Mobile commerce (mCommerce) is on the up, there’s no question about it. 2011 was even touted as the year of mCommerce…and so it proved to be.

We took a sample of our ecommerce clients from a number of industries (food and drink, fashion, wedding accessories and personalised gifts) and looked at their mCommerce performance in 2011 against 2010. The results are incredible.

• Visits to websites from mobile devices grew by an average of 236%
• Revenue from mobile devices grew by an average of 228%
• One client saw a 650% increase in visits from mobile in 2011
• One client enjoyed a 219.5% increase in revenue from mobile in 2011

We then looked at mCommerce performance over the last 30 days in relation to overall traffic and revenue. Again, the numbers are impressive and indicate a growing trend in mobile purchasing.

• The same clients saw an average of 23% of their visits come from mobile devices
• They saw an average of 21.2% of revenue come from mCommerce
• In two cases a 1/4 of all revenue came from mobile devices

No business can afford to ignore a revenue stream that accounts for one fifth or more of overall revenue. The question is, how do you take maximise it, grow it?

First, you need to know where it’s coming from. We looked at the various devices being used to visit our clients’ sites and make purchases and discovered this:

• On average 83.8% of mobile visits came from an iOS device – iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch
• 89% of all mobile revenue came from an iOS device
• Generally the iPhone accounted for twice as much traffic as the iPad, with the iPod Touch a distant third
• Conversion rates were significantly higher on the iPad than the iPhone or Touch – presumably due to the bigger screen and therefore ‘easier’ experience

It’s clear that if a business is to maximise their revenue from mCommerce then iOS is the one to target – in spite of the fact that Android dominates global market share for smartphone OS with 52.5% compared to iOS’ 15%. For whatever reason, consumers find it far, far easier to buy on an iOS device than an Android, Windows Phone or other device.

A mobile optimised site is one way to go (none of the clients in our sample have one, by the way, which makes the results that much more impressive) but it is surely worth considering developing an iPhone and/or iPad app to create an enjoyable, memorable and, most importantly, simple way to purchase via mobile.

And as an app can be developed over time more and more functionality can be added at a relatively low cost, ensuring your business never falls behind the times – something that is commonplace with websites, especially on mobile devices.

That’s not to say you should ignore the growing Android app market, not when it does dominate the smartphone OS space, but right now the statistics clearly show that you are going to get the most benefit developing for iOS and providing those users with a seamless, enjoyable shopping experience.

We’re already talking with our clients about iPhone and iPad apps for their businesses. If you’d like to talk to us too, get in touch.

The ‘Save to Foursquare’ button has recently been revamped and a few American sites have added it (Time Out, New York Magazine). The previous button was too clunky and didn’t take off well but now it’s far easier to code into websites, hopefully more online publishers will start to use it to promote their Foursquare presence.

The button allows users to save reviews and places from websites to your Foursquare to-do list and if you are using the recent Radar feature, Foursquare will notify you when a place you’ve added is nearby. They’ve also introduced a bookmarklet that can be added to browsers so places can be saved quickly and easily.

I think the button could be very useful, I’ll always read reviews before I book a table in a restaurant so having those reviews readily available to help me decide where to go would be beneficial. Foursquare could also be used as a handy travel guide if you’re visiting somewhere new; the Radar feature will notify you of the places you’ve saved in the past making it easy to decide where to eat if you are on holiday or visiting somewhere you’ve not been to before.

The final button Foursquare has introduced is the ‘follow’ button, businesses can add this to their website to promote themselves on Foursquare and reach out to potential new customers.

In his commencement speech at Stanford University, Steve Jobs tells his audience, “You’ve got to find what you love.”

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

If you haven’t listened to this speech yet, then you must. I always listen to this when I’m feeling a little down or unsure of myself; it’s inspirational and moving without being too cheesy.

In his speech, Jobs talks about being sacked from Apple after an argument with a co-worker, and from reading various sources, it’s safe to say Jobs was a slightly controversial character. He was known for publicy humiliating his employees and having a temperamental personality. But that doesn’t deter from the fact that he was a creative mastermind:

“When you judge Steve as a person — the great things he brings to the world versus, maybe, these encroachments on personal decency or personal honesty with other people or disrespect of people when they’ve worked very hard and do a great job and he’ll say, “Oh, that’s just shitty,” that sort of thing — those are probably outweighed by the good that he does for the world.” Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and friend of Jobs

During his time away from Apple, Jobs founded NeXT, a computer platform development company. He also co-founded Pixar with John Lasseter; a groundbreaking animation studio that produced the likes of Toy Story (the first film of its kind in computer-generated imagery), Wall-E, Up, Ratouille, Monsters Inc and lots of other heart-warming, state-of-the-art productions.

