apps unless it is something I can’t do on a website. Due to the nature of my business, I utilize social media apps on my phone. I also use a few social gaming apps. I suspect many consumers are like me and are reluctant to add an app to their phone.

Unless there is a compelling reason to use a mobile app, I don’t see the point. Add to that the cost of creating an app, making it compatible across all platforms and then having to maintain the compatibility as mobile operating systems are updated seems very expensive to me.

Here are 3 points to consider before investing in a mobile app for your business:

1. Compelling reason. Something your app can offer your customers, that they need and will make it easier to do business with you. A good example of this is the  Starbucks app which allows users to find the nearest store, reload their card and track their rewards.
2. Mobile traffic. Look at your site traffic. What percentage of your site visitors are accessing your site on mobile platforms? This will give you an idea of, not only the audience adoption of an app but also what platforms you should focus on in development. For the Chamber, less than 10% of their web traffic was from mobile which tells me the likelihood of adoption of a mobile app is very low.
3. Is there an ROI? Let’s face it. We are all in business to make money. If there is no return on the investment, then what’s the point? Mobile sites are cheaper to develop and tend to work across all platforms. The development time is also much faster.

If you are still convinced you need a mobile app, start with a mobile website and install some type of analytics to see how it is used. This can give you valuable data on what to include in your app during the development process.

I can think of few small to mid sized businesses that would need a mobile app.  Whatever you decide for your business, be sure to promote it to your audience. We created a pop up banner for the Chamber that is used at all events where we walk members through how to read the QR code and how to bookmark the mobile site.

Have you considered taking your business mobile? What did you decide? Let me know in the Comments below.

Series: Taking Your Business Mobile – part 1. Next entry: What Should I Include in My Business’ Mobile Website?

Related Posts

It is a revised version of my 101 Low Cost Marketing Strategies seminar that I have been giving since I started my company in 2000. In preparing my presentation, I came across 10 absolute must haves for ANY business from a marketing standpoint (accountants and lawyers out there, stand down).

Then, when I looked at the list I thought. It is so simple. Libraries full of books have been written on how to do many of these things. I will trust you to find your own path toward the best way to put these items in place, just put them in place…today!

1. Elevator Speech. What do you do and why do I care? This falls under the entire messaging umbrella and could also include brand positioning statement, unique selling proposition, etc. Figure out what it is, find an easy to understand way to express it and be consistent.
2. Voice mail message. Now you have what you do and why I care, voice mail is the perfect opportunity to express it. I have to admit, I hadn’t been following my own advice here, but I just changed my voice mail to reflect a clear messaging statement and call to action.
3. Email Signature. Another opportunity to get your message across and drive traffic to your online presence. That’s right, you should include links. And please add an email signature to your cell phone if you respond to business emails from there.
4. Business Card. I assume you have all the relevant information on your card, but if I look at it after I meet you, can I tell what you do or how it can help me? Is there a call to action? And a QR code that takes me to your non-mobile enhanced website is not what I mean.
5. LinkedIn Profile. I speak on social media – a lot.. And I have yet to meet a business owner who should NOT have a LinkedIn Profile for themselves. It doesn’t take that much time. Be sure you complete it. The best completion checklist I’ve found is by Maisha Walker at Inc.: http://www.inc.com/maisha-walker/2009/08/how_to_use_your_linkedin_profi.html
6. Email List. I have yet to meet a business owner who could not benefit from an email list of their clients. In fact, I have case studies of my clients who have moved completely away from postal mail in less than 6 months after starting email marketing. Postal mail had been the business’ only form of marketing to that point. Email marketing is easy, cheap and a way to reach directly to your prospects and customers. Use a professional service like Constant Contact. (Full Disclosure: I am a Constant Contact Expert and Solution Provider)
7. Follow Up. Have a follow up plan for your business. If you go to a networking event, don’t just throw the cards in a box or a drawer, but have a plan. Don’t automatically subscribe everyone you met to your email newsletter. Likewise, don’t send a blanket post-event email a la “it was nice to meet you”. Reach out personally to the few warm leads you met at the event. If you told them you would send them something, send it.
8. Testimonials. If you don’t have any, start collecting them right now. Call your best customers. Ask them to write a testimonial for you. If they don’t have the time, write one for them and ask them to edit as appropriate. Potential customers are far more likely to believe another one of your customers saying you are fantastic, then you saying you are fantastic.
9. Thank You. Say Thank you to your customers. Whether you implement an official rewards program or send them the occasional note and/or cookie basket. Let them know you appreciate them.
10. Belief. If you don’t believe in yourself, your prospects never will. Do what you do. Do it well and believe.

Can you think of a business marketing must have that I missed? Let me know in the comments.

