WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK: Target your digital marketing accurately

A new report from Responsys this week found that more Australian businesses are reducing the volume of messages in their digital campaigns, as they more accurately target their recipients.

It’s an interesting development, and serves as a crucial lesson. In an age where consumers now decide which advertising message they want to receive, where they want to receive them, and when, it becomes even more important to figure out how you can speak to customers in a way they will appreciate.

Learn what your customers want. Only then can you start targeting them with marketing messages that are more likely to be received, and you will stop wasting time on sending text messages or Facebook posts on campaigns that aren’t going to get a response anyway.

Get your prices right the first time

The biggest tech story of the week has no doubt been HP’s announcement that it would discontinue all WebOS devices, including the TouchPad – it promptly discounted the tablet to just $99, sparking fire sales.

Within hours 6,000 units had been sold across the entire country, and profiteers were listing the TouchPad on eBay as soon as possible, looking for a healthy profit.

While the death of the TouchPad is a fascinating development in the ongoing tablet wars, it also raises a very interesting point about how carefully businesses need to set their price points. While the TouchPad wasn’t able to gain too much attention at $499, at $99 it sparked lines outside stores dozens of people long.

Consider your own pricing. Are you pricing too high, or not enough? It’s a delicate balance, but making a difference to your pricing and making up the money in other areas could do a lot to boost demand for your products.

Think global

An Australian start-up, Skitch, was acquired last week by Evernote, a company that makes a popular app for mobiles and tablets. The local company produces software that allows users to edit images and add graphics and text.

It’s only the most recent acquisition of an Australian company by a tech entity located in either the United States or Europe. And it confirms a trend that outsiders are definitely eyeing what is happening in the local scene, and that the tech world is now becoming smaller than ever before.

And it also represents a good lesson for local tech companies – just because you are not located overseas does not mean you cannot attract the attention of international businesses.

You need to start your business with a global focus. Don’t automatically assume that you won’t get international attention and then only focus on the Australian market. The tech scene is now wide open – target your product to a worldwide audience, and you will no doubt receive worldwide attention.

Get on board the R&D train

The research and development tax credit legislation has finally passed the Senate, and upon passing the House of Representatives will become law.

The debate around this legislation has lasted for several months, but finally businesses will have some certainty around how they can spend their money in order to receive a tax credit on research and development activities.

There’s an important element here – the fact that software is eligible. If you’re a company in the tech space and are working on software, then you could be eligible to receive payments under the new system.

Get your work in order, and start investigating whether you would be eligible under the new credit. This legislation could inform your spending and business plans over the next few years, and you want to be sure you’re maximising your company’s potential.

Respond to industry trends… quickly

When Google+ launched it was only a matter of time before Facebook would respond. And this week it did just that, launching a range of new privacy features and upgrading its Places program, replacing it with a more omniscient “Locations” feature.

While some analysts might say Facebook is only copying Google’s good ideas, there’s a point to be made here – that you need to respond to industry trends.

Is your main competitor doing something you’re not? If so, don’t just copy what they’re doing. Instead, focus on what they are doing, and if it’s working. If consumers seem to react well to that, then you should look at implementing some of those features in a way that works within your own business structure.

Don’t just copy. Remember to innovate and constantly test new features – but don’t be blind to the fact that rivals can overtake you in a short amount of time.