It all started with Pay-Pass at the gas pump and convenience stores. Remember the commercial of the guy running in the marathon and he buys a drink while he is running the race using a card he swipes? Well Google has partnered with Sprint, First Data, Citi, and MasterCard to test Google Wallet, a similar type of digital contactless payment option that allows Wallet-enabled Smartphones (right now only the Samsung Nexus S from Sprint) to tap to pay. The application works for both online and offline in-store purchases.

Contactless payments are processed by a special terminal. Only terminals with the universal contactless symbol will work with Google Wallet for in-store purchases. The terminal must be an ISO 14443 or 18092 standard. Merchants interested in getting a contactless terminal can contact First Data at 888-265-8147. To take advantage of Google Wallet, merchants must sign up to become a Google SingleTap Merchant. An additional benefit to you is the free listing you get on Google’s Where it works map. Because the program is still in beta, Google is taking inquiries at wallet-b2b@google.com.

From customer loyalty programs to special promotions, there are lots of opportunities to develop custom marketing programs around Google Wallet to drive traffic to your brick-and-mortar store or to get targeted buyers to take advantage of the convenience it offers them for online purchases. I suggest you also look into another Google program in beta called Google Offers, where Google markets participating businesses’ offers to its registered Offers members (just like Groupon does). If you want more information, about Google Offers, submit an online inquiry here.

Google Wallet is more than just a digital credit card. It is designed to replace the kinds of purchasing items a person may carry in their wallet, such as credit cards, coupons, advertisements, and so forth. The application allows consumers to save offers and apply them when they are ready to make an in-store or online purchase. It saves them the hassle of looking for the right coupon, counting their cash, or even retrieving a credit card. Bottom line for shoppers is Google Wallet is faster and more convenient. So ultimately it offers you a great way to reach out to mobile users and convince them to buy from you. For example, consumers searching for products or services in your area can save your offers in Google Wallet and then redeem them in-store, which allows you to analyze ‘online marketing to in-store purchases.’ It’s a powerful way to ensure you market effectively online to reach your targeted mobile audiences so you can generate sales both online and offline.

To get started with contactless terminal transactions, please contact First Data at 888-265-8147 or visit their site. Send inquiries about Google Wallet to wallet-b2b@google.com.

Before there was an online there was print, billboard, and broadcast television. Advertisers have benefitted from the positive results of display ads for years. Now the results have moved to online. But the critical point made by Batten, in my view, is the relationship between the elements of your marketing mix. Batten reminds us to consider the role played by each medium: “…display is primarily for driving awareness and “filling the funnel” whereas search is better for driving immediate consideration and direct response.”

When developing your marketing strategy it is imperative to design and implement initiatives that work together to deliver the results you desire. For example, your display ad works to promote your brand in the consciousness of your target respondents. They may appear as part of your search marketing mix, industrial directory online, targeted third-party websites, and print. Your print ads have a double duty to promote your brand and get respondents to take action. If you have the budget for television or radio, these work primarily for branding but can also be effective at getting respondents to take action. Your website, one of your most important strategic considerations in your overall marketing mix, greets respondents with highly focused information that aids in their research process as well as providing them with an easy way to reach out to you. Your social media and blog posts reinforce your brand and demonstrate your broad knowledge regarding what you offer. Your text ads work to get respondents to take immediate action to buy something or at least start the buying cycle by contacting you. All direct marketing campaigns, including email and direct mail, should coordinate with the message delivered in your other initiatives and be designed to get respondents to take action.

So you can see how each element of your marketing mix plays a specific role that works collectively with the other elements to:

• Establish awareness
• Nurture the relationship
• Get the desired response

Through understanding and careful planning, your marketing initiatives can work effectively together to ensure you keep leads in the pipeline and make the sales you need to increase your profits and grow your business. Consider the ‘zero multiplication factor:’ anything multiplied by zero equals zero. Don’t let a careless decision eat away at your budget or your profits. The next stages after careful planning are timely implementation, close management, and consistent tracking and reporting. Eliminating elements that are not working is not necessarily the way to go to fix a broken strategy. Using verifiable data, you will benefit from fixing the broken elements so they begin to work effectively within your overall mix.

For help with your marketing strategy, call Industrial Web Solutions at 1-800-399-9859.

The user types what he is looking for and the application automatically uses the GPS location to deliver search results that include names of businesses, locations, and even comments posted by those who have frequented the establishment.

The beauty of this application is the potential business generating opportunities it may offer you. The application employs incentives to get users to sign up and use the application over and over again. For example, let’s say you sell specialty fuels like racing fuel, propane, or lubricants that consumers or even businesses can stop by your store to purchase. You develop an incentive for customers to return to you to purchase these items on a regular basis and to share their experience with your business on Foursquare. Now let’s say you have a customer who is a drag racer and he comes to you all the time for fuel and lubricants, and even propane tanks because he loves to have friends over for BBQ.  By checking in at your location more than anyone else, he is rewarded with the title of ‘Mayor’ for your establishment. He goes onto Foursquare and let’s everyone know how great your business is and more people come to buy from you.

Foursquare offers you a free set of tools to help you attract new customers and keep your best ones coming back. When users check in at or near your venue, they will be presented with the specials you create to get them to stop by such as:

• Discounts
• Mobile coupons
• Free offers
• Prizes

You decide how to tailor specials to meet the needs of your targeted customers and your business. Once you sign-up for Foursquare’s free Merchant Platform you will have access to your Venue Stats dashboard, allowing you to track customer visits (foot-traffic) over time.

