This is a guest blog post contributed by Chris Byrne of Newsletter.ie.

So youʼve used email marketing tools to send email, are comfortable with designing effective newsletters and you track email open rates for your campaigns. So whatʼs next? This article on welcome series will show how you can produce more effective and meaningful results than just knowing who opened your email or clicked on a link.

Whilst a single welcome or activation email is useful, a welcome series is a more effective strategy to continually engage, connect and up-sell with your subscriber over time. Let’s admit it, we’ve often purchased something online, then months later cannot recall where we bought it, right? This lack of recall could, and very often does, drive your hard-won customer to the competition. A Welcome series can help avoid that. Let’s look at an example of how this might work:
Amy buys a pair of running shoes online on Monday. Great, she gets an activation email with the usual shipping and returns info. All good so far. Now let’s look at how a Welcome series differs to sending repetitive promotional emails that could drive Amy away from your product.

On Wednesday Amy getʼs the running-shoes and goes for her first 10k in them; all is good. The next day she gets an email asking “How was your run?” and reminds her of the basic steps to share her running experience online. 3 weeks later Amy gets an email survey asking for feedback “How are the running shoes working for you?” and “Here’s some great stories from other runners just like you” . A special offer for a sports bra is included; f this were Keith, heʼd have an offer on running socks. 6 months later Amy getʼs an email with an offer on the latest running shoe and because sheʼs purchased before, a coupon code is included that she can redeem online or bring in-store. So how do we do that, without sending the same email to every subscriber or worse, in the wrong order? With Autoresponders, you can set these messages up ahead of time and create the rules that will only send the relevant email at the right time and importantly, in the right sequence. And knowing gender with integrated apps like Rapleaf saves some embarrassment too; Keith would not be too impressed with a Sportsbra email !

These welcome series emails can be completely automated if your email platform supports this and can be easily integrated with your transaction systems. Communications which are relevant to your subscribersʼ preference and behaviours are more likely to result in repeat purchases from you -not your competition.

CHRIS BYRNE
NEWSLETTER.IE

This is a guest blog post contributed by Brian Maher  of WebAgency.

Choosing the right digital agency has never been more important. Digital marketing offers the potential to track ROI much more accurately than is possible with offline media. Plus, the digital revolution is not going away; more users are engaging online more often and with more brands than ever before. Simply put, few brands can afford to be without an effective digital marketing strategy.
If you want to embrace this “new” industry and benefit from the advantages that it presents, you must work with a company that understands your unique marketing and communication requirements.
In this article I’ll present 5 elements that will help you choose the right digital partner for your business.
1. Capabilities
The first question you should ask is: What services does the company offer? Your digital agency should offer digital marketing as well as web design services. When your web designer understands digital marketing they will be able to build your site to incorporate your marketing objectives; this means that they’ll design with consideration for search engine accessibility and usability (this is sometimes called SEO web design).
Working with a single, full serviced digital marketing company also means less work for you as you won’t have to source multiples agencies or manage communication between each of the people providing different digital elements.
A full serviced company should offer:
• Web design and development
• Web strategy and planning
• Search engine optimisation
• Search engine marketing
• Online advertising
• Social media marketing
• Copy writing
• Mobile web solutions
• Email marketing

