Should you start thinking about selling your products for tablet users?

In September 2011, almost 1/2 of tablet users made purchases using their device. 12% of Internet-using Americans own tablets.We are also seeing an increase of purchases made on tablets than on smart phones.

Here’s an eye-opener out of Website Magazine about Tablet usage:

“Mobile advertising company Jumptap, in conjunction with comScore, recently released Wave Two of its ongoing research project titled Understanding Mobile Audience, which “shows that tablet owners are almost as likely as PC and laptop owners to use their tablet device to make purchases.” According to the study, a whole 63 percent of tablet owners make purchases on their devices; this is compared to 83 percent of PC owners who shop on their computers.

How do you know if your customers use tablets?

Right now, here are some facts:

60% of tablet users are male
48% are 18-34 years old
43% have households incomes of $50,000 or more
47% have created a wish list on their tablet in the past month

Scan over the flyer below, there’s really interesting finds!

dwt4ow

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photo by timkas23

As Ferris Buhler said it best “Yup, life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and take a look around once in a while, you might miss it”.

Digital Stamps: The Denmark Post now has digital stamps available and can be purchased via text message. A simple code is sent to the customer and it can be written on an envelope instead of the old fashioned stamp.

Euro McDonald’s are adding a point of sale touch screen to 7,000 European stores. The screens include swipers for cards, reducing the need for human cashiers and speeding up transactions. Burger King is also following suit.

Google Wallet, an Android App, allows someone to make payments with their phone. Users pay by tapping their phone on a Mastercard paypass terminal. Users can also receive offers and loyalty point with the app.

In developing countries, mobile is playing a huge role. South Africa’s First National Bank has a service that allows customers to take out cash from an ATM using their mobile phone. The customers receive a text message from the bank with a temporary pin that allows them to use an ATM within 30 min.

A Spanish based clothing company called N-spired Story encourages people to send in interesting photos, stories, news or videos. One of those stories is printed as an image on an short-run edition t-shirt each month. Users can then use their phone to link to the story online.

Don’t have time to shop? How about for just 4 seconds? That’s the amount of time a sale is listed. A Swedish business called “Papercut” launched a site called Speedsale, offering discounted books, DVDs, and more for only 4 seconds and then the sale is over!

Don’t have time to read all the reviews of a product? Just Buy This One takes care of it by gathering an average rating of product reviews and offers a single recommendation. Includes 9 categories overall.

Want to buy your friend a drink without being in the bar? You can in Germany, a company there called frinXX lets users buy drinks at any bar and you don’t have to be there. A code is generated from the transaction and sent to the recipient’s cellphone with a custom message.

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photo by kodomut

A local group, CEIC asked me to give a marketing presentation last  month. I have been talking to alot of people about story telling and having a purpose. I thought that it would be very pertinent for small businesses that are struggling with the economy to go to the chalkboard and reinvent themselves (or strengthen their current brand). My thought process was to demonstrate the “story” principle is to begin with local businesses that belong to the CEIC.

Get to Know Your Neighbor Tours

The CEIC offers once a month to go to a local members business for a tour. The “Get to Know your Neighbor” have been very successful for our group. They all begin the tour of the facilities with the owner going into detail about the company’s story. Franz Bakery, Taos Tea, Pratt & Larsen, Dennis Uniform or David’s School Specialty Co are just a tasting of the tours that we have had this year. Repeating their story to people in the community is an important part of marketing your company’s brand. And it is not important that the owner of the company knows it but their employees as well. If they understand the story, they will understand the company’s purpose. People like stories and like to tell others!

There is a little more of a challenge when you have a company that falls into the “Generic” category. Dentists, bankers, doctors, financial advisors, designers, etc. Even my company, Inkspot Graphics, has been a challenge to differentiate between me and my competitors. Besides making money… what is my purpose? To find out more about Inkspot Graphic’s story and purpose.

What About When You Don’t Know Your Marketing Story?

Your story has to peak your audiences curiosity. It is not that I am efficient or save my clients time & money. It can be that you work closely with non- profits, charities or support local schools. If you still are drawing a blank, I recommend that you talk to your clients and listen to your employees. They will help you.

Back in 2008, we had a little downturn. Most of my business at that point was accomplished by word-of-mouth. I found out the hard way that is one poor way to market your business. Since then, I have reached out to strategic partners to assist me in marketing my business. I have a group of professional men & women have an identical business model as my company. They compliment me. They help me brainstorm marketing ideas (for my clients). It is a very proactive way to help your clients build their companies.

Strategic Partner, Lasko Printing, has saved my Butt a Couple of Times

One of my partners is Lasko Printing. I can tell you of a couple times when they saved my butt. A good example of this is when their pre-press specialist called me and said, “I don’t do this very often but I was reading part of your CEIC postcard and it really didn’t make sense.” I told him that I am not a copywriter but he was definitely correct. Another time I had a piece that didn’t fold correctly and we worked it out and my client was very happy with the final product. I wouldn’t have the same results if I printed either of these pieces with an on-line printer. The on-line printing market is after pleasing color and bulk runs of printing. You cannot get any first timer advice. . .period!

Now back to your story.
I would ask you to do two things.

1.  First read a great book by Annette Simmons called “The Story Factor”.

2.  Call me at my office and I will sit down with you over coffee and we will brainstorm your story.

It is important for your business to have a story and you and should make your employees evangelists which will spread the news of your purpose!

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Photo by Nono Fara

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Carrie Atkinson

Carrie’s done an amazing job growing her business based around socks! For over 6 years she’s built her business, one pair of socks at a time and you can now find her socks all over the globe in stores and online. I had a chance to interview Carrie about her business and her secrets to marketing her online store!

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