Launch LA Tradeshow - West Coast Culture Embodied

One Step Retail Solution's blogger, Amy Hanson attended day one of the first LA Launch Tradeshow. Held at Barkar Hanger just off of the Santa Monica Airport in an appropriately unique location. With over 60 exhibitors and a solid showing of retailers and buyers, LA Launch looks to have some serious staying power.

Urban and hipster sheik strike me as correct words to describe the event, board shops and So Cal boutiques will love the laid back feel, comfortable space and the decidedly hip products you will find. Many of the products were eco friendly, made from recycled wood, coffee bags, plastic, etc.

"Launch is a carefully curated collection of brands, designers, artists, and visionaries at the vanguard of design and West Coast culture." - Launch LA

Some of the attendees and exhibitors of Launch LA 2012

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How to Perform a Mail-Merge Using 2D Barcode Fonts

by Nate Schubert

Microsoft Word Mail Merge is one of the most tried-and-true methods of merging a data source with a main document in order to create customized documents automatically, without having to create each individually. This can save untold amounts of time for those who wish to generate invoices, labels, envelopes, letters and more. Integrating 2D barcodes to these documents can add a great deal of flexibility to virtually any project by reducing human error and decreasing the amount of time spent processing results.

But how does a mail merge work when 2D barcodes are involved?

While many industry professionals are experienced in the art of Microsoft Word Mail-Merges, people who have a clear understanding of how to include 2D barcodes are few and far between. The IDAutomation technical support team is well aware of this fact, however, and has produced an excellent tutorial that can effectively demonstrate the task of performing a word mail-merge using 2D barcode fonts, Data Matrix in particular, with the help of one of our free font encoder tools, the Barcode Add-In for Excel. Please take 5 minutes to view the video tutorial below, and do not hesitate to leave a comment with any questions or concerns.

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Independent Retailing Like an Internet Giant - What You Can Learn From Amazon

When a company implements a wide internal campaign and then shares that knowledge broadly, it is not because they are only searching for more job applicants. It is because consumers will support a company that is giving back.

As a result of their recent (and ongoing) employee perks Amazon will not only have happier staff but they continue to establish themselves as the kind of company you feel comfortable supporting even if they are not "local" and they are the "big bad" on-line store.

How can independent brick and mortar stores integrate giving back to their staff and community in a way that makes you more appealing to customers? DO YOU give back to your community and your staff AND most importantly, are you making that information broadly known (press releases to media outlets, promotion through social media, blogs, etc)?

Related idea: A tip jar, if I see a tip jar and I get good service I almost always throw (at least) my change in there. Doesn't just have to be in place for coffee shops. It could even say "(insert name here)'s Paris fund" or "Let's help (insert name) fund her next year of college!". Each member of your team could even have their own box that they decorate and has labeled what they are saving for (travel, education, an iPod, etc).

As of July 24th this open letter can be found on the Amazon home page.

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Retailing is a Service: Definition of Service

serv·ice

¹/ˈsɜrvɪs/ Show Spelled [sur-vis]  noun, adjective, verb, serv·iced, serv·ic·ing.

 

1. an act of helpful activity; help; aid: to do someone a service.

2. the supplying or supplier of utilities or commodities, as water, electricity, or gas, required or demanded by the public.

3. the providing or a provider of accommodation and activities required by the public, as maintenance, repair, etc.: The manufacturer guarantees service and parts.

4. the organized system of apparatus, appliances, employees, etc., for supplying some accommodation required by the public: a television repair service.

5. the supplying or a supplier of public communication and transportation: telephone service; bus service.

 

Source

 

 

 

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Retail Party July 2012: Independent Retailers Battle Showrooming

On July 20th at 11:30am retail industry experts gathered for our monthly "Twitter Party" hosted by One Step Retail Solutions. The theme of the month was indepedent retailing in honor of Independent Retailer month (July). Active contributors included Retail Smart Guys, King Retail Solutions, Independent Retail USA and Smart Retail. This discussion was on the topic of showrooming and indie retail versus internet giants as suggested by Dan Jablons of Retail Smart Guys.

Independent retailers competition for sales against internet giants is exacerbated by "*showrooming" which effectively puts independent retailers resources to work for the likes of Amazon.