These days, it’s usual that most of the above services will be delivered as standard by one agency, but the agency may also work closely with preferred partners to deliver specific technologies, like mobile or social media applications. This is the norm and you can feel comfortable working with agencies that operate like this as long as they have an established relationship with their partner vendor and they will stand over the quality of the finished work.
2. New technologies
Online marketing is evolving faster than any marketing medium that came before it. Just a few years ago, companies including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter did not even exist. Now, some of their sites boast user numbers as high as 800 million.
Digital marketing moves quickly, so you should work with an agency that values research. Seek out an agency populated by people who are geeks for trends and who enjoy learning about and trialing new technologies. They will ensure that your brand remains at the crest of the digital wave. Make them your new best friends.
3. Portfolio
An experienced agency should have an extensive portfolio of work. Review this and familiarise yourself with it. This portfolio will give you a good sense of an agency’s capabilities and will help you to make better sense of references and testimonials.
However, there’s always a pinch of salt. When you’re viewing an agency’s portfolio remember that the agency is only as creative as their client and that the work that the agency does is tailored to that client’s marketing and communication objectives (and the specifics of the brief).
It’s particularly valuable to review work completed for clients in an industry or sector similar to your own. This said, avoid partnering with an agency that currently works with one of your direct competitors as this can create a conflict of interest.
4. Meet key people
People drive ideas and people rather than technology will determine whether your project is a success or a failure. With this in mind, always take the time to meet the key people within an agency. This will help you to ascertain whether the company has the values and work ethic that you are looking for.
I usually request an initial meeting at their offices. This helps me to gauge their work environment and get a feel for their operation. You might also request a presentation on their services and existing clients.
5. Do they practice what they preach?
It’s not unusual to meet an agency and walk away with a positive feeling, only to find out that they have no digital strategy for their own business – or worse, that they appear beside negative comments in reviews or on board sites.
Personally, I don’t feel 100% comfortable giving my SEO account to a company that has a low search engine presence, particularly for really closely related terms or for their company name.
It’s important that the agency you choose to work with believes in the services they are selling to the point they are implementing them themselves.
Finally, when you’ve narrowed down your search and are selecting between a handful of agencies, remember that you should choose an agency on the basis of quality rather than price. All too often clients are fixated on the price tag and think that the lowest fee will guarantee them a good return on investment. This is rarely the case. High quality, effective and efficient service will always win in the long run.
Choosing an agency should never be about the first date, but rather about the potential for a meaningful, long-term relationship (yep, digital marketing just got soppy). Choosing the right agency can be the beginning of something beautiful.

This is a guest post by Robert Purcell. Robert is a member of the IIA Social Media Working Group which seeks to support businesses in the development of strategies for engaging with social media. As Marketing Manager for Post Consult International Ltd. (PCI), Robert’s main focus is developing the marketing and product strategy for the company’s Security Solutions offered under the corporate brand, Post.Trust. Post.Trust is a national-level Certificate Authority, wholly owned by An Post, providing security solutions that enable organisations to communicate with one another more securely and confidently in a trusted environment. You can find him on LinkedIn or @robgerard on Twitter.

Engage! Revised and Updated: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web

Brian Solis (Author), Ashton Kutcher (Foreword)

The second edition of Engage! written by social media thought leader Brian Solis really is a fascinating read. I haven’t read the first edition, but this instalment focuses more on enabling you to design a new media engagement program specific to your business and your customers. It empowers you to develop metrics and KPIs to measure the success of your activities and translate that data into bottom-line benefits. As anyone who has ever tried to champion a social media program within their organisation knows; the first question you are asked is, What’s the ROI of social media? This book will help you answer that question.

A word of warning though – Engage! is not a book you can pick up and read from cover to cover. Sections of the book are quite dense and academic – but then isn’t that what you would expect a Complete Guide to be? The book doesn’t define its target audience but whether you are new to social media or experienced in social media marketing, this book has plenty of substance and will serve as a source of reference in your social media activities. As Solis says, this is an opportunity to “hit ctrl-alt-del and restart with a fresh perspective”.

The book starts by defining social media and introducing the arsenal of social media tools available for creating touchpoints across the Social Web. It explores building a framework to amplify the visibility of your social objects, extending the reach of your online presence to new audiences, and defining the end game, ultimately guiding people to action through participating, listening and engagement.

Solis reminds us that understanding the rules of engagement is critical in this new world of socialised media. It’s about training and putting the necessary policies and guidelines in place to ensure everyone is singing from the same hymn book. The latter part of the book looks at the realignment and restructuring the organisation as part of this socialisation process. Finally, it focuses on the management of this social media activity; how to track, measure and translate that social data into tangible value for the business.

Solis discusses the concept of unmarketing as one of the most effective forms of marketing in this new genre of socialised media and really unmarketing underpins the ‘How’ organisations should use Social Media. Marketing is no longer about broadcasting brand messages – it’s about embodying the characteristics of your brand, being an active participant in the conversation, contributing value to earn relevance, build influence and create brand advocacy and loyalty toward a desired outcome.

At times, reading the book was a bit of a slog and I found myself going back over passages each time I picked it up because there was a lot to absorb. But on the whole, I found it uplifting and insightful, reaffirming my understanding of the real power of Social Media – so stick with it. Solis’s voice comes through the words on the page, inspiring the reader to embrace the social web, to champion new media engagement and become the expert to drive change within the organisation. The book is ‘peppered’ with frameworks, methodologies and tools to assist you in your journey towards building a two-way information bridge between the organisation and the online communities in those networks you choose to participate.

As Solis says, “The future of business is social”. Social Media cannot be confined to one person or department. The entire business must socialise. Organisations must embrace and ride the social wave or risk being engulfed by it.

