Memo, by mobile… Bad managers be warned… High-tech in-store marketing

Memo to self (by mobile)

Ideas can come at any time, and not always when it’s convenient to stop and write a note. According to Springwise, US company Jott has come up with a solution: a dictation service that you access through your mobile phone.

Jott has actual real live people waiting to take down messages dictated to your mobile of up to 30 seconds in length, which are then sent by SMS or email to a nominated number or addresses.

Best of all, Jott is free – for the moment at least. Springwise says there are plans to make people either pay a subscription fee or take a free service that carries advertising. At the moment, Jott is only available in the US and Canada.

It’s not the company, it’s you

The booming economy and skills shortage has put the spotlight on managers, or at least it should have. A new study from Chandler MacLeod’s Recruitment Solutions found that employees no longer put up with bad bosses.

The firm surveyed 233 office support employees and found that 82% have resigned from jobs because of bad bosses, and that the prevalence of bad behaviour by bosses is still too high for comfort.

Of those surveyed, 65% of respondents described their manager as always approachable and 58% said their boss was always supportive and encouraging. About 60% felt their manager always respected their role, but more than 26% reported that their boss did not facilitate their career development.

Using technology to improve in-store marketing

McKinsey reports on a manufacturer that developed an online interactive-shopping simulation to analyse the individual and collective impact of in-store marketing tactics.

To avoid tipping off competitors with its plans, disrupting trading and confusing customers with multiple offers, it went virtual. Real-life participants browsed through a virtual store aisle, examined products, and “spent” a set amount of money.

Of the 20 initiatives with the highest potential impact, the simulations helped to isolate seven win-win opportunities that, as enacted, would collectively contribute more than $70 million a year to the margins of the manufacturer and the retailer.

Online simulations allow manufacturers to save not only money but also time by testing thousands of shoppers simultaneously.

Manufacturers can roll out marketing programs before their rivals do – without risking actual sales. The simulations also help manufacturers work more closely with retailers to develop marketing tactics for the benefit of both parties.

Although the simulations are unlikely to work as well for apparel, many retail formats, including pharmacies, movie theatres and banks, and in categories beyond consumer packaged goods, could take advantage of this idea.