Bring On The Buzz | Promotional Consultant

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Bring On The Buzz
By: Cassandra Johnson
Issue: April 2010

I remember the days when I had to yell for my kids to come to dinner and they conveniently didn’t hear me. Well now there are no excuses. I’ve found a way to get their attention—immediately. I take a brief video of myself yelling into my iPhone, post it on YouTube and zap it in a text message link to them. Oh, and did I mention posting the video on their Facebook pages? I can do this in seconds, and trust me, they see it immediately.

If it works with our kids, can we get the same attention with prospects and customers? In today’s business world, it’s as easy as calling them to the table—through the latest technology.

What’s The Word?
Just a few years ago, new phones were popping up everywhere. The big decision was how to be synced up and BlueToothed between devices such as TREOs and Palms with laptops and home computers. Oh, and Facebook? We thought of it as a web hangout for college co-eds.

Fastfoward to the present—the technology buzz is going fast and furious. But the tide has shifted. There are plenty of devices out there; the challenge now isn’t how to embrace new technology, it’s how to integrate technology and provide value on each and every platform.

Why Technology Is Important
Simply put, technology drives business. Whether focused on sales, operations or finance, we rely on technology for productivity, efficiency, functionality and even creativity. Technology allows us to move forward in order to make a profit.

“We must understand the capabilities that hardware can deliver with regard to the how, what, when and where. We must know where to find the right applications and how to implement them to support our own business objectives,” says Evan Milton, CAS, principal of Everett, Washington-based Corporate Impressions (UPIC: corppro).

We are also demanding more and more from today’s technology, such as speed and relevancy.

“Reliability has to be No. 1,” says Dwayne Long, vice president of sales and marketing for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-based CMG Promos, Inc. (UPIC: CMGPRO). “When we send an e-mail we have to feel comfortable it gets there. If you are using a SmartPhone in the field, you can’t wait forever for data uploads and downloads. Awkward wait time face-to-face is not healthy, but to quickly show someone a product or color options by tapping into a website can be extremely useful.”

What’s Hot: The Rise Of Mobile
So what tools should we arm ourselves with in this new world? Move over laptops; mobile phones have the edge. Mobile devices will rank in the top three in IT spend in 2010, according to “Information Week.” More than half the population carries a mobile phone. And while they come in all shapes and sizes and with cool names such as iPhone, BlackBerry and Droid, what makes these gadgets compelling is the software, not the hardware.

“Everyone basically has a minicomputer in their pocket that gets us what we want, when we want,” says John Payne, president of Orlando, Florida-based Monster Media. “If we can engage people with dynamic forms of advertising connecting to the cell phone, that’s what they want right now.”

Milton, who just purchased a Droid, admits her phone is quickly becoming of equal, if not more, importance than her laptop. And Joe Scott, vice president of Chanhassen, Minnesota-based Scott & Associates (UPIC: SCOTTASC), recently switched his entire office from BlackBerry and PC-based products to iPhones and Apple products.

All daily work, contacts, presentations, catalogs and video can be accessed through a mobile device, and it’s the development of new applications that makes these devices stand out. Applications simplify the user experience. Plus, they’re just a bit fun and intoxicating. The number of apps available for the iPhone today runs close to 100,000, categorized by business, health, entertainment and more. A cell phone can be used to run a presentation, turn off the lights and the list goes on.

“Back in my day technology was only for left-brained people,” says Scott. “Now technology has been made so easy to use that people who are heavy on the right brain can use it for things that they probably were not intended, like the thousands of apps that Apple never thought of creating. You can turn mobile devices with applications into formidable sales tools that cut sales time down and eliminate your competitors.”

The Role Of Text Messaging
With mobile phones, text messaging has risen in importance and effectiveness, both in servicing customer needs and in providing new marketing opportunities. By the end of 2010, an estimated 2.3 trillion text messages will have been sent and delivered globally. This new kind of mobility allows sales people to be available seven days a week. As Scott points out, sales calls are not going away. The relationship still typically begins with a face-to-face meeting or at least a phone conversation. But after that, relationships are often maintained via technology.

