Archive for December, 2011

My Top 8 Most Used Android Apps of 2011

I’ve been an Android for about two years now and am a self-admitted iOS convert.  AT&T really killed my taste for Apple’s mobile devices back in the days where we didn’t have a choice as to the mobile network provider. That’s changed now, but I never went back to iOS. Take that for what it’s worth as a lesson in customer service and brand advocacy. There’s literally millions of apps to choose from out there and I think people do tend to get a bit “app crazy” these days, always chasing after the latest and greatest to one up their geek friends. In stead of looking at the coolest apps I’ve seen (and rarely ever use), here’s a list of my top 8 apps of 2011. To make my list, I needed to use each of these apps at least a few times per week, if not at least once per day.  If you’re an Android user, give them a look. 1.  Expensify Get it at: Download Expensify Mobile Short description: Great little application that allows me to easily track all of my expenses for personal accounts as well as multiple business accounts. Likes: The app has been designed with a very intuitive interface. It’s fast, dependable and the photo to receipt feature includes scanning so you don’t have any manual data entry when you’re back at your laptop.  You an also capture business cards and track milage from the home screen. Dislikes: The app has a conveniently built in referral platform with incentives. While it’s a pretty brilliant viral marketing mechanism, overusing it might be seen as ‘spammy’ and annoy your new contacts. Careful with this one. Usage pattern: Multiple times daily. How it helps: Saves me countless hours of manual data entry that I would probably forget to do anyway. I believe that Expensify might [...]

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On Cheapening Your Brand

The more traditional school of marketing thought is that price cutting cheapens your brand. Maybe so. Yet, at Bob Evans, we’ve instituted a value menu for the first time in company history, driven by the needs of our restaurant guests.  That decision was not come to lightly either, but it’s working. This year, retailers everywhere relied heavily on discounting to drive sales during the holidays. Not that that doesn’t happen every year, but it was BIG in the retail recovery of 2011. Karah Joy sent me this article earlier today on how the New York Times botched a discount program by sending a 50% discount offer ment for a small list of unsubscribed readers to 8.6 million list members. OUCH! That’s a steep price cut that they may have to honor, at least for those who make a big deal out of the mistake (no pun intended). The Question for You In the wake of the disastrous economy of the past few years, can you really still cheapen your brand through discounting your products and services?  Or, is this a mechanism of survival driven by lighter consumer pocket books? Do you believe that price cutting still cheapens your brand?   nateriggsI advise mid-sized & large organizations on how to adopt and use social media to market through organizational culture and better serve their clients. I’m also a blended family dad who enjoys music, photography and distance racing. When I’m not writing here, you can find me writing over at the Content Marketing Institute. Like what you’ve read so far? Then why not subscribe HERE?Website – Twitter – Facebook – More Posts

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