“The greatest advantages of social media reside in its ability for worthy individuals and companies to shape perception, steer activity, incite action, and adapt to the communities that establish the market. Engage or die.”

Brian Solis is regarded as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. Engage! is available on iTunes, Kindle, online bookstores and a book store near you.

Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh and her sugru

I have been intrigued by sugru and how it achieved so much in a short period of time since seeing them in Time magazine and buying/testing some of its products over Christmas.

Company founder Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh from Kilkenny shared some insights into the company and how it has made great strides in getting and harnessing user generated content in its social media platforms and achieved worldwide word of mouth exposure.

Sugru (www.sugru.com) is a UK based company that has invented a silicone based modelling clay that helps people fix or improve everyday items.  The product itself is a new development in this class and has some unique properties in that it cures at room temperature, is very self-adhesive, heat resistant, waterproof, flexible and dishwasher proof.  The company has one core product with 5 colours and has shifted over 40,000 units in its first few months.

How did the idea come about?

The idea came from a process of material experimentation and an observation of the development of the open source community.  Jane has an active interest in how additional life can be given to products and giving people an ability to ‘hack’ and personalise products.

She felt that traditional product design was very static in that once a product emerged from the factory, there was very little interaction where focus should be on discovering and finding out how people use it at home and other areas.  This could lead to better products and also connects the company with its user base.

 

 

Sugru packs

How did the idea come into fruition?

Jane’s story reflects many other SMEs as they build their brand but some initial kick starts have really helped.  Jane’s product came from research she did when studying at the Royal College of Design in London, following previous study at NCAD in Dublin.  One of the big lifts she received was when the British Airways inflight magazine featured the product in a column which sparked off lots queries from consumers and people in industry.

With help of the innovation department in the college she set up sugru with business partner Roger Ashby and after six years of development and initial grant and investment funding of £350,000, with a modest investment of £100,000 they converted their lab into a production facility.  Their initial production of 1,000 packs sold out in 6 hours following their launch and they knew they had a viable business but needed to scale up production.

How do you go to market?

sugru is mainly sold from its website and also through some shops in Ireland/UK and is now  in the process of setting up in the US.

• 25% of its orders come from UK,
• 45% from US with
• Ireland and Germany accounting for much of the remaining sales.

Initially they have focused on shipping small single orders and reacting to who wanted to buy it from the website but are now scaling to additional retail distribution.

What marketing do you deploy?

A vase made from a Thermos interior and sugru

sugru defied much of the text book approach to marketing in that it spends very little on traditional marketing.

Most of sugru’s growth has come from word of mouth which has led to some high profile articles on the company also the inclusion in Time Magazine’s Top 50 Inventions and features in the Irish Times amongst others.

Its website, blog, email and social media platforms are still the key drivers of the business and Jane manages these directly.  The company also organises and facilitates ‘Hack It Sessions’ such as a recent one in 091 labs in Galway.

Social Media Presence

According to Jane

“the Blog has been brilliant in terms of articulating our mission.  This is not just a product.  It was invented to reduce waste and give people an easy way to improve stuff”.

This is where sugru really excels.  The company and product has plugged in to a growing movement of people fixing and repairing items and is an enabler of this movement.  Rather than just looking at social media channels to push company news it sees the community as central. Most of the content on the channel tap into how people are using the product. Jane receives a lot of emails and correspondence from users who take the time to document what they have fixed/improved and even supply photos showing the degree of connection that the company has with users.

The company rewards and encourages this and as Jane puts it

“all of our marketing comes from customers in the form of hundreds of photo, stories and videos”.

The Hack of the Month profiles how innovative users have been in the use of the product which ranges from fixing medical devices to protecting school bags.  sugru also asks for suggestions on who they should send sugru packs to and this recently resulted in packs being sent to scientists working on the largest bore holes in the world based in Antarctica.  They featured stories on how they used it to repair diverse items from glasses to knives.

The outreach and investment in the online community now means they have a large gallery of photos and stories of customers documenting their use of the product.

User generated content is the nirvana for a lot of companies and getting customers to tell their stories can be notoriously difficult.  Even if people really enjoyed the product getting them to invest the time and allowing you use their stories is rarely successful.  Although there is no doubt that this is a very innovative and good product, the subtle difference having the ethos of the company – to reduce waste and allow people to personalise and improve stuff -  central in all they do is key to their success.  It’s not about sugru but rather what people do with it and how it helps their lives.  This approach means people are happier to contribute as it plugs into their lives and the sugru community feels like a grouping of like-minded people rather than a community website.  Even the website itself clearly positions it as being about the user and not the product itself.  You get a clear impression that much as sugru benefits from user engagement people are learning, teaching and educating each other how it could be used.