Jobs returned to Apple eleven years later but the company wasn’t performing well and was being slated by its competitors. Jobs’ high standards and perfectionist attitude, which occasionally got him into trouble, turned the company around and made Apple what it is today. The iPods, iPhones, Macbooks, iMacs and iPads are all visionary products, and not only has Jobs had a huge impact on the electronical market but also on the music, film and mobile industries. Apple’s iPod changed the way we purchase and listen to music and the iPhone has introduced us to the world of smartphones and mobile marketing.

The last part of the speech relates to Jobs being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he was told the disease was terminal and he had a few months to live but after a biopsy later that day, his doctor discovered the tumour was curable. Unfortunately, in later years, the cancer reappeared leading to his death. Jobs tells us how facing death makes emotions like pride, embarrassment or failure seem insignificant, so take a risk and push yourself while you are healthy and able to.

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”

Jobs is proof that you can overcome personal challenges, and here are some of his wise words to encourage you to make the most of yourself.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

COPY AND PASTE TO EMBED THIS ON YOUR SITE:

<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.fluidcreativity.co.uk/steve-jobs-timeline-infographic/"><img title="Steve Jobs Timeline Infographic" src="http://blog.fluidcreativity.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/steve-jobs-timeline-infographic.jpg" alt="Steve Jobs Timeline Infographic" width="638" height="4189" /></a><br /><br /> <strong>Source: <a title="Fluid Creativity" href="http://www.fluidcreativity.co.uk">Fluid Creativity</a></strong></p>

DOWNLOAD the Steve Jobs (1955-2011) timeline infographic.

It is, without doubt, a company on the up and up. Just recently, however, something went terribly wrong when the property of one of its customers was completely wrecked by the people renting it. “EJ”, as she is known, described the state her home was left in on her blog:

“They smashed a hole through a locked closet door, and found the passport, cash, credit card and grandmother’s jewelry I had hidden inside. They took my camera, my iPod, an old laptop, and my external backup drive filled with photos, journals… my entire life. They found my birth certificate and social security card, which I believe they photocopied – using the printer/copier I kindly left out for my guests’ use. They rifled through all my drawers, wore my shoes and clothes, and left my clothing crumpled up in a pile of wet, mildewing towels on the closet floor. They found my coupons for Bed Bath & Beyond and used the discount, along with my Mastercard, to shop online. Despite the heat wave, they used my fireplace and multiple Duraflame logs to reduce mounds of stuff (my stuff??) to ash – including, I believe, the missing set of guest sheets I left carefully folded for their comfort. Yet they were stupid and careless enough to leave the flue closed; dirty gray ash now covered every surface inside.”

You can read the full horror EJ was left with at TechCrunch.

AirBnB were admittedly slow to react and EJ wasn’t happy. This, they claim, was the first time this had ever happened in their three years in business, so perhaps they can be forgiven for their lack of action. Once Chesky and his team realised the enormity of the situation, however, they did and continue to do a pretty good job of managing the crisis.

In addition to assisting the authorities in bringing the culprit(s) to justice, they have now agreed to assist EJ financially (something they originally claimed they wouldn’t do according to TechCrunch), find her somewhere to live and “anything else she can think of to make her life easier”.

That takes care of EJ, but it does little to reassure existing and future customers of AirBnB to the value of using the service. That’s why the company has stepped up their game even more. In the face of huge criticism from competitors and outrage from customers, they have, via their blog and social media, launched a raft of new services, including a new safety section on their website, a 24 hour customer hotline, doubled their customer service team to over 80 and created a dedicated Trust & Safety department to investigate anything suspicious. Chesky has even published his email address in case people want to contact him directly with concerns.

All this in the space of a month. Slow to react they may have been, but they’ve moved fast and well since. Perhaps the biggest and most reassuring step they’ve taken is to introduce a $50,000 buildings and contents insurance policy covering damage or loss for hosts booking through AirBnB. This comes into effect on August 15th but will apply retrospectively to anyone who had property stolen or damaged before 1st August 2011.

AirBnB faced disaster and (eventually) moved fast to avoid it. What can you take from this? Don’t run and hide from your mistakes. Be big enough to stand up, accept responsibility and put it right. And do it fast.

