Regional restaurant chain la Madeleine claims mobile app boosted takeout business

By Dan Butcher

Exit41 powers la Madeleine's mobile ordering

Texas-based restaurant chain la Madeleine claims that its overall takeout business has increased 6 percent, driven by opening up new customer touch points for placing orders across online, social media, a call center and mobile.

Partnering with Exit41 for online and mobile ordering, la Madeleine’s iPhone app went live in Apple’s iTunes App Store in October. To date, the average check for food ordered via mobile is right around the same as online – about $24, which is a significant increase from the in-store average check, and also higher than the average order via the call center.

“We have not yet made any grand promotions of the iPhone app, but we still have more than 1,000 downloads of the app in the App Store,” said Richard Hodges, senior director of technology at la Madeleine, Dallas. “One part of the strategy we call off-premise ordering, including online ordering, our call center and mobile ordering, and eventually social media.

“We have a catering and delivery business at some locations, and we’re looking at how a call center and mobile could augment our sales,” he said. “Our marketing team’s biggest push will be in the restaurant, with door signs, stand-alone point-of-purchase signage and a broadcast via our eclubs—each restaurant has one.

“When we describe la Madeleine’s target demographic, we call her Amanda, and she is much more likely to make her smartphone choice an iPhone.”

La Madeleine is a French countryside-flavored restaurant offering items such as Caesar salads, tomato basil soup, sandwiches, fresh bread and pastries. It has restaurants in seven markets, including Texas, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC, with a total of 61 stores nationwide.

Local restaurants going mobile
Mr. Hodges said that Amanda’s average household income ranges from $75,000 to $150,000 per year.

Amanda is 25-55, female, affluent, discriminating, does probably have a smartphone, is social-media-connected, is familiar with the online experience and expects great customer service.

“Our off-premise ordering strategy lines up very well with this target demographic, who is online, using their smartphones and active in social-media connection points,” Mr. Hodges said. “All of this is designed to make Amanda’s life easier.

“For our iPhone app, it has to be easy to use and intuitive—it is pretty simple to read, with big font,” he said.

Mmmmm…mobile menu

Customers can pay via credit card online or within the app, or they can pay when they pickup the order.

In-app ordering

Exit41 provides an additional access point for Amanda to order from la Madeleine in an easy and convenient way, per Mr. Hodges.

Amanda can use the app to get directions to the closest restaurant

With the implementation of online ordering, the call center and the iPhone app, all off-premise ordering channels have increased revenues, per la Madeleine.

For example, at one of la Madeleine’s Houston locations, online made up 8 percent of total orders. However, now that the app has launched, online and mobile comprise 20 percent of all orders.

“We have absolutely seen a big increase in orders since we have introduced these products,” Mr. Hodges said. “If you can get them on the phone, their check average is much larger, and the online and mobile ordering is even higher than the call center.

“The iPhone is still a very small portion of our overall sales, as we still haven’t promoted it very much,” he said. “But we expect mobile ordering to grow going forward.”

Dan Butcher is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily and Mobile Marketer. Reach him at dan@mobilemarketer.com.

Regional restaurant chain la Madeleine claims mobile app boosted takeout business - Mobile Marketer - Applications

What are the hottest trends in mobile right now?

By Dan Butcher

Where Ads aims to increase the relevancy of local merchants' mobile ads

The hot-button issues in mobile generating the most buzz at the moment include location-based services and marketing, the rise of mobile commerce and payments, as well as applications for smartphones and tablets.

Tablets, of course, are the device of the moment, with consumer adoption booming and plenty of iPad 2 competitors reaching the market—from Android-based tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom to Research In Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook and Hewlett-Packard’s TouchPad. Brands and retailers are placing an increasing emphasis on applications for various smartphone and tablet platforms, but the trick is encouraging repeat usage and fitting apps into a marketer’s overall strategy.

“From all directions—app development platforms, apps themselves, marketers and thought leaders—[at CTIA Wireless 2011 in Orlando] I was hearing about the need for brands to think about usage and engagement measurement and metrics for app strategies,” said Melissa Parrish, New York-based analyst at Forrester Research.

“I agree that thinking needs to move beyond the application download numbers to see how and how often users are using those applications post-download,” she said.

“This is particularly important for marketers to understand how their branded application is really changing and deepening their relationship with their mobile consumer.”

