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Present the options for your mobile/tablet visitors

January 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I’ve written a few posts lately about what not to do when you do not have great support for your mobile- or tablet visitors, one about not prompting app downloads and one about what you should not to when you don’t have a tablet strategy. But what I haven’t covered is what you should do to support mobile and tablet visitors, because there are so many answers to that question and it all depends on your goals. But here is a start a suggestion on what you should do while developing a better solution or deciding on your strategy.

Develop a page for mobile and/or tablet visitors with the options they have.

A few examples could be.

  1. Link to your full website
  2. Link to an app download
  3. Link to a mobile version of the site
  4. A reminder to send themselves about visiting the site from another device later.

An example from Google:

I was inspired to the last example when visiting the chrome extensions site from an iPad. When I visited the webpage I was greeted with a message saying that I could not access the website from my operating system but I could easily send my self a reminder to try again later from a desktop. I loved this solution as it gave me an option, thus the key takeaway is – don’t leave your visitors stranded even when you don’t intend to help begin supporting a channel.

For example; IKEA recently launched a new mobile website based on html 5 which I tried to visit from a windows phone 7. Only to be met by a white screen. Why? Windows phone 7 does not support html 5. If Ikea did not want to support window phone what they could have done was redirect the visitors to their normal website or give them a page with alternatives such as the one’s above.

Do you have another view on this? Prefer another user experience or have other ideas for alternatives? Please drop a comment. 

Filed Under: Web development Tagged With: , ,

Don’t prompt app downloads for all your mobile visitors

January 14, 2012 By 2 Comments

A few weeks ago I listened to a very interesting presentation/marketing session by Mattias Beijmo about strategy for the web. It was especially one example ge gavethat has been stuck on my mind since then.

If you go to a car dealer to look for new tires, you would be quite upset if you were met by a salesman who held up sign and shouted “BUY THIS NEW CAR”. You would not consider that a very pleasant experience. Still, when browsing the web this is often what happens a lot too us. Entering the front page of a website we are meet with the best deal that company have regardless if we are looking for it or not.

This changed a lot of my thinking with my current project and we will do things a lot differently from now on. And I’m finding this “behavior” in more web situations. I’ve been using my iPad a lot lately and in my last post you could read a bit about the worst user experiences you can have when companies do not have a tablet strategy. One thing that is really beginning to bother me is the pop-ups for app downloads which more and more websited have. This message pops-up when you are browsing to their site:

“Do you want to download our app? Cancel/Yes”

We get this message before we even enter a site and regardless on why we got there, adding to that most apps do not have the information that we are looking for when we arrive to a website which means that I had to go through the process of downloading an app that did not have the info I was looking for. Therefore I have to go back to the website, to once again get the same pop-up, decline it and start browsing the non-mobile adapted site for the info I was looking for. Quite an unsettling experience, especially if the app I downloaded was marketed on the iPad but not even adapted for it.

Key take-away: If you do not want to develop a mobile adapted website, only suggest app downloads in the cases you know that your app contains what the visitor is looking for.

 

Filed Under: Web development Tagged With: , ,

Until you have a tablet (read ipad) strategy – here is what not to do

December 11, 2011 By 3 Comments

Hopefully most companies are considering how to adapt their website to tablets during 2012, if they have not already. Common strategies today contain for example mobile first, mobile & desktops sites and complementary native apps. However, until you have your permanent solution in place. Here are a few of the most “annoying” website habits to get rid of to not annoy your iPad visitors to much.

1. No more suggestions for mobile versions


Example: Nelly.com

Nelly.com is one of the sites that allows the user to choice between the mobile and the web version of the site. So far I have never found a mobile version of the site, which I wanted to use in the iPad so I suggest they remove this choice. I would actually remove this choice in the mobile as well, because if the mobile version is good enough this is the one the user would want to visit and then it should be the predefined choice. It is how ever important to always have a choice to return to the main site.

 

Suggestion: From an iPad the user want to visit the desktop site which in ideal world is adapted for touch.

 

2. No more suggestions of iPhone apps to iPad users

Example:  Volkswagen.co.uk

This is another common occurrence while surfing on the iPad is the recommendation of downloading an iPhone app to your iPad. Thought this actually work (to use iPhone apps in the iPad) it is rarely a pleasant experience.

Suggestion: Remove recommendation for iPhone app for visitors from an iPad

 

3. No more flash content – or create an alternative site

Example: Vagabond.com

I have really big trouble understanding websites who are completely based on flash these days, but apparently they are more common than I thought. Vagabond is one of them, who completely shuts out the iPad and iPhone visitor. If you would have a mobile site without flash this might be the only time where I would suggest you would point your iPad visitors to that.

