HTML5 Is An Oncoming Train, But Native App Development Is An Oncoming Rocket Ship

MG SieglerFeb 9, 2011

HTML5 versus native apps. It’s a debate as old as — well, at least three years ago. And pretty much since the beginning of that debate, there has been a general underlying current among the geek community that HTML5 is good and native is bad. Native is what we have to deal with as we wait for HTML5 to prevail.

But what if that never happens?

Let’s be honest: right now, most HTML-based mobile apps are a joke when compared to their native counterparts. It’s not even remotely close. In fact, you could argue that the discrepancy isn’t much smaller than it was three years ago. And considering that the App Store was only on the verge of launching at that point, in many ways, the discrepancy is even bigger. Just look at mobile games now, for example.

Developers often state their love of HTML5 and their commitment to it going forward. But many have no choice. Native app development is not only difficult, it’s expensive.

These days, if you’re going to do native apps, you at least have to support iOS and Android. That means at least two developers for each different language, and preferably more. And if your startup is big enough or hot enough (like Foursquare, for example), you’ll probably want to have apps for Windows Phone, Blackberry, and webOS as well (which, to be fair is largely HTML-based).

Talking to developers, this is the single biggest pain point on the mobile side of things. And many talk about HTML5 as the remedy. A number now choose to build an iOS app then settle on a web app for Android at first. Others do both iPhone and Android but only offer rudimentary sites for the other platforms.

But the fact that very few, if any, choose to go HTML5-only is telling. If we were anywhere close to the language being a unifier and savior, at least some would. We’re not close.

Let’s look at the debate from the perspective of the three hottest technology companies right now: Apple, Google, and Facebook.

Apple is basically all-in on native apps. Google is half-in on native apps, half-in on HTML5. Facebook is seemingly all-in on HTML5 (at least going forward).

Apple is very interesting in this regard. When the iPhone launched in 2007, the only native apps were the ones made by them. Developers were told to build web apps in order to get on the device. Who knows if Apple planned third-party native apps all along or if they pivoted when they saw the opportunity, but a year later, we had the App Store.

It’s the single reason there’s any debate right now.

Apple is now obviously native app all the way. But it’s on their own terms. When a developer makes an app that Apple doesn’t like in some way, they recommend that they make an HTML5 app to bring it to one of their devices.

It’s more or less a “my way or the highway” approach — it’s just a nice way of putting it. Apple is using the hype around HTML5 to their advantage here. They know that those apps can’t compete with their native apps, but so many people are so bullish about the future of the technology (and, to be fair, Apple seems to be as well at least on the Safari side of things) that Apple is able to play that to their advantage.

They might as well say, “you’re welcome to build an HTML5 app *snicker*.”

Google is significantly more gray with regard to their position.

At the past two Google I/O conferences, all we’ve heard about from the search giant is HTML5-this and HTML5-that. But their actions speak louder than their words.

Google has done some great work with HTML5 — some of their mobile web apps are quite good. In fact, they’re arguably the best web apps out there. But they too are nowhere near native app good.

And take something like their Jules Verne logo today — it utilized the iPhone’s accelerometer via the HTML5 baked into Safari to move around. Very cool. But would anyone have thought twice about it if it were a part of a native app? No.

It seems like Google is well aware of this native app/HTML5 app discrepancy. That’s why we’re seeing an increasing number of their once HTML-based apps going native. And it’s not only on their own Android platform, but on the iPhone as well.

And that’s not all. Recent reports underscore Google going a bit native app crazy. There’s apparently a big push inside the company to hire any good app developers that they can get their hands on. And they’re even offering for them to work inside Google as their own startups. Essentially, it sounds like the Googleplex is becoming an app incubator of sorts. One that pays a salary.

But wait, this is Google. Again, aren’t they supposed to be the main torchbearers of the HTML5 movement? Yes. But they’ve also been hedging their bet this entire time. That’s exactly why development of both Android and Chrome OS has continued totally separate from one another.

Chrome OS, an operating system built entirely around HTML5 is still very much in beta mode. Android, an operating system built entirely around native apps is exploding with growth. Which would you back right now?

And then there’s Facebook.

