Have you seen window decals like this start appearing this week? The Simms Team at ALVA International was named a Favorite Place by google and received this sticker for the window. It's designed with a QR bar code so that phones with this code reading application can point at the sticker and get photos, hours of operation, directions, information about the business. The you can click through to our website, dial through to our phone, save it on your phone, or email the information to a friend.
As a business owner you can add photos, descriptions, etc., so this is a new way to supplement your marketing efforts.
Google has blogged about this new way to window shop.
There are several QR reader applications for the phone. I chose QuickMark for my iPhone at the cost of 99 cents. QuickMark is one of the 16 most popular iPhone applications and the most popular one in the barcode category.
Additional note: based on some of the questions that came up in the comments, I found this post on Google Favorite Places that explains how they made their choices and what you can do about it.
Hi Sharon~ I had not seen this at all. Thanks for sharing this with us. I am off to check into it!
Sharon - that's pretty cool. Both the decal and being named a favorite place.Google is amazing.
Jeff
This is neat. I just bookmarked! Thanks for sharing this information.
Thanks for this tip...greatly appreciated!
How do you do this as a Business Owner...get the "We're a Favorite Place?"
Thanks for posting - hadn't seen this!
Hi Sharon...I read about this but it isn't clear to me how you actually become a favorite place. I have registered my business with Google but so far, not much has become of it.
Vickie, Jeff, Li, Cheryl, Miriam and John - thanks for your comments.
The letter from google said that they awarded us a Favorite Place on Google because of the number of google users who found our listing and requested driving directions or other information about our business, between July 1 and September 30.
Since there's no application form, I'd suggest you register your business with Google, and thenperhaps have lots of your clients search for it. But then again, it may be too late for that. With Google, it may be that they use test periods before they even announce something, so that there can be no manipulation.
In any case, it's fun, and we're pleased. So far no one walking by has commented on it.
I just found a blog from google that answers some of these questions on google Favorite Places.
http://www.google.com/help/maps/favoriteplaces/business/faq.html#
Sharon,
Google is everywhere and soon more androids are coming for real estate needs :P I am starting to love it.
Sharon - I had not seen this, but it sure looks pretty cool. It sure would be great to be named a great place on google, wouldn't it.
Ray - I love google things, but would have to see comparable applications before switching from an iPhone to an Android.
Troy - any positive google recognition is a good thing.
Sharon - Very cool concept and I need to get my listing tweaked. I read something that Ira wrote about this on the Google Group and he had actually got a better listing initially than his real estate brokerage...I thought that was pretty neat and he did it with very little effort. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family.
wow - that is really impressive - congratulations on being a favorite place!!!