Tag Archives: Business

Mac started it, BK followed, then Texas Chicken joined in the fun.
Better, even better, best. I’m assuming this should be the end.

Ugh. I understood that McD’s campaign revolves around the idea of crowd-sourcing.

Please enlighten me what these copycats are trying to achieve. I’ve heard stories of how Burger King’s attempt to run the same thing failed, long queue, no stock. It only makes them look bad. It’s like trying to outrun another car then get into an accident instead.

It doesn’t look like a sales generating campaign; then again, I wouldn’t know the cost price of these junk. OK, perhaps a chance to hook customers into trying their burgers.

Ultimately who wins?
Price-sensitive consumers who waste their time to queue to eat these unhealthy food to get fat. Are they brand loyal? Probably not, but they definitely wouldn’t mind waiting to fill their stomach… It’s really not that surprising to know that over 50% of Singaporeans are overweight, right? Wonder how the government would react if this continues.

What do you think? Is it unethical for these fast food outlets to stir excitement in people by promoting their products this way?

On behalf of Penn Olson, @stooffi and I had the opportunity to receive the media pass to attend iStrategy2010 in Singapore!  It was really intensive, too much information to digest and found it difficult having to multi-task because we were blogging as we were listening… (I figured I’d make a bad journalist) Steph and I were really unstoppable today.  She would be typing non-stop and I would format the post like crazy. Woohoo. Willis says we did a great job and I’d really like to think so too… :)   (hahaha) Too bad that I cannot attend tomorrow’s session…

It was definitely very enjoyable because I got to meet great people like Thomas Marzano, Aaron Lee, Melvin Yuan, Nigel Dessau, Jerome Wong, Hazrul, Denny Santoso, and many others! Oh, did I also mention the emcee Adam Burns is super funny and he needs a Facebook fan page! As much as I would like to type more… I declare myself brain-dead for the day, so please, let the pictures do some talking.

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This article was first posted on Penn Olson on 22 November 2010.

Currently, there are many third-party applications out there that provide analytics to allow you to check out how influential a Twitter handle is, namely TweetGradeTwitalyzer andTweetStats. Expected to launch by the end of 2010, Twitter will also provide users real-time analytics and data so users can find out which of their tweets are most successful, which tweets caused people to unfollow them, and who are their most influential re-tweeters.

This is definitely great news and particularly useful for businesses in finding out what they should be doing more or less of.

Despite the New Twitter’s ability to display simple numbers like seeing your tweets  re-tweeted and other tweets your friends have re-tweeted, the below screen shots allow you to compare tweets at a glance how your handle is doing, with filters ranging from Best, Good and All. You would be able to find out who has marked your tweet as Favourite.

Sneak Peeks from @mongoosemetrics’ Testing

Chanced upon this great infographic, and Steph beat me into blogging about it first! :)
Read her great post here.
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This post was first posted on Penn Olson on 9 November 2010.

It is apparent the rate of eBooks adoption is rapid since the launch of Amazon’s eReader in 2007. Why so? There are many advantages presented: eBooks are cheaper and cost nothing to produce, lesser trees need to be cut down, purchased and downloaded instantaneously, do not collect dust, and have the ability of being interactive.

According to a forecast by Forrester Research: By the end of this year 2010, $966 million worth of eBooks would have been sold. By 2015, the industry will have nearly tripled to almost $3 billion!

* But in fact, only 7% of online adults who read books actually read eBooks – they are also the ones who read the most books and spend the most money on them.
* Today, the two most common ways people get books today is borrowing from friends or the library.
* The average eBook reader already consumes 41% of books in digital form.

With still so much more room for the market to grow, what does this mean for traditional publishers? Catch up, or get left behind. As more features are added into the eBook technology, it is possible eBooks would make its way into classrooms or even dominate publishing industry in the near future.

Sidetracking a little – with more and more entrants to the competitive industry of eBook readers and tablet devices, we have Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Blackberry Playbook, and of course, the Apple iPad. As much as I am convinced to switch to going green, I can no longer decide which device I should get. What say you – comments, and suggestions would be great!

This was first posted on Penn Olson on 26 October 2010.
A recent survey at Ratepoint reveals small businesses are uncertain about using social media usage. Although 36 percent of small businesses agree their customers spend time on social networking sites, 27 percent are undecided and 20 percent disagreed that their customers were spending time on social networks.

Neal Creighton, CEO and co-founder of RatePoint shares, “Social media use is no longer limited to one demographic, everyone is adopting. While many small business owners are uncertain, big brands are investing heavily in social media. Social media can be a great equalizer for small businesses to compete alongside larger brands and SMBs are missing out if they are not involved.”

Here are reasons why social media marketing is an opportunity and would be a waste if ignored:

Customer Acquisition

Fish where the fish are. The Internet is ubiquitous and also a cost-effective way to reach out to your customers and prospects. Compared to traditional marketing & advertising, setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account is free. (Of course, note that getting engagement and participation for your digital campaign is another story.)

Connect & Build Relationships

Customers need to be persuaded before they buy what you have to offer. Think of marketing as making friends. Just like how you would make a new friend offline – you must be deemed as honest and trustworthy. If they like you, they introduce you to their friends, and trust me – word-of-mouth does wonders.

