Digital Grandad - Digital Agony Uncle • Tags •

[Digital Grandad] Will QR codes ever take off here?

by Mr QR Just-maybe. Dear Digital Grandad, we are a SME and been around for decades selling products B2C. But my MD has just asked me to consider using QR Codes in our Marketing, as his son (graduate from overseas), think’s it is so cool and thinks we are so behind to the rest of the world and not seeing the trend or being innovative! Firstly I am not too sure what it is and if it any good? Please help Grandpa

Regards
Mr QR Just-maybe

There’s nothing like a back-seat marketer in every company. Ask your MD to give me a call and I am more than happy to speak to his graduate son and tell him a few things about marketing, life in general, and the birds and bees before he starts throwing around one-liners to egg on his dad. Before his dad gets egg on his face!

Let’s get local

So, Mr QR Just-maybe, let’s get to the basics and firstly understand that South Africa is not like the rest of the world. Just take our smartphone penetration — 80:20, the other way around.

[Digital Grandad] ‘Word of Mouth’ replaced with ‘Word by Click’

by @DigitalGrandad1. Just as in our real life where a customer walks away from your company with an opinion they’re likely to share with friends and family, the increasing digitisation of South Africa now means that they’re also likely to share that opinion on their digital platform like Twitter, Facebook, blogs, forums and more.

[Digital Grandad] 5 steps to better user experience design

Dear Digital Grandad – what the hell is UX all about?

We have appointed an agency to re-build out website and the costs include what the Account Director has line itemed as UX which is quite high. Regardless I haven’t got the foggiest what it is for and what it entails to build a website? Please help Grandad. I am getting all grumpy.
Regards
Mrs Gruppy

Dear Mrs Gruppy

WOW so you are in charge of rebuilding your website which is fantastic news (assuming the old is old) and you haven’t got a glue what UX is all about. Well little Missy here’s my thoughts in less than 140 characters

“Would you build a house without appointing an architect? Well the same goes with building a best in class website”

[Digital Grandad] Demystifying your huge data Syndrome

Dear Grandpa – does size matter?

I was hoping you could help me demystify the topic around ‘Data and Big Data’. We are a high street retail brand and run a loyalty program and have over 520,000 records in our database that run monthly campaigns with little conversion – but my CEO attended a few conference recently and feels we are not doing enough, don’t have enormous amounts of data and we should be thinking big data. In truth I am not sure what it all means and quite frankly feeling quite insecure. I need to report back next week and advise on what is Big Data. Help.

Regards
Mr Insecure

Dear Insecure

“Big data is huge, its enormous, it’s gigantic, in-fact it so bloody big, its scaring the living daylights out of marketers, sending shivers down CTO’s & CMO’s backs, making some break out in a cold sweat and leaving them feeling very inadequate umm”

But, please don’t be insecure – your not alone! You must have heard the saying “size matters”, but let me tell you son, size doesn’t matter! It’s what you do with it that counts! So lets equip you with the intelligence to verify what you have is good and that you are taking the right steps in what you are doing with your data – let alone if it is big or small data and in doing so, demystifying your huge data Syndrome.

Dear Digital Grandad: LIKE-it or not – Facebook Page success can not just be attributed to LIKES

Dear DigitalGrandad…

How do I get 10 000 likes on our brand’s Facebook page? My MD told me it’s embarrassing when his kids ask him why only 98 people like our product. I manage an FMCG brand and we fired the PR agency that set it all up for us a while ago.

Brand Manager FMCG

Dear Un-popular

My grand-daughter got more likes on her 6th birthday party Facebook page in 1 day. So yes the MD’s kiddo has asked a valid question and just put the nail in your social media coffin! So you should be “embarrassed” or wake up and take this thing seriously like any other marketing activity.

So to be serious for a second, 98 fans depending on who you are as a business may not be that bad as a starting point. If you’re a small business selling cuddly toys from home – great start I would say!

But as you mentioned you are a FMCG brand, then it sounds like you have a problem and not thought this through!

Dear Digital Grandad: Should my agency have a blog?

Dear @DigitalGrandDad, One of the kids in the office asked me why our agency don’t have a blog. I need an answer that doesn’t make me seem old or lazy.

Dear Old and Lazy

As the saying goes, It’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks, as I am sure you are not Lazy!

I think it is great that you have people in your company that are asking questions about how to further market your company and/or share what you are doing as a cutting edge agency with your intended target market. So without sounding lazy or old, you can share your wisdom, teach and mentor the young enthusiastic kid that ‘LIKE’ anything in Marketing, you can’t just say yes without having a strategic plan? Your answers ‘Old Dog’ should be around planning for example:

Great Little One! I am so glad you asked that question. It is something I have been meaning to look into for ages. However, we don’t have a plan yet.