The next time that you visit the interlinkONE offices here at 21 Concord Street, you may notice a new decal at our front door. Yes, next to our QR Code is a sign encouraging you to check-in via Foursquare.

Foursquare is a location-based service application that helps people share information with their friends. Primarily, this information pertains to where someone is and what they are doing (i.e. “At 1:30  PM, Jason Pinto just checked into Starbucks”). By providing this sort of real-time data, Foursquare helps people to connect with friends and associates that may be in the area. Or, they may simply be exposing a new business to someone that may one day be visiting.

From a business perspective, this can very helpful. If someone checks-in to your business, their friends may find out in a variety of ways — via the Foursquare application on their phone, but also on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, when someone checks-in to your business, the name of your company/location/event will now reach many other people — without you needing to push your message.

Screenshot of the Foursquare application on a Phone

This type of application may certainly provide more benefits for some businesses than others. For example, if you own a coffee shop, restaurant or a bar, you could truly increase foot traffic with an app such as Foursquare. Throughout the day, each potential visitor and customer at your business could expose your company name to all of their friends, and possibly increase the chances that one of their associates will swing by and make a purchase.

Another way that businesses can drive traffic with Foursquare is by offering special promotions.

A recent example of this is the restaurant Chili’s.  Here is a quote from the article:

“Foursquare subscribers who check in at Chili’s will receive a free order of chips and house-made salsa. Participating locations will be demarcated on Foursquare with a “special offer” flag whenever a guest is within 200 yards of the restaurant.”

So, should you start to make Foursquare or another location-based service application part of your marketing efforts?

This recent article and study may help you to answer some of those questions. The bottom line is this: while usage of applications like this may be small right now, we are all becoming more and more dependent addicted to our smart phones. We are using them to update our social media pages, to text, to read blogs, watch videos, and to find our way to our next spot. Location-based service applications will help us in our daily routines. They may help us to explore and find hidden gems.  They may help us to save a bit of money by receiving special deals and discounts.

Call me crazy, but I truly believe that more and more people will take advantage of helpful options such as those.

If you are a business, you may certainly want to look for ways to take full advantage of this emerging opportunity.

The package contained a box of 6 of their cookies. Also, there was small card with a message from the salesperson that I did business with last year while ordering our company holiday gifts.

Why did I think this package was so great? Well, because for one thing  I wasn’t expecting such a nice treat (Hint, hint to my boyfriend)! But I really thought this was a great marketing effort. I have ordered from them multiple times. Yes, they have a great product, but their customer service is absolutely excellent. This was another example of that.

This treat helped to put them back in my mind… Sure, it’s July. But before we know it, it will be time to order treats for our customers once again. Also, their package prompted me to go check out their website to see if they have any new items that I may not have seen yet.

So…. When it comes to your marketing efforts, are there any small things you can do today to get your customers thinking about you in a good way?

But for the most part, we are all pausing and doing a bit more research before we actually put money down to acquire a product or a service.

For companies that are selling, it is vital to share as much compelling information as possible in regards to what you can provide.

I recently received a subscription renewal form from The New Yorker magazine. For a low-price of $39.95, I would receive the obvious: a one-year subscription. Now, I love that magazine. However, there are a lot of other magazines that I enjoy. I can’t buy them all. So, the question is — why should I pay for The New Yorker?

Well, I think they did a great job of trying to push me to reach for my wallet. They provided a list of additional benefits that I would receive as a subscriber, other than the obvious. Below is a picture of the list:

Image from New Yorker subscription form

If you are a service provider that is trying to sell print or other marketing-related services to your clients, this example may prove helpful. Perhaps you only sold the printed pieces in years past. But now, you are trying to sell a marketing campaign or solution.

If you simply sell it as “a postcard with a Personalized URL”, you may not be providing enough of an incentive.

For example, you could list out the following benefits:

• Direct Mail piece with multiple calls-to-action (Web, Phone, BRC)
• Hosted landing page that allows people to respond via the web
• Real-Time Access to Reporting Dashboards to see who is responding
• Ability to Instantly Route Leads to Multiple Sales Reps
• Lead Qualification based on Answers
• Automatic Fulfillment (Hardcopy and Electronic options)
• Viral Marketing plug-ins (“Tell an Associate” option)
• Integrate with Social Media  (Ability to share the Response link on Facebook, Twitter, etc)
• Multi-Channel Approach (email sent out to non-responders of the direct mail piece)

These are just a few of the additional benefits that many service providers can offer their clients today. While listing those may not guarantee you sales, it certainly may help your prospects to truly visualize what they could receive by purchasing your services.

WhatTheyThink.com has just posted a new case study that tells how Sir Speedy of Tampa is using interlinkONE’s QReateAndTrack QR Code Software to better their customer service.