Speaking at the Inside Social Apps conference last month, Facebook CTO Bret Taylor made it very clear that HTML5 is a the key focus for the social network in 2011. He reiterated as much to me when I spoke with him afterwards.

In fact, Facebook is so committed to HTML5 that they’re going to be offering tools to their broad development community in order to help them bring their apps up to speed. Most significantly, this includes games, which are today largely based on Flash.

Taylor echoed the hardships that startups face with mobile development across several platforms these days. Facebook, while much larger than a typical startup, still works in relatively small teams. And while he said that structural changes would help in 2011, they too are betting that HTML5 isthe ultimate unifier.

Facebook has an odd history in the mobile app space. When the iPhone first launched, they had easily the best mobile web-based app — which was developed by Joe Hewitt. When native apps were finally allowed, Hewitt built that as well, and again, it was clearly one of the best apps available (and the top downloaded app of all time for iOS).

Then Hewitt decided he was fed up with some of the App Store rules. So he stopped doing iOS work. The Facebook app stood neglected for quite some time. And while it’s better today, it still has the same basic look and feel of the app that Hewitt built.

Meanwhile, on the Android side of things, it has been a nightmare. The Facebook Android app has long been a joke when compared to its iPhone brother. Facebook keeps slowly improving it, but it’s still not as good.

On the tablet side of things, Taylor said the iPad was an unfortunate casualty of Facebook’s lack of mobile team structure leading up to that device’s launch. He spoke about the importance of havinga tablet-optimized version of the service soon.

That seemed to indicate that this would be an HTML5-based web app. But I’ve heard reports from two different sources that Facebook has been internally testing a native iPad app in recent months.

Maybe they won’t release such an app. And maybe they take an HTML5-only approach to tablets. But I certainly wouldn’t bet against a native iPad app. And maybe one optimized for Honeycomb as well.

It sounds as if Facebook is all about HTML5 — except when native apps offer a better experience. Which, love it or hate it, is still always.

And such a stance is more or less the attitude that everyone with the necessary resources seems to have. And that’s the point. After all these months and years, we’re still debating the HTML5 versus native app thing — but it still has yet to be a contest.

Everyone seems to pay HTML5 plenty of lip-service. But look at their actions. Apple, Google, Facebook, and developers are all focusing on native apps, not HTML5 apps.

And look at the platform pipelines. Android is (finally) about to get in-app purchasing. iOS is likely to (finally) get a revamped Push Notification system with the next iteration of iOS. Android Honeycomb will offer developers a whole new set of tools and APIs. Both platforms are likely toexpand quickly into NFC and everything that can offer.

All of that will be native app only. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It was actually Hewitt who said it best when he ripped the state of web development a new one last year with a series of tweets. The best was: “I want desperately to be a web developer again, but if I have to wait until 2020 for browsers to do what Cocoa can do in 2010, I won’t wait.”

If HTML5 is an oncoming train, native app development is an oncoming rocket ship. And everyone seems to know that’s not going to change anytime soon. Even if they don’t want to admit it, their native apps speak for them.

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Going Mobile

by Amanda Meuwissen on Feb 3, 2011

Cell phones were the first mobile revolution. Now smartphones are the only way to go. Calling and texting isn’t enough anymore for the savvy consumer. Internet access and countless apps are a small part of what are becoming expected features in even the basest models.

Looking to the automotive world, there are apps for everything from navigation to checking tire pressure and demand is increasing for options beyond personal smartphone use in the car since being on the phone is a potentially dangerous distraction for drivers.

The Car Tech Blog reported on ways the automotive industry is trying to keep up with the smartphone revolution:

“Finding and implementing a way to safely integrate social networking and other apps in the car is more feasible than fighting the trend.” Read More

The applications and features available with most smartphones are translating across the automotive industry increasingly progressively. This goes beyond stereo systems, navigation, and Bluetooth. We now have full multimedia systems available in vehicles that are as sophisticated as the most high-tech smartphone.

Ford introduced SYNC nearly 4 years ago, a system that allows for hand-free calls as well as music control. It also offers certain safety options by connecting into 911 after an accident and giving updates for the driver on the health of their vehicle. The newest version of SYNC even allows for connection to Google Maps and many other features, which you can read more about here.

