BLOG
We're Moving!
July 26, 2011
Written by: Bernie Harsevoort
Due to company growth, and to best serve our valued clients, we are excited to be moving our office to a brand new, modern building in Ancaster, effective August 10th.
We extend a sincere thanks for the support of each one of you; support, we hope, through hard work, we continue to earn.
Effective August 10, our address will be:
1480 Sandhill Drive, Unit 201
Ancaster ON L9G 4V5
(Click to view google map)
Phone: 905 648 3939 | 905 631 7726
Jack Astor's Mobile Site Launch
July 26, 2011
Written by: Bernie Harsevoort
Beyond good times and great food, Jack Astor's now has a mobile website that will allow their customer to find their nearest location, browse the food menu, and more.
In addition to working on their main website and content management system, our staff is excited to have completed the mobile design, development, and launch for Jack Astor's - not to mention a few delicious lunches along the way.
We invite you to view the new Jack Astor's website at www.jackastors.com on your smartphone - and visit them for some great food.
Permission To "Spam" Your Customers?
April 26, 2011
Written by: Bernie Harsevoort
As marketers, we need to understand the laws around Canada's new anti-spam legislation. While anti-spam laws state that expressed consent must be received before a business may add someone to their email marketing list, it seems that does not always apply when it comes to a business to customer relationship.
The FISA (Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act) allows for 'implied consent' in some cases. Included in these circumstances is "the person who sends the message, the person who causes it to be sent or the person who permits it to be sent has an existing business relationship or an existing non-business relationship with the person to whom it is sent." Furthermore, the Act state"… the person to whom the message is sent has disclosed, to the person who sends the message, the person who causes it to be sent or the person who permits it to be sent, the electronic address to which the message is sent without indicating a wish not to receive unsolicited commercial electronic messages at the electronic address, and the message is relevant to the person's business, role, functions or duties in a business or official capacity."
If you managed to make it through the above paragraph, let me paraphrase. It seems that a business is fully within their rights to send messages (ie. enewsletters, promotional messages) to customers as long as the customer has disclosed their email to you and has not indicated an objection to receiving such emails.
While I am certainly not a lawyer, I - and the marketing community - understand the FISA legislation to allow businesses to continue to use email as a marketing medium without 'expressed consent' from their target recipients.
For more information on FISA and Bill C-28, please visit
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ecic-ceac.nsf/eng/h_gv00567.html.
Facebook Me?
April 15, 2011
Written by: Bernie Harsevoort
If there is a saying I've heard more than any in the last year, it's "we need a Facebook page". For many clients, I ask them to rephrase that as a question: "Why do we need a Facebook page?"
While I certainly don't want to undervalue Facebook or the social media realm in any way, it is often a misunderstood and misused medium. The seemingly most common reason for 'needing' a business Facebook page is "because everyone else has one."
Back to the question. Do we need a Facebook page? What for? As with any marketing media, you need to have a plan. While Facebook can and should be a very useful medium, you need an engaging content strategy to make the effort and investment worthwhile. And, let's not minimize the difference between engaging content - and just content. Providing dull and routine 'status updates' on your Facebook page can hardly be classified as constructive communication with your clients. The information communicated through your Facebook page to your customers should empower, inspire and/or involve them.
There have certainly been some creative and revolutionary examples of businesses using Facebook, but at this point they are in the minority. If you are considering a Facebook page for your business, consider the following questions:
1. Will you be committed to updating your Facebook page with relevant
information on a regular basis?
2. Will your content inspire or provoke a user to respond (even if
it's controversial)?
3. Will your Facebook page include any interactive elements for user
participation?
4. Will your content be unique?
5. Will it empower your customer to provide useful feedback about your
product or service?
If you can answer positively to two or more of the above questions, please call. Tell us you need a Facebook page.
Mobile Application or Mobile Website or Both?
April 6, 2011
Written by: Bernie Harsevoort
With the continued popularity of smartphones, more and more businesses are launching either a mobile website or application ("app"). For many that have not yet waded into the mobile pool, the question is which route to take: mobile website or app?
While virtually any website can be viewed on a smartphone browser, if the website is not built for mobile it will be difficult for the user to read and navigate. A mobile website is just how it sounds: a website formatted for viewing on a smartphone browser. A mobile app is
software developed to run on mobile devices (ie., iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile).
As the smartphone world is still in its infancy, neither solution alone is perfect for reaching all your customers. If budget wasn't an issue the optimal solution would be to do both. However, if one needs to be chosen, which is it? Ultimately, that depends on your target audience. Apps are great when you have a segment of loyal customers who interact with you on a regular basis and want a fuller experience on their mobile. However, unless there is sufficient customer demand, an optimized mobile website is often your best bet.
Allow me to briefly summarize the pros and cons of both.
First, let's look at developing a mobile app. The main advantage of building an app is the user experience. A properly built app gives a developer greater control over the way text and images are displayed, as well as the use of sounds and videos. In addition, GPS, camera and "shake" functionality can all be baked into apps. It also provides full time access, even when wi-fi or 3G is unavailable. On the downside, mobile apps take longer to develop than mobile websites and you will need to create multiple apps to reach a your full audience. Apps also require a level of trust from your customer as they have to download and install it.
A mobile website is usually quicker to implement and less costly than developing an app. Note that due to the wide variety of handsets available, you may have to optimize your website for more than one phone and/or screen size. A mobile site is accessible on any device with a mobile browser, including non-smartphones, as most of these have some form of WAP-browsing. The negative of a mobile website compared to an app is that although all smartphones have browsers, most of them are very simplistic and cannot handle the same complexity and dynamic behavior as browsers on a PC.
If you are considering a mobile website or mobile (or tablet) app for your business, or have any questions, we invite you to contact us.
