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6 New Tech Strategies for Better Business

Jenny Heinzen York -- Gifts and Dec, 7/23/2011 5:51:41 AM

Tech Conference Attendees at Sandow MediaThe world of technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, and even with sometimes slow-to-get-onboard industries such as the gift and home business, the tools are becoming so powerful that no one who is serious about business can afford to ignore them.
    This was the key message at Sandow Media's recent Online Technologies Conference, held in May at Atlanta's AmericasMart. The event, hosted by Gifts & Decorative Accessories and its sister magazines, drew more than 100 attendees to learn about email marketing, social media, Web development, tablet computing, data mining and more. The conference was sponsored by AmericasMart, Ayr1, Brandwise, FurnitureCore.com, FurnitureDealer. net, Myriad Software, Shopatron and Whereoware.
     1. Convergence Eric Dean of Whereoware explained how companies can tie their online and offline experiences together. Dean said that all the channels that vendors and retailers use for marketing need to work together, including print advertising, phone, sales reps, websites, catalogs, emails, tradeshows and social media.
ERIC DEAN     The reason? "Consumers want whatever they want, however they want it, whenever they want it, wherever they are," he said. The days are past when a company can dictate how it communicates with its customers - it has to be available on all platforms so the customers can do business on their own terms.
     Dean cited as an example Old Navy, which sent an email to its customer list with an Easter promotion using QR tags. Customers were invited to visit the stores, look for 15 QR tags hidden through the store, scan them, then have a chance to win $50,000. This promotion used technology to drive people into the actual stores, then encouraged them to stay longer and look around more.
     He also cited the changing role of catalogs in American life. Whereas in 1965, the Sears catalog was 1,810 pages, in 2010 it was 128 pages. But that's not to say they are less important. In fact, Dean said, customers who are sent catalogs are 54 percent more likely to shop; twice as likely to make an online purchase; spend 163 percent more dollars; and are much more likely to visit your website. Catalogs are aspirational now, and work best to drive consumers to websites. Other ways that technology is driving the B2B and retail worlds? Reps are carrying catalogs on laptops, and increasingly on iPads or other tablet devices; and technologies are now available to automate post-market lead follow-ups.
Bob George addresses the audience on the importance of business intelligence, and how the Internet can be used to gather it.     2. Web Development Andy Bernstein, owner of FurnitureDealer.net, outlined what questions a business should ask when working with a Web developer on a new website. This is very important, Bernstein said, because 81 percent of home furnishings shoppers cite the Internet as their number one source of information. And in a world of fast-moving technology, consumers have no patience for a bad website (one that's slow, uninformative, confusing or hard to navigate). "Good websites are expensive; they require a lot of time, money and skill," he said. "But money alone cannot buy a good website. Most home furnishings executives (people above the age of 35) simply are not
     3. Tablet Computing Todd Litzman, president of Brandwise, talked about tablet computing, which many see as the future of technology. He talked about the iPad, Android and Microsoft technologies now available, and the capabilities and limitations of each type of tablet. He also discussed "the cloud" - a new technology buzzword that helps to solve some of the limitations of the current tablets, namely that the different brands cannot operate each other's apps and software. Effectively, he said, cloud-computing works as application serving, which, "with an always-on Internet connection, allows you to remotely run your native applications on any browser-capable device." But because cloud-computing requires an always-son Internet connection, there are some limitations to it at the moment. "We are in the middle of a major technology revolution," he said. "The key to success during this time is understanding how technology works towards your goals, not how your goals can be manipulated to conform to this technology. Be sure your technology partners are looking at both online and offline solutions to meet your varied needs. One size does not fit all."
TODD LITZMAN     4. Web-Based Intelligence Bob George, founder of FurnitureCore.com, discussed the importance of business intelligence, and how the Internet can be used to gather it. The best way to use technology, he said, is to gather as much data as possible on your customers and target them appropriately. "Do you know who your customers are?" he asked. "Pott ry Barn, Crate & Barrel and Target do." "I always encourage retailers and manufacturers to ready, aim and fire," George said. "And not do the opposite. You need to understand technology before you use it."
     5.Emails that Work Corey Williams, vice president of global sales for email provider Silverpop, talked about 12 effective emails that drive sales.
     Examples he cited included welcome messages for new customers; service- oriented cart reminder (can we answer any questions about the items left in your cart?); product review invitation; birthday email; maintenance reminders; or going out of stock notices for previously ordered items.
     The stats back up the rationale for these emails, Williams said. For example, the "welcome" email generates six times more revenue than regular ongoing emails. Purchase confirmation emails have 90 percent open rate, he said, suggesting that these are great opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell other products.
ANDY BERNSTEIN     6. Social Media Mark Grondin, senior vice president of Shopatron, said 250 million users log in to Facebook every day, for an average of 55 minutes. He said the average user has 130 friends and is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events.
     But for all of that, it's still not a place where a lot of actual business is done.
     "Facebook is not a mall; it's a party," he said, but it's also a branding tool, a community-builder, a great communication tool, a big traffic source, an advertising venue, an awareness builder and a decent source of analytics, he added. What it is not: A one-way communication medium for brands, a top revenue marketing tactic, a currency, an email replacement or a new search engine, he said.
     One of the biggest attributes of marketing on Facebook, Grondin said, is the ability to hyper-target consumers. Because people reveal a lot about themselves in their profiles, it's possible to specify marketing messages to reach people based on their location, gender, age group or marital status - and even to target customers who "like" your competitors' pages. The new Facebook Sponsored Ads platform is a good, inexpensive way to push out messages, he said.
COREY WILLIAMS     Grondin sees the future of "fcommerce" as being important, but not as a direct seller. It can be a huge traffic driver, though. For example, Amazon's traffic from Facebook was up 328 percent year over year in 2010.
     Twitter can be important for businesses, too, but it's more effective as a one-way communication. Facebook requires much more interaction to work effectively.