Sugru iPhone bumpers and a blob

Jane is the first to admit that although they do a lot with communities that there is more to do and she feel they are only scratching the surface on what could be done.  Similar to most companies, measurement is evolving and difficult to quantify.  Easy to measure items such as ‘likes’ are less a concern than the quality of interaction such as conversations and comments.  Key is seeing if people are getting the message and spreading it.  Twitter is also another active daily channel with most activity taken up by answering queries and interacting than pushing company messages. Jane herself still manages these channels directly herself showing the level of commitment to the users.

One of the other positive aspects of so much user generated content is that now the company can see recurring uses and this can be fed back in to product research, design and marketing. This translates as possible future iPhone cable and adapter products/packs as the company has seen lots of examples of sugru being utilised to fix or improve these.

Real World Interaction

As with much social media activity it’s important to have a real world footprint also.  The ‘Hack It’ Sessions facilitate this and are almost a real world reflection of what goes on in the online world. sugru sometimes organises these itself or facilitates them by sending product to users who want to create a shared experience of using the product.  People learning from each other and being creative opens up new views on the product that sugru could never do by itself.

Much could be learnt from the sugru experience online and according to Jane companies could really improve their online presence with some simple philosophies including:

• Have a clear mission that is people/users focused and not company centric
• Tweet and interact with people the same as if over a shop counter
• Don’t be frightened of people or interaction
• Don’t be overly promotion
• Remember people are not interested in you but rather what you can do for them
• Have conversations
• Facilitate, reward, and respect the input from people who contact you

Future Plans

sugru is now working on expanding its US presence directly through stores and setting up shipping locally.  They are also talking to hardware chains in Ireland to extend its reach and easy of buying.

Summary

sugru has achieved a worldwide presence after only 9 months in operation and sold over 40,000 packs.   Its marketing is mainly word of mouth and customer based.  It has made huge progress into cracking the ‘user generated content’ nut and has built a very strong online brand by having a mission driven and customer centric approach.

In Ireland you can get Sugru in the Science Gallery, Designist, O’Sullivan Graphics. and from www.sugru.com

Eoin Kennedy, Slattery Communications and Chair of IIA Social Media Working Group

This case study is part of the IIA Social Media Working Group‘s series of studies on how companies are using social media to achieve their business aims and objectives. This study was written by Eoin Kennedy of Slattery Communications, chair of IIA Social Media Working Group.

This review is part of a series of reviews that you can expect to see over the next while from the Social Media Working Group. This first one is by Eamonn O’Brien, Founder of The Reluctant Speakers Club. Here he reviews The New Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media, by Joan Curtis and Barbara Giamanco:

This book offers an introductory guide for people who need to figure out how to both understand and harness social media in a world where traditional sales techniques may have had their day. As such, it probably won’t serve as more than light reading for seasoned social media pros.

The authors spend the first half of the book outlining the revolution that has occurred in the way businesses and customers/consumers communicate – and why companies need to learn how to adapt to a new sales era, dubbed Sales 2.0. They argue that since customers are now more in control of what they buy, and have instant access to more information prior to when they make purchase decisions, that a modern form of consultative selling (which integrates the power of social media to develop better relationships, trust and customer collaboration) needs to be used as a replacement for traditional push based selling techniques.

While there are many nuggets to be found in the first 8 chapters, including author observations, examples of how politicians and companies are adapting to/benefiting from communication changes plus a quite interesting potted history lesson on the evolution of selling approaches from the 19th to the 21st century, much of the information provided at the outset of the book appears to be rehashing of stories and observations that have been doing the rounds for some time (online and offline). Also, many of the points made in the first half of the books seemed be endless variations of a single theme; “Embrace the new technology… move away from old sales approaches, they won’t work any longer with the 21st century buyer”.

That said, the second half of the book (when the authors get into a more ‘how to’ mode) is likely to prove both interesting and genuinely useful to anyone who needs practical suggestions on how to harness social media for sales and marketing purposes. The authors did an especially good job on how Sales meets LinkedIn and Sales meets Twitter, including really helpful ‘do’s and don’ts’ tips.

