Who needs talent when you have technology?

22 April 2011

Is technology reducing the need to learn new skills? Do you think it undermines talent? Recently I downloaded Instagram. Yeah, a bit late to that party, I know. It quickly became one of my favourite apps. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a simple app that enables you to take a photo on your iPhone and apply filters to produce images like the one above. Not too long ago this kind of manipulation of images used to be limited to a talented, minority group of people who had worked to attain technical and creative skills, usually photographers and designers. Today, I bypassed any study and produced the same results by clicking a button.

Sell your competitors’ products

4 January 2011

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If you’re a customer of the shopping behemoth, you can’t have failed to have noticed that Amazon let competitors use their website to sell their products. Known as Marketplace, like many others you’ve probably thought it’s a little odd. A bit counter-intuitive, isn’t it? I’m just guessing, but I suspect you don’t let your competitors do the same? Why not?

Mobile statistics: Building a case for your mobile site & app

22 September 2010

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In my recent ‘60 second mobile review’ post, I explained a very simple health check for your business to determine whether you should be building a Mobile offering. Even though you may feel your company or industry is not ready, your Analytics may prove otherwise. A quick check will illustrate just how popular your website already is with mobile users. If you’ve tried accessing your website on a mobile phone, you may have already realised that those visitors might not exactly be getting a premium customer experience. You may already be deliberating which is better for your business – a mobile site or smart phone apps. However, to get your mobile site or app built you’re going to need to present a business case. You can pull together your supporting evidence - including existing mobile statistics - from both internal and external sources.

Sticky Fingers: Our Children’s Technological Future

13 April 2010

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I have sticky finger prints smeared across my flat screen TV. They’re not mine, I might add. Rather they belong to my two year old son. Unlike his other random markings around the house (walls are a particular favourite), these are deliberate and with purpose. He tries to operate the TV like he would my iPhone. That is, he competently swipes and pushes objects (buttons) on the flat screen as a means of navigating to the content he wants. When the TV doesn’t respond he gets annoyed and airs his displeasure.

Innovate for your brand’s survival

1 April 2010

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Let’s be honest, you can milk your Cash Cow for quite some time. However, like oil, one day it’s going to run out. Then what? Well, by that point it’s too late. One, or several, of those pesky start-ups who launch good looking websites with shiny, multi-featured products, will have figured out how to monetise their passion and will be waving at you in slow-mo as they pass you by. You’ll be left to wonder what happened and at some point you’ll look at your new market leaders and will lament “we could have done that”.

MOBILE: iPhone or Android – which is more App for your business?

15 March 2010

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"Have you seen our iPhone App? Do you have one? No? Really?" Been asked that recently? I wouldn’t be surprised if you had, mobile seems to be on the lips of everyone. If you haven’t got an iPhone app, some would have you believe it’s a minor miracle you’re still doing business. So, should you be rushing out to find a mobile developer? Yes, no, maybe, well, it depends.

Great Customer Experience – Every Little Helps

10 March 2010

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Great Customer Experience – Every Little Helps

It’s well established that a great experience can make all the difference in keeping a customer beyond their initial purchase. The best customer experience is when you can make their interaction with you so pain-free and simple that it becomes a no-brainer to return for more. Healthy stock levels, useful product info, error-free payment processes, and prompt delivery – they’re all hygiene factors if your business is to provide a good customer experience. However, for a great customer experience, you need more. You need to think smarter.

Top 10 It’s Digital Marketing Posts of 2009

2 January 2010

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photo credit: coquetboy And that was 2009. Hopefully yours was a good one, it certainly was for me. On reflection, much happened in 2009 – both from a personal and web perspective. So much, in fact, it’s hard to imagine it all happened in just 365 days. I felt like I learnt a lot this [...]

Sex, Drugs & Rock & Roll: Google Maps Mashup Style

23 November 2009

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Sex toys, crime statistics and the Artic Monkeys. Words I never thought I could unite in one blog post. Take a moment to consider where this could go… Nothing quite so sensational, I’m afraid, but interesting nonetheless. Anyone who knows my geeky side will know that I have a penchant for Google Maps Mashups (If [...]

Social Media Innovation

9 October 2009

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Now is the time to innovate, not stick your head in the sand and wait for the storm to pass by. That is the theme of my article on social media innovation in this quarter’s edition of Figaro Digital Magazine. The takeaway thought from the article was that whilst budgets are being cut left, right [...]

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