Toyota just recently introduced their version of a multimedia and smart phone integration system, Entune by HARMAN, which offers many of the same features as Ford’s SYNC but with their own personal spin, including connection to Bing.

“New system Integrates navigation, audio and real-time information with smartphone functionality.”Read More

Entune can be expected in select vehicles later this year. A recent Autoblog article also covered the announcement.

In a recent press release, Audiovox Corporation announced they have begun shipping their new CarLink smartphone interface module, allowing drivers control of remote start, security and keyless entry, and locking and unlocking their vehicle and trunk all via their smartphone. The program and applications are easily downloadable, offering a new kind of long range control for consumers.

These new offers don’t even begin to touch on what is available and what will soon be entering the market. Dealerships as well as car makers cannot afford to get left behind as this revolution moves forward.

In the Outsell Live Chat Center our agents come across many customers each day chatting from their cell phones rather than on a personal computer. With the way going mobile is revolutionizing how consumers shop and what they are shopping for, it is only natural for dealers to be heading that direction as well in more areas than just features of the vehicles they are selling. The revolution also has to be in how they are selling.

Digital marketing is also embracing the mobile revolution by offering SMS texting options as a way for dealerships to communicate with their customers. You can check out some of the features Outsell offers as part of the revolution here.

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Engage Mobile Users with Your Dealership's TV Ads

by Paul Potratz on Feb 7, 2011

While watching your dealership's TV ads, people with smartphones are probably using their phones and more than likely are online. In fact, according to a recent article by Engadget, a study by Nielsen and Yahoo! found that 86% of mobile internet users are browsing on their phones while watching TV, whether using mobile apps, browsing the internet, accessing social networks like Facebook or Twitter, or texting.

So what does this mean for car dealers' TV commercial production? Advertisements need to call these mobile users to action to stand out from the background noise, which people often tune out during ads. Combine TV promotion with social media to drive people to like an auto dealership's Facebook page. Ask people to tweet with hashtags like in Audi's recent Superbowl commercial. Have them text to opt into a special auto service mobile marketing list. Keep brainstorming, and the possibilities are endless.

The point is, an auto dealer's TV production needs to integrate with digital marketing efforts, like mobile marketing and social media campaigns, to be successful.

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Adding mobile to multichannel commerce big driver for ebusiness success in 2011

By Dan Butcher

February 1, 2011

Redemption of mobile coupons via 2D-bar-code readers is the way of the future for retailers

Consumers are demanding content-driven, multichannel commerce that includes mobile access, according to a survey of business-to-consumer and business-to-business organizations by Endeca Technologies Inc.

The survey of 430 B2C and 160 B2B professionals revealed business results for 2010 as well areas of focus for 2011. Today’s consumers demand user-centric, anytime/anywhere information, and expect their experience on a mobile device, online or in-store be interchangeable – and on their terms, per Endeca.

“Mobile ads will account for $5 billion in sales in 2011—and there is a reason for that,” said Katrina Gosek, media and publishing market lead for the ebusiness team at Endeca, Cambridge, MA. “Mobile is the long-awaited link to total customer insight, and the vehicle for marketing to them in hyper-personalized ways.

“When consuming traditional static content, readers tend to be fairly focused on the task at hand,” she said. “The mobile experience is different – and it opens new opportunities to monetize content and generate revenue.

“Mobile users are generally more time-constrained, goal-oriented, and ready to click away if not instantly engaged—therein lies the challenge: capturing and holding the user’s attention, presenting just the right content in the context of who they are, what they like, and where they are.”

Endeca’s clients include Boeing, Cox Newspapers, the United States Department of Justice, Ford Motor Co., Hyatt, IBM, the Library of Congress, Texas Instruments and Walmart.com.

Mix it up
With the onslaught of mobile programs and unprecedented investment from retailers, publishers and manufacturers, brands must differentiate their mobile marketing programs and ad placements by knowing their consumers and how they use mobile.

Keeping mobile marketing programs fresh is critical, and how marketers place content is key.
Marketers should experiment with different programs and concentrate on those that prove to be highest-value.

