Update on Groupon

"Groupon is a disaster," says Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester Research analyst. "It's a shill that's going to be exposed pretty soon."


Click Here to Read More!

Used Shuttle Buses For Sale

Sky Harbor Airport Parking operates a large fleet of Shuttle Buses for their off-airport parking business.  The company's president, Jason Pasley, is interested in selling some of these vehicles to fellow operators in need of this type of equipment.

2005 Champion E-450

14+ Passenger

200K+ Miles

Large Luggage Rack

Large Rear A/C

All Maintenence Records

Very Well Maintained

Is Facebook Worth The Hassle?

We all take care of our cars with the typical maintenance issues; oil change, flat tire, brakes, etc.  And then there are sometimes where we need to address some bigger and more serious problems; leaks, belts, electrical, and much more.

In regards to a bigger problem, such as a radiator leak on a Friday evening, where does one find an auto service repair store on a Saturday...affordable...trustworthy...and has your parts?  A better question is, how do you search for an auto service repair store?  Since I was fortunate to have this happen to me a few days ago, I thought it would be appropriate to share my story.

Here is the Where and the How options:

Yellow Pages - not in our home or business these days; who wants to call all over the community?
Newspaper - no more delivery at our house; stopped reading old news 10 years ago
Direct Mail - not too much promotion here; currently receive car dealerships advertising their services
Internet - the only timely way to find anything; Google search 'tampa auto care services' and voilà

Along with the basic keyword search, a shopper receives multiple choices in the community.  This is how business is done today, right?  Absolutely! 

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I clicked on three automotive websites who appeared to be a trusted brand, open on Saturday and have the necessary parts for a 9-year old BMW.  This is where the fun begins for a shopper, and that is trying to locate pertinent information (value and service) fast (right now, not Monday) on a website full links from tires to services to parts (like looking for Waldo).  The three companies were Firestone, Pep Boys and Sears.

Please allow me to cut to the chase and make this 30 minute story real short.  When I visited the companies mentioned,  I found myself thinking...who wants my business?  Who is going to make it easy for me to drive my car into your facility and pay you money?  Good question right?

So why or how did Pep Boys earn my business?  The answer is simple!  After reading up on their services, I clicked on their Facebook link and it directed me to a "Monthly Deals" page. This page convinced me and closed me, and from there, the savings of 10% looked good on my invoice.
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Knowing this, if you were responsible for Sear's or Firestone's online strategy, would you change your strategy to drive more customers into your business?  Of course!

In summary, I asked the Assistant Manager at Pep Boys a question:  "Do you receive many of these Facebook coupons?"  His answer:  "More and more each day".  And then he said, "Next time, just pull the coupon up on your phone and we will honor it."  That is what I am talking about....Keep It Simple & Smart!

Last Chance for a $1500 Website

As many of you know, our core business services are Reservations, Point-Of-Sale, Integration, Consulting and Marketing Services.  Do we build websites once-in-awhile?  Yes!  Since 2010, SMC has designed and developed 10 websites for our parking clients, and we have enjoyed participating in a variety of marketing initiatives to drive traffic.  

Dynamic Websites are so important today for your business.  Like with your clothes, your hair, and your car, your website must be updated to reflect the modern day demands and pressures.  To learn more about a dynamic website, please click here. 

If you would like for SMC to build your business a new website, the time is now. Right Now! The development cost is $1500.00 and annual maintenance (excludes hosting) cost is only $100.00.  Beginning December 16, 2011, the website price will increase to $2000 and annual maintenance to $500.

• Professional Design (over 3000 templates to choose from)
• Search Engine Friendly Structure
• Optimized Website Layout and Design
• Front End Design includes:

• Home
• About
• Rates & Services
• Rewards
• Testimonials
• Reservations
• Directions, Google Map and Widget
• Contact Form
• Constant Contact Widget
• Other
  
• Discount/Coupon
• Includes up to 8 photos
• Includes up to 2 videos
• Basic Search Engine Submission
• Social Media

BONUS:  We will build landing pages at no charge.  What does this mean?  If you find a corporation, travel agency or association to work with and they want a link to your website with a preferred reservations system, or you would like to have a Facebook page on your website with a reservations system, or you would like to run a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign to point shoppers to a promotional page with a reservations system, we will add these pages complimentary.

NOTE:  Websites using Flash are not mobile friendly.  Therefore, if you have a flash application on your website or you are thinking about it, please be advised of the loading problems.  With mobile phones and tablets growing so rapid in the marketplace, you must be aware of potential problems for your customers.

If this is you - "we need to upgrade our website and get with the times" - let us know!  SMC will take care of you.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Client User Conference

SMC is thrilled about its first-of-a-kind gathering for parking operators from around the country. Is it really a first-of-its-kind? Yes, and this is why. At no cost to you (other than your trip to Florida), SMC will hold educational workshops and sessions to share a combined 50+ years of expertise in various fields to help your business grow in 2012.  As internet marketing and innovative technology evolves, the time is now.

If a picture is worth a thousand words ...

... then a video is worth a million.

CLICK HERE NOW

to preview the Agenda and Register for the Conference. If you have any hesitation, please call me so I can share my thoughts on how important it will be for you to network with fellow parking operators just like you who are "fighting the fight". Furthermore, if you have thoughts to share with us on the Agenda, please let us know.  We are always listening.

The SMC Team looks forward to seeing you all.

Press Announcement

Playing Around with "Call-To-Action" Buttons and a Badge for Emails and Websites

New buttons are popping up everywhere in the reservations space. From the industry leaders (airline, hotel, car rental, rail, and cruise) to skeptical followers (parking, limo, taxi, golf, restaurants, salons, and many others). So why is this phenomenon growing so fast?

There are many reasons for this change of circumstance. For this writing, let's discuss three.

1. Businesses spend X amount of dollars promoting their brand through various methods and channels on the internet. Researchers have found that when people arrive at a website, at least 50% of them will leave that website within 8 seconds. Please click here to read more.

2. Mobile Devices. Not much too say here other than - "Watch Out, because you have not seeen anything yet". Okay, let me share a quick one with you. Last week, we reserved a free Chick-fil-a sandwich online which we had to pick up today between 8a-9a. (Personal note: Eating chicken for breakfast is tough to swallow). Anyways, a 30-something man walks up to the counter with his Tablet PC, in place of a printed receipt, to redeem his sandwich with a bar-coded stamp on his screen. You get the picture, right?

3. The element of surprise - no full disclosure. Consumers want to know the total price of what they are buying in a real time environment. No one likes surprises. Car dealers are the best example here. "This car will only cost you $300/month". We all know how that story ends after driving your dream car off the lot for only $349/month...if you're lucky.

Having said all that, we are creating Call-To-Action buttons for email campaigns. We are also playing around with a "Best Rate Guarantee" badge for websites. Many companies are adding these features to their marketing strategy and we feel it is important to follow success. So, if you have thoughts to share, we are listening.

Client User Conference 2012

On September 15, 2011, we will publicly announce the 2012 Client User Conference. Please mark your calendars in January for this educational opportunity of a lifetime.

If it were me, knowing what I know about the meetings scheduled, my Manager would be riding shot-gun.

Stay Tune!