“There’s a kind of new socio-technological dance between sales people and clients, and there are rules that we have to set,” explains Scott. “If it’s urgent, we get a text message and respond immediately. E-mail is not quite as urgent, and I usually have an hour or so to respond.”

Now that text messaging has become a norm, it’s also opened up an array of new marketing opportunities in the world of promotion. Text message marketing is booming. Nearly 40 percent of the major brands have already deployed text messaging (SMS) campaigns, according to Airwide Solutions independent survey of 50 brand name companies. And, this advertising market is expected to be valued at $16 billion by 2011.

Scott has also embraced the text messaging market and is seamlessly tying this opportunity into his promotional products business. He encourages clients to put text codes on promotional products. The recipient can text the code and receive a message from the organization. They also then have the opportunity to opt-in for future texts that might promote weekly discounts, product upgrades and other valuable information. As a result, clients receive repeat impressions for their investment and preferences on what the recipients want to receive. The physical product-text combination is very dynamic.

Other Devices
Phones aren’t the only things making technology headlines. Other devices have entered the market that are making it easier for us to create leads, generate sales and provide customer service. Take for example, Apple’s recent launch of the iPad, a touch-screen tablet that allows users to browse the web, use e-mail, play music and games, store photos and watch videos. Virtually every app in the Apple App Store is available, scaled to fit to a bigger screen.

Scott has already found a way to incorporate the iPad into his promotional consultant business, by having an iPad application designed for a restaurant client.

“We developed an iPad application that’s an interactive menu for a restaurant,” explains Scott. “These will be presented at the table in leather folios, with the restaurant’s logo of course. There will be one presented to the table, causing people to have the experience together. They can click on the porterhouse steak, for example, and learn what region it comes from and even meet the couple that owns the farm. Plus, the customer will be able to opt in to the text messaging system using that device so that they can get text specials in the future.”

The key is to think creatively—how can you use new technology to meet your business objectives? It will get you out of the gate and ahead of the competition.

Social Media
We can’t talk emerging technologies without also focusing on emerging software tools such as social media applications Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. (See accompanying article on page ____.) Social networking has been used primarily for corporate branding and customer service. In the coming year, this focus will shift to measuring ROI.

What’s Ahead?
The offline and online worlds are colliding, and we, as sales people, are feeling the effect. As we adjust to this new environment, what should we expect in the future?

Video and virtualization will play even bigger roles in our communications with prospects and clients. As old mobile platforms fade away and more people have more robust platforms, then multimedia messaging (mms) will prevail, which allows the delivery of these functions directly to cell phone screens.

Web video is fun and cheap to produce, and when it's done well customers are entertained and want more. That’s why more than 200 million videos are viewed on YouTube every day. Imagine providing a video instead of sending a virtual product sample.

Perhaps the biggest change we could face as promotional consultants is the sale of technology itself as a promotional product. After all, a promotional product is any product that stimulates the senses and displays the organization’s logo. We now have the ability to partner with technology providers—from a contractor to a high school kid—to develop custom-branded apps. Plus, we are able to provide additional power, impact and ROI to these products by integrating them with physical products, social media, mobile marketing and interactive display advertising.

It’s Still About The Relationship
“Technology is a tool to assist us in our business, from responding faster to increasing our productivity,” says Long. “However I don’t feel it should ever be developed to totally replace the face-to-face. We have a unique business that touches all the senses. Technology will never replace personable things like a good hand shake or face-to-face laugh and smile.”

Cassandra Johnson is a tech-savvy marketing communications consultant and freelance writer. She reports on the latest trends in the promotional products industry, public relations, direct marketing, e-marketing and more. She supports clients in a variety of industries, including promotional products, hospitality, financial services and technology.

Sources’ Social Media Links
Curious about how PPAI and industry companies use social media? Check out their blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter and LinkedIn profiles below.