“laura b creative” Helps the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce Become a Leader in Embracing Technology

For Immediate Release

September 12, 2011

Herndon, VA  – “laura b creative”, a business marketing and graphic design firm and recognized leader on the use of social media, has partnered with the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce over the past six months to implement a series of technological programs to greatly enhance the Chamber’s engagement with its members and the public. These efforts have positioned the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce as a leader among the region’s business organizations in adopting and employing the latest advances in technology for electronic marketing.

At a recent Chamber event, a live Twitter feed was introduced to a crowd of 250 plus attendees. This was the latest in a string of advances which includes a mobile website for the Chamber, an online member forum, a revamped Facebook page, a “text-to-join” mailing list and the ubiquitous use of QR codes. To date, the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce is one of the few chambers in the Washington, D.C. metro area to offer a mobile website to make it easier for smartphone users to access important chamber content.

“We are thrilled to play a part in taking the Dulles Regional Chamber into future and look forward to continuing to support other clients in improving the way they communicate with communities of interest through electronic marketing. Getting the mobile website operational in just three days was particularly gratifying.” said Laura B. Poindexter, president of “laurabcreative”. The current chairman of the board of the Dulles Regional Chamber, Kirk Forman added, “The expert leadership provided by “laurabcreative” has been instrumental in helping our chamber standout and facilitate our interaction with our members; we could not have gotten there as quickly as we have, without their support.”

Eileen Curtis, president of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce stated, “Laura’s guidance was instrumental in our decision to move forward with a mobile web site vs. a customer mobile app. Her knowledge of the implications of both helped us avert making the wrong decision for our Chamber. The mobile site (m.dullesregionalchamber.org) is now live and assisting our members reach out to each other while on the road and easily get directions and maps to events.”

Ms. Poindexter is a member of the Chamber’s board of directors and has served as the chair of the Chamber’s marketing committee, chair of the Dulles South lead share group, a Chamber ambassador, as well as a member of the technology and special events committees. As a well-known expert on social media, she has delivered numerous presentations on the effective use of new media for business applications and for driving audience engagement.

For Immediate Release

July 7, 2011

Herndon, VA  – “laura b creative”, a business marketing and graphic design firm and recognized leader on social media, announced today that its president/founder, Laura B. Poindexter, was appointed to a three-year term to the board of directors of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce. The appointment was made official today with a unanimous vote during the Chamber’s annual meeting at the Westin Washington Dulles in Herndon, Virginia.

Located in one of the top technology corridors in the country, the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce is the fifth largest chamber in the Washington, D.C. region and the largest in Fairfax County, Virginia. Since 1959, the Chamber has focused on helping grow businesses, enriching the local community and acting as a strong voice on issues impacting the private sector.

“It is a humbling honor to be part of the board of this prestigious business organization and I look forward to continuing to be part of the leadership team that will take the Chamber to an even more successful future,” said Poindexter.  Outgoing board chairman Bill Lauer added, “Laura really earned her seat on the board because of her hard work, dedication and contributions to the Chamber. I am confident that she will continue to play a vital role in the success of the organization.”

Ms. Poindexter has served as the chair of the Chamber’s marketing committee, chair of the Dulles South lead share group, a Chamber ambassador, as well as a member of the technology and special events committees. As a well-known expert on social media, she has delivered numerous presentations on the effective use of new media for business applications and for driving audience engagement.

Of course many of the social media sites offer widgets that will create a custom badge on your website that pulls in content from your profile. We are just discussing the basics today, getting those social media links on your site with the appropriate icons.

1. You need the images that you plan to use for your links. I recommend using images directly from the social media platform. Here are the links:

Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/promo_guidelines.php

LinkedIn. http://developer.linkedin.com/docs/DOC-1101

Twitter. http://twitter.com/about/files

YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/t/creators_downloads

If you looking for something with a little more style, please check out the enormous amount of social media icon sets found at Smashing Magazine. I like some of the sets in this post about free icon sets.

2. After you have the image, you plan to use, you will need the actual link for your profile or page. The easiest way to find the link is to navigate to your profile and copy the URL in the address field of your browser. From there, you will probably have some editing to do.

Facebook. The address in your browser bar will show additional information that you don’t need for your link. If you have a Facebook page with less than 25 followers, your link should look like this:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/<town>/<page name> /<string of 12 numbers>

Depending on the type of page you have set up, you may not have the <town> field. If you have at least 25 followers, then log in to Facebook, after login, navigate to http://www.facebook.com/username. Be sure to select “Set a username for your Pages.” This will give you a new simpler URL of your choice, as long as it is available.

Doesn’t http://www.facebook.com/laurabcreative, look better than http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sterling-VA/laurabcreative/26156294968?

