This is how you advertise in the 21st century!

I recently read an article on Nydia Gunawan’s blog about how Ryan Smolkin, the founder of Smoke’s Poutinerie, used social media to market his business. Information and technological integration has had the reputation of high costs and low success rates. But people like Smolkin has proved otherwise by capitalizing the low cost of social media and influence it has on consumers.

Image taken from: http://www.local10.com/news/money/French-fry-joint-lures-customers-through-Facebook/-/1717308/22867418/-/ugy3vi/-/index.html

In my opinion, by using free and highly accessible social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, Smolkin managed to save advertising costs and achieve something that regular advertisements cannot.

Smolkin took advantage of the fact that both Facebook and Twitter are used by many users daily. By uploading things that would attract his target demographic, mainly news on sports, ideas for new recipes and events taking place in his company, he managed to transform a regular Twitter or Facebook page into a source of daily entertainment that his customers would want to be a part of. Its no wonder that the number of followers on the company’s Facebook page is constantly growing, and customers are now automatically befriending his Facebook page.

Full Article

 

Is there anything technology cannot achieve?

NCR Corporation has managed to integrate retail operations by merging online and traditional shopping by allowing consumers to engage in retail shopping on their endless aisle kiosk. The kiosk allows consumers to check for availability and colors of clothes, search for related complimenting accessories and even pay or order items via the kiosk.

Watch the video below for more details on the functions this amazing machine provides.

Through the production of such machines, NCR has revolutionized shopping by blurring the lines between in store and online shopping. Consumers are now able to effortlessly gain access to clothes and accessories that interest them without going through the hassle of hunting for the pieces by themselves. Furthermore, NCR now plans to bring this technology onto the mobile application platform, allowing consumers to shop at any time and location.

This breakthrough in the retail technology has reiterated the need for information technology and systems to gain a competitive edge today. Given the variety of shopping methodologies, retail firms that refuse to innovate stand to lose customers due to the hassle of traditional shopping and uncertainties in online shopping. Therefore, the firm that provides shopping with highest convenience stands to benefit.

Full Article