The general observation is that this is very much an ongoing issue for independent retailers and attendees offered several tips to counteract show rooming, key being strategic merchandising and top-notch customer service. Other suggestions are educating your sales staff on the benefits of shopping locally so that they can in turn educate your shoppers and have way to address showrooming.
Benefits of buying local include feeding into your own communities economy and avoid unnecessary pollutants through excess shipping and transport of goods.

An additional resource is opening up your very own eCommerce site, made possible by top of the line Point of Sale systems.
a) Making your products easily viewable by your customers at all hours, everyday.
b) Make it so that your buyers can make a purchase at any hour, everyday. Pick-up in store may be a good arrangement.

Here are some of the most memorable Tweets.
@danjab Another point: retailers should not try to compete on price. You never win that battle! Hold price, provide great service!
@IndieRetailUSA Shopping local helps biz owners who are passionate about making a difference. They're the first to give back to their community.
@danjab Benefits to buying locally: Esp in fashion, you need people who can help you look great by choosing the best items for you.
@kingretail Mom & Pop Stores account for >1/2 of US retailers! Great service in store is always memorable!

@danjab Make sure your staff has COMPLETE product knowledge. Customers will buy if they are educated.

@kingretail we just did a survey (results not yet announced) but basically yes, Americans love local grocers, boutiques, etc.

@danjab Indie retail defeats price by providing better value & service & being FIRST with new fashion & product. Trumps price every time

To follow any of these active Twitter accounts:
@danjab Dan Jablons of Retail Smart Guys
@kingretail King Retail Solutions
@indieretailUSA for Independent Retail USA
@smartretail for Smart Retail


To attend our August Retail Twitter Party go to http://twebevent.com/RetailParty, with the look and feel of a chat room it is easy to discuss concepts amongst your peers and retail industry specialists.

August 17th at 11am PST - Discussion of Visual Merchandising and Retail Design


*showrooming, where a buyer checks out a product in store to ensure quality or value and then purchases on-line for better price. Your retail store acts as a showroom for e-giants.

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Good news...Created a forum for basis

Hi Friends,

After success of http://sapbasisdurgaprasad.blogspot.com, as per request from most of you, now I have initiated a forum to help our basis friends exchange ideas on various basis concepts or issues. I request you guys to register in this forum and post any basis question and get answers from the other sap experts.

Please find below forum link:

http://sapbasisdurgaprasad.freeforums.org/

I hope you guys will find this forum useful and make this a grand success.


Thanks,
Durga Prasad

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Yahoo! Feature of 6 Biggest Challenges White Paper

Check out our most recent feature of 6 Biggest Challenges Retailers Face Today in Yahoo news!

This white paper has been downloaded by thousands of retailers nationwide and was recently updated to fit the current economic trends and retail scene. A must read for retailers both big and small.

About Us: One Step Retail Solutions is celebrating its 27 years of experience in the retail point of sale / inventory control industry, with over 3000 stores currently being serviced and supported across the US. As one of the largest retail service providers in the United States, it has supplied retail technology solutions to well-known name retailers in apparel, sporting goods, museums, jewelry, shoes, entertainment venues and sports arenas. Its corporate headquarters are in Phoenix, Arizona with offices in Los Angeles and New York. Website: http://onestepretail.com.

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Retail Technology [Info-graphic] for the Small Retail Shop

Click image to enlarge.

For a free retail technology consultation.

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[Demonstration] Retail Hardened POS Systems

The extreme testing CounterPoint Retail Management systems undergo.
Fore more information or to get a free demo of NCR CounterPoint, CLICK HERE.

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Social Media Explained

Social media is a fantastic resource that will continue to increase in capabilities and resources. These graphics explain in all too simple terms what the difference is between some of the leading social media sites.

Or if that doesn't help, here is an example using donuts...

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[ARTICLE] Sales, Stock and Inventory, How to use POS Data to Improve Retail Operations

Check out our recent article on sales, stock and invetory management found in The Point of Sale News and recommended for retailers big and small. We hope that this is informative and helpful!