Melissa Parrish is analyst of interactive marketing at Forrester Research

Based on the buzz at International CTIA Wireless in Orlando, FL, 2011 is the year of mobile commerce, location-based advertising and apps for all types of devices.

App craze
Apps have been hot for some time now, but their importance has been amplified tremendously with the launch of the iPad and competing tablet devices.

With tablets, a whole new array of applications have been launched in an effort to gain loyalty, sell goods and for branding.

The Amazon Appstore for Android enters the mobile content distribution arena

It is imperative for brands and retailers to market their applications to drive downloads. However, getting onto consumers’ handsets—while definitely invaluable—is not the be-all-and-end-all.

Tracking how often consumers are using a particular application, and what actions they are taking once they do open an app, can provide key insight to help the marketer optimize the experience.

Monetization tactics for applications range from free/ad-supported and in-application transactions for virtual goods to pay-per-download, freemium and subscriptions.

In addition, Ms. Parrish said that mobile technologists who are looking for marketers’ dollars are getting much more adept at addressing marketers’ needs.

“Conversations are focusing on the question of business goals, brand presences, measurement and scale—where previously those conversations focused on technical themes, tactics and differentiators that may have been sexy but didn’t help marketers understand how to best reach the mobile consumer,” Ms. Parrish said.

Location, location, location
In 2011, many retailers are shifting their focus to delivering relevant, location-based offers to consumers on their mobile devices to drive them in-store.

Location-based services promise big returns through linking a user’s physical location with key consumer demographics.

Delivering highly relevant deals and incentives are key to getting consumers in-store.

Consumers want to see deals and they want to see local retailers and restaurants offering them an incentive to come to their locations.

“At CTIA, we felt some palpable buzz around T-Mobile and AT&T, and the whole mobile commerce and payments category seemed to be big,” said Dan Gilmartin, vice president of marketing at Where Inc., Boston. “The thing that I loved is to hear more people talk about location-based advertising.

“We’ve been in the game for a while, and the market is really starting to catch up,” he said. “We just landed a quarter-million ad buy yesterday.

“It is a different way to think about location—it is ‘What is going on in this area that I can influence through advertising and drive an action?’  in a very contextual way,” he said. “We have a saying, ‘Relevance equals location plus context.’”

Mobile commerce and payments
Brands and retailers want to transact and sell products through the mobile channel.

A CTIA panel that included executives from JPMorgan Chase and Visa Inc. outlined various evolving mobile payments mechanisms that are having an impact, from SMS, the mobile Web and applications to carrier billing and near field communication.

A PayPal executive said that mobile payments are growing exponentially and provided his own company’s figures as proof during the keynote at International CTIA Wireless 2011′s Money Over Mobile pre-conference program.

PayPal’s mobile payment transaction volume has grown from $24 million in 2008 to $140 million in 2009 to $750 million last year. It is projected to top $2 billion this year and is expected to reach $7.5 billion in 2013.

Many merchants still have reservations about NFC and mobile payments that must be addressed to convince them to make the necessary upgrades to their point-of-sale systems, according to a  panel at CTIA Wireless 2011.

While the panelists all agreed that mobile payments are gaining momentum, panelists had differing views about what is necessary to take the ecosystem to the next level.

The fees must make sense for merchants to really make mobile payments a priority. In the case of contactless mobile payments, it may require retailers to upgrade their point-of-sale system with NFC/RFID technology.

As NFC continues to gain momentum, merchants and marketers should realize that it enables more than just contactless payments—it can be used to inspire consumer loyalty, according to a panel at CTIA Wireless 2011.

NFC is fundamentally changing the way we view payments, and that the various ecosystem players must find common ground from a technological standpoint, but more importantly, from a business perspective.

While there are key infrastructure pieces that still need to align, tremendous progress has been made, especially with more handset manufacturers embracing this technology, including Nokia and Samsung with the Google Nexus S.

Mobile content distribution
Another highly contentious area is mobile content distribution, where Amazon is making a big play.

“CTIA yielded little in the way of revolution,” said Josh Martin, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, Newton, MA. “Instead, I thought the Amazon app store launch was the most significant event, even though it was not at CTIA.

