Signature - Q2, 2008 - (Page 16)

Bluetooth Technology Interactive | by Keith Ferrell | Q2 ’08 From innovative online efforts to tried-and-true methodologies, there’s a wealth of marketing resources available to members of the Bluetooth SIG. The Bluetooth SIG is committed to being as ambitious and innovative in marketing its capabilities – and your products – as it is in promoting the technology itself. “We provide a place where big and small companies can get their products in front of consumers,” says Kevin Keating, senior marketing manager for the Bluetooth SIG. “And we give them quite a few different ways to do so.” One important way members can reach consumers is through the Product Directory located at bluetooth.com/Bluetooth/Products/Products. It’s part of the new Product Zone on Bluetooth.com, where the Match Devices section lets users ﬁnd compatible Bluetooth enabled products. This public Web site has a large and quickly growing audience that’s well worth reaching. “We’re getting 600,000 unique visits to the Web site every month,” Keating says. “Consumers who’ve already adopted Bluetooth technology continue to come back to ﬁnd out what’s new.” What’s new are 10-15 Bluetooth enabled products introduced there every day. “Our growth has been exponential,” Keating says. “When we launched the site in January 2006, there were 300 products in the directory. Today there are more than 2,000.” The Product Directory is available for free to Bluetooth SIG members, who create the end product listings themselves through an application on Bluetooth.org. A well-crafted listing advances the marketing of Bluetooth enabled devices and can offer companies other, perhaps unexpected, beneﬁts as well. The important thing about creating an effective end product listing, Keating points out, is to make sure the right person or group of people at your company develops the listing. Because product representation within the Bluetooth SIG often falls to a member company’s technical staff, which has been most responsible for qualifying the products, there’s a chance that technical rather than marketing personnel create the listing for Bluetooth.com. Keating recommends developing the listing in concert with all appropriate company personnel – technical, marketing, sales and so on. Doing so not only produces a richer and more well-rounded end product listing, but also occasionally results in disparate company departments getting to know each other for the ﬁrst time. 16 | SIGnature | Bluetooth.org Matching Consumer Awareness “End product listings are also entered into the consumer-oriented Match Devices section of our Product Zone, which offers a step-by-step visual guide that helps consumers ﬁnd the right Bluetooth enabled products for a variety of activities at home, at work, at play and on the road,” Keating says. Match Devices is rapidly becoming one of the most popular aspects of Bluetooth.com. The section’s combination of icon-driven walk-throughs and drop-down menus allows visitors to easily explore and discover speciﬁc Bluetooth enabled products for speciﬁc purposes and activities. “As with the Product Directory, listing in Match Devices is absolutely free,” Keating says. “Members simply have to create their product listings – a process that’s easily done online.” (For more information on how to create an end product listing, read “Get on the List” on page 28 of SIGnature magazine’s Q4 ’07 issue, available online at Bluetooth.com. Members can also download an end product listing guide from the “Marketing Resources Overview” page on Bluetooth.com.) Another Bluetooth SIG marketing initiative that’s gathering increasing attention is TransSend, which lets users send Web content directly from their browser to their phones or other Bluetooth enabled devices. TransSend makes it possible to develop Bluetooth enabled Web sites. “Consumers can transfer information to their Bluetooth enabled devices right away,” Keating says, “without having to use their carrier – and incur costs the carrier charges.” In other words, TransSend gives Bluetooth SIG members an opportunity to deliver information such as addresses, calendar events, driving directions, news, advertisements and more to their customers in a manner that saves everyone time and money. It’s a win/win marketing proposition that’s easily implemented and appreciated by both parties. Information – and free TransSend software to enable the function on enduser computers – is available at Bluetooth.com. The Research Advantage Good marketing methods become even more effective when backed by solid market research, and here, too, the Bluetooth SIG offers its members advantages and opportunities. http://bluetooth.com/Bluetooth/Products/Products http://www.bluetooth.com http://www.bluetooth.com http://www.bluetooth.com http://www.bluetooth.org http://www.bluetooth.com http://www.bluetooth.com http://www.bluetooth.org

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