To request a free POS review

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Retailing: Making Your Social Activities Valuable

You may be wondering what to do on your social media sites and how to get more interaction. One surefire way to increase your value is to create helpful everyday tips. This is an excellent real life example of a retailer doing just that. 

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Pair An Orphaned CueCat With Nerd-Toy Arduino & What Do You Get? Barcodes!

Hack a Day has a user-generated how-to for mashing up a CueCat with an Arduino board and making barcode-scanning magic happen.




It's not practical, and it doesn't save time or money but some things are worth doing because they're just weirdly cool.

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FDA Proposes New UDI Barcode Requirement for Medical Devices

by Nate Schubert

Although Congress passed the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act in 2007 in part to establish a unique device identification system for medical devices through distribution and use, The FDA only recently acted on the matter by recognizing the GS1 GTIN as the correct barcode type to be used in the system. Published on July 3, 2012, the proposed FDA Unique Device Identification System rule would require medical devices and their packaging to include a unique device identifier, or UDI, represented both as a barcode and as well in plain-text.

The UDI system would be a database managed much the same as the GS1 UPC system that has been used for many years, allowing the effective communication of product information and pricing that is intended for sale in retail locations throughout the world. Medical devices and equipment may not be directly identified via this unique code, but instead recognized through a central database that associates the unique ID with the product and any other information that may be required by the FDA. This new system is expected to benefit the quicker identification of problems with medical devices and make the product recall process more effective, both of which will improve the safety of patients everywhere.

The UDI system has not been made into a requirement as of yet, and there are still a lot of finer-points that need to be decided before the FDA's proposal becomes a requirement. The system may utilize GS1 GTIN barcode types as referenced in IDAutomation's GTIN barcode compliance chart. This requirement would impact manufacturers, reprocessors, specification developers, repackagers, relabelers and any other entity that  is responsible for applying such label to qualifying medical devices.

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What Retailers Are Saying About the Future of Retailing?

"Retailers appear to understand the need to customize the in-store experience to appeal to the modern shopper, yet a high proportion are unable to do so. Three-quarters of retailers said they don’t know when a specific customer is in the store, and 85% cannot customize a store visit. Additionally, 89% are unable to connect customers’ activities online with what they do in the store today."

The retail industry is on the fast track technologically. Media Post and Motorola Solutions have published some very interesting statistics on what retailers are projecting for the future of retailing and retail technology. The full article will very much be of interest to retailers.

As you note in the above chart, evolving the in store experience for customers is viewed as "critical" and will advance greatly in a vast majority of retail stores over the next 5 years. Engagement comes in several forms; requiring customer contact capture, a comprehensive CRM, OMNI channel and much more. You may wonder what exactly that will mean and how you can maintain your brands personality and evolve without breaking the bank, there are few systems that can support the needs that retailers will be facing in just 5 years and we are more than proud to have a variety of options to suit retailers of all kinds.

One Step Retail Solutions is currently working with dozens of retailers across the US to create customized and all-inclusive retail management systems that will take them into the future. Our systems are top of the line, highly regarded within the industry and our consultative approach will ensure all of your personalized needs are not only met but surpassed.

We wish you all of the best in the exciting years to come and hope that we can be of assistance in making your dreams come true.

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How To Track Offline Marketing with QR Codes

by Nate Schubert

There is not a business in existence today that wouldn't benefit from utilizing barcode technology in conjunction with web analytics to track offline marketing campaigns. Whether a local plumbing business wants to track the value of a certain advertising location or a film company wants to gauge the level of interest in an up-and-coming summer blockbuster, each of these can leverage 2D barcodes like QR Codes to gain valuable insight into the behavior of potential customers.

There's no question that this is an attractive concept for business owners of every make and model, but theory and practice are two entirely different things. It may seem like QR codes have been introduced into the mainstream of American society, but there are countless opportunities being missed or squandered by companies across the nation. In other words,  it's easy to miss the boat on tracking offline marketing efforts when you don't understand the technology being used. That said, there are three distinct components to any effective tracking of an offline marketing campaign.

Do You Own a Website?

