With 95% of his Flash delivery app orders originating from Facebook, forecourt operator Oliver Blake has come up with a novel way to encourage customers to sign up to his social media page.
He has fitted at his store 10 near field communication (NFC) plates – smart, contactless plaques which link mobile phones to social media sites and apps with the tap of the hand.
Within a day of installing the £10 a piece equipment at his site’s cashdesks and coffee machine, Blake doubled the number of followers of his Oasis Garage Facebook page from around 200 to 400.
When he hits 1,000 followers he will enter them into a prize draw for a Quest 3S VR gaming headset, worth around £300, as an added incentive to sign up.
Blake also plans to introduce the plates onto fuel pumps and other locations at the Long Riston, Hull forecourt, where customers dwell for longer, such as at the car wash, laundry machines, and Amazon and InPost parcel lockers.
Every time a customer taps their phone and signs up to Facebook a counter on the cashdesk adds them to the number count so that everyone “can see a consequence from their action”, says Blake.
He is now considering purchasing more sophisticated NFC plates to allow customers to tap and instantly download the Flash rapid delivery app.
The technology – provided by DigiFeel.io – is just one of several ideas Blake has been working on to increase the Jet/Spar site’s social media following. He has started to run bespoke ads on Facebook which only Flash app users can access.
This has generated a huge amount of interest: A post on 18-packs of Diet Coke and Coke Zero for 99p gained 21k views; a four-day 1p Cheeky coffee offer had 10,182 views, and a bacon bap or sausage bap for 99p deal from the store’s deli over two days reached 12,826 views.
Blake is also paying a marketing specialist £300 a month to create social media content, and he has been spending £20 a day on Facebook advertising, the latter of which has not been as effective as he had hoped.
“I knew that I had to push this the very most I could – Facebook is the big driver for getting customers to sign up and use the delivery platform.”
The Flash delivery app service, which Blake introduced in December, has exceeded expectations. It is now worth more than £3,000 a week, and is set to hit £5,000 a week in three months, ahead of the six months predicted.
“When we hit £5,000 we will need a second car and to add three more drivers to the two we have now. At this rate in nine or 10 months we should hit £10,000 a week,” says Blake.
“It has been really well received because I am offering instore prices, bespoke promotions, and no service or delivery charge,” he adds.
That will change in the new year though when he plans to introduce a £2.99 delivery fee, and an £8.99 subscription for unlimited deliveries.
