"Squeeze In" Shows Restaurants APP Marketing, SNAPPII Shows You How

On Thursday, November 8^th I shared a post on “Why Every Restaurant Must Have Their Own App”. The same day, I also shared “5 Ways Your Restaurantcan be Using Technology to Gain Customers”. 

This weekend, someone shared an article in the New York Times written by Melinda F. Emerson on September 28^th titled, “How a Diner Gets the Most Out of Social Media”. In the article, Melinda focuses on Squeeze In, a modest little breakfast-and-lunch diner with four locations in the greater Reno, Nev. area. In addition to its Web site and a custom mobile site. Squeeze In also promotes the business using Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
 

In 2010, the company, led by company president Misty Young, invested $2,500 in building the app for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry phones. It took four months to develop and to date, 2,795 people have downloaded it. Certainly, given the number of downloads, the investment seems to already have paid off. Yet, your restaurant or other consumer or commercial business may not have a clientele likely to draw that many downloads. If you use Snappii 2.0’s visual WTSIWYG Editor to design your APP, there is no cost and you can utilize one of the industry specific templates in Snappii’s Rich library to speed up your APP development.

There is much more to learn from the materials Misty and the team at Squeeze In have included in their APP.

1.      You can not only  browse the menu on the way over, you will find app-only deals to show your server once you’re seated. These deals have already been redeemed nearly 2,000 times.

2.      Servers have been trained to offer to take a group picture if they see a smartphone on the table. This, of course, is a terrific way to generate Instagram and Facebook photos that are posted directly by guests and then linked to by Squeeze In in its Flickr photo stream 

3.      The app also has a built-in tip calculator.

4.       “Our Foursquare newbie offer for first time check-ins has been unlocked 1,151 times,” said Ms. Young.

5.       “The mayor special has been unlocked 140 times. People are actively using this stuff.”

6.      The restaurant has 6,800 “likes” on Facebook, more than 42,000 views of its YouTube videos, more than 1,000 followers on Twitter and more than 52,000 members of its Egghead Breakfast Club, a guest loyalty program The program also helps lead

7.       The chain responds to every review posted on Yelp.

8.      The chain produced their own You Tube video, “Omma Lette” for just $600.” It’s been viewed more than 2500 times.

9.      The Food Network’s “Throwdown With Bobby Flay.” found Squeeze In while  trolling the Web. According to Ms. Young, the “exposure immediately increased revenue 25 percent.”

10.  The chain also has multiplied their Twitter presence by 450 percent in a year. They run contests, promote specials, post photos and videos.

11.  The chain also uses social media in its internal operations through a  private Facebook group to help communications with their 96 employees.

In order to effectively maintain this social media effort, Squeeze In’s social media efforts are handled by three people. These are all ideas that show Ms. Young and the team at Squeeze In have truly given great thought to how their customers could benefit from an APP, but also how their chain could grow through the information available on the APP. Finally, as Ms. Young says in the story “All our communications tactics are lame and ineffective if we can’t back it up at the table.” Truly, no APP is going to draw customers repeatedly unless you can deliver a fully satisfying experience once they are in your establishment or once they receive the merchandise they ordered and it is as good or, preferably, better than expected.

So, sit down with key members of your organization and plan out what you need in your organization’s APP. Then, go to Snappii.com and begin to build your own APP. Before you know it, you’ll quickly be ready to release your app for use on Apple, Android, and all other devices using HTML5.

Alex

Retail Finds APPS Important Throughout the Store

Back in July, I shared how a new wave of mobile retail apps allows customers to use their smartphones and tablets to receive in-store promotions, marketing and purchasing services. In just the past few months, how retailers are using apps is changing dramatically. 

Last June, Sig Ueland wrote an article for practicalecommerce.com on 15 Mobile Retail Apps that Enhance Customer Experiences. In the story. He shared what benefits he found at 4 different retailers. He also takes a great look at how APPS will make a difference in catalog and coupon marketing. I encourage you to read all of Sig's observations.

