Author: Robin Johnston

How to Create a Lead-Generating Digital Fishbowl

Remember those business-card-filled fishbowls that used to sit on every reception counter? They were a great way to gain leads — before the digital revolution, that is. See how you can create your own lead-generating digital fishbowl by offering Wi-Fi on-site.

Fishing for Leads

This is the digital age, so generating leads has to take not only a digital turn but also a mobile one. Mobile marketing is used for a variety of reasons:

  • 50 percent of businesses use it to build brand awareness.
  • 56 percent use it to increase sales.
  • 53 percent hope to improve customer service and convenience.

 

But, 49.9 percent utilize it to acquire new customers, (aka generate leads), and that percentage will continue to grow as people become more attached to mobile devices. Between 2008 and 2015, time spent using digital media grew from 2.7 to 5.6 hours a day per person, but a more notable increase was the time spent using mobile devices. Mobile screen time jumped from a mere 20 minutes a day to 2.8 hours.

Making the Bowl Attractive

Today, consumers want to be connected no matter where they are, especially when they’re eating, shopping or just hanging out. As a matter of fact, most customers think it’s fine for businesses to track them in brick and mortar locations because they expect it to make their experience better. Here’s are some shopper wants, along with the percentage of shoppers that want them:

  • Coupons or special offers — 88 percent
  • Shortened checkout times —72 percent
  • Sale alerts — 69 percent
  • Rewards, points or other loyalty benefits—58 percent
  • On-the-spot opportunities — 44 percent
  • Reminders —18 percent

 

So, what’s the most efficient way to combine customer digital needs and wants into your mobile marketing strategy? Providing free Wi-Fi incorporates all customers expectations into one handy lead-generating tool for your business.

Filling the Fishbowl

When you offer free Wi-Fi to customers, you not only provide them the access they want, but you also gain valuable customer insight. Your Wi-Fi landing page presents multiple opportunities to get to know your customers, track their trends and offer them deals to keep them coming back.

Email Collection

Over half of businesses (56 percent) name email marketing as the number-one channel for customer retention, second only to social media marketing. Sure, you could just ask for email addresses, but people typically want something in return. By placing an email sign-up form on your Wi-Fi landing page, you get the lead and the customer gets Wi-Fi. It’s a win-win.

Social Media Logins

Up to 90 percent of retailers collect email addresses through customer logins to Facebook. With 1.6 billion Facebook users per month, you can’t afford to miss out on this lead generator — whether you get an email address or a social media profile. But don’t leave all the fun to Facebook. Integrating social media networking with these other top sites will also grant you access to millions of user profiles per month:

  • Tumblr: 550 million
  • Instagram: 500 million
  • Twitter: 310 million
  • Snapchat: 300 million
  • Pinterest: 150 million
  • LinkedIn: 100 million
Loyalty Programs

Remember those 58 percent of people who want to be rewarded for being in your establishment? You have to have somewhere to send them, so add a loyalty program sign-up and log-in to your landing page, and you’ll gain their loyalty.

Coupons and Deals

Just like the physical fishbowl that promised a winner for every drawing, your landing page can reel in savings lovers by offering discounts and specials. When they sign up, you’ll have everything you need to send them on-the-spot specials while they’re on-site and to cultivate the relationship through continued marketing efforts.

Keep connected to your current customers and find new ones by offering free Wi-Fi with all the perks of your digital fishbowl. To see other ways you can lure in the leads, contact Bloom Intelligence for a demo today.

Free Wi-Fi: An Atlanta Bread Company Case Study

ABC Store.jpgOnce upon a time, cafés and restaurants thought they didn’t need to offer free Wi-Fi, but then came the digital age. Customers began to want and need different things from the dining experience and social Wi-Fi was a big part of it. Here’s how Atlanta Bread Company (ABC) harnessed the power of providing free Wi-Fi to expand their local chain into a nationwide success and how your restaurant or coffee house can, too.

Security Standards for Basic PCI Compliance

PCI (or Payment Card Industry) Compliance refers to the security standards that businesses who accept credit cards must follow. Any business, from startup to franchise, must follow these regulations to ensure the safety of their consumers’ privacy and financial data. Failure to follow this code can result in loss of patronage, and even lawsuits. Learning how and why you should make sure your business PCI compliant can save you and your customers from dangerous security breaches.

“PCI Compliant” refers to the twelve steps necessary to facilitate and maintain secure data storage standards, as defined by the PCI Security Standards Council. These are as follows:

  • Installing and maintaining a firewall.
  • Changing factory preset passwords and usernames on terminals and storage devices.
  • Protecting stored data.
  • Encrypting transmissions over public networks.
  • Maintaining updated and relevant anti-virus applications.
  • Developing and maintaining secure systems.
  • Restricting cardholder data to limited access.
  • Assigning personal sign-in information for everyone using computers.
  • Restricting physical access to cardholder information.
  • Monitoring network resources.
  • Regularly testing security systems.
  • Maintaining a PCI Compliance policy within company personnel.

Even if your business isn’t PCI Compliant, your methods of transferring, storing, and accessing your customers’ credit card data may still be safe, hence, why the term used is “compliant”. However, not using a compliant host for your data can open up a doorway for hackers who look for easy loopholes in your data’s security. The regulations are there to protect both companies and cardholders, alike, and are not subject to interpretation or misuse.

The penalties for not being PCI Compliant and suffering a security breach can be devastating to a company’s reputation, chasing customers and investors away with even a rumor of lax security. In addition to being sued and fined by companies who issue credit cards, a security breach can result in being investigated by the government, and the expense behind recuperating from a data security breach is steep.