NFC capabilities: Get enrolled now!

Most of all retailers and small business have a merchant Point of Sale machine that handle debit and credit card transactions, and now is the time for those machines to get upgraded to handle the onslaught of NFC enabled mobile phones that will be soon shipping within the next 2 years. Be ahead of the curve and get signed up or upgrade soon. This will not only give you a competitive advantage over other retailers but it will keep customer satisfaction high, as many consumers will be eager to try this new form of payment.

Get Proactively Involved with E-Coupons and Rewards.

Many consumers are shifting their shopping from actual stores to online retailers like Amazon or eBay, and they do so because they have great confidence that they will get a better deal online then they would at the store. Therefore, when they’re met with a tempting deal at a store, they hesitate and choose to look it up and buy it online. Actively applying discounts and reward points will give that customer an emotional sensation to buy now, rather then later, will help your business win that sale immediately. E-Coupons and rewards can be used in conjunction with NFC enabled phones and apply automatic discounts and reward points when an enabled NFC phone is used as form of payment at the register. Such a feature is being rolled out with Google’s own offering of Google wallet and I recommend you take immediate action to differentiate yourself before it becomes the norm. Remember be proactive, not reactive. Customers always love to be rewarded without having to chase down discounts.

Compatible Websites: Make your website compatible to mobile web browsers.

Many of the huge retailers have already jumped on board with creating specific mobile applications pertaining to their company for the two larges phone ecosystems: Android and the iPhone. However, not everyone has an Android or an iPhone so creating many different types of applications for each specific mobile operating system can be expensive and time consuming, especially for smaller businesses. In addition, with the large pool of applications between Android and iPhone, only 1 of 4 applications downloaded actually get used. Therefore, when creating website for your company, make sure that your site is mobile browser friendly. Make things simple and accessible to customers without having them to zoom in on a page that’s meant for your laptop on a small 4 inch portable screen. In addition, if your website requires the user to fill out a form — for example loan applications — please make it mobile friendly. I can’t tell you how many times I started to fill out a form on my phone but just quit because it was just too much work.

Some of these tips sound like common sense but it will make you wonder why it isn’t a uniform standard across many retailers and companies. The truth is that the most of these initiatives will eventually become standard, but the key to your business is to be ahead of the curve and give your customer that friendly mobile experience and satisfaction they haven’t felt anywhere else.

Source: mobiThinking

Most the time we are helped by people who either:

• Just want to make a sale – and will do anything to get there
• Don’t care – have a lackluster approach to their job/goals
• Don’t know how to relate to their customer – or don’t care too

For a business that is dangerous.  How many times are you apt to go back to a business that provided that type of service?  I know that I wouldn’t.  So what can we do to ensure that our customers don’t receive bad customer service but instead get excellent customer service?  It can be done in these easy steps:

• Know your customer – their needs/goals/desires
• Listen to your customer – let them talk the majority of the time
• Be genuine with your customer – they know when your not being real
• Become your customer – put yourself in their shoes/relate to them

By doing those steps it shows our customers that we are interested in what they want, that we value them and that we appreciate their business. When we take the time to develop that customer relationship it will in turn make loyal customers that will equate to more sales for your business!  Remember, without our customers our businesses would not be successful.  So make it an aim to give EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Sam Valenzuela, President of LeadPile

The demand to generate quality leads is a constant challenge for marketers. While 74% of marketers see generating high quality leads as their number one business challenge, LeadPile offers their customers just that–the highest quality leads. LeadPile is the premier online exclusive lead generation marketplace, and their commitment to quality and trust has earned them the title of one of the fastest growing companies in America.

LeadPile was created after recognizing a number of unfulfilled lead gen needs in the B2B sector, including the challenge of generating quality leads. By building their marketplace around balancing the needs of both lead buyers and sellers, LeadPile has grown into the largest online exclusive lead marketplace in the industry. Inc. Magazine has now ranked LeadPile as one of the fastest growing companies for a third consecutive year.

Currently lead gen is a top priority for 60% of marketers, which makes finding quality leads increasingly important. “Providing quality leads for our customers sits at the core of our vision,” said Sam Valenzuela, President of LeadPile. “A key ongoing objective is to develop processes that strengthen the quality of leads to bring real economic value to our clients.”

The future of lead quality lies within increasingly sophisticated segmentation, targeting and conversions.  LeadPile stands at the forefront of the lead gen industry by adapting marketplace features to meet changing market demands. Ultimately, it is the forward thinking approach to lead gen challenges that will continue to advance LeadPile as a leader in the industry.

ABOUT LEADPILE

LeadPile is the premier online lead marketplace for the B2B sector. LeadPile offers quality leads to buyers and sellers on a secure and centralized platform. Since 2009, Inc. Magazine has ranked LeadPile as one of the fastest growing companies in America. For more information about LeadPile, please visit LeadPile.com.

1. Be considerate: If you are contacting a client after hours ask if they are free to talk. Just because your friends may immediately respond to IM’s or texts doesn’t mean your client wants to. Have the same expectations as you would from an email correspondence.

2. Remember the concept of “business hours”: Follow the weekday 7am-9pm rule. Not everyone wants to speak to you late night or on weekends, you must respect that.

3. Only contact the people you talk to regularly: Texting a colleague that sits next to you is totally acceptable. Texting a client you rarely speak to is not.

4. Put your phone away during face-to-face meetings: There is nothing more annoying then having a conversation with someone who is constantly checking their cell phone. If you can’t focus during a 30min meeting what kind of impression does that give your potential clients.

5. Texts and IMs should be reserved for simple, non-critical topics: If your texts is longer then a sentence or requires deeper communication send an email or schedule a call.

6. Be wary of abbreviations and emoticons: Be aware of whom you are texting, if you would not include LOL or a smiley face in an email to them why would you via text message.

7. Never send sensitive information: Hackers can easily obtain this information and cause severe damage.

8. Stay professional: Be sure to still use spell check and write professionally via text as you would by email. Remember you are still conducting business.

more are expected to show up this year. The day following Thanksgiving has become one of the most popular times of the year for retailers to offer large discounts to customers, making about a third of retailer’s sales for the year. About 31 percent of households are predicted to shop on Black Friday.

Stores like Walmart will be selling high-definition TVs for under $200 and cameras for around $60 offering prices that are largely discounted compared to the rest of the year. The economy’s current state is also expected to make an impact on the number of people looking for lower prices.

Here are some interesting facts about Groupon and their customers.

- Groupon has 9.1 million members
- They have sold over 8.9 million coupons
- 97% of the businesses that participate ask to be featured again
- 68% are between 18-34 years old
- 50% have a bachelor’s degree
- 49% are single
- 77% are women
- 75% have fill-time jobs
- 29% annual income is over $100,000

How many of you have used Groupon? What are your thoughts on coupon sites?