“Amazon is really looking to redefine what we have come to expect from an app store and they will become a major player,” he said. “We are forecasting they will reach at least 30 percent of Android U.S. downloads by the end of the year, skewing higher on paid and lower on free.”

Final Take
Ovum's Eden Zoller .”

Final Take
Ovum's Eden Zoller

Associate Editor Dan Butcher covers content, carrier networks, manufacturers, and software and technology. Reach him at dan@mobilemarketer.com.

50% of Shoppers Consult Mobile Phones for Purchases [STUDY]

Half of consumers are using their phones to help make shopping decisions, suggesting that old-style feature phones have a place in the market, according to a new survey.

The report, by Arc Worldwide, based on a survey of 1,800 U.S. mobile phone users and a smaller qualitative study with 30 mobile shoppers, shows 50% of consumers are using their mobile devices while shopping. Since the smartphone penetration rate in the U.S. hasn’t yet hit 50% that means that many consumers are using feature phones. In fact, such shoppers are the majority — 80% of those users are consulting their feature phones for purchases.

William Rosen, president and CEO of Arc, puts shoppers in two groups — heavy and light users. The former tend to be wedded to their phones and love experimenting with new apps. The latter view their cellphones as an inferior, on-the-go version of their computer. While many marketers are focusing on the former, Molly Garris, digital strategist at Arc, says that light users will remain the majority for some time. She suggests the best way to address the market right now is via multi-tiered campaigns aimed at users with smartphones and feature phones. Garris says Sephora is a good example of such a marketer; the brand has in-store displays directing shoppers to m.sephora.com, which can be accessed with a feature phone, but Sephora also has a barcode-reading app for those with smartphones.

Otherwise, the report also finds that what is becoming a considered purchase has been redefined. “What’s casual is now more considered,” says Rosen,”and what’s considered is more casual.” For instance, shoppers are finding that bringing their phone with them helps them research big, considered purchases like cars on the fly, but phones can also add a layer of complexity to simple purchases, like coffee. “Nothing more casual than buying a cup of coffee,” says Rosen. “But now Starbucks is using it to broadcast your location and pay for coffee.”

Implicit Social Graphs Rise From Interest Not Location

Color Launch Generates New Round of Social Graph Discussion

Rob Diana | March 25, 2011 @ 10:49am

There has been a ton of conversation about social graphs, location and photo sharing lately. Most of this conversation has arisen due to the release of the photo-sharing application Color. The photo-sharing part of the discussion is only a gateway to the larger discussion of social graphs. I have been looking at the basic location-based applications a lot as well. Facebook Places, Google Places, and Foursquare are all fighting for the location crown. Granted, location-based applications are becoming very popular, but they were quickly outpaced by the group discount services like Groupon and Living Social. There is a very good reason for this as well. Location alone does not denote interest or intent. This is also why implicit social graphs are so important, they are based on interest or intent. Group discount services have a location aspect, but they are driven by interest and intent. All of the people involved in buying a discount have interest in what they are purchasing.

This is also why Color’s launch was received with such mixed reviews. They are trying to use location as the implicit social graph, but there is no real interest. Even if there are several people at the same location, the location may denote different purposes. As an example, if I am at a restaurant I probably do not want the interruption that would come with a location based graph. However, if I am visiting a tourist attraction I may welcome the location-based interaction, mainly because there is implicit interest in the location.

Fred Wilson has a very good description of how he was introduced to implicit graphs:

My first experience with this sort of implicit social graph came almost six years ago via my musical neighbors graph at last.fm. I don’t think I actually know any of these people in real life, but they are the last.fm users who have the closest taste to mine in music, right now. That right now is important because my musical neighbors graph looked differently last year and will look differently next year.

Obviously, people’s musical tastes change over the years, so a static graph is not entirely useful. The “musical neighbors” concept and Pandora’s music genome concept allow for discovery because they are using similar interests to create the implicit graph. A person’s friends may not have the same musical tastes and thus would actually clutter the listening experience with music the listener is not interested in.

In addition to the creation of implicit graphs, sometimes there needs to be a conversion from the implicit to the explicit graph. Colin Walker talks about this in reference to sporting events and other interest-based interactions:

Repeated interactions within implicit graphs can lead to a bleed from the implicit to explicit – once you get to know them some of those from implicit graph become ‘friends’ and, after a while, can be invited over in to the explicit graph.