“Sir Speedy of Tampa will use the application to expand its marketing and fulfillment services, increasing sales opportunities and enhancing the scope and profitability of its customers’ sales and marketing campaigns. Sir Speedy selected interlinkONE’s QR Code solution for its ability to offer marketing solutions that truly manage and measure each component of the campaign from start to finish.”

Click here to read the Case Study

A&M Label was kind enough to provide a few details about how they are using QR Codes to grow their business.

“Our company has a history of being on the cutting-edge of new technology, so when we first heard about QR Codes we began researching, seeking providers that not only offer the Codes but take it one step further with tracking and traceability capabilities,” said David Platz of A&M Label. “Knowing which products are being looked at, by whom, when, and how often, helps businesses see what’s selling and what’s not, which is valuable information for implementing marketing initiatives. Being able to offer this service to our customers would be just one more way to ensure we are adding value to the partnership.”

Click here to download the case study.

• John Foley, Jr. along with Christopher Parr of Sub Zero- Wolf, will be presenting “Creating a Successful Social Media Campaign”

Here is an overview of what they will be discussing:

Find out the tools and techniques for implementing an effective social media campaign.

• Identify the right audience
• Get and keep the conversation going
• Translate the conversation into business results.

For more information about the InterACT! Conference & Expo event, click here

• John Foley, Jr.,  will be presenting “Transition from Print Service Provider to Marketing Service Provider”

Here is an overview of what John will be discussing:

• Transition from Print Service Provider to Marketing Service Provider
• Using Social Media to Build Business
• Multi-Channel Marketing
• Integrated Marketing
• Marketing and Data Management
• Emerging Technologies for Marketers to Embrace 

For more information about the PIM Summer Management Conference event, you can visit their website at http://www.print.org/Index.cfm

We just got the complete twitter interview and thought we would share it.  Click here to read the interview.

If you would like to hear more from @johnfoleyjr & @PrintersMag follow them on Twitter.

During the webinar, Karen will discuss:

• How people are using the Internet to check out your company
• How you can find out what people are saying about your brand
• how to gather and analyze that data
• What are the most popular tracking tools
• How to use your website to enhance your visibility
• How to use social media to listen and engage in conversation.

There is a fee to attend the webinar. If you’d like more details, please click here to register.

Kielbasa - Made by Leslie Glynn

Over the 11 years that I have worked at interlinkONE, I have come to rely on these three things as nearly always being true:

• Work is very busy
• Our crew knows how to have some fun
• Leslie Glynn makes amazing kielbasa

Let’s chat about that third item for a bit. I would estimate that Leslie brings her famous dish into the office about twice a year. Every time, the result is the same — people fight to get in line to grab some, and people take way too much (that is, if the goal was to share with everyone else… but honestly, it’s just not possible with this stuff.. it’s addictive). By about noon, the bowl is clean.

When it comes to our marketing activities, we all want people to feel the same way about our materials. We want our readers to yearn for the delivery of our monthly newsletter. We want our postcard to stand out in the pile of mail on our recipient’s desk. We want our sales team to run out of collateral while they were at a trade show (of course, we better have a 2nd batch nearby )

Is there a secret to producing marketing materials that give people that “must-have” feeling? No doubt, we all wish there was. But regardless, we keep plugging along in an effort to increase the impact of our campaigns.

Well, here are three things that I’ve learned from Leslie’s famous kielbasa that may also help you in your marketing efforts:

• The Build-Up:  Leslie brings her dish into the office early in the morning. Around 8am, she plugs in the crock-pot. About a half-hour later, our entire office is filled with the aroma of those sizzling pieces of meat and that mouth-watering sauce. However, there’s a catch — you can’t eat it yet! It’s still cooking. So, we all need to sit there and patiently wait for our chance to dig in. That anticipation factor absolutely helps to increase the demand of the kielbasa.
• Only on “Special” Occasions: Things are very busy at interlinkONE, and thus, we do have a lot of “gatherings” to help keep the camraderie up (and to keep people loose). We all wish that Leslie made her kielbasa for each and every one of these events. However, she doesn’t. She normally treats us a couple of times a year. So, when you do see her walk in the office with the crock-pot, you immediately know it’s going to be a very good day. And you start adjusting your to-do list to plan “kielbasa time” accordingly.
• It’s Better than Everyone Else’s: This is probably the most important factor. I’ve had kielbasa many other times at restaurants and cookouts. Well, the fact is, Leslie’s is the best that I’ve ever had. (To my Mom: Don’t hate me. Your kielbasa is good! But….)

Next time you sit down to review your latest newsletter, brochure, or just a marketing campaign in general, perhaps you can steal a trick or two from Leslie’s “recipe” to increase your own success.