Mobile Dining with GrubHub

Every month, millions of hungry diners go online or use their GrubHub app to search for restaurants near them that offer delivery and pickup. According to GrubHub, the majority of consumers using the mobile app are young professionals. They work late and live on pickup and delivery. This crowd typically orders out one to two times during the week.

Restaurant owners say that using GrubHub has exposed them to new markets. On average, a restaurant that is listed is viewed 165x a day by hungry diners. Potential customers are searching for food on their mobile — can they find you?

By listing your restaurant on GrubHub, you can easily offer deals and coupons to lure new consumers or keep current diners coming back! Forty percent of customers want to get a deal from their beloved local restaurant regularly — and say they are more likely to order more often, if they do.

Overall, people love using this app. Consumers can directly order from their home, office, or car and easily find and select local restaurants. There is no waiting or standing in lines and no order mistakes because the customer controls the ordering process. Also, with GrubHub, consumers can see their order history and can select past orders to quickly re-order (my favorite).

While consumers are enjoying using mobile ordering, restaurants have been slow to adopt proper and effective mobile ordering capabilities. Only 35% have online ordering, while only 16% offer a way for consumers to order via mobile. From a consumer point of view, I love mobile ordering, especially GrubHub. It is just pure convenience. From a business point of view, I love it even more. It can expose your business to a wide array of new consumers that were not accessible before.

Mobile Health

Consumers are becoming more and more reliant on their smartphones; just thinking about a day without mine frightens me! This information presents a great opportunity for health care professionals to develop inventive strategies to reach and engage with consumers when they are on the go — from disease management to remote health monitoring, and beyond.

The mobile health movement (also known as ‘mHealth’) has fully emerged. There are a number of mobile health apps out there, but they are low quality. These apps are typically “unsponsored,” meaning there is no professional medical company running them. “Sponsored” apps are what patients want. Sponsored apps are supported by insurance companies, healthcare providers and other medical institutions, which ultimately result in higher patient adoption and engagement of an app.

Are you a healthcare provider and do not know where to start? Happtique is the first mobile application store, think of it as comparable to the ITunes store, developed by healthcare professionals for healthcare professionals. Happtique offers healthcare enterprises — like hospitals, continuing care facilities, and physician practices — the ability to create individually branded and secure apps that support patient mobile technology use.

The rising need of healthcare is matched by rising costs; both are only expected to increase. Providentially, mobile technology and innovation are positioned to take healthcare in a more resourceful direction. Surrendering to mHealth is your only option as patients are becoming more proactive. It will guide your on-the-go patients on a path to safer health practices and self-care. With one-fifth of Americans owning smartphones, instant access to healthcare is an important trend in 2013.

The world of healthcare is changing fast. Providers that are in the forefront of change will benefit greatly, as will their patients.

New Year’s Resolutions for Your Small Business

It’s that time of year again - making personal promises to better our lives, kick those bad habits, or improve behavior. Maybe it is time to position your business for added success in 2013; make a new year’s resolution to enhance your marketing strategies. Here are some resolutions that are a must for this New Year: 

• Identify and pursue new growth opportunities. Whether it is new products or new customer segments, how can you expand? Look at upcoming customer trends.

• Spice up your marketing materials. Start with your website. Get rid of items that have the previous year’s info. Use bullet points to break things up and make sure all your links work correctly. Also, make sure your business cards, website, e-mails, etc. are all coordinated with the same theme!

• Explore mobile marketing. Mobile internet will surpass traditional desktop use by 2014. If you haven’t done so already, use this coming year to explore mobile-friendly ways of advertising. Maybe an app?

• Further your reach in the social media world. Social media is here to stay and if you have not made the dive into it, 2013 is the year where it needs to happen.  If you have a social media presence, commit to furthering your reach by making daily updates and interacting with consumers more frequently.

By knocking out your business’s 2013 marketing strategy now, you can set the tone to be one- step ahead of your competition. Thinking ahead and making strategic decisions now will help you skip the game of constant catch-up later on. 

 

If you are interested in learning more about ways to construct a 2013 marketing strategy for your business, give us a call. The BBG&G team has the knowledge and experience to get your business ahead of the game!

QR Codes and Mobile Marketing

When I talk to people about QR Codes, there are several typical responses:

1) “A what code?”

2) "I just don't see the big deal about those things."

3) "Every time I see one, I scan it. I just can not stop myself."

For those of you in category one, a QR Code is an abbreviation for Quick Response code. A scannable barcode used to link a mobile device to specific information. Based on the code, it can link you to a website, make a phone call for you, deliver a vCard with contact info to your address book, and more.

Of course, in order to scan the code, you need a QR scanner. My favorite is RedLaser by Occipital, which is free.

QR codes were started in Japan, and have since gained popularity across the globe. Of course, once marketers got their hands on them, their uses have increased and innovators continue to find new and creative ways to use them in an effort to get their message into the hands of potential customers.

Where might you see them? On business cards, billboards, print ads, packaging and labeling, as check-ins at stores and restaurants, at museums and other tourist attractions. In fact, the tourism industry has quickly adapted QR codes for use as airline boarding passes, in contests, for self-guided tours, on billboards and other advertising, and more. Where might you start seeing them?

• Airline Check-ins
QR codes are being used as boarding passes, avoiding lines upon arrival at the airport.

• “High-tech” Contests
Contestants can check in at various locations by scanning a QR code to their mobile phone.

• Self-Guided Tours
Museums, galleries, even zoos: display a QR code, which links to a video, audio, or text explaining details about the exhibit.

• Go Green and Save Money
Use on print ads, billboards and posters, at your place of business, and on packaging or labels. Consumers can link directly to a digital brochure or website right from their smartphones. Not only does this save money, but it will also assist you in your corporate efforts to go green.

Technology is forever changing the way we advertise, the way we communicate and even the way we vacation. We have seen it over and over again. Fifteen years ago Google didn’t exist and now it is a word in the dictionary! Two years ago, most of us had never seen a QR code. Now, as we walk around New York City, we see people pointing their smartphones to the sky as they scan these funny looking mobile barcodes off of billboards.

While it is difficult to stay on top of new trends in technology, this new trend may just be worth your while. QR codes are a marketing tool that can be used to engage your target audience and save you money.

Everyone Loves a Good Mystery
To me, the most intriguing element of a QR code is that you don’t always know what to expect when you scan in that code. It is that element of surprise that marketers can use to their benefit. So, have fun. Be creative! Engage your audience and provide them with information that is useful and relevant.

June Bisel