Hey, it’s us again. Yes we’re persistent, but we have some great ideas on marketing with QR codes and video product guides and simply love to share. Last time we talked about Vintage Tub & Bath’s success, now we are looking at another client – Whalen Furniture.

Companies that can provide informative and dynamic content about their products will beat out the competition. It’s that simple. We made it easy for Whalen Furniture’s customers to learn about products before, during, and after the actual purchase. The individual can better judge if the piece fits with their current home décor and also shows them how simple Whalen Furniture pieces are to put together.

Let’s take a closer look at how Whalen Furniture uses QR codes to put VPGs in front of customers. They help those customers with purchasing decisions and put together their products without 10-minute expletive-filled tirades.

1. We put the product VPG on the user installation manual:

• Typical installation guides can be difficult to comprehend due to the limits of text and using flat illustrations on paper. “Place #7a screw on front-facing side of board #6g, turning three measures counter-clockwise…” Video with narration is the better way.
• VPGs give the user clear instructions on installation, with a live person able to show each step. This helps with context and scale that you simply can’t duplicate on paper. Less frustration means a happier and hopefully repeat customer. 

2. All of their boxes include the ShowUHow quality seal and a QR code:

• We have to toot our own horn; the ShowUHow seal is becoming a standard for VPG, allowing customers to recognize the image and immediately know they have resources for the quick and easy setup and use of the product.
• Consumers are looking closer at their purchases to be sure they include a VPG because they know it means assembly will be a snap. It also gives them a subtle sign that the product manufacturer and retailer actually cares about the customer’s experience with the product and their overall happiness! Who knew TV stands could make people happy?! 

3. The actual point of sale at major retailers:

• Whalen Furniture has key retail partners including the big guys such as Walmart and Best Buy. They include signage at their brick and mortar stores and online sites that include the QR code for easy access.
• In a social world, it’s all about sharing information. Nobody wants to mail a product spec sheet to their friends, but VPGs are easily shared, allowing in-person shoppers to send information to friends and families.  Sharing builds awareness, which can grow sales without any additional expense.
• You likely know the one guy/girl at Best Buy that really knows their stuff. They almost have all of the answers. But even the most knowledgeable in-store sales associate can’t duplicate an in-depth VPG. The videos aren’t replacing personal knowledge, they simply add to the experience!
• Products for sale on Best Buy’s site such as the 50-inch 3-in-1 console, features 11 distinct product videos that provides detailed information on what tools are needed for assembly and how to do every single step in turn. 

Whalen Furniture choose us because we know how to use QR codes and video product guides the right way – as integrated marketing tools to build sales and satisfy customers. 

Contact us if you want to learn more. Through proper placement and the right instructive videos, we can help you grow your business.

Any time you spend money on promotion, you need the basic ROI. Are you getting anything for your money? QR codes are no exception. They are also unique, as they combine physical marketing such as a magazine page with the mobile web. Therefore they require a unique kind of analytics.

Measuring engagement time for each code is a key metric to help you to identify what’s working. Your overall goal is of course conversions. Making it easy for people to see your code, give it a try and then have some sort of hook so they spent some time engaged with your offering. Measuring engagement time is a crucial piece of analytics, allowing you to gauge effectiveness of a certain campaign and do A/B testing.

QR codes can jump to multiple locations, making them ideal marketing tools, they can be tracked through your main site or landing page, a Facebook page, or even a telephone number.  For phones you would need a unique phone number that has tracking enabled.

You also want to receive scans consistently over time, especially if you are running a billboard, packaging, installation instructions or other similar static code. QR codes are intended to be a steady flow of scans and therefore prospects over time, instead of a “release the dam” type response from a big marketing push using a different medium.

Using QR codes is a form of branding just like anything else, so you need to look past just the analytics metrics for the actual campaign. Did you receive perhaps an uptick in Twitter followers or more signups for your email newsletter at the same time as your QR code campaign? That’s the true measurement of your ROI for the campaign using QR Codes.

Hello, ShowUhow here…

We are constantly asked to share what our clients are doing to help increase sales conversions and improve their ‘Out of Box” experience using ShowUhow.

But since you cannot see the flurry of excitement in the ShowUhow offices… or watch what we are doing with different leading brands to make them wildly successful using our Video Product Guides… we thought we’d take a moment each month to share with you what’s going on with a specific client.

Today we want to talk about Vintage Tub & Bath –

Let’s face it – if you’ve remodeled your bathroom in the past decade, you’ve probably come across Vintage Tub & Bath. After all, they are one of the top 500 Online Retailers in the country and have more than 100,000 customers. (yep… that’s a lot of faucets!)

But what’s really impressive about Vintage Tub & Bath is how they are mixing technology and the ShowUhow experience into every element of their product experience – from packaging to advertising to mobile tools – Vintage Tub is engaging the client at each and every step.

How do they do it? Vintage Tub & Bath started using QR Codes to increase add-on sales and to drive customer engagement. Yes, there’s lots of noise about QR Codes lately… And frankly, not everyone is using them effectively. But it’s not a gimmick at Vintage Tub & Bath. It’s working. To find out how, we spoke with Allen Dick, Chief Merchandising Officer at Vintage Tub & Bath.

Here are two marketing secrets he shared with us:

1. They inserted a flyer in the package with the ShowUhow VPG QR Code. It offers purchasers an opportunity to get 10% off on accessory/additional item if they buy within 30 days from their original purchase. Most importantly – The value lies in the immediacy of the QR Code. Purchasers have a limited time to add to their original order.
2. They also added QR Codes to their set-up guide, which leads to happier customers, who then make more purchases.