There’s no doubt AirBnB’s reputation has taken a pounding but it looks like they will emerge from it a stronger, better company with, perhaps, an improved reputation after all.

The subject lines usually go something like, “This is your final notice of domain listing [your domain name]”, and the email layout takes the form of an invoice (see below).

The email will notify you that your domain needs to be renewed and you’ll need to pay them hefty sums to ensure your domain isn’t closed down. As you can see from the above screenshot, the email isn’t the most professional-looking and it’s from an American company (we register our domains with an English company). However, there are alternative “companies” sending scam emails that look far more legitimate than this one, and they are from English companies.

In the email we received, the terms and conditions actually state, “There is no pre-existing relationship between DN and domain listed above.” What chancers!

If you work for a company where there are lots of people authorised to make payments, keep your colleagues informed of the scam before they get the company credit card out. And if you are a smaller organisation, ensure you thoroughly check domain renewal emails and make sure you know who your domain supplier is!

Econsultancy recently published a blog post where the value of social media was questioned – are companies experimenting with social media for the right reasons, and do they even know what results they are getting from their effort? How can social media return on investment be measured when it is such a broad concept?

“For firms who do measure, metrics that reflect reach and engagement (shares, likes, views, downloads etc) are often subjective.” – Are we in a social media bubble? Econsultancy.

This is true, it’s difficult to decipher the return on investment from reach and engagement. However, just because the form of measurement may be subjective, it doesn’t mean it’s not valid.

A client of ours, American Soda, has a successful Facebook page with nearly 12,000 likes. From the beginning of this year ’til the end of May, American Soda’s Facebook page accounts for 1.14% of its total sales. For example, if they turned over £300,000 in total sales, that would equate to £3,000 of revenue directly from Facebook. This may not seem like a high percentage but compare it to how much was spent on the original social media campaign and it’s a successful profit, a ROI of 50% to be exact.

The 1.14% of total sales is the amount of users who visited American Soda’s Facebook page and then went on to purchase items from their website. This figure doesn’t include the ‘subjective’ measurements of reach and engagement but they must be taken into consideration when looking at the total sales figure. For example, American Soda has incorporated Facebook like buttons into its online store and therefore a product liked by thirty people will be shared with each one of their Facebook friends. Moreover, a recent talk at SASCON revealed one out of every ten visits to a website comes from Facebook. How can 10% of your audience be ignored just because reach can be subjective?

A survey by Econsultancy found 47% of companies were not able to measure the value of their social media campaigns. And maybe this is where the problem lies, not with social media itself but with its execution. Followers, likes, engagement and conversation are all essential factors in succeeding with social media but companies also need a clear objective of what they are going to achieve. Putting a lot of time and effort into social conversation is all well and good but companies need to ensure they are creating a balance between investment and payback.

Social media can be an effective tool for communicating and reaching others without even thinking about a return on investment. Just being ‘out there’ and communicating your brand or services to the public can be of benefit. This poses the question whether social media needs to be measured to show its worth? What do you think?

The acquisition is likely to surprise many in Manchester’s digital community who never realised such a reputable agency could be bought off the back of a scratchcard win.

Speaking from her newly installed sunbed, Armstrong declared:

“Things are going to change big time now I’m in charge.  Our work needs to be more ‘in the area’ so that me mates will reckon its well hench”.

The 18 year old has a reputation for ruthlessness so a company restructure was inevitable.  Previous Managing Director, Lee Turner has taken up his new post as Kettle Executive, whilst Fluid’s creative and development teams are expected to fulfil their new roles as Biscuit Consultants and Baked Beans Architects respectively.  The future of Fluid’s SEO team is as yet uncertain, however the recent delivery of 3 mops and a small toilet brush may help to resolve further speculation.

Fluid’s token green and white studio interior will also be getting a facelift later this month, with local ruffians currently being recruited to spraypaint the walls with questionable designs and vulgar slogans.

Lee Turner was unavailable for comment but was last heard sobbing in the toilet.

*raises hand*

I do! There’s nothing like a good deal, especially one you can share (and boast about) with friends. According to Ecosultancy, Groupon gains 500,000 subscribers a week – that’s a lot of bargain hunters.

Groupon only established itself a couple of years ago and picked the perfect time to start the group buying phenomenon – the recession. People are more insecure with their finances and are more likely to be scouring the internet for the odd voucher or bit of discount.