Also, their observations on how to use blogging to drive better Google site rankings together with their suggested ‘rules of engagement for bloggers’ are spot on. But the real value in this book comes at the end, with a case study style 30 day social media sales challenge. This blow by blow demonstration of how social media can be used and why – together with suggestions re goal setting and performance measuring – sold me on this book, all on its own.

My Overall Book Rating: 4 out of 5

Thanks a million Eamonn! More from the authors on their website.

This is a review of last week’s Annual Conference by Mark Rodgers of Cipherion Translations. Mark is also chair of the IIA Internation Working Group. This review was originally published on his own blog and he very nicely (cos he’s a very nice chap) allowed us to republish it here. Thanks Mark!

IIA Annual Conference: Open Data, Cloud Computing and the Future for Irish Entrepreneurs

The location, the speakers and the networking all contributed to making it a great event. Wonderful conference!  Another superb event by Joan, Roseanne and the IIA team.

Cloud Computing and Open Data

A tech-conference in Dublin these days is not a conference without an appearance by Josh Holmes – Microsoft’s evangelist. And Josh didn’t disappoint either, with some wonderful insights into deep fried mars bars and other Arkansas delicacies. Tech-details aside, the convergence of cloud computing and open data is starting to show signs of becoming a reality, well done to IIA for showcasing the strategic nature of this convergence. Check out our thoughts on m-cloud.

Future for Irish Entrepreneurs – a European Content Hub?

The final panel discussion really started to spark the imagination. Neil Leyden, joint-winner of “Your Country, Your Call”, outlined his fantastic ideas and visions for an Irish Content Services Centre (ICSC) here in Dublin. In short, it’s the IFSC Part II.

However, instead of funds, Neil suggests that we focus on our unique position and ability to play a central role in Content distribution to the European market – and beyond. Disney (www.disney.com) , EA (www.ea.com) , Sony (www.sony.com) etc could all be invited to set up European “content” centres here in Ireland.

Constantin Gurdgiev loved the opportunity to speak publicly and not mention the words “bailout” or “crisis”! Instead he focused on the opportunities for organisations to develop new technologies, not based on a defined and known market, but more along the lines of: build it, go to market and try and sell it, take on customer feedback, modify the product or service and go to market again. The future is un-known, as soon as you do market research, it’s out of date!

This is real entrepreneurship – heading into the future, not certain of where or how you’ll get there but knowing that you have the people, tools, resources and abilities to get there. With a sprinkling of deep fried “self-belief”, as Josh might say.

So instead of spending your €1million of investment in technology, spend €250k on the sales channel and sales person… and spend the next €500k on upgrading and improving. “K”s can also be dropped above ; – ). A bit like the Japanese Kaizen approach.

This approach ties in very nicely to a current LinkedIN debate in the Irish Software Association group on how tech start-ups can find the right sales people.  What’s emerging is that IRELAND INC, as a collaborative community, could be doing a better job at supplying already existing information and / or contacts and networks to our entrepreneurs – so that they are better equipped to face into what is ahead.  Perhaps Michael Gerber’s “E-myth” be made mandatory reading before anyone sets up a business. In reading the book it becomes clear:

• Most businesses are set up by folks who know the “technology”, myself included.
• The more successful they get, the busier they become in delivering product / service
• This leaves a gap in the business: Who’s going to sell my services
• Sometimes this realisation comes too late: the business goes under
• Successful entrepreneurs either delegate the technical aspects or hire a great sales person
• All businesses are the same; all entrepreneurs are the same – only with different challenges.
• So let’s just recognise the problem, consult others to see if it’s valid, and change our approach.

In Ireland, there are ever more green shoots appearing. The harvest is still some time away.

However those that are just starting along the road to global success can learn from those who are one step ahead, those that are one step ahead can give back to those that are just starting.  Just check the newspapers last weekend, the Turley brothers netted €80m for the sale of their business CarTrawler.  One of the brothers was in sales, one was in operations – it works!

In advance of his training course next week for the IIA, Des Martin of Local Search Marketing has written this blog post to impress upon us how important local search is for all businesses. If you think your business could benefit from learning more register now for Targeting Local Customers Online. This is a morning course taking place on March 30th and is keenly priced at €200 for non-members and €100 for members.

According to the Kelsey Group, ‘74 percent of internet users perform local searches’.

What is a local search? When you enter a location specific keyword you are performing a ‘local search’. For example searching for ‘dublin pizza’ above. Many of you will have noticed that these local searches now trigger a map in search engine results from Google (Map highlighted in red above. Click on the image for a larger version.).
Note:  Search queries with ‘local intent’ also appear. i.e. restaurant, pizza, butcher – by themselves can trigger the map results to appear.