Social Media at Retail Robert Williams, director of "fun, experience, marketing, e-commerce and social media" for Houston-based retailer Gallery Furniture, talked about how his company used social media to grow its business and build consumer loyalty.
Williams said although many people are uncomfortable with Facebook in business, it is so popular that it cannot be ignored. With hundreds of millions of users, it's also wildly popular among many of those users. In fact, he cited a study that said 47 percent of people have checked Facebook while in the bathroom.

"You have to go beyond what you're used to," he said. "But we have to do it to make it work. A business is a leader because it once did something remarkable. It's no longer remarkable if you simply just do the same."

MARK GRONDIN

Robert Williams used social media to grow his business and gain loyalty.

     Gallery has found success through Facebook sweepstakes and contests, giving away teachers' lounge makeovers, and furniture to needy families. It has held contests to invite customers to visit High Point Market, or asked consumers to help the buying team select new products. All of these have helped boost its fan base and created a lot of loyalty among its users.
     He said some companies are afraid of the negative feedback they might receive on a social media site, but as long as the businesses respond in a timely manner, these complaints can actually become good marketing tools because all of your page's visitors will see how responsive you are to problems.
MICHAEL O     Gallery Furniture has embraced technology in other ways, too, including offering live chat on its website from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. to answer customer questions. It also includes a QR tag on the labeling for each piece of merchandise to encourage consumers to get more information immediately. Every sales rep carries an iPad for looking up questions, scanning codes, making notes, etc.
     Michael O'Hanlon spoke on behalf of CSN Stores, an online marketplace for furnishings that represented $380 million in revenues in 2010. Social media is just a small part of CSN's marketing strategy, but it is an effective one. The primary return on investment for now, he said, is being able to listen to and understand customers better.
     He also said the incorporation of consumer reviews on a website can dramatically increase product sales, and gives the site a good way to monitor problems or get a feel for great products. And Yelp - though less well-known than Facebook or Twitter - is also a great way to monitor what consumers are saying about your company or brand.
Jenny Henizen York is editor-in-chief of Home Accents Today, a sister publication of Gifts &Decorative Accessories.

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