Industry spotlight telecommunications
News Briefs
Business Cards?
A new technology that was
patented by Dallas-based
AT&T could make business
cards obsolete. AT&T has
developed a way to let cell
phone or other wireless
devices automatically record
encounters with other
nearby people who are
carrying wireless devices,
so as to create a “personal
encounter history” users
can retrieve later.
It’s a Wrap ...
And if it’s a box, bucket,
shelf, basket, rack or any
other “why didn’t I think
of that” idea, it’s at the
Container Store, a major
retailer headquartered in
North Texas. Recently, the
Container Store teamed
with Usablenet to create a new mobile phone
experience with more
features from the desktop
site available on mobile.
This allows the company to
quickly refresh site banners,
mobile promotions and links
with meaningful information
for the customer – in other
words, putting the organizational prowess for which the
Container Store is known
directly into the hands of
its customers via a mobile
store organized as well as
the company’s bricks-andmortar locations and opening up yet another avenue
for customer interaction in
the mobile age.
64
Business and Mobile Apps
North Texas has long been
a pioneer in small, mobile
technology. A spirit of can-do
independence is leading to
new frontiers for customer
interaction and sales among
North Texas companies of
all kinds. From convenience
and retail stores to charitable
initiatives, North Texans
are seeing that big Texas
sky as the limit for where
their business can grow.
H
aven’t you ever wanted to tell
a big company what to do,
how to do it and when and
where you want it done? Dallas-based
7-Eleven, the largest national chain in the
convenience retailing industry, is listening, giving
customers the chance of a lifetime – and 7-Eleven the
opportunity to interact in a meaningful way with its
increasingly mobile base.
With the recent launch of its first smartphone application, 7-Eleven is making convenience, well, more
convenient. Available for Apple and Android operating systems, smartphone users can download the free
app at the iPhone App Store and Google Play for Android. The app not only features a store locator, but
also has mobile coupons and offers, as well as news on
store events and specials.
“Our mobile strategy is focused on making it easy
and fun for guests to find and transact with our stores,”
said Mike Debnar, senior director of digital guest experience in 7-Eleven’s Innovation Group. “Our philosophy is guest-driven product development. It’s all about
building convenience on convenience.”
The recent update also added the ability to check
in to stores with the popular Foursquare social media app. Frequent 7-Eleven visitors could even earn a
Foursquare “mayorship” of their favorite store by using
the 7-Eleven app to check in most often.
The company is using the app for customer feedback in a new way. 7-Eleven really wants to know what
customers think. Really. The company seeks feedback
as it expands the app’s capabilities, adding features
based on customers’ suggestions.
7-Eleven added an “Idea Hub” to the app’s Control
Panel. Divided into four categories for suggestions –
General, Stores, Events and Coupons – users can submit an idea or vote on another, with the ability to sort
by popularity or most recent suggestions.
“We received lots of great ideas and reinforcement
of plans that were already in the works,” Debnar noted. “For example, we were surprised at how many people using the 7-Eleven app wanted more convenient,
mobile payments. It also surprised us that there were
a lot of votes for providing Wi-Fi in our stores, and we
plan to test this.”
Top vote-getters have included coupons, store reviews, loyalty program, nutritional information, mobile phone payment capabilities and local gas prices.
Due to suggestions from customers, coupons can
now be redeemed at the register by scanning an onscreen UPC code from a smart phone or shared on
Facebook and Twitter. Users can also request to receive
text offers and email updates from 7-Eleven, all products customized geographically, and by time of day
and local weather.
Making plans for a special night at home? With
the app, users find the closest 7-Eleven that has an
ATM, get a bottle of wine and maybe some pizza and
a lottery ticket, and rent a movie at the Redbox inside the store. Head home after you fill up the car. Go
home. Relax. It’s up to you as to what’s next. As 7-Eleven says: You’re the boss.