This map and results are generally placed at the top of the search results. More recently Google have begun to blend the local map listings with what were traditionally the organic results (free listings). This can be seen in searches like ‘accountant dublin’ below. The local ranking factors are playing a big part in these blended results (we have highlighted the map and local listing in red).

Google return local and mobile search results based on a different set of criteria to the traditional search results (SERPs). Effectively they use a different algorithm. Small and Local businesses can now compete for prime positions at the top of the search results without spending the large sums of money that were previously required. The key is to focus your efforts in the right areas by building up your company profile across the web. Local Search has been growing in importance for the last few years. It’s time to sit up and take notice.

Why have local searches become so important?

There are several reasons. One of the main reasons is the rise of the smart phone. There are now an estimated 1 million iPhone and Android devices in the Irish market. These people are no longer confined to their PC to perform internet searches. These people actively search for products and services daily while on the move. What’s more these people may be very close to your physical location.

When someone searches for a ‘cork restaurant’ on their smart phone, there is a very good chance that this person is close to the centre of Cork and is likely to have lunch/ dinner in the next hour or two. If your restaurant is in position on the search results, you have a decent chance of converting that searcher to a customer; if not you are ignoring a major segment of the Irish market.

What’s more, mobile searches last considerably less than their PC equivalent. So that person will make up their mind in a short space of time and may find many existing websites awkward to navigate on a mobile phone.

This is where the local listing (Google Places) comes into its own. See mobile screen shot:

Example of a local search conducted on an iphone above.

The mobile searcher is presented with Google Places page information. With the Place page you get information relevant for decision making, this being: map location, directions, click to call phone number. All of this is available in Google without ever having to enter the business website. This is hugely beneficial for mobile searchers. With one further click they can see reviews, street view images of the location and often additional images supplied by the business owner as demonstrated in the screenshots below:

Any Irish business in the retail/ hospitality trade needs to feature prominently for local searches that relate to their products and services. If you don’t feature, you are losing customers.

People searching for local business online are further along in the purchase cycle, the cost of converting each consumer is lower and the return on investment is higher. Targeting these searchers produces real results for local and multi-store retailers.

This is where Local Search becomes an essential part of your online strategy

• Google Places listings are the tip of the Local Search Iceberg. They demonstrate what you can achieve by targeting local search results with Google Places. One million smart phone searchers in Ireland alone.
• Local Optimisation. Local Search can also be applied to onpage optimisation for websites, including designing website alternatives for mobile searchers. Google presents different results for mobile searchers. They rank these results partially based on how well the page will render on the type of phone that submitted the query. For more detail on mobile SEO, here is a great article by Cindy Krum < . This means having a mobile version of your website increasingly important.
• Local pay per click. Targeting local keywords reduces the level of competition and the bid price paid for local keywords in PPC programs like Adwords. Local keywords are more targeted and result in a higher click through rate which will in turn help with your Adwords quality score.
• Local Social Media. Lots going on in this space at present. Facebook recently launched their check in service Facebook Places in Ireland. Facebook Deals is due to follow hot on the heels of Places. This will allow business owners to target local consumers with ‘deal’ based offerings. This promises to be a great promotional tool for local business.
  In addition business owners can reward and attract local consumers using existing social media like ‘FourSquare’ and local focused blogging.
• Group Buying websites like citydeal.ie (Groupon) have exploded in the past few months. Increasingly local consumers are finding out about ‘local deals’ through these websites. Local Business owners need to adopt a group buying strategy to maximize their return when running group deal promotions. Pay attention to building a relationship with the consumer and gain repeat business rather than be left one time consumer and ultimately a loss.

Begin your local search campaign today:

A local search campaign uses an integrated strategy involving

• Google places listings,
• pay per click advertising,
• search engine optimisation
• and social media

to convert local leads into new customers. An additional area that is fast becoming important for local business is Group Buying websites. These can be a great promotional tool, but you need to factor in the total cost and how to maximize the return on investment.

About the Author:

Des Martin is the director of Local Search Marketing who specialise in local search strategy. Their client list includes sole traders, SMEs, franchises and multi location retailers. Des will be presenting a series of training courses run by the IIA in the coming months.