 

Suggestion: Create a responsive website for iPad and iPhone users or even better remove the flash site completely.

 

Finally – think twice on what to use of your current solution

 

Example: Dinsko.se

Lastly I want to mention dinsko.se, which I honestly do not understand. When visiting their site I get the “normal” suggestion to download flash, but I also get a link to their webshop that is not built on flash. I am quite confused to why they do not only have a redirect to this site right away.  Because it took me at least tree visits to “find” this link as I the first time saw the flash comment and left. So I went to my desktop and find out what is on the flashbased part of the website and as far as I can see it is a campaign site on which almost all links go to the shop. Making the flash content fairly useless.

 Suggestion: Remove the flashbased campaign site and direct all traffic to the non-flash part of the website

 

Filed Under: Web development Tagged With: , , ,

Does organizational structure prevent developments such as SoLoMo?

November 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

As a ‘digital’ blogger (though rarely active nowadays) I almost feel that I have to write something about SoLoMo, since it is the buzzword of the year. Yet, tweeting to get some good examples, there response was there aren’t any. (please, prove me wrong)

SoLoMo – if you missed it stands for Social, Local & Mobile.

Nevertheless the concept has got me contemplating about something bigger than the marketing term that it is. Namely, the organizational structure we have to day and how we will have trouble with SoLoMo as long as we keep it.

Organizations today, or in this case the organization of the individual employee goals, might not be ready for SoLoMo. Take sales divisions as an example, most businesses have sales personnel with have some kind of commission. This is commission can be based on many things and levels, ranging from products sold from an individual to total sales of a store, it depends of a persons role in the company.

If you would integrate SoLoMo in a business with this structure, depending on the implementation, it might cause a conflict of interest. Lets say that we put a qr code next to a product, the qr code let to a mobile webpage, where you could read more about the product, or post to your friends on facebook to hear their opinion about it, or even compare the price with other stores. Or perhaps the product was out of stock in the store so you could place the order online instead. Then who would get the commission for that sale, the staff responsible for the webshop or the store personnel?

This is only an example, and there are tons of solutions on how to solve it. The point I’m trying to make is, who will initiate SoLoMo solutions when everyone has different personal goals?

Filed Under: Business development, Social Media

Why ad budgets should be spent on the handmade

September 5, 2011 By 3 Comments

For centuries mankind have struggled to make their work more effective and less costly. We have built machines which can handle the work of 10 to 100, 000 employees and then improved them to produce for less cost. We are so good at this that we sometimes forget the value of something that is handmade.

The same things goes for media. We have bought ad placements to spread the message of our brand instead of hiring staff out on the streets talking about it. Lately we have even begun moving our budgets from TV and print to online to reach larger audiences to less cost. Again like improving production.

But this time we are really failing.

We know that we scan webpages without seeing the ads. And most of us rarely or never click on an add, regardless of how interesting they seem. If we do actually see them and their message, fact is we are more likely to google the message than click on the banner.

Meanwhile – many of us seek information about your companies products. We want to read about how to set up a kitchen, or what is in style this fall. Information that your company have, but is not sharing. Because it is less expensive to make an ad about your product, providing no additional value at all, than it is to start a blog about your field. Pr, blogs, video, podcast and social media is often considered to time consuming and to risky of an investment. But, they could provide value which no ad will never come close to they might be both more cost efficient and productive in the long run.  Still, few are willing to take the risk, the risk to invest in something handmade.

If we would forget about cost and effiecency for once and focus on what will increase sales the most in a year. Do you honestly believe that ads are the solution?

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With:

7 tips to improve hemnet.se

August 9, 2011 By 2 Comments

This upcoming weekend I will spend among some of the most online savvy people in Sweden today @ Sweden social web camp. The event takes place on island calles Tjärö and my plan was to spend it in a tent.

Today, however, I saw the opportunity to win a place in the “hemnet-tent” – looks really cool. And bet of all for the geek in me – it has electricity. Anyway – to win you have to share ideas on how to improve hemnet and the best answer win.

Looking closer at hemnet I found a few tips which made my suggestions to long to tweet – so I figured I would blog about them instead. In that way – even if hemnet do not implement any of my ideas – someone else might.

About hemnet
Hemnet.se is the biggest market place for houses and apartments in Sweden. In 2008 and a survey showed that about 50 % of Swedes between 20-79 visited the site regularly. Considering the development of the site, that number is probably larger than that now.