“Push location-based promotions via SMS based on individual search history, experiment with video, use their current location to influence what medium should be used, and – if your budget permits – increase engagement with rich interactive ads in apps,” Ms. Gosek said. “The minute they log in, consumers expect mobile content to be automatically tailored to who they are and where they are.

“To deliver this experience and make it effective, content providers should not just seek to deliver a cookie-cutter experience,” she said. “Take time to learn what your users mobile content habits are – how they access your content online, what your brand is known for, and what users expect.

“How can you make this a compelling and convenient experience for them – and different from your competitors?”

Make mobile ads relevant
One of the great advantages of mobile devices is the ability to know where users are when they are connected.

Users have not only know grown comfortable with location-based services, but now expect hyper-personalized content as part of the mobile experience – prioritizing convenience over privacy, per Endeca.

Ms. Gosek said that monetizing online content with ads is nothing new, but mobile allows these ads to be incredibly effective.

Marketers should ensure that they are taking advantage of the transparency of the mobile channel by providing targeted, in-context ads based on the user’s physical location, search/browse history, social media usage and personal preferences.

Boost your brand with paid apps
More organizations are offering paid applications to offer this premium experience.

Having a free application is a great way to open relationships, but premium apps offers an opportunity to manage the dialogue with a brand’s most valuable customers in its base while being a source of added revenue, per Ms. Gosek.

Sports Illustrated recently released two versions of its iPad application—paid and free—and found that many readers upgraded to the premium version after initially accessing the free content.

The growing readership of the paid Wall Street Journal application is another example of how users are willing to upgrade to paid services if they see exclusive content or special features.

Delivering content-driven multichannel experience a priority
Responses gathered from 430 B2C ecommerce professionals from retail, media and consumer manufacturing organizations showed that mobile ranks number one for new areas of investment.

Thirty-five percent state they have a mobile program in place, while 30 percent are in early stages of implementation and 25 percent are investigating options and plan to have a live mobile program in 2011.

Less than 5 percent reported no mobile initiatives in the next 12 months.

Mobile Commerce Daily’s Dan Butcher interviewed Brenna Johnson, B2C market lead for the ebusiness team at Endeca, based in Cambridge, MA. Here is what she had to say:

What are some of the key takeaways from the survey related to mobile marketing and advertising?
Having a mobile program is no longer up for debate. Less than 5 percent of respondents reported no mobile initiatives in the next 12 months.

Ecommerce is rushing to capitalize on the billions up for grabs in the mobile channel, with 35 percent stating they have a mobile program in place and will continue to invest in it over the next year.

Thirty percent are in the early stages of implementation, and 25 percent are currently investigating options with the goal of having a live mobile program in 2011.

More retailers are investing in applications over the mobile Web in 2011.

Thirty-eight percent of retailers reported mobile applications as a top investment, while 31 percent indicated investment in the mobile Web.

The trend towards applications in retail remains consistent, with retailers investing more in the user experience of application environments, and then delivering a mobile-optimized Web site to meet the greater volume of browser-based traffic.

What are the key takeaways related to mobile commerce and payments?
2010 was the year that retailers planned and worked out early mobile kinks, and 2011 is the year where retail mobile commerce will explode.

With the proven results from early adopters, and with one in two American adults owning a Web-enabled mobile device, 95 percent of those surveyed indicate budget for a mobile program in 2011.

Brenna Johnson is the B2C market lead for the ebusiness team at Endeca Technologies

Advancements and proliferation of sophisticated devices has pushed widespread adoption.

The emergence of NFC technology in smartphones will only increase the consumer’s reliance on their device – and heighten their engagement even more.

While most retailers reported on average between 5 and 12 percent – and some reporting nearly 20 percent – of traffic coming from mobile devices in 2010, that is certain to grow exponentially in 2011.

What advice can you give to brands, publishers and merchants/retailers based on the findings of the study?
Create multichannel experiences.

For retailers: Having a mobile environment provides the ultimate transparency into the needs and behaviors of consumers – take advantage.

Because phones are with users 24/7 and are not shared devices, search history, behavior and even their location is fully accessible – and totally personal.

Utilize this data to provide a more compelling mobile environment, and improve the user experience in other channels as well.

Make sure you are leveraging the voice of the customer data from your mobile investment to drive more traffic to your Web site and brick and mortar stores.