LinkedIn. From within LinkedIn, navigate to Edit My Profile. If you haven’t already set your custom URL, do this by selecting Edit following your existing URL in the Public Profile field. Your new URL will look like this:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/<your name>

My LinkedIn profile is http://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabpoindexter

Twitter. Twitter is the easiest site for URLs. Your URL is:

http://www.twitter.com/<your Twitter handle>

Your handle is the 15 character username. For example, my URL is http://www.twitter.com/laurabcreative.

YouTube. YouTube also has inherent URLs that are already customized. All users have channels, whether you post videos or not. You will see the URL is:

http://www.youtube.com/user/<username>

You can remove the “user” in this URL and it will still work. For example, one of my client’s YouTube channel is http://www.youtube.com/loverugbycompany.

The definition. Foursquare is a mobile application that helps you find new ways to explore your city. Foursquare helps you meet up with your friends and lets you earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people. Users can also choose to have their Twitter and/or Facebook accounts updated when they check in

The company was founded by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai and is based in New York City. The service launched in March 2009. There are currently nearing 1.6 million users and with 10+ check-ins per second. And the numbers keep climbing. They have been called the next Twitter in regard to meteoric rise in users and influence.

It’s part social networking site, city guide and game – all in one. Users check in to local establishments and earn points for checking in. Their friends can see where they have checked in. Users can also unlock certain discounts and tips that other users have left behind. And it’s not just discounts; tips include what to order at a restaurant and what not to miss at a museum. This is word of mouth at its best. Since the application uses the GPS location of the user’s mobile phone, a user can find places and discounts that they would not have been aware of otherwise. For a quick overview, visit the demo video on the home page.

I’ve noticed that foursquare is currently being used by restaurants, bars and coffee houses. Most discounts I have seen are for the mayor of the location (the foursquare user who has checked in the most times at that location in the last 60 days). This is where the game aspect comes in as users earn points and badges for checking in. Right now Starbucks is offering $1 off Frappuccino to the mayor of each of their locations.

It is nice to entice foursquare users to compete over the mayorship of your location; however, I think many businesses are missing the boat. I would offer a discount or special offer to any foursquare user who checks in. You can still offer a super special discount for your mayor.

What kind of investment will this take? Unlike social media sites like Facebook or Twitter where frequent updates help you stay in front of your fans and followers more often, foursquare users see your specials when they are in your neighborhood. A modest investment of a few minutes a month to change the special and you are on your way to participating in this new online trend. Don’t stop there; promote your special on your other marketing platforms along with in-store materials provided by foursquare. Find out how to access your listing and get in-store materials on the business page.

Foursquare is also sharing info with local merchants who use foursquare to share discounts. So you can keep track of your best customers and get an idea of their habits through foursquare.

If you are a retail location like a restaurant or retail store, I would get online right now to verify your location information and add a foursquare special. It’s easy and you can start tracking results right away.

Top FREE Mobile Applications You Can Be Using to Do Business Today

You’ve got a smart phone. It’s not just for turn-by-turn directions, you know.

1.   LinkedIn. The top business networking site has mobile applications for BlackBerry, iPhone and Palm Pre. Use LinkedIn mobile to keep up to date on what’s going on in your network and to contact any of your connections. Access your LinkedIn search, connections, messages and more.

2.    Evernote. Now available for most mobile platforms, desktop and online. Evernote gives you a place to store all your, well, notes: text, a full webpage or webpage excerpt, a photograph, a voice memo, or a file attachment. Notes can sync across platforms, organize into folders and become searchable.

Hot Tip: Take a photo of a business card with Evernote mobile and it automatically recognizes the text so it becomes searchable. No more stacks of business cards creating piles on your desk. Simply snap the ones you want to follow up with. You could even give the card back on the spot.

3.  Google Sync. Having trouble keeping all your calendars synced across devices? Need to see both personal and business appointments? Google Sync allows you to integrate Google Calendars with your native phone calendar. It can also sync your contacts. Google Calendar can be synced with your desktop calendar application and allows the ability to share or make your calendars public. Share a personal calendar with your spouse to keep track of the family. Visit www.laurabcreative.com/speaking to see a Google Calendar made public and formatted into an event listing. Wow!

4.    Ping.fm. You may have heard of Ping.fm but are not sure how to use it. Ping.fm is simply a tool to help you update your status on over 40 social networks. It allows you to access your account via SMS (text message) or a third party mobile application like BlackPing for the BlackBerry. Ping.fm can be useful in updating your status across your social networks but be careful, each social network is different and your updates should not be blanketed across all of them. Ping.fm does allow you to set up different groups to separate your audiences. I highly recommend this. I don’t want to see “RT @dulleschamber @laurabcreative @guykawasaki blah, blah, blah” in your LinkedIn status. And at least 70% of your network doesn’t either. They probably don’t even understand it because they are not Twitter users.