7 tips to improve hemnet.se

1. Mark the area you want to live in

I would like to be able to draw a circle (by “hand”) on the map where I want to live. And from that see a list of all apartments in that area. Today I can find all apartments on the map but have to klick on each to view any details.

2. Remove “most expensive” – add “added since your latest search”

Hemnet remember your last search so you can easily go back to that. But as an addition to that I think the section “most expensive” which is part of the startpage could be changed to “new since your latest search” featuring the added object to the search you did during your last visit. And/or if your visiting from a ipad/phone this could be new objects in your area.

3.  Check boxes for apartment features

Hemnet has a search function that allows you to add keywords to the search. I would however want to have check boxes for apartment features. Balcony, evening sunset, washing machine or what ever it might be. This could also help the user with distinguishing what they are looking for.

4.  Compare objects

On electronics sites we often see comparing opportunities. Where you can mark a few objects and them compare the details. This is especially interesting if we had features. So that I could compare the price, amount of rooms, square meters, locations etc. Without having to switch tabs.

5. Recommended based on previous searches

If I visited the hemnet a few sites looking at objects with a balcony in one area, perhaps I would be open to an apartment with the building permit for a balcony in that area or a an area very close. These types tips could be build in to a recommendations engine.

6. QR codes to object pages

In a previous post I shared the idea to add QR codes to those signs put outside of apartment showings. So that people walking by randomly might enter since they can easily find the website and browse the object before to see if it is interesting (or in their price range). Perhaps hemnet could create QR codes that the realtors can use.

7.  Rating system

Let the user rate the apartment they looked at. So if they have many “starred” objects they will have a way to sort them. This could also be used for others. “4 start out of a 160 votes.”

Other tips:

  • E-mail/SMS/add to calendar function for info about apartment viewings with map to be used for road description. (Saw the same tip from Axbom)
  • Put starred object on top of the search result when they are part of them.
  • Keep “latest search” and add two more of the latest in the advance search form.
  • Blogger in bigger areas who share the apartment viewings they would attend and other tips.
  • “What is important to me survery” where you get to answer a couple of question to help sort around your priorities.
  • Calculator without object for saving – If I want an apartment in this area, that have a balcony, this many rooms it will cost this much. That means the cash contribution have to be at least this. I have this much, how much do I have to save each month for how long, with what interest rate, to get it?

 

I think that was all I could think of for now. So wish me good luck!

Filed Under: Web development Tagged With: , , ,

First impressions of Google +

July 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

I’ve stopped counting on the amount of time I’ve been asked to predict the future of Google Plus. The newspapers seem to do the same reviews. One day they are amazed with the amount of downloads, the next they are certain the time is over because visits has gone down.

The fact is that it is the fasted growing social network ever, however,  everything seems the be the fastest something nowadays so with the power behind google, I’m not surprised. However, I do not intend to predict the future of Google + here, I intend to give you my thoughts on the network so far.

Truth is, so far I love it. With that said – I do expect quite a few developments and improvements over the last few months.

Circles – both private and open

What I like so much is the combination of the social features with facebook/twitter – or at least my way of using them. With circles instead of friends or follow I can create groups of people I know better and groups with people I just find interesting.

Huddles – Great on mobile – necessary on web

As far as I can tell huddles are meant for mobile and chat for web. But I love the huddle because the conversation can keep going when I’m not around. I would love to have the same feature on the web. A bit like the new facebook groups were it sometimes is too much action.

Hangouts – Better in theory

Hangouts comes with a clear purpose, and they have a role to fill. I would know, I requested it a few month ago in another post. However, the necessity for the users to install a plugin and the fact that there is not a mobile version yet means that it has still a road to go. But it has potential. Real potential.

What do you think? Please share your first impressions as a comment :)

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , , , , ,

Product portfolio: less is more!

May 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Product development has been constantly on my mind lately because of my thesis work. And I bet that most who have written a thesis would agree with me that it is quite frustrating to find out really interesting things and get ideas worth remembering that don’t fit in to the paper.

The thought of the day, today, was how some companies create products that you cannot tell apart. If the offerings from a company gets too similar to each other, so similar that the company cannot easily describe who should have what product, then how could you ever expect a consumer to do it?

Though this might seem like a situation that would never occur when you read about it. I think we can quite often see this in practice. As an example I took a look at the dishwashers from Electrolux this morning and I could not tell them apart. Except for a liter less or more in water consumption and the dimensions of the machines it was really difficult.

Does the wide range of products really help them sell more? Or does it only confuse us consumers? I bet the second.