This point may be pretty clear to many, but without a website, it's going to be very difficult to track visitors' behavior once they get to your website. Although encouraged, this does not mean your website has to have 1,000 pages and rank at the top of search engine results pages for any given search term, or that it has to be all things to all people. There is no shame in having a simple website that focuses on your products or services. QR Codes can be used to link prospective customers directly to these products or services, as well as pages that provide information about promotions, coupons or special events.

Is Your Website Enabled for Analytics?

Without good web analytics tools like Google Analytics, it's going to be very difficult to track visitors to your website. There is virtually no limit to the level of depth you can achieve with Google Analytics, but again, this doesn't mean you have to use it to the extreme. For examples, many small businesses are content to gather surface information like unique visits, bounce rate and the behavior of those who use certain search terms to get to your website. In the case of offline marketing, web analytics is essential for gathering statistics on the behavior of those who scan your QR Code. Business owners who do not have web analytics actively tracking user behavior are limited to instinct and guesswork, which is not the most stable method of achieving success.

Are You Tagging Your Offline Links?

The final step in monitoring your offline marketing efforts is to tag the web links in your QR Codes with information that will allow you to identify the particular campaign the link is coming from. This can be a little bit of a challenge to grasp at first, but a little patience and some testing should make any business owner an out-and-out professional in no time. First and foremost, Google's special URL Builder Tool is a must. This free tool will allow you to create one-off links that can be encoded into barcodes using a QR Barcode Image Generator. There are several parameters to define, three of which are required. These help to determine the following:

• Campaign Source is required and is used to identify referrals that originate from the web, social media, a physical event, newsletter or other promotion.
• Campaign Medium is required and is used to identify QR Codes scanned from a medium such as a brochure, billboard, poster, food product, etc.
• Campaign Term is not required, and may be used to identify the focus of the advertisement or QR Code, i.e. a particular item or service.
• Campaign Content is not required, but may be very useful in categorizing different versions of a particular medium like a brochure, etc.
• Campaign Name is required and can be used to further segregate an advertisement, theme or locale.

For instance, IDAutomation has recently made finding the right product on our website much easier with the addition of our Barcode Software Selector tool. If we were to mail out a brochure to promote this time-saving tool, we may include a QR Code in order to track the behavior of individual recipients, with this URL created with the Google URL Builder Tool.

http://www.idautomation.com/customer/product-selector.html?utm_source=direct-mail&utm_medium=brochure&utm_term=product-selector&utm_content=qr-top&utm_campaign=john-smith

This web address would be encoded into a QR Code using a product such as the QR Code Image Generator as follows:

When John Smith scans this QR Code in his brochure, his behavior on the website landing page can be monitored and tracked with astounding precision. As a business owner, it may benefit you to know when your QR Code was scanned, how long the visitor remained on your website, whether they visited other pages, whether they completed a purchase and much more. This type of offline marketing can be extremely effective when tracked properly, and can open up the kind of insight that allows business owners to make the most profitable decisions possible.

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Retailing Lost Profits

One Step Retail Solutions recently contributed a highly informative original article regarding retailing lost profits to Resource Nation. This article can be found exclusively on the Resource Nation Blog 

This article includes; what are some of the symptoms of a retail store lacking proper inventory control, how can a store appear health on the surface but have fatal weaknesses and what are some of the top reports recommended for retailers to generate from their point of sale.

If you would like to arrange a free retail technology consultation with a One Step Retail representative click here.

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Movies About Retail

Retailers! I have put together a list of the top movies either revolving around or influenced by retail environments, for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!


Empire Records - A day in the life of an indie music store, fighting against the big box chain store by dancing and singing on the roof to raise funds.

You've Got Mail - Set around an independent book shop (Shop Around the Corner) and much about the fight between Meg (indie) and Tom (big box) to protect their respective family business while falling in love.

High Fidelity - John Cusak and Jack Black run an indie music store. John Cusak talkes into the camera a lot and straight into my soul.

Miracle on 34th Street - Santa shows up at Macy's and people can't take that he thinks he is the real Santa. Which is really ironic if you think about it.

Elf - An oversized Elf inspires a rag-tag crew of department store workers (and New York) during the holiday season.

ShopGirl - A fierce competition between the perfume girl and accessories girls in a department store. That may have been a subplot.

BIG - This movie was clearly about FAO Schwarz (New York) and it's big (ERGO, the name of the movie) piano.