This bleeding complicates the structures of explicit graphs because these new “friends” are not initially the same type of friends as those people you have known for years. Then there are some people in your explicit social graphs that you lose contact with. Even though they could have been friends previously, differing interests and the effects of time can change their relationship to you. This is where the concepts behind Color become interesting. Obviously, there needs to be some flexibility or “elasticity” in your social graphs, regardless of whether the graph is explicit or implicit. Color CEO Bill Nguyen had an interesting comment about this in a ReadWriteWeb article:

In the world of Facebook, once someone is your friend, they’re your friend until you return and re-evaluate that relationship, regardless of whether or not you’ve ever spoken to them again. In reality, the relationship could have fizzled long ago, yet it’s still a bond as good as any. With Color’s “elastic” social graph, these ties can fade and disappear. Color’s ability to accurately determine location and user proximity is what makes this sort of social graph – an implied, impermanent and elastic social graph – even possible.

As I previously stated, I do not agree with the importance of location in this quote, but the general concept is important. Location and time can both be an attribute of the implicit social graph, as can be seen with the SXSW conference. Just because you are in Austin does not mean that you share the social graph with a bunch of people. However, if you happen to be near specific locations in Austin during the same time as the SXSW conference and you have previously shown interest in web and technology startups, then you would be part of the same implicit social graph. Without the interest part of the equation, you could become part of the implicit graph purely by coincidence, maybe you work or live in Austin.

Om Malik has an excellent post this morning that really hits the same points, but talks about them differently. He mentions “happiness” and “utility”:

One of the reasons Instagr.am works is because it has that “happiness” attached to it. When I see my friend’s baby boy, it brings me joy. I see Mathew Ingram at an ice hockey game; it makes me warms my heart to see him enjoying time with his family. I reward Instagr.am with my attention because it makes me happy. That is its utility.

His examples and Fred Wilson’s examples are excellent reasons why some social applications really work well and others don’t get traction.  Implicit social graphs are really driven by interests where time and location can be attributes of that interest but they are not the primary definition of that interest.

Color Privacy – If Privacy Is Your Thing, Color May Not Be For You

Color: Don't Want to Share Publicly? Don't Use it.

Chris Crum | March 25, 2011 @ 11:42am

Social media and privacy don’t tend to play well together, as we’ve seen in the past. Sure, there are always privacy settings, but these are usually emphasized as an afterthought. Things are a bit different with Color, however.

No, color doesn’t have a strict emphasis on privacy. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Color’s stance is basically: if you want privacy, use something else.

Color says it collects the name you give them when you set up the app, your email address, pictures, videos, comments, and actions you take through the app (the content), and location info. When a user has the app active, their device sends Color’s server their location, and Color shares content with others. “Sharing Content publicly with others from different locations is what this App is about,” the company says. ” If you find this objectionable, please consider not using our App or Site.” (emphasis added)

Here’s more on what they share and collect, directly from the Color privacy policy:

HERE’S WHAT WE (AND YOU) SHARE WITH OTHERS: We share the name you give us when you set up the App on your Device, your Content, and possibly, the location from which your Content was created. Our App also allows you to share your name and Content on some social media sites. If you choose to use this function, we neither store nor share the information you input to access those sites through our App.

HERE’S WHAT WE COLLECT WHEN YOU ACCESS OUR SITE: The usual stuff. Like most online companies, we capture your browser and operating system information, and your IP address. We also collect cookies, which are tiny data files your computer sends us. We use cookies to customize your experience on our Site. If you want to disable the cookies, follow the directions on your browser. Currently, you don’t need a login and password to visit our Site, (but we’re considering it). Stay tuned.

HERE’S WHAT WE COLLECT IF YOU LET US: If you say it’s OK, we’ll store your mobile number. That way, if you lose or replace your Device, we can re-associate your past activity and Content with your new Device. We won’t call you. We also collect information from your Device’s address book. We think you might be interested in seeing your friends’ Content. By collecting your mobile number and address book information, and linking it to your Device, our software makes the Content you see more relevant to you, and you’ll be able to use certain SMS functions we’re cooking up. It also allows you to link your Color experience to your other online social experiences. If you’re not OK with this, just say no and we won’t do it.