5.    HootSuite. HootSuite bills itself as “the professional Twitter client”, but it’s so much more than that. It is a complete web-based social media dashboard which lets you schedule updates across different social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Facebook pages, MySpace, Foursquare, even Ping.fm). This includes adding photos and updating a WordPress blog. The dashboard also allows you to share the load with your team, giving you the ability to manage access to business profiles. The mobile application is available for iPhone and Android as a free limited version or $1.99 full version. The web-based dashboard is free.

6.    NutShell Mail. This is not a mobile application per se. It is a service that “brings a summary of your social network updates to your inbox in a single email on your schedule”. You decide how often you want to check your social networks, set up your schedule and view everything in a single email. Nutshell Mail was just acquired by email service provider Constant Contact.

7.    Documents To Go. Allows you to view Microsoft Office and PDF files. The full version ranges from $15-$30 depending on the platform, but the viewer is free. If you need to look at files while you are away from your computer, Documents To Go will fill that role. The premium version allows you to create files.

Hot Tip: Keep your latest sales presentation on your handheld and you will always be ready to show it to prospects.

8.    RSS reader. There are so many RSS readers and it’s hard to recommend one without knowing you a little better. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and allows you to pull the updated posts from a particular site, usually a news or blog site, but in reality almost anything can be made into an RSS feed like the public calendar mentioned earlier. The best mobile application depends on your phone but almost all of them sync with the free Google Reader which allows you to set up and track your preferred feeds online.

So, with the applications above, you can keep in touch with your business contacts, keep track of all your brilliant ideas, keep your calendars synced with all the appropriate devices and anyone who may need access, update and track your social networks on your schedule, view and share files and keep up-to-date on your industry. And you’re playing golf!

I use this blog to give you real world examples of good and bad marketing which I tag as “Brilliant” or “Daft”. This is not to highlight or criticize the companies in my example, but rather to get you to think. Are you doing something similar? How can you make it better? If it’s a good idea, can you use it in your business?

I encourage my clients and audiences to look at what is working in other industries and apply it to their business. I absolutely love this example below by a guy looking for a job in advertising…

Does that give you any ideas on what you could be spending your AdWords budget on other than fighting for those hot keywords?



Constant Contact recognizes laura b creative for commitment to best practices in email marketing

Sterling, VA — April 19, 2010 – laura b creative, today announced that it has received a 2009 All-Star Award from Constant Contact^®, Inc., a leading provider of email marketing, event marketing, and online survey tools for small organizations.  laura b creative was selected for meeting Constant Contact’s best-practice standards for the use of Email Marketing throughout 2009.

“I am thrilled to receive this designation for the second year in a row. I am a firm believer in following email marketing best practices and providing valuable content both to my readers and on behalf of my clients”, said Laura B. Poindexter, principal of laura b creative.

laura b creative received a 2009 Constant Contact All-Star Award for demonstrating best practices in the effective use of Constant Contact Email Marketing in the following areas:

• Frequency of campaigns
• Open rates
• Bounce rates
• Click through rates

“I not only received this award for myself but also on behalf of two of my clients,” said Poindexter.

“Our customers work hard to build strong relationships with their customers through email marketing and some, such as laura b creative, truly excel in this effort,” said Gail Goodman, CEO, Constant Contact. “We created our All-Star Awards to highlight those customers who are passionately committed to following our best practices as they work to improve their customer communications. We’re proud of the role we play in helping laura b creative be successful and we look forward to continuing to assist the company with its marketing efforts.”

About Constant Contact, Inc.
With more than 350,000 customers, Constant Contact, Inc. is a leading provider of email marketing, event marketing, and online surveys for small businesses, nonprofits, and member associations. Founded in 1995, Constant Contact helps small organizations grow stronger customer relationships by delivering professional, low cost, easy-to-use online tools backed with award-winning support, education and personal coaching. Constant Contact is a publicly traded company (Nasdaq: CTCT) with offices located in Waltham, Mass.; Loveland, Colo.; and Delray, Fla. To learn more, please visit www.ConstantContact.com or call 781-472-8100.

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That being said, the Super Bowl ads often highlight many Daft! advertising efforts. The most popular and most remembered Super Bowl ad of all time – the Mean Joe Green Coke ad – was pulled after just a few months because it did not result in an increase in sales.

A recent Ad Age article about holiday ads shows that while consumers like them, that doesn’t mean they’re influenced by them. A new survey has found that half of consumers say they’re not inspired to shop at the retailer whose holiday TV commercial or online promotion they liked best.

So enjoy the game and the commercials, but don’t model your small business campaigns on anything you see today.