This is a guest post by Derek Traynor of AllMoto.ie, an IIA Member Company, republished with his permission from his blog. In it he writes about a subject dear to our hearts in the IIA: online retail and the knock-on effects of reputable online business for the economy. If you would like to ramp up your own online retail business, don’t miss our upcoming conference, 8 More Ways to Sell Even More Stuff, designed especially for retailers, whatever stage of the online game you are at.

Is this where you want your brand represented? >>

OK firstly let me explain – this isn’t a story about my personal ‘Bedroom Efforts’ (I’ve another blog for that ), it’s my opinion, as an etailer (online retailer), on the damage that small, online, bedroom based efforts cause to industry in general.

What I mean by ‘Bedroom Efforts’ is someone sitting at home, on a laptop, listing products on ebay, Amazon and similar, and ordering in stock as it sells. However, let me clarify, my issue isn’t with the sleepy entrepreneurs but rather with the suppliers who decide to sell product through them.

I’ve been harping on about this pet-hate for years now and I’m “happy” to report that in just the last month I’ve had three suppliers contact me with concerns over it – way to get with the times guys – but at least they recognize the problem. These suppliers are eventually requesting minimun retail prices on their products. I’ve no idea where they stand legally if challenged about anti-competition legalities but…. well who cares about that for the moment.

I’m sure a few people are now thinking, “but sure you’re a online shop – who are you to talk?”, but this is where most people are missing the difference: I’m a reputable online retailer, adding value to a customers experience. I do this by providing:

• product knowledge. We’re experts on what we sell and use this knowledge to only sell product that is good.
• product support. If our customers have difficulty with a product we’re there to help by phone, email and often in person at events.
• product backup. Did a purchase break or fall short of what a customer expected? We always repair and/or replacement based on the circumstances.
• stock off the shelf. When a customer buys something it gets shipped within 24 hours (over 85% of the time in my shop).
• a unique user experience. The customer always subconsciously relate to their experience of the product.
• a physical store where people can drop into in person if they want to.

Bedroom Efforts generally damage a product having little or no technical knowledge, no repairs, no returns policy, no parts backup and NO stock. The customer ends up waiting longer, buying ill advised and losing all if an issue arises. What is not seen here is the damage to the brand that was sold. Note to suppliers – one way to lose repeat business is to allow a terrible customer experience in the initial purchase.

The hidden damage goes further though. These bedroom efforts often make almost no margin and that’s fine as they’ve almost no costs. But the damage arises in the lost sale the ‘real’ retailer has lost. Don’t be misled, reputable online etailers have almost as many costs as your local shop (Google ads, website development, online presence maintenance, customer support, STOCK, rent, taxes, to name a few).

What also makes me laugh is that these same suppliers then complain about having trouble getting paid by their retailer network. Maybe it hasn’t crossed their minds yet, but, support your network of retailers. Note to suppliers – IT’S EASY TO GET PAID FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF MAKING A PROFIT.

Imagine this outside Victorias Secrets: “knickers, knickers, two for a tenner”

Chanel and Gucci don’t supply someone so they can set up a market stall outside Brown Thomas (Ireland’s exclusive department store) on a busy Sunday afternoon. Why do suppliers continue to sell to people who just list on Ebay, Amazon, etc, and provide no backup on a Monday morning?

Chanel and Gucci understand the principals of brand image and most importantly – making profit.

Thanks to Derek for that heartfelt post! If you are a member of the IIA and would like to share a guest post about doing business online (any aspect: it doesn’t just have to be retail!) please read our guidelines and get in touch.

Thanks to Paul Foley of IIA Member Company McKeever Rowan for the following overview of a case where a company’s website terms of use saved the day.

In providing a service over the internet into other EU countries, from a website hosted in Ireland, an internet service provider will typically want to ensure that if there is a dispute with a user of the service, that the dispute can be litigated in Ireland.

Photo owned by walknboston (cc)

The Brussels Regulation (which determines which courts have jurisdiction in civil and commercial disputes between companies and individuals) at article 2 provides (subject to some exceptions including that set out in article 23) that a person (legal or natural) may only be sued in the member state in which he or she is domiciled.

Billigfluege.de Gmbh ( “defendant”) a German service provider was engaged in screen scraping  of Ryanair’s web site, (gathering flight data  from the Ryanair site and reproducing it on their price comparison site and selling it for a fee) a practice which Ryanair alleged was in breach of the site’s terms of use, clearly accessible through a hyperlink on the front page of Ryanair’s website.

One of the terms of use (clause 7) provided that the courts of Ireland were to have exclusive jurisdiction in any dispute involving the terms of use. This was consistent with article 23 of the Brussels Regulation, which allows as an exception to article 2 for parties to a contract to agree that a particular EU member state court would have jurisdiction in the event of a dispute.