Here are a few examples:

- Give customers the ability to read user reviews, compare prices or check inventory levels by using their mobile device in-store to accelerate sales cycles. Drive traffic to a mobile offering with in-store signage.

- Use GPS features to push location-based offers to users in the vicinity of a store.

- Use mobile devices as a link to a Web site. Leverage individual search and browse history from your Web site to push targeted SMS promotions to mobile devices.

- Provide the ability to scan bar codes and transact via phone, bypassing checkout lines.

For publishers it is all about convenience on the go. Mobile readers are willing to pay a premium.

Offer a means for readers to access content wherever they might be looking for content – on their front stoop, on the Web or on-the-go.

Mobile users react to exclusive content and time-based promotions – find ways to deliver these experiences in a way unique to the brand and offering.

Push unique experiences, loyalty offers or access to premium content to get users to justify spend on a subscription.

Make mobile social.

Consumers are becoming increasingly social creatures. They want to share information and products they find relevant and interesting to their network.

And according to eMarketer, consumers now spend more time on social media than on email.

Align your content and experience with daily social activities for the biggest impact.

Mobile offers a great opportunity to allow readers to spread content via social networks where they are spending the most time.

More users are getting introduced to products and content for the first time via Facebook and not search engines – readers easy tools to evangelize the brand.

From email to bookmarking, and from Facebook to Twitter – simple plugs-ins allow consumers to gain a larger audience for a brand.

Optimize for the iPad.

It is no secret that media and content consumption goes hand-in-hand with tablet devices like the iPad, but iPad shoppers spend an average of 30 percent more per transaction.

With that kind of high-value customer, retailers must think of how they will optimize for the iPad experience.

Initiate the conversation with consumers.

For large brands and CPG companies, mobile is an opportunity to have a direct relationship with consumers and manage the brand experience in a new, approachable way.

The emergence of mobile and mobile-social allows these companies to seize the conversation and be the primary source of information – particularly for CPG companies and large consumer manufacturers who can manage their own brand and experience instead of leaving it to distributors and retailers.

Linking mobile programs to in-store behaviors, like sending manufacturers’ mobile coupons to mobile devices while they are in a bricks-and-mortar store, bridge the gap between an experimental new medium and proven channels.

View Original Article: Mobile Commerce Daily

Utilize QR Codes to Drive Leads to Your Car Dealership

by Paul Potratz on Jan 24, 2011

If you keep up with the latest digital trends, you know about QR codes. They're similar to bar codes (only with a 2-dimensional pattern) and can be scanned by any smartphone with a QR reader. Once someone scans a QR code, he sees a coupon, special website, video, or whatever the advertiser chooses to use. The opportunities for automotive advertising with QR codes are endless, and we've talked about several ways to use them in the past.

Some car dealers might dismiss QR codes as a passing fad and insist on sticking with traditional advertising. But QR codes are being used everywhere from bookstores to movie posters, and (a bit closer to home for dealers) by auto manufacturers such as GM and service centers such as Jiffy Lube. A QR code in a direct mail piece, flier, window sticker, computer screen, or anywhere else offers great potential to engage consumers beyond just a passing glance for both sales and automotive service center marketing.

It's just a matter of time before QR codes become so widespread that everyone knows about them and is using them. Dealerships would do well to get ahead of the game.

View Original Article:

This Just In

Scott Monty | Jan 30, 2011

From the Not Necessarily the News department: “Teens text more than adults” – or so went a headline from an e-newsletter from MarketingCharts that hit my inbox recently.

Okayyyyy….

The actual article stated that overall, teens text five times more than adults according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Again, not all that surprising, but at least we’re getting somewhere. It seems that most adults text between 1-10 times a day, both groups are pretty similar in the 11-20 times a day and 21-50 times a day categories. But teens are twice as likely to text 51-100 times a day and more than three times as likely to text over 100 times a day.

Check out the graph of the number of texts per day, adults vs. teens:

One other bit of information about texting: 57% noted that they received unwanted or spammy text messages.