Bobby Lehew’s Blog
Charles River Apparel Facebook Page
Charles River Apparel on Twitter
Pacesetter Awards Co. on Twitter
Promo Brain (AIA/Freestone Design) Blog
Promo Brain (AIA/Freestone Design) on Twitter
PPAI Fanpage
PPAI Endbuyer Fanpage
PPAI Did U Know Blog
PPB and PC magazines on Twitter
PPAI YouTube: PPAI HeadQuarters
Robyn Promotions & Printing Blog
Robyn Promotions & Printing Facebook Page
Robyn Promotions & Printing on LinkedIn
Think Basis Blog
Web Marketing Therapy Blog
Web Marketing Therapy on LinkedIn
Web Marketing Therapy on Facebook
Web Marketing Therapy on Twitter
ZOOMcatalog Facebook Page
ZOOMcatalog on Twitter

Sales Ideas for Facebook:
• On your page, create a sidebar where customers can opt in with their e-mail addresses to receive e-mail specials in the future.
• Provide a special offer or make it easy for the customer to talk to a customer rep. This can generate quality leads.
• Provide free content on your Facebook page. For example, PPAI offers new end-user videos on YouTube that can be linked to your Facebok page.

Favorite Apps
If you want to quickly get to know your prospect, compare phone apps. You’ll be surprised at what you might learn. Following are a few suggestions:

BlackBerry Apps For B2B Sales

Salesforce.com Mobile Lite app
(Free to Salesforce.com users)
Includes CRM that measures sales quotas, uploads customer information, call info, e-mails and sales visits in real time.

Oracle Mobile Sales Assistant
This Mobile Edge app puts CRM info on your mobile device, such as contact, opportunity, activity, lead. Syncs with phone address book. Even supports 12 languages.

Kindle
Deliver industry e-books and blogs in one sleek page.

VQ Mileage Tracker
Tracks mileage and gas to and from customer meetings. It automatically calculates mileage every time you are in the car, stores data until you generate a report. Uses Google Maps to pinpoint each trip.

MyCommission
Helps to figure out just how many dollars you will take home at the end of the day. You enter the account name and status of each deal and calculate the resulting commission.

iPhone Apps

Weatherbug
A map screen shows where storms are and which way they are moving.

Stocks
Learn information about a company before your sales call.

Shoot It
This takes pictures from your iPhone and allows you to send them as postcards. You select the picture, type in your text, select a contact and they will have a postcard in a few days.

Urban Spoon
This is a fun app for finding new restaurants, handy when you are trying to impress a client.

Coupon Sherpa
mobiQpons
Coupons for on-the-spot shopping.

Tweetie
Shows your social network’s short postings and makes it easy to track topic trends, post entries and conduct/save searches.

Facebook
This is the official iPhone app from Facebook. View and upload status messages and photos, check in on friends and manage friend requests, internal e-mail and chats.

Kindle
Access to any Kindle e-books you’ve purchased, plus buy new ones and read on the iPhone.

ICE
In Case of Emergency puts a big Red Cross-style icon on your iPhone’s screen. When the icon is tapped, the app displays your name and contact information, the names and info for your doctors or other emergency contacts, and lists of your medical conditions, allergies and the medications you take.

Easy Wi-Fi
Automates the process of typing in log-in information for Wi-Fi services, so you have to press only one button.

ReaddleDocs
Allows you to synchronize files with a PC or Mac. For example, send an e-mail with an attached file to a special email address Readdle provides and that file will appear on your iPhone. There, it can be stored and read (though not edited). You can organize your files in folders and even send them to others. The app works with Microsoft Office files, PDF files and more.

Google Mobile (free)
Makes searching in Google (GOOG) even easier with instant search suggestions—searches are based on your location and gives you the ability to enter search terms through voice commands.

Foursquare
Gives you and your friends new ways of exploring your city. Earn points and unlock badges for discovering new things.

Bump
Makes sharing with people quick and easy. Just pick what you want to send, such as an electronic business card, then hold your phones and gently bump hands. This will transfer photos and contacts—you can even become FaceBook friends.

Mapquest
This is an easy way to find out where you’re going and how to get there. You’ll never be late for a sales call.

Youtube
This is a great way to deliver product information and promotional material via video.