You can sign up for Foursquare here.

Just remember, there is no online platform or tool that magically delivers business results just because you registered. Every initiative you engage in must be thoughtfully planned, carefully executed, and closely monitored and adjusted over time to ensure you get the results you desire.

If you’re looking for help or ideas, call 1-800-399-9859 to speak with an Industrial Web Solutions web marketing specialist.

DeFoy stated to Canada’s Globe and Mail, “Don’t do one general campaign in English, all over the world. It’s easy, but the bidding and the keywords are very different from one country to the other.”

The advice to global marketers is to pick the right platform – the one familiar to and in popular use by the residents of the country and market you are targeting. For example, Friendster is popular in the Philippines; Yandex is popular in Russia; OnYoMo.com is second to Google in India but still very big; and Baidu controls the search market in China above Google!

DeFoy advises to separate your campaigns by countries. This allows you to select the right platform, target your audience by using the language they use to search for what you offer (remember that comprehensive keyword research and development I am always talking about in posts!), target according to cultural customs, which are often very different from that of the US, and finally to track results by country and campaign. DeFoy pointed out the French-Canadian French does not play well in Paris, for example. If you expect to see good results, ads and keyword lists have to be targeted for the customs and language, including dialects, of the country or foreign region you are targeting. That will take some testing, modifying, and good old fashioned trial and error along the way.

Once DeFoy was able to support the different languages he was targeting, he established landing pages and full websites using a domain within the targeted country. For example, use www.yourcompany.uk, if you are targeting customers in Great Britain. The strongest approach, if you have the foreign speaking staff to support it, is to present a landing page and/or website in the native language of each of your targeted groups. If you cannot, DeFoy suggests you keep the English very simple, with the understanding that you are addressing respondents for whom English is a second language.

The goals for search advertising are always the same, regardless of which foreign or domestic regions you target:

• Satisfy the expectations of your targeted respondents
• Satisfy the needs of the search platform by generating response from which they make money so you rank well
• Convert respondents and generate revenue

Get to know the behaviors and needs of your target foreign audience and reach out to them in a way that builds trust and gives them the feeling that you are nearby and able to take care of them.

As a helpful addendum, check out Skype and Google Voice for local calling numbers for the regions you are targeting. If you are new to Global Advertising Online you may wish to get your feet wet using the Google Global Advertiser. Also check out the Google Global Market Finder.

Identifying and Setting Goals
The dictionary.com definition of a goal is the “result or achievement toward which effort is directed.” From this meaning alone we can see why it is important to set, evaluate, and manage goals effectively. When clients are asked about their goals they typically answer with “make money.” We then go through the process of identifying what needs to happen for that result to occur. Through this process of discovery we learn there are many goals that have to be set and reached for that larger result to occur.

If the principle objective is to make money then goals can be regarded as the milestones that have to be set and reached for that ultimate objective to be achieved. Let’s take a look at some of the things that need to happen.

Branding:
Branding is about raising awareness among your targeted audience groups about the solutions you offer. As major brands like GE, Johnson & Johnson, and Cisco have demonstrated, branding is an ongoing goal where different levels of success are achieved but the effort never ceases. Whether it’s online video commercials, communications via social networking sites, print communications, events, or local television and radio spots, branding is a critical component of small business development. Your first goal is to establish awareness and your subsequent goals are to build the strength of that awareness by sharing successes, case studies, white papers, customer satisfaction stories and reviews, innovations, free help, and so forth. On-going efforts in the areas mentioned work to help you achieve an upward and onward progression of brand awareness year over year.

Lead Generation:
The goal here is to establish initiatives that attract your targeted audience groups on an on-going basis so that you always have leads in the pipeline. Many small businesses get so tied up with existing clients that they have a tough time focusing efforts on lead generation. Way too many small businesses rely exclusively on referrals. This tactic puts the fate of your business in the hands of others and is ill-advised. Although many of you cringe at the word, marketing is necessary. Typically around 15% of your budget needs to be set aside for initiatives designed to reach out to your potential clients. Having a website is good but it is not enough. Customers do not magically appear because you have a website. You have to “direct efforts” toward attracting each of your unique targeted audience groups by communicating to each one that you a) understand what they need b) have what they need and c) offer them benefits that make doing business with you their best choice. Lead generation is an on-going goal that achieves results through effective marketing communications and initiatives.

Analysis:
I bet you thought Sales was going to be the next topic. Nope. Analysis is. Whether you regard this as an “effort” or a “goal,” analysis needs to become a business habit if you are truly to understand customer behavior and the effectiveness of your branding and lead generation initiatives. Analysis helps you to set goals and manage them. It provides you with verifiable statistics that offer insight about each one of your goals that make up your overall strategy geared toward your objective to “make money.” Web analytics and consistent off-line tracking and measuring procedures have to be in place to ensure the information you are relying on is as complete as possible, painting for you the most accurate picture of what is happening so that you know what has to happen next, or perhaps better stated, ‘where to direct your efforts.’

To Summarize:
Making money is a pretty big objective. Break it down into manageable goals for branding, lead generation, and analysis, so that you can effectively direct your efforts toward that on-going achievement. Use what you have learned from your web analytics and off-line tracking to make necessary adjustments or develop new initiatives that ensure more than sustainability – your on-going business growth and development.