QR Codes become part of a cycle of always rewarding consumer behavior and giving them multimedia tools to enjoy product. According to Allen, “Our mobile usage has gone up significantly. We had about nearly a 500% increase in mobile views last week, which helps to build our brand presence and drive mobile consumers to our store. It also drives referrals, as mobile devices allow people to easily share our company name or reference it on social sites.”

We thought that was success worth sharing.

If you’d like to know more about how you can make your Video Product Guides as successful as Vintage Tub & Bath – call us. We will be happy to collaborate to grow your business. Or… got a success story you want to share? We’d love to profile you in our blog. Write us at marketing@showuhow.net.

More next time! Keep striving for a great out-of-box experience!!

The ShowUHow team

PS: What to learn more about leverage your ShowUhow program to improve the out-of-box-experience? Then don’t miss our latest webinar: Leveraging ShowUhow’s Best Practices to Improve Sales Conversions on December 8, 11am PST.  Click here to register.

To be successful, apps need to fill a real need and be easy to use. Those are the prerequisite features for any app that will gain traction. This is especially true in the crowded mCommerce space, where various apps attempt to convert users into shoppers, and shoppers into repeat buyers. 

We are highlighting shopkick, ShopSavvy, and ShowUhow Mobile, three shopping-related apps ideal for product managers who need to drive targeted traffic and create real consumer engagement. 

shopkick – (Platforms: Apple & Android – free – www.shopkick.com) – Localization or Deals/Rewards Category

shopkick drives store traffic using an incentive system of points, called ‘Kickbucks’ which are redeemable for merchandise. Users receive instant points for simply visiting partner brick and mortar stores; the app instantly recognizes the user’s in-store location, so they don’t have to manually “check in.” 

ShopSavvy – (Platforms: Apple & Android – free – www.shopsavvy.com) – Price Comparison and Inventory Category

Despite some retailer objections, mobile consumers expect instant price comparisons. Using ShopSavvy, consumers can select a product, check real-time inventory and instantly see the best price from a variety of integrated online and brick & mortar partner stores.

ShowUhow Mobile – (Platform: Apple & Android – free – www.ShowUHow.com) – On-demand Product Information Category

The ShowUhow Mobile app allows consumers to instantly view video product guides on their mobile devices. The app informs the buyer on key features and helps retailers to better manage consumer expectations, reducing the need for costly returns. ShowUhow enables stores to boost conversion rates from browsers to actual buyers. 

All three apps rely on QRCodes and barcodes; shopkick users scan QRCodes to acquire the latest deal, ShopSavvy users get location and real-time product inventory data, and ShowUhow Mobile shoppers get pre or post-sale access to a video product guide and set up-instructions. 

Heard of some other effective mCommerce apps? Let us know.

Research firm Prosper notes 81 percent of mobile device users actively browse for products or services. This mobile population is changing shopping in a fundamental way, making it more of a personal experience than can be provided by eCommerce or brick and mortar stores.

The same study found 55 percent of users were researching for a specific product, not simply browsing. Marketers and product managers who are not helping these searches result in their own targeted products are missing out.

Remember the devices are called “mobile” for a reason, as users on the go see and hear video easier than reading small text. Mobile users increasingly demand video information with their applications and in-browser. 

Video engagement

Video is one of the fastest growing market areas on the mobile web:

• Nearly two-thirds of smartphone users and eighty six percent of tablet users have viewed video content.
• Annual mobile video usage will exceed 693 billion minutes by 2015
• More than 172 million individuals in the U.S. watched an average of 14.9 hours of web video in April 2011.

 Quality Video in mCommerce for Better Conversions

Mobile shoppers want to see product or service related video. A RealSEO study found retailers boosted conversions by six percent by incorporating product videos.

So what’s the catch? As always, content is king. Mobile users are sophisticated, and want video content that serves an informational purpose. Marketers should be wary of repurposing commercials and trying to pass them off as quality product videos. 

Consumers want fast help to solidify buying decisions. Pre-sales can set expectations before a purchase. Videos should be concise and quickly offer product specifications, set up instructions, and then list useful links to additional resources.

Marketers that introduce quality video to users in the early shopping stage can count on higher conversions, less returns and happier customers.

Sources

http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800647506_480700_NT_604442ad.HTM

http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/8-in-10-mobile-users-browse-productsservices-18579/prosper-device-purchases-aug11gif/

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/2845-4-Ways-Video-Can-Drive-Traffic-and-Conversions

International Data Corporation predicts that the number of mobile application downloads worldwide will grow from 10.9 billion in 2010 to 76.9 billion in 2014. The market intelligence company also anticipates mobile app revenues will surpass $35 billion in 2014.

IDC’s findings are based on company financials, product announcements and its quarterly survey of the Appcelerator mobile developer base.

Based on its research, the organization expects accelerated growth in the mobile apps market as even more applications make their way to tablets, Internet-connected TVs and other devices in the years ahead.

“Mobile app developers will ‘appify’ just about every interaction you can think of in your physical and digital worlds,” says Scott Ellison, IDC mobile and wireless research vice president.

Essentially, IDC is making the claim that mobile applications, and associated revenues, are here to stay. It’s a conclusion that seems reasonable considering how lucrative and popular apps like Angry Birds have been, and the current ubiquity of mobile applications. Previous research from the Pew Internet Project points to 24% of the U.S. adult population using apps, with app users having 18 apps on their device on average.

Still, there are some — RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie, for instance — who believe that the “appification” of the web is a fad that is destined to flatline.

 Source: http://mashable.com/2010/12/13/idc-mobile-apps-study/