What conclusions can marketers draw from this for the future?
First, this is the next generation of consumers, so we need to be prepared for them. While email may become more important to them in the workforce, they’re still going to be tied to texting. The challenge is that texting is necessarily a one-to-one (or in some cases one-to-few) experience. There’s very little room for interruptive ads.

Second, as you can see from that 57% figure, opting in is going to be extremely important; but even so, I believe that if we’re taking up their valuable texting time by shooting them an SMS message, then it should be something that is worth their attention. Some categories or ideas to consider:

• Funny
• Entertaining
• Breaking news about your brand or company
• Exclusive content
• Discounts or coupons
• Contest or sweeps
• For local businesses: a digital version of “leave your business card”
• Get them off mobile-only interaction – cross-pollinate to your other properties

Probably one of my most favorite examples of this last category is the Facebook Sign Maker (and its Twitter counterpart) from the good folks at Blue Sky Factory. Text a simple phrase to a number and – voila! – you’re a fan of a Facebook page.

They’ve brought users from text messaging to Facebook fans via an outdoor/experiential sign. Remarkably effective and stunningly simple. Companies that begin to adopt this thinking understand how different marketing practices can leverage each other and that this is how life works – it’s not about how we interact with the world around us, not how we simply focus on a single channel.

Here’s one final nugget found in the Pew report: breaking some long-held stereotypes, men actually use the phone slightly more than women. Of the women surveyed, 53% make or receive five or fewer calls a day, while only 43% of men could say the same.

Maybe there are still a few surprises around after all.

View Original Article: B2C Marketing Insider

AutoMotionTV Mobile Marketing Series: Mike Maher from Weber Chevrolet

In another installment of the AutoMotionTV Mobile Marketing series with Mike Maher, IT Manager and Business Development Director for Weber Chevrolet, Mike gives his thoughts on the current place of mobile and mobile marketing within dealerships, including some tips about what has personally worked for Weber Chevrolet. He shares insider advice about mobile sites, mobile devices and apps, and specifically Weber Chevrolet’s Dealer App.

Ben Anderson: Welcome back to another installment of the AutoMotionTV Mobile Marketing Series. I’m pleased to be joined by Mike Maher, IT Manager, Business Development Director, for Weber Chevrolet. Mike thanks for your time this afternoon.

Mike Maher: Thank you.

Ben Anderson: Mike, give us a broad overview of mobile marketing within the dealership realm. What trends are you observing?

Mike Maher: Well, we’ve noticed it for some time now. It seems like it’s starting to come on a little bit stronger. We have noticed that the customer is getting more mobile. We’re seeing a lot more mobile devices on our emails. We’re seeing a lot more hits on our website through mobile devices.

Ben Anderson: Specifically can you share any metrics that you are seeing, as far as in reporting and stuff in regards to mobile traffic?

Mike Maher: Yes, we have definitely seen an increase there. Our website normally had around, in the area of two to three hundred mobile visitors per month. Recently it’s jumped up to the eight hundred numbers, and it seems to be bouncing around between seven and nine hundred every month. And it is definitely growing every month.

Ben Anderson: Interesting. When should a dealer consider a mobile marketing strategy; now in the future? What’s your thoughts on it?

Mike Maher: Oh I think there’s no time like the present. Trying to catch up has always been hard to do. Right now is a good time to get into it, and get started, learn what to do. You’re going to make some mistakes, but you’re going to learn by them, and you’re going to be better off by doing it now.

Ben Anderson: What strategies has Weber Chevrolet specifically used to help capture and convert mobile visitors?

Mike Maher: Well, we have our mobile website. We have our app that we market very heavily. We also use a lot of mobile advertising. We send coupons over mobile devices, service specials. We send out coupons to new car buyers. We use it for everything we can come up with. I mean if there’s something we haven’t tried, then I’m not sure what it is. We’re always looking for something else.

Ben Anderson: Mike let’s talk about promotion. What methods are you using to promote your mobile website, your mobile app?

Mike Maher: Well, every email template that goes out of here we have our mobile app on it. We do everything we can to let the customer know that our site is mobile friendly. We promote our app; not only that way, but we promote it on videos, on all print advertising. Even on our repair orders that leave, we have a little blurb about being able to connect with us through your mobile device.