• Apple Store. The Apple Store app helps you get the most from your visits to the Apple Store. It does this by allowing you to make reservations for Genius Bar one-to-one assistance and sign-up for workshops and events. When in an Apple retail store, you can request help, check in for reservations, receive meet-up alerts, and get free iPad and iPod engraving and signature gift-wrapping for select Apple products.
• Redbox.This app enhances your experience with the Redbox DVD kiosks. The most intriguing way it does this is by allowing you to reserve a movie from your phone, so the DVD is waiting for you when you get to the kiosk.
• Starbucks Card Mobile. With Starbucks Card Mobile, you can display your Starbucks Card barcode and make purchases at Starbucks. View your transaction history, track your reward points, and locate a mobile payment Starbucks near you. In addition, Starbucks also has another app,myStarbucks, that has a drink builder, coffee and food menu, store locator, QR code scanner, and gives you access to Starbucks Digital Network for free music and news content on the web.
• Target. Target’s app helps you find the right products, making your shopping trip quick and easy. The best way it does this is with a My Lists feature. Make a list before you shop. Manage your lists and registries or find a friend’s. Search your store to get item availability and aisle location. Features also or add product to a list, and coupons for weekly and daily deals.

He also mentioned going to a local mall that offered an interactive mall map with every retailer’s website, map location and phone number. You can save your parking location with a text or voice note. Their APP allows you to create a shopping list. You can see what movies are playing and check show times. For the mall's walkers, they offered the walking distances available.

Among other retailers mentioned, Sig talked about APPS that allowed you to scan QR codes in the store to access reviews and compare product specs.

In an August 27th article in USA Today, Roger Yu shared how box retailers are developing indoor navigation tools to help shoppers find what they want. Wal-Mart, Target and Home Depot are all among the retailers who are working on this service.

Some retailers are also working on APPS where you can input your shopping list and the APP will provide you with directions on how to navigate throughout the store in the most efficient way to locate all of your items.

The human resource department of nearly all large retailers have moved their application process to APPs for both full-time and part-time jobs.

In his New York Times article, "Stalking the Retail AislesWith a More Focused Purpose", BOB TEDESCHI shares his experiences shopping with his daughter. After his experience, he concluded "From now on, before making a significant purchase at a big-box store, I will download the store’s app so that I have quick access to their online prices."

Graham Charlton from econsultancy.com, summed his thoughts on why retail must have their own APPS in two significant points.

1. Price comparison is usually the main reason for using mobile in stores
2. Looking for reviews is another common reason, which retailers should embrace as it is a sure sign of purchase intent.

Clearly, regardless of whether you are a chain of retail stores or a retailer with a single location, regardless of which line of products you sell, or what consumers you cater to, it is essential customers can find your APP include you in their shopping experience, and receive all of your promotions - both on the go and while they're in your store.

Using Snappii's free on-line visual WYSIWYG editor, you can build, test, and release your store's APP before the official holiday season begins. Check out what you can do at http://www.snappii.com. There are a Rich library of industry specific templates that can excellerate your APP development even more quickly.

Alex

 

Snappii can Cure the Enterprise Mobile APP Development Migraine

An article by Graeme Burton titled "Analysis: mobile development migraine" on computing.co.uk really drew my attention. I'd like to restate several of the points Graeme made, as I believe his points to be spot on.

First, Graeme mentions how "10 years ago, the web browser was going to render the operating system obsolete." Graeme goes on to say "The Apple iPhone happened and the epicenter of popular "app" development shifted to the proprietary environments provided by major mobile platform vendors.: Graeme is right, but I would even go a little further back to the 90's when Windows came up and was the focal point for all app development. Later in his article, Graeme went on to agree when he said "there isn't the kind of eco-system of tools that helped to establish Microsoft Windows as the de facto standard on the desktop in the 1980s and 1990s."

Trying to develop apps for Android, Apple iOS, as well as HTML5 environments is, as Graeme put it, "like taking a plunge... There are plenty of challenges."

That's why at Snappii, we've made our visual WYSIWYG Editor so easy, so that you don't have any code to write. 30 times faster than traditional programming, you can simply build your app by dragging, dropping, and configuring the modules you need for your app. You can even include high level modules like Shopping Cart, Forums, QR codes, and many more.

To emphasize the value of Snappii's Live Build Preview App versus trying to learn app coding in your own IT department, Graeme states, "the peculiar demands of mobile app development may come as a surprise to developers more used to conventional application development. ...the language that you write your apps in is not your choice."