Clerks - Kevin Smith slacker comedy about... clerks (see title).

Where The Heart Is - Stranded teen stays in Walmart overnight, goes into labor and becomes a media sensation. Names child "America".

Mallrats - See Clerks (above), 90's kids spent a lot of time at the mall...

Breakfast at Tiffanys - Slightly eccentric New Yorker enjoys standing outside of Tiffanys and drinking her morning coffee with a pastry. See title of film.

Shaun of the Dead - British electronic store worker makes it through a zombie apocalypse.

Little Shop of Horrors - Nerdy floral shop owner finds success and romance with the help of oversized and crazed Venus Fly Trap.

It's Complicated - Meryl Streep owns an adorable Santa Barabara bakery and makes chocolate pastries to woo Steve Martin.

Be Kind Rewind - Jack Black's best friend accidentally erases all of the videos in his small rental shop. They then recreate, film and records the top rented films in an attempt to keep the loyal fan base.



By: Amy Hanson, blogger for One Step Retail Solutions

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[Feature] Introducing Christopher Studach of King Retail Solutions

We are excited in introduce you to Christopher Studach, Creative Director of King Retail Solutions. Thank you Christopher for taking the time to speak with us and to also share some fantastic retail design tips for success!

KRS offers cutting edge retail design and manfacturing services with the convenience of one reliable vendor relationship. Retail design,
Manufacturing, Program Management and Installation.

What is your favorite thing about working with retailers?
The creative interplay that results from having well developed common goals.  Working with retailers that understand the importance of design to their business, willingness & trust to take risks makes the jobs more rewarding, and typically more successful.

What would you say is the most helpful thing about your product or services for a retailer? Good design = Great results (sales).  Period.

If you could offer any advice to retailers out there, what would you say? Economic pressures on business are more intense than ever.  In the retail world this means getting more for less, and compressing timelines to extreme conditions.  The old adage “Price, speed, quality – pick two” is certainly true to a point, yet conditions are such that this “truth” is being stretched and twisted to such a degree that something has to give.  We know that time is money, but for the sake of the job please allow enough time for the job to be done properly.  Everyone wins.

How did you get into the industry you are in?

Equal measures of skill and luck.

In you could live anywhere in the world, where would you and why? Every so often I think about all the places that would be really cool to live in – then why I don’t.  I like it here.

Do you have any retail design favorites? I don’t play favorites.

What do you think are retailers worst design habits? Turning their backs on the power of design for the sake of other factors.

What do you think are retailers best design habits? Those that get it really do.  They devote time, energy and (obviously) resources to maintain, or even better educated evolution of their best work.  Be happy, but never satisfied.

When looking to redesign a retail space, what would you suggest a retailers first steps be? Let a professional assess their your situation.

Designs evolve rather rapidly (especially now a ‘days) how do you suggest a retailer cost effectively go about remaining fresh? Avoid trends unless you can afford to remodel every 2-3 years.  Rather use solid design principles to arrive at an effective, “timeless” design.

King Retail Solutions is part of One Step Retail Solution's Retail Professional Association. For more information on our association resources go to http://onestepretail.com/retail/recommended/ 

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Barcode Technologies introduces the new ZT200 mid-range label printer from Zebra

Zebra responded to customer feedback when it developed the brand new ZT200 series mid-range 4" industrial label printers. The new units have a compact, space-saving design, effortless set-up, intuitive user operation and ease of service and maintenance.

There are two models. The ZT220 fills the gap between the G-Series desktop units and the entry-level industrial space and is ideally suited to bar code labelling applications where minimal format or printer setting changes are required. It has a durable high-impact polymer case, 300m ribbon capacity and a simple three-button user interface.

The ZT230 is the direct replacement for the S4M and is the perfect choice for applications that require more frequent format or printer setting changes. It has a rugged all-metal case, 450m ribbon capacity and an icon-based LCD graphical user interface for easy set-up and control.

Unique to both the new printers is a space-saving bi-fold door with large clear window. USB 2.0 and RS232 serial ports are standard; optional Ethernet and Wi-Fi interfaces are field-installable for easy upgrading.