Ben Anderson: Let’s talk a little bit about mobile and internal operations. Are you using anything like iPads, or iPhones or Android based devices for internal operations?

Mike Maher: We’re not at this time. We are looking at the iPad. We feel there’s some value there. We think that it will be very good for our sales people to be able to get into our CRM from the lot outside the building, but right now there are some Java issues on the iPad. There are some other ones I understand that are out there that will work, but at this time we’re still looking at the iPad and I think going forward that’s going to be a part of our normal business here with this mobile device.

Ben Anderson: Mike, any other promotion strategies that you would like to talk about; some unique things that you’re either trying or that you’ve found some success with?

Mike Maher: Well, every computer in our dealership runs a screen saver and on this screen saver, what it does is, it is fed by a central computer, and we sell the customer on our history. We sell the customer on our service, on the time and length of our employees here. We also mention about our mobile savings club. This is where we push coupons out to them through the mobile devices every month. New car customers also get coupons to help get them in the buying process. We have also went and initiated printing QR codes on all of our brochures in house. So when a customer leaves with that brochure he at that point has the ability, if he has a QR reader, to take that picture and download our app and go mobile, very easily.

Ben Anderson: Very interesting. Last question Mike. Kind of as a summation, how is Weber Chevrolet helping to capture and convert mobile users and help them interact better in a mobile basis with the dealership?

Mike Maher: Well again we have it on every device in the house showing that we are very mobile friendly. Our website is mobile friendly. In our service waiting room we have two televisions on the wall, one is just normal broadcasting, the other one is a continuous replay of automobile videos, new and used cars. Also we’re asking for email addresses. We mentioned our, again mobile savings club, where we push these coupons out to them, and the response from this has been pretty remarkable.

Ben Anderson: My guest has been Mike Maher, Weber Chevrolet. Mike again, thanks for your time.

Mike Maher: Well thank you.

8 Apps To Make Sure You Don't Miss The Good Stuff At NADA 2011!

by Eric Miltsch on Jan 25, 2011

Keynote speakers, workshops, client meetings, vendor booths, casual lunches, classy dinners, vendor parties, VIP gatherings and more. So much to do at NADA 2011 in San Francisco.

Everyone wants to see it all, nobody wants to miss a thing and no one wants to leave feeling like they missed the "good stuff." Here's a quick list of some of the hottest new tools behind the micro-trend centered around helping improve group communications, social activities and relationship building.

• GroupMe: Free, private group text application with the ability to name your groups, add unlimited users, add/delete users, share photos and also mute the group if needed. (I have a group created for NADA 2011 with 15 members already - shoot me your cell # if you'd like to be added as well)

• Beluga: Another free private group text application with the same feature set plus the ability to mark your location - a nice addition. Groups within this app are "Pods."

• Fast Society: More private group activity here. Neat feature: The ability to create an expiration date for the group...no unwanted texts after the event if you happen to forget to remove yourself.

• Yobongo: Same deal here...only problem with Yobongo is the fact they've been very slow to issue invite codes. A lot of pre-launch buzz surrounding this app.

• Hashable: This is positioned simply as a fun, new way of tracking the new people you meet. Which is something we'll all be doing at NADA 2011. It also tracks the strength of those connections based on your activity. Very simple - when tweeting, use a hashtag with specific activity such as: #intro, #breakfast, #coffee, #lunch, #dinner, #beers, #with, #justmet. (For other hasthags, just use: cc @hashable to track the connection)

• Plancast: Plancast helps you find out about events and other social activities ahead of time so you don't miss out on them. Use this to plan your NADA 2011 events and workshops Link your profile to your social profiles to ensure everyone can see your plan & get involved. Connect with me on Plancast

• Instagram: A great free mobile photo sharing app. Share your pictures of NADA 2011. Cool filter features help customize your photos; link your profile to your social profiles as well.

• Picplz: Another neat mobile photosharing app with with the similar features.

• CarZar: I'd be out of mind if I didn't mention CarZar - the 1st location based automotive photosharing app. There should be a decent crop of cool rides on display at NADA 2011 - everyone will take photos of them, why not share them within the one community created specifically for the automotive enthusiast?

Know of others?

How do you plan on making sure you see the good stuff at NADA 2011?

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