The SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator will host a free training workshop on Wednesday, Sept. 19, for artists and small business owners titled, “Increase sales with your smart phone.” Taught by several facilitators, including Professor Peter Tucker of SUNY Fredonia, the workshop will focus on everything from processing credit cards to loyalty programs and customer relations. The program is being offered as a result of the increasing prevalence of and growing demand for smart phone and other mobile computing technologies.
According to data from the Pew Research Center published recently in Time Business, almost half (46 percent) of all American adults now own a smart phone.
“The data couldn’t be clearer: mobile is the next frontier in outreach for business owners,” said Tucker, who teaches in SUNY Fredonia’s Visual Arts and New Media department. “Never before has the opportunity been made available to literally reach customers directly through their mobile devices.”
In the three-hour, hands-on workshop, participants will learn strategies and tactics to engage customers and create customer loyalty; learn how to accept credit card payment via Smart Phone applications; develop a customer base offering specials and deals through Foursquare; grow ongoing relationships with customers via Twitter; apply Quick-Response (QR) codes to quickly drive customer traffic to websites or other online platform; and create a system for online sales through mobile tools. The Sept. 19 workshop will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator, 214 Central Ave., in Dunkirk.
Those interested can register at www.myartscouncil.net, or by calling 716-372-7455. The workshop is being facilitated by the Cattaraugus County Arts Council, SUNY Fredonia and the Southern Tier West Regional Planning & Development Board, and is sponsored by the Appalachian Regional Commission.