For prices, availability and more information on ZT200, please follow this link.

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[FEATURE] Meet Michael Dennis, CEO and Founder of FindHire

Meet Michael Dennis, CEO and Founder of FindHire. FindHire is a hiring and recruitment application with a host of top of the line features, pulling from the most modern technology available on the market to streamline your hiring process.






How did you come up with the idea for Find Hire? After 7 years as a recruiter in a top agency in Los Angeles, I decided to put my experience into a software solution that could benefit any business. The idea was to make hiring easy and more affordable.

What is your favorite thing about working in your industry?
Working with so many different companies, and helping them build up great teams of employees.

What would you say is the most helpful thing about your product or services for a retailer?  When a retailer needs to hire someone (i.e. sales rep, store manager, etc). We have a database of retail professionals and let them post a job for free!

If you could offer any advice to retailers out there, what would you say?
I would definitely say know your culture/ brand and hire people that emulate it.

If you were a retailer, what do you think your favorite part of your day would be?
Seeing customers happy!

If you were a retailer, what do you think your least favorite part of the day would be?
Opening.

Do you have any hobbies?
I am a private pilot and love to fly.

What is your favorite thing about retail? The uniqueness in experience of each store.

Schedule a Demo

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The Complete Point of Sale Solution - Infographic

Click image to expand.

Click for a free retail technology consultation.

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[Guest Blog] 3 Steps to Getting Your Retail Site Mobile

Whether you realize it or not, getting your site mobile ready is now a necessary evil. Small Biz Trendssays, “According to Google, 60% of users expect a mobile site to load in three seconds or less. More than half of users wouldn’t recommend a business with a bad mobile site.” Not only do your customers expect it, but this is another outlet to reach those who may need to access you on the go. When you’re readily available, the chances of making a sale or gaining a new customer increase.

To get started, you’ll need to consider your budget, your needs as a business and then the options available to you.

Know Your Budget

Before you can consider any of your mobile website options, you first need to assess your budget. As an addition to your online marketingstrategy, it may be wise to see where you have room to work within those parameters. There are a few options to consider when choosing what you can and cannot afford.

·         Do you want to turn your existing site into a mobile site? If so, there are tools available to do it on your own.

·         Do you want to build an entirely new site, similar to the one you currently have? If so, you can hire a mobile web design companyif the resources aren’t available within your company.

·         Do you want something minimal, providing just the necessary information? There are easy site builders available to businesses like yours that make this process quick and simple.

Mobile Best Practices

Finally, once you decide the direction you’d like to take the site in, you’ll want to consider the best practices in this field. Even if you aren’t doing the site yourself, you want to be sure the company you’re working with is on the same page as far as what you need and what the website needs; mobile sites have a variety of different requirements than standard web pages.

·         Navigation: WP Widgetssuggests, “Mobile web surfing is known for its high bounce rates … so focus on a few key areas of the web site and acknowledge your visitors’ short attention spans.” Get all the important links in an easy to find space, and eliminate anything unnecessary.

·         Bandwidth: Avoid object and java script. They are notorious for using excessive battery juice, and not supported on older smart phones.

·         Analytics: Be sure to have your analytics software set up with your mobile site, as well. This will be important in trouble-shooting and finding areas for improvement.

Assess the Options

Finally, it’s time to look through your options to pick the one that is best for your company.

·         Install a plugin: There are a number of plugins you can utilize to mobilize your site, such as Mobilize by Mippin.

·         Outsource the job: Before choosing a company to outsource the site to, look for references, testimonials and services provided.

·         Download a tool: Tools like bMobilized, allow you to convert your current site into a mobile site with minimal effort and a small monthly fee.

·         Create a new site: To create a brand new site for mobile, which would be wise if your business site is laden with thousands of pages and links, check out options like MoFuse. Here you can choose a new domain name and build up your site. There is often a small monthly fee associated with this option.

Creating a mobile site can be as easy or involved as you want it to. As a growing need for businesses, there are more than enough options available to you online. Be sure to assess each and every aspect of your budget and needs before making your final decision.

Bio: Jessica Sanders is an avid small business writer touching on topics that range from social media to business management. She is a professional blogger and web content writer for Resource Nation.

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