Books

transit to that business’s location? Placing a link in the business’s card in Apple Maps is probably the best way to go. Will users need to interact with a piece of hardware in the physical place of business, such as a kiosk, a lock, a locker or other device that wants some level of authentication or personalization? Then a Clip Code, QR Code or NFC touchpoint is the way forward. Perhaps a business wants to extend purchasing capabilities or enable loyalty interactions after purchase? Clip Codes located near the merchandise in question or NFC touchpoints at Point of Sale may be the ticket. If a business needs to leverage physical marketing in a specific place to enable interactions or purchasing, Clip Codes are the answer.

In the hierarchy of personalization, an app installed on a user’s device is the gold standard for brands seeking to interact with their customers digitally. It’s a generally acknowledged fact of commerce that a known customer is more valuable to a company than an unknown one, but customers at a point of sale are typically disinclined to stop and fill out paperwork, and they don’t always enter into a transaction having already joined that brand’s loyalty program.

WHY WOULD MY BRAND WANT TO CREATE AN APP CLIP?

By leveraging an App Clip as a part of a mobile-pay or ordering flow at the point of sale or even the point of browse — a new moment enabled by digital extensions attached to products — businesses can transition easily into a loyalty signup experience that is enabled as long as the clip persists on the user’s device. Given that clips persist for at least eight hours, users can re-engage at their leisure, and businesses will even have access to a special class of notification to assist with reuptake.

Brands also gain access to greater demographic and analytic data about the efficacy of their marketing and the associated utilitarian aspects of their app.

QR codes are an early and, let’s be frank, unattractive means of extending the physical into the digital. In typical Apple form, Clip Codes are their answer to QR’s limitations. Clip Codes, at the very least, do no harm to a brand’s marketing materials and enable greater utility than the brochureware on a website typically attached to QR codes. This is only true if brands ensure their marketing materials are explicit in the value and utility they advertise, and they deliver on that promise. If the brand has cleared that hurdle, then attaching precision analytics to that well-formed marketing is the logical next step.

Businesses need to ensure they track not only conversion rates of unknown to known users, but also pay attention to how often they enable even anonymous commerce. The right of users to engage in commerce anonymously is fast becoming something brands ignore at their extreme peril.

The following is my personal philosophy, and reasonable and intelligent professionals can and do disagree: It is more important to enable utility and commerce than it is to harvest user data or convert an anonymous user to a member of a brand’s loyalty program. The frictional overhead introduced by demanding user information as a condition of access is anathema to the design principle underlying App Clips. Apple explicitly contraindicates login or signup as a condition of use, and the zeitgeist is generally opposed to personal and demographic information as the coin of the realm at this time.

IN SUMMARY…

All that is to say, provide utility and value first, and conversions will come. Users that have a good experience with a brand and feel like they got use out of its App Clips will retain the clip on their device longer with re-use and are more likely to convert to full users and permanent members of that brand’s user base over time.

Business NOT as Usual

Leading a business through crisis is a crisis in itself. The COVID-19 pandemic has been taking its toll on many, creating turmoil in the global economy. Business NOT As Usual is written not only as a blueprint for a successful recovery plan, but also as a success blueprint and a roadmap beyond the recovery phase. A powerhouse of practical and workable plans and a roadmap to success, the book contains frameworks, tools and many gems that can help owners and leaders of small to medium-sized businesses during and beyond difficult times. Anyone planning for a successful business recovery needs to read this book and keep it in their reference library. Thought leader and award-winning international speaker, Dr. Diyari Abdah holds a Master of Science and Master of Business Administration.

Business NOT as Usual: Success Strategies for Building a Pandemic-Proof Business Dr. Diyari Abdah 208 pages Morgan James Publishing Available 12/1/2020 $27.95

Stronger Through Adversity

COVID-19 has disrupted business and life in ways we never imagined. Within days of the outbreak, world-renowned business expert Joseph Michelli contacted more than 140 senior leaders at major companies about their specific challenges and how they were meeting them — getting raw yet thoughtful real-time insights into a crisis that will define an entire generation of leaders. The result is Stronger Through Adversity. In this business guide for our times, Michelli distills best leadership practices that can be used in any company, in any industry. Organized into four main themes — Set the Foundation, Build Connections, Move with Purpose, and Harness Change — Stronger Through Adversity provides a deep dive into the methods, tactics and approaches leaders have used to keep their company afloat and to position it for success long after the pandemic.

Stronger Through Adversity: World-Class Leaders Share Pandemic-Tested Lessons on Thriving During the Toughest Challenges Joseph A. Michelli 288 pages McGraw-Hill Education Available 12/22/2020 $25.00

Where is My Office?

Where is My Office is a fascinating and accessible guide to the effective management of corporate real estate — an underestimated element of business management that can have a dramatic impact upon employee satisfaction and organizational efficiency. In the current age of remote working and flexible work hours, why have most office spaces remained relatively unchanged for decades? In Where is My Office? Chris Kane highlights the importance of workplace agility and innovative corporate real estate thinking in ensuring the productivity and efficiency of any organization, while at the same time offering insights into the future of our work environments and the implications for CRE investors.

Where is My Office? Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century Chris Kane Bloomsbury Business Available 12/22/2020 272 pages $35.00