Itchy consumers find bedbug website
The heavy media coverage of bedbugs invading many hotels nationwide has been a boon for Adam Greenberg of Northbrook.
His online business, USBedBugs.com, has seen an uptick in page views and orders for products aimed to protect consumers from bedbugs, either at home or while traveling. Even small hotel and apartment owners have ordered items, Greenberg said.
“After that media blitz on bedbugs last year, our traffic spiked tremendously,” Greenberg said. “But there were some pitfalls.”
The drawback included plenty of page views on what bedbugs look like, but that didn't always translate into orders. So, he tweaked his Google ad campaign and other marketing efforts. And when his site came up during searches, those consumers were more likely in the market to buy, he said.
Still, his business has done so well since 2009, that he's increased his staff from 13 to 20. They maintain two websites, the USBedBugs.com as well as his first venture started in 2006, NorthShoreCare.com, which provides home medical supplies.
In fact, the first website helped to lead to the second, since he originally carried many of the products first listed on NorthShoreCare.com. They included mattress covers for incontinence, which people were later buying to avoid bedbugs. He then began marketing certain products that apply on the USBedBug website, he said.
Next, Greenberg aims to fully automate the websites. So when consumers or businesses place an order, it's sent directly to the warehouse for quicker delivery, instead of going through customer service.
That will undoubtedly free up his customer service reps for other important things, like helping answer questions about those bedbugs.
Surfing: Edward Hospital has launched an iPhone app that allows users to quickly find wait times at its Emergency Rooms in Naperville and Plainfield. It also provides information about Edward's immediate care locations in Bolingbrook and Oswego. Go to www.edward.org/erwaittimes and click on the Edward ER app icon or search for Edward ER in the App Store.
Ÿ TradeInSpot.com hosts The Chicagoland iPhone Trade-in Event today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at its headquarters, 600 Heathrow Drive, Lincolnshire. The company said it is offering up to $225 for an iPhone 4 if consumers want to trade up.
ŸThe Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Office of Tourism are offering a new free mobile travel app for Android smartphones to help you get around the state. It's called Enjoy Illinois, which was first launched to iPhone users in August.
ŸFollow Anna Marie Kukec on LinkedIn and Facebook and as AMKukec on Twitter. Write to her at akukec@dailyherald.com.