I remember being introduced to Groupon by a colleague who was constantly forwarding me restaurant deals he thought I’d like. I was instantly hooked. This is how group buying works: a limited offer is displayed to the public for one day, and you have to snap up the bargain (which you probably don’t need) before the offer ends. It creates a sense of urgency, “Quick, grab this deal before it runs out!” Urban Dictionary has even coined its own phrase for this, “Groupon anxiety” – the “feeling of anxiousness and not being able to sleep knowing that a new Groupon will be released after 1am.”

Users feel smart and savvy when they find a discounted deal. It feels great when you find a bargain or get money off services, I’m sure you’ll all agree. Retail Doc describes this as ‘the need to feel smart’:

In a depersonalized world where many are anxious about their jobs, their finances and their relationships, shoppers who use coupons are, by extension made to feel smart. “See how much money I saved,” is a way to say “I’m no fool.”

Groupon, LivingSocial and other group buying sites are booming. However, cracks are starting to appear. Groupon encourages potential clients to use their site as a tool to gain valuable and loyal customers. But is this always the case?

A lot of businesses don’t actually make money from a Groupon deal, and some businesses have had very bad experiences with group buying. A  respondent in a Groupon study conducted by Rice University tells us how for his business, that already has a strong clientele, group buying “brought down their overall profit margins” and prevented them from having “space for full-fared customers.” The respondent did acknowledge Groupon being useful for new companies that need a lot of customers but not for businesses that already have good numbers. This is because loyal customers can often be pushed out by deal seekers who probably are not going to return.

Most users who are signed up to Groupon are there to save money, not to become loyal to your brand. If a customer finds a tempting spa deal for £30 and then spots the same deal with another company for £20, they will usually choose the cheapest option. If a better deal comes along, they’re going to take it – after all, saving money is the reason they signed up in the first place. They are Groupon’s customers, not yours.

Businesses need to know and understand group buying sites before they decide to make an investment in them. How can you make a deal-seeker return?

The Rice University study shows of the businesses that did not fare well with Groupon (34%), “only about 25% of redeemers purchased products or services beyond Groupon’s value and less than 15% came back a second time to purchase products at full price.”

The key to success with group buying sites is to understand the pros and cons, and find ways to entice repeat visits. If your company and staff are prepared for hordes of customers, and treat them properly, repeat visits are much more likely. The Rice University study confirms this by showing “satisfied employees” is the most important factor in ensuring a successful Groupon campaign.

In the study mentioned above, 66% of companies that used Groupon were successful and did make profit, which shows group buying sites are useful marketing tools for businesses, as long as they are used to a business’ advantage!

Group buying facts:

• 62% of Groupon users are female, as are 67% of Living Social users (source: Women on the web study)
• In a Rice University study, two thirds (66%) of its respondents made profit using Groupon. However, a third (34%) reported no profit (source).

Quora is the new social question and answer site, similar to Yahoo! Answers but without the silly questions and equally silly answers. This is how Quora differs from other question and answer sites; its aim is to be more targeted and sophisticated. Users can follow topics which are relevant to them and the questions associated with them will appear in their feed. Very clever! Users can also follow individual questions. This shows people are patiently waiting for an answer and compels users to answer said question. This, according to Quora, is called “inverse blogging” – splendid.

When I first had a play around with Quora, I was unsure. I had similar feelings with Twitter and Facebook upon first glance: “what is this new thing?!” After a few more minutes playing around, everything fell into place. A social question and answer site – community, even. Navigation is fairly easy. The ‘question’ box functions as a search box too; quite a clever idea to have everything you need in one place, if not slightly confusing at first.

Quora has made the wise move of fully integrating Facebook, Twitter and Wordpress, allowing users to sign up via the platforms and add fellow users. Quora’s social media integration also allows people to follow and ask questions to people they trust or people who are knowledgeable in the particular field they are asking about. On your user profile there is an empty ‘headline’ space for you to fill in your profession; including a headline shows users your expertise in various topics, giving your answers more credibility.

I think the site will be a useful tool for gaining feedback to companies. For example, Apple have just unveiled their new App store and a number of questions have already been asked on Quora: what do people think of the new Apple Mac App store? Apple can use answers to this question to improve their store and gain valuable feedback.

Quora has grown considerably in the past couple of months creating a buzz over the internet and I like the social site, it’s a place where you can share knowledge and learn, and that’s never a bad thing.

Check out http://www.cwora.com/ for the spoof site.