Mr. Burton has addressed many key challenges in organizations trying to address app development on their own, never mind the cost of paying the costs to hire in app developers or outsource app development at costs literally in the 10's of thousands. App development as well as testing is totally free with Snappii. With Snappii's Live Build WYSIWYG Editor, the entire development team can work in parallel to insure your app's content and functionality meets your business needs. In addition, Snappii's Rich library of ready made industry specific templates will give the development team a great starting point.  Best of all, by working together with Snappii, development, QA and usability testing all occurs at the same time. Our Web2phone copy option allows you to make a white labeled version of your app, something you may not get or may pay considerably more for when you hire your typical app development company.

Don't let enterprise mobile app development give you a migraine. Let Snappii be the cure for you today.

Alex

How Medical Centers Can Benefit From Snappii 2.0 Release

Doctors in hospitals have to perform a lot of activities beyond just their direct responsibilities. To examine a patient, it is usually necessary to fill out numerous paper forms containing the patients' name, date of birth, contact info and so on. Sincerely speaking, it was not convenient. PCs and laptops gradually began to take the place of paper forms, though not everywhere. Application forms, prescriptions, and insurance forms have all become easier to fill out and store digitally to always have easy access to every medical patient's history. Even these more modern medical practices are undergoing a change. Mobile devices are getting more popular and their rapidly growing use emphasizes the point that they have become an indispensable tool in our lives.

IPhones,IPads and Android devices are being used by different people when they are on the go and it appears to be the main advantage of mobile devices. They are easily kept in pockets and bags and can be utilized whenever or wherever a user is. Doctors are not an exception. Their need for up-to-date technology results not only in the opportunity to be online, whether in the office or the operating room. It also saves specialists a lot of time contacting each other or other members of their medical team, which is extremely important when it comes to people's health and lives.

Snappii specializes in enterprise mobil apps development and is ready to supply every hospital, medical   practice or  individual physician with feature-rich mobile apps to hit their special needs. Let's take a look at the opportunities Snappii 2.0 can offer to medical specialists:

- an ability to fill in all the information regarding patients in their iPads, not only names and contact info, but also important indicators like blood level, temperature, previous illnesses and medicines taken by the patient on a daily basis
- an ability to store the inputted data directly on devices, providing quick, easy access to it
- an ability to add/edit/delete information, only actual data will be available
- an ability to locally store the data
- an ability to send entered information to other doctors or the patient

- no piles of paper, no time wasted filing or searching for necessary files, no money expenses thrown away on constant stationery orders or filing cabinet purchases

All of these options are important for medical staff and taking into account the already existing features in Snappii, it goes without saying that each doctor will be happy to use this powerful mobile app. Snappii offers a DIY(Do It Yourself) platform that doesn't require previous programming skills, or a Full Service support  choice where we will make an iOS app according to your specific needs quickly and inexpensively. You can ensure a prompt response by visiting Snappii's Website. Fill out the form to request an app today and receive a Prototype of your app within the next 48 hours.  Get an app to help ensure your medical practice runs smoother, more accurately and even more efficiently with a customized mobil app from Snappii.

Apps Coming to a Fitness Center Near You

An article titled Working Up An APP-etite  in the Business Sunday section of the Portland Press Herald by Chicago Tribune writer Ellen Jean Hirst really caught my eye. In the story, Ms. Hirst talked to representatives from fitness equipment industry leaders Life Fitness and Precor about how their latest treadmills will all come equipped with touch screen tablets. Many of the Fitness Center spokespeople she'd talked to indicated they would be phasing out their current equipment in favor of these new tablet equipped versions. And why not?

According to an article on mobile technology in the health and fitness industry, back in 2010, mobile application downloads related to the health fitness industry generated a total of $100 million in revenue. Among these applications was"RunKeeper" by FitnessKeeper, Inc.. RunKeeper was also named on of Times top ten iphone apps in 2009.

Fitness Business Apps says keeping customers engaged in a health lifestyle is one of the top reasons for Fitness Centers and Fitness Instructors to have their own apps for customers to access. They also recommend having your own apps as it is also a powerful way to keep your customers up-to-date on upcoming classes and events.

Think of the advantage it would be to have each of your instructors be able to set up every client, their critical goals, then be able to track it throughout their workout. Imagine how much easier it would be to motivate your customers when they can see their progress by accessing their app on each piece of equipment as they move through their workout.