As is the case with most privacy sacrifices from social products, it’s essentially a trade-off of privacy for user experience.

“In many ways they are inviting the privacy tension, but it is memory about things made public that creates both a level of utility and more significant harm,” said SocialText CEO Ross Mayfield in another article we ran. “I wonder how much they have thought it through. Some like LinkedIn did, others died, other blasted through it regardless.”

One more interesting point brought up in Color’s privacy policy is that if Color is acquired or if it acquires another company, these other entities will gain the same info that Color has already collected. Pretty standard, but it does seem to suggest that Color is not launching with a not-for-sale sign.

CEO Ben Nguyen’s previous company, Lala, was acquired by Apple. I’m guessing there will be a number of potential buyers for Color if the price is right. As John Battelle said in a post about Color, “Note to Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare: If you don’t get this feature into your service, pronto, you will more likely than not be rueing the day Color launched.”

Color promises to update users as its policy changes. It was last updated earlier this week. Privacy concerns can be sent to privacy@color.com.

Foursquare Rewards Check-ins With Food…For Your Dog

Check In! Snack Out!

Josh Wolford | March 29, 2011 @ 5:20pm

In “wow, that’s actually a great idea” news, a German pet food company, GranataPet, has found an interesting way to market its product – free samples via Foursquare check-in.

Dog users in countries where GranataPet is available (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) that check-in to certain dog food billboards will have a free sample dispensed to a small bowl attached to the sign.  The way this works is servers continuously poll for check-ins and trigger the food dispenser when it notices someone new.  Dogs can then get a taste of GranataPet’s product and owners can then spend the rest of their lives trying to pull their dogs away from the streets where the billboards are located.

This has been tried before in the States, when last year nonprofit environmental firm EarthJustice placed ads in San Francisco transit stations.  The ads said that with every check-in on Foursquare, the firm would make a $10 donation to help an endangered species.  Cute.  But it’s not food.

Sure, something like this is a novelty.  People will go out of their way to try it once, but what are the chances it could actually promote brand loyalty?  The possibilities are far greater if a company were to apply this model to food for humans.  Free Snickers bar with your first check-in to a certain movie theater?  Flav-o-rich offering free Popsicles for check-ins on a hot New York street?  Sure, Foursquare already allows businesses to offer deals for 1st time check-ins and for mayorships,  but a deal is not the same at something free popping out of a billboard.  And that, my friends,

GetGlue Foursquare Integration Announced

Entertainment check-in app unveils place check-ins along with other new features

Josh Wolford | March 29, 2011 @ 1:05pm

If you aren’t familiar with GetGlue, it is a smartphone app that allows users to check-in to activities in a way similar to how users check-in to places via Foursquare.  For instance, a GetGlue user could check into entertainment such as The Arcade Fire, Big Momma’s House or Twilight: New Moon and let their friends know what they were up to, media-wise.  On a side note, I would really like to meet the person with the above check-ins.  They sound…interesting.

Announced today, users can now attach a location to their activity check-ins with complete Foursquare integration.  GetGlue already offered to post your check-ins to Facebook and Twitter, but this adds specificity to each activity.  Now, users can let the world know they are listening to Daft Punk @ Red Rocks or watching The Social Network @ Regal Cinemas.

As you can see above, the generic user is sharing a sports-related check-in.  This is also new to GetGlue.  Before today, there was no category for sports check-ins.  Movies, Music, TV, Books, Wine and simply Thoughts, but no sports.

In the same way that GetGlue rewards users with stickers for repeated and unique check-ins in other areas, sports fans can become fans and superfans of their favorite teams.  Special stickers and rewards are being offered from sports organizations like FOX Sports, NHL, NFL Network and NASCAR.  The new sports check-ins and Foursquare integration seem to be suited for each other.  “Josh is watching the New York Knicks” doesn’t pack as much of a punch as “Josh is watching the New York Knicks @ Madison Square Garden.”

Other changes were also made to the profile screen, home screen and sticker screen.  Many of the buttons were also made larger.  No quite sure why, as they didn’t seem too small to me before.  The check-in screen was updated, giving many more details about the activity in question.  You can now quickly jump to exclusive stickers, superfan specials and related content.

If you haven’t tried GetGlue, it’s worth a shot – especially if you are one of those people who loves achievements, unlockables, badges, etc. etc.