Ryanair took proceedings for breach (under a number of headings) of their terms of use in the Irish High Court against the defendant.

The defendant argued that Ryanair’s terms of use could not form the basis of a contract because all of the traditional features of a legally binding contract were absent including that there was no consideration and accordingly Ryanair could not rely on article 23.

One of the issues that a previous decision of the European court of justice had argued, was that an EU member state court could have exclusive jurisdiction where there was a validly concluded jurisdiction clause, even where there was a dispute as to the validity of the agreement in which the clause was included.

In a decision of the Irish High Court (which is the subject of an appeal to the Irish Supreme Court, which is  imminent), the judge decided that i) the Ryanair terms of use had been fairly brought to the attention of defendant (they were clearly accessible through a link on the front page of the site ); ii) the provision of information by Ryanair through their terms of use policy, which offer of information was accepted by the defendant when accessing the site and lifting the information,  constituted valid consideration; and  iii) the defendants had used the site and made a profit on the information obtained and by doing so had clearly assented to the terms of use.  Accordingly the judge found that the exclusive jurisdiction clause in the terms of use had contractual effect and that the Irish courts had authority to determine the dispute. The judge did not go so far as to declare the remainder of the terms of use legally valid.

The judgement provides some encouragement to web site owners, that if their web site terms are sufficiently well drafted (including incorporating a home state jurisdiction clause), and are brought properly to the attention of site users, that the onerous provision of article 2 of the Brussels Regulation can be avoided and home state jurisdiction maintained.  It remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court will uphold this decision.

Jenni Timony of Exponentially.ie attended “8 Ways to Sell More Stuff”, our recent conference for online retailers. This is her review of the event. We always welcome reviews of our events from attendees so please contact me if you would like to write a post about an event you attended. So over to Jenni!

I was looking forward to this conference and it did not disappoint.

Apart from the sales pitch from An Post, it was a relevant , insightful and engaging line up. [Ed: An Post were launching their new service www.iloveshopping.ie]

I got the most out of the Entrepreneurs – Mike Kane from Curiouswines.ie and Andrew Draper of Manpacks.

My key takeaways from Curiouswines.ie

• Interesting to note that they had NO marketing budget. All of their efforts are focussed on Social Media and email marketing.
• Mike talked about acquisition versus retention using the acronym AIDA. It’s about creating Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action. Patience clearly required !
• Mike talked about discounting and how he would not do half price. Customers will think the product was either too expensive in the first place or you are selling at a loss. 5% no good either. Recommends a meaningful time limited discount of 15% plus.
• Love this one: Curiouswines sends a little welcome/ thank you token (such as a branded corkscrew) to new customers. In the post – not on Facebook or a blog. “ Just between you and me”. Personalise it.
• Regarding Marketing efforts. “Layer it, integrate it, repeat it.”
• Mike mentioned a white paper called “ The Darwinian Gale”, which I’m reading. It’s about recession relevant customer trends to drive loyalty and retention.
• Harvest the power of crowds and networks. Something like, “This deal is 25% off provided 150 people sign up. Any less and the deal is off.”
• Mike distilled it succinctly when he said that acquisition and retention is the real acid test.

Later came the chilled and charming Andrew Draper from Manpacks. I must confess that I had a particular interest in this as I’m launching a site called Frankley.com in January also targeting the North American market. It is a similiar concept but aimed at women, men and kids!

• Manpacks was launched quickly and the model is based on iterating from real world data.
• Makes a change to the site every day to increase conversion.
• Modeled heavily on Basecamp. But its PaaS instead of SaaS. ( Product as a service versus Software as a Service.)
• Things went mad when they got featured on Springwise.com, Inc magazine and more.
• 2000 tweets about Manpacks over nine months. Nice !
• The site gets great traffic but has a low conversion rate.
• They claim to have no outreach for PR. Hmmmm…
• Manpacks push the service, not the product. They keep a small range of stock as ‘men don’t like choice’.
• Half of their customers love to modify their order, the other half don’t.
• Big focus on user experience. “Don’t make me think”. They are making the site as clean, simple and intuitive and constantly tweak to achieve this.
• Also on UX (user experience) – they ask themselves “Is it usable? Is it useful? Is it credible? Is it desirable?”

And my favourite…

• “ The most important thing we did was LAUNCH. Be awesome and good things will happen.”