Even if they do part of their workout at home, they could access your app and look at their goals from home or work, then track their progress for your fitness instructors to see their progress in between visits and change their goals accordingly.

Don't have an app?  You can easily create your own app using Snappii 2.0. You can either use our Do It Yourself WYSIWIG editor and begin building your app using one of our Fitness App templates. Upload your own logos and edit the tab menus to be customized to your Fitness Center. You can use the new Data Entry features to load up your clients and specific data related to their goals.

According to Healthcare Global, there are 23,000 Health Apps on iOS and Andoid alone. By building your App with Snappii 2.0, you can ensure your customers always choose your Fitness Center for their workout center wherever they may workout.

The Advantages of Snappii 2.0 Release. Part 5. How to Categorize Data in the Advanced List

Data Categorization will be especially helpful in case you have a lot of data and are planning to use a separate button for each item. To do this it will be necessary to upload an Excel spreadsheet for each button and bind them in the properties. Frankly speaking it is not convenient and besides time consuming. If you are going to update info frequently it can become a real nightmare for you. To avoid all the troubles there is Categorize option in the DataSource properties.
Just fancy you have a list of cities and some companies to be entered in each of them as well as their websites, contact info, logos etc. To be able to use them easily and add new data to the app you will have to do the following:

1. Create an Excel spreadsheet with 2 fields: cities and city ID. Fill in city names and corresponding IDs accordingly.
2. Upload it using DataSource option in the editor and call it let's say "Cities"
3. Start creating another spreadsheet with the info you want to be reflected in the app. Add fields with cities names and their IDS which match the data given in the first spreadsheet you uploaded
4. Bind both lists. For this open "DataSource", check "Categorize". Parent datasource – choose created list of categories.
Parent category ID field – matches your number.
Parent category Label Field – matches your header.
Binding (Child) Category ID Field – matches your number.
Usually once you choose the parent datasource the rest of the fields are filled in automatically, so you don't need to select them manually. It simplifies the whole process too. 

5. Save the changes and open Advanced List properties. There you will enable categorizing by checking "Use to categorize" option and selecting the data source uploaded.

That's it. No programming knowledge required to use Snappii 2.0 release. You will get a list of cities in your app with all the details you want to display by uploading only two spreadsheets. In my case I had to enter 44 cities that meant 44 various buttons and datasources and most of time wasted in vain. Due to categories option I managed to build my app some times faster and without a headache. If you are still not  sure how it works please check Snappii FAQ or contact Support team for clarification. Feature-rich iPhone and iPad apps are just some click aways from you.

The Advantages of Snappii 2.0 Release. Part 4. How To Add Data Using Advanced Form

In our previous blog post devoted to Advanced list options we discussed how to add, edit and delete new information in the app. Today we will shed some light on how to do the same thing by using Advanced From controls. You will probably find this option easier and more convenient to use. In any case knowing both ways will help you create your mobile apps faster. 

As usual you will have to upload a new datasource or use already uploaded spreadsheet to bind it later with Advanced Form tab or button added to your app. Read how to create data sources in our latest posts.
In the Advanced List properties choose the datasource you will retrieve data from. In my case it is called New Test. You can specify the file format in the settings by checking the required one. At the moment Snappii editor offers 3 formats: email body, spreadsheet or PDF file. In the nearest future Snappii is planning to support also connection to various web services which will make the feature unique. UTC values will allow you to set up any time according to your time zone to be displayed in receiving reports.  

Once you bind the Advanced Form with datasource you can start making a form to add data. For this drag and drop text areas and call them to let users know what to enter. Then add text, location, datetime, multichoice fields etc. to collect the info. Don't forget to bind each field with specific value taken from the datasource. After all the data is entered in the form you submit the information to the email address you mentioned and the data appears as well in the Advanced List being used with the same datasource (see screenshot). That is really convenient to update your Advanced List with recent data with the help of Advanced Form. Later the input can be modified and deleted in the Advanced Form. 

Visit Snappii website to learn more about Snappii 2.0 release and create your own database in minutes. You will make sure how easily it is to build iPhone and iPad apps without programming skills. For more info please refer to our Blog and FAQ.