I’d say @thegardenslug does a good job at relationship marketing on its handle – a good mix of tweets about the menu, promotions, the staff, sharing valuable content, and tweets that truly care about the customers. Would you consider that time-consuming if you are sincere?

Branding & Visibility

You would have known by now I am a big advocate of increasing awareness. I strongly believe that if you are not even making yourself visible, there is absolutely 0% chances of being in the customers’ evoked set. This is something like share of voice (SOV) – if you want to be heard, you must take the first step to speak!

Become an Expert in Your Field

I’ve noticed an increasing trend in companies using blogging platforms like WordPress and Tumblr as part of their company site. Providing useful content adds value to your customers, aids search-engine optimisation (SEO) and earns you respect in your niche. When users find your content relevant, traffic to your site would also increase as users point to your site.

Online Reputation Management

Listen and find out what your customers are talking about you. (e.g. Singtel’s classic case) It provides an opportunity to seek suggestions and fix problems, if need be. In time of crisis, it would be useful for clarifying yourself – at least you would have an audience who would listen to you.

This article was first posted on Penn Olson on 26 October, 2010.

A recent survey at Ratepoint reveals small businesses are uncertain about using social media usage. Although 36 percent of small businesses agree their customers spend time on social networking sites, 27 percent are undecided and 20 percent disagreed that their customers were spending time on social networks.

Neal Creighton, CEO and co-founder of RatePoint shares, “Social media use is no longer limited to one demographic, everyone is adopting. While many small business owners are uncertain, big brands are investing heavily in social media. Social media can be a great equalizer for small businesses to compete alongside larger brands and SMBs are missing out if they are not involved.”

Here are reasons why social media marketing is an opportunity and would be a waste if ignored:
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Similar to Paypal’s Do Stuff for Money (now defunct), a new spinoff is here. Fiverr is a transactional site that allows people to do stuff at $5. Warning: Lots of market spoilers out there.

Ranging from doing a website for $5, SEO, Facebook Fans… wow, one can start doubting the quality one can receive. Afterall, price contains a perceived value and it would be a steal to have work done at five bucks and only five. Nevertheless, it could be a great way for people working from home to get some extra income. However you have to have at least $40 in your account to be able to withdraw your earnings… so work hard, peeps.

Read my post on Squidoo.

This article was first posted on Penn Olson on 19 September, 2010.

Foursquare for BusinessesAdding on to 5 Ways To Leverage Foursquare For Business, we find out more ways and prove how mobile marketing is definitely picking up.

Just as you were thinking Foursquare is a fun stalking game to let friends stalk friends, you are half right.

It creates conversation between friends as you better understand the places they frequent, it should be no surprise when I ask something like, “So how was the microbrewery you visited last weekend?”

What is Geotagging?

By tagging where you are as you send information, Google allows search results to be filtered by locations – whether by town, neighbourhood or your precise location. So do Twitter and Flickr. Geotagging is an element of mobile phones that allows information to stay relevant depending on where you are.

How Does Foursquare Affect My Business?

Whenever I check in into Foursquare, honestly I often come across shop names I never knew existed. Having your business listed on Foursquare increases visibility and allows users nearby to locate your shop. For example, one might just tell their friend, “Hey there is actually a cafe near by, why not let’s check that out?”

Recommendations Encourage Word-Of-Mouth

I particularly find this feature most persuasive. Having my friend’s To-Do tip popping up when I check in into a nearby location is a great way to get my attention. Just because it is a recommendation coming from someone I know and trust, I am more likely and willing to give consideration. (although not so much on this one below, but you get what I mean!)

Verify & Claim Your Business Venue


You can list yourself as one of Foursquare’s official venue partners. Not only can you receive invaluable information and analytics about your customers (frequency, time logged in, gender comparison, etc) it would be an opportunity to establish offline relationships as you identify them in your shop!

Make Promotions Exclusive to Foursquare users

Everybody enjoys customer loyalty rewards (Tell me I am not the only one!) Offering promotions are effective in exchange for the attention of your current customers. (e.g. free beer for mayor, add a tip and receive a discount) This is the chance to get as creative as you want!

Also, when users log in to other locations nearby, a yellow post-it looking button “Specials Nearby” will prompt them on the top right of their venue and is hard to miss.

Sync with Other Social Media Platforms

Synchronise your social media activities. You could send a tweet offering anyone who checks in using Foursquare in the next hour will get a discount. Also, Foursquare allows check-in to be published onto Twitter and Facebook – so suggest your customers do that and you would be able to generate more eyeballs on your business.

Have you claimed your venue on Foursquare yet? If you are getting started, read more related posts below! Or if you already have great ideas, share them with us too!

This article was first published on Penn Olson on 27 Aug 2010.

Money makes the world go round. Do you know how much the most profitable companies are earning annually?

We all see a pattern here – topping the charts are companies from oil & gas industries, as much as we often hate and curse them for ruining the environment.

The below infographic shows what all the profit could provide for the world; digest it with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless it is interesting to know that every living person on earth could receive $6.75! (which we know is not going to happen)
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