 

Filed Under: Development

6 ways to use QR-codes to increase conversion

May 20, 2011 By 1 Comment

QR codes are definitely not new, but lately more and more marketing people seem to be figuring out how to use them and places them on ads and other places around Sweden. Still I’ve not seen any examples showing a really good use of it. After all it has so much potential, why waste it? 

In this post I share a few examples on how to use QR-codes to help customers make on-spot decisions and a few other that make them convert even if not on-spot. Most buyers want to hear another opinion or read a bit about the product before they decide to make a purchase, at least when it comes to more expensive product and services. Why not help them make their decision by making that information even easier to access.

So here are a few ways to convert on-spot with QR codes:

Storage status

If you have many people in you store you might miss some opportunites for spontaneous purchases because of a line or because a product is not in store. Add a QR code next to all prices in for example an store selling electronic devices and you might have some one order one online if they do not you’re out of them in the store.

QR code – showing storage status and/or link to online store if ou

What does other say – social recommendations?

When browsing a store or looking at an ad, especially on more expensive products, the customer might want to check with family and friends what they think before making the purchase. Make others opinions more easy to reach by linking QR-codes to a feed of product reviews, perhaps on a statics side but even better to a social feed.

QR code – make reviews & recommendations more available

YouTube clips

Another way of reviewing product is watching the YouTube clip of them. This might be the case for tech products, but I think it could be create with any products that have YouTube introductions or usage clips. If someone wants to know how to use a product before buying them, share a QR code with a link to one or a couple of YouTube clips.

QR code – make the print information more dynamic with a YouTube clip

Here is another few examples that could increase conversion:

Email ad details to me

Most of us have read about how many times a person have to read and see a message to remember it. Now if you can get a person to save the message this might be a bit easier. Why not add a QR code to an ad which links to a page that send information about the ad, where the email then have a link to buy with. Perfect for when you get in front of the computer again.

QR code – email the details of an add with a link to make the purchase

Google Map Pins – Find our store

For those who do ads with the intention of getting people to visit their store, show the address but also a QR code with a Google Pin to their store or a link to “find the closest store.” People in a hurry can take a photo of a the QR code and then figure out the details on the way.

QR code – to make the address easier to find

Apartment for sales – link to the pictures of it

To end with a very concrete example, this one is for realtors. I often pass those signs outside of apartment viewings saying that one is welcome and showing two pictures of the apartment. Those I guess are primarily for people who knew about it to help them find their way, and I guess there are some spontaneous visitors. I do however believe that they miss an opportunity here for those who don’t dare to enter because they lack info. Add a QR code with a link to the full apartment and perhaps a few more spontaneous visitors will enter, if not to buy but to become potential clients.

QR code – to show more info about an apartment viewing

Read more about QR codes and how to use them here:

>> How QR Codes Can Grow Your Business
>> HOW TO: Make Your QR Codes More Beautiful

If you read this far, I am sure that you’ve come up with even more creative solution on how to use QR codes, so please share them and any good examples in the comment section.

Filed Under: Annelie's Musings, Development Tagged With: , ,

An idea: The instant feedback videotwitter for anyone-TEDideas.

May 15, 2011 By 1 Comment

So here is my problem with social media and many of the channels out there such as facebook, twitter and blogging.

I constantly have my ideas trivialized (by myself) before I get them out when I’m trying to generate ideas which I only share over these platforms. Why? Well, when I talk to someone IRL the smallest idea can become genius because I get the instant feedback of that idea from the reaction of the person I’m talking to.

When I send out an idea in cyberspace, on the other hand, I do not know the reactions of my idea until seconds or minutes later. How can we change that?

I would like to see a portal where I could log on at any time of the day, turn on my webcamera and talk to all my friends that happen to be connected at that moment.
Like a videotwitter of anyone-tedtalks. I do not have to be friends with them in real life, just accept them as a friend in online.

If this existed I could wake up in the middle of the night and try an idea on someone who is at lunch break in another part of the world.

The issue is of course that most might not want to have their webcams on all the time and it could easily get spammed.

Maybe it should be a network of networks, so that I invite the people I want to connect with and the network can ping my computer anytime anyone has an idea they wanna share.

An ideal network would contain maybe 100 people from all over the world, making it not to big that I would be constantly interrupted by pings yet be able to secure that someone would be at their computer 24/7.

Perhaps one should have a widget allowing me to connect to different networks, all personal networks or an open channel for complete networking.

The idea is basically a combination of Ted, Twitter and random video chats.

What do you think? Do you know of anything like this that I might not?

Filed Under: Social Media
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