When it comes to telephony, as with most other forms of communication, you may have encountered a fair amount of misinformation during your research. So, to make sure you can make an informed decision for your business, here are 6 myths about business phones, busted.
Myth #1 – You Will Need to Replace Your Infrastructure When Upgrading
However, if you opt for a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) business phone system, you will never need to replace your existing infrastructure or hardware. These phones work through the internet, and so can be used on laptops, computers, tablets, smartphones, and handsets that connect to the internet.
Myth #2 – Business Phone Systems Are Only for Large Businesses
Any size of business can benefit from a business phone system, no matter how big or small they might be. In fact, VoIP options, such as business phone systems by Gamma, can easily be scaled up or down depending on the size of your business.
As these phone systems operate via an online portal, these changes can come into effect instantly! Simply add or remove users depending on your circumstances, and you will only pay for what you use.
Myth #3 – Business Phones Are Open to Data Leaks
In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on data protection, culminating in the Data Protection Act 2018. Naturally, this has made many businesses wary of any areas that might be prone to security issues.
However, business phone systems can be incredibly secure, so you can be rest assured that your stakeholders’ data is protected.
Myth #4 – You Will Need to Change Your Number (And Update All of Your Information Accordingly)
Having to change your number can be a huge hassle! Not only can this stop customers from contacting you, but you will need to update all of your promotional materials and online listings to ensure the right information is displayed.
But, thankfully, you shouldn’t need to change your phone number! If you are switching providers, they should allow you to keep your existing phone number. And, if you are upgrading to VoIP, they will simply port your phone number when you switch over.
Myth #5 – It’s Too Complicated to Set Up!
Whilst, indeed, there may be a few aspects that need to be carefully considered and configured, setting up a business phone system isn’t always complicated. In most cases, the phone provider will be able to support you throughout the process, undertaking the complicated bits themselves.
Myth #6 – It’s Just a Phone System So It Won’t Affect Day-To-Day Productivity
It is not just a phone system – this is the way that employees can talk to one another internally, and the way that customers can communicate with your business. Thus, an effective phone system can improve productivity and efficiency within your business, increasing both employee and customer satisfaction.
Many VoIP systems also come with additional features that can further improve productivity, including, but not limited to, video conferencing, instant messaging, live chat, and email integration.
With all of this in mind, you will be able to ensure that you are able to make the best, most informed decisions for your business.
Tele-PHONY! 6 Myths About Business Phones, Busted was last modified: April 20th, 2022 by Samantha B
It doesn’t matter if you have to undergo emergency treatment or if you know that you need to try and change dentists, because now electronic healthcare records are making everything much easier. If you want to find out how else things are increasing in value and convenience because of technology then simply take a look below.
Treatment
Treatments can also be performed much easier thanks to the rise in technology. It would seem that people can now get whatever help they need through tech in general. Someone can contact their doctor via video link or email and they can then book them to see a specialist through the same technological methods. If you look at Tej Kohli, you will see that he has invested a lot of money into the tech and healthcare industry, ensuring that things keep on advancing as they should.
Shared Information
It is becoming evident that clear communication between healthcare providers is essential. Making accurate and timely diagnostics will require the sharing of information as well as access to patient healthcare records. Electronic data is paving the way for this and it all starts with accurate documentation as well as seamless transfers.
The great thing about electronic data is that it eliminates the need for paper files and it also stops a patient’s medical history from being lost or misplaced over time. Another great benefit is that if someone was to require emergency treatment, they can do so knowing that all of their data is being accessed. If you go to the dentist and you have a file, you will be able to go to any other dentist and they will be able to access your file if required.
Centralized EMR
The great thing about centralized EMR is that it means that all healthcare providers who are relative to the patient would have to be part of this growing ecosystem. The ideal scenario here is where people should be headed. The aim of centralized EMR is to have individual facilities which are all digitised so that clinical functions can then sync with each other seamlessly. We have to make sure that external facilities, whether they are private or public, can access a patient’s information while giving them the best possible care.
Digital Calls
Healthcare providers can also work together way better thanks to digital calls. Calls can be made from just about anywhere and this makes it easier than ever for people to connect and share information about patients like dental composite bonding before and after effects. You also have video calls and video recordings. Healthcare providers, when they are performing surgery, or even trying to speak with other healthcare professionals on a joint video call, can now share information seamlessly. This allows for a faster transmission of information with ease.
Of course, things might have changed a lot over the years but one thing is for certain. Healthcare is advancing for the better, because of the rise in technology. Now, you can know more about other healthcare offers abroad, like the All on 4 Melbourne cost if you need that particular service.
Healthcare Providers Can Now Work Together Better Thanks to Technology was last modified: September 23rd, 2022 by Harry Green
If there is one thing that keeps a business running well, it’s proper communication. This means communication between your team and your system. Training, implementation, and improved security are all going to make a massive difference when it comes to productivity and compliance within your business. However, what do you need to do to improve it?
Replace Outdated Systems
Communication makes or breaks your business. It is an ever-changing field, both technologically and humanly. On the one hand, the PSTN switch off in the US and UK means that some old equipment needs to be retired. On the other hand, new technologies like OTA 5g can bring lower-cost systems online that replace older hard-wired technologies.
Secure Your Communication
In order to avoid your communication channels becoming a liability, you must endeavor to encrypt and secure them. This means securing all types of communication, from emails to voice calls to texts. The good news is that there are all-in-one systems available that cover everything from encryption to vault encryption, all while securing endpoints. Security measures like those at ghostchat.net use post-quantum encryption using 521bitECC, Double Ratcheting, and Extended Triple Diffie-Hellman, as well as AES 256bit PGP email encryption and offering a TLS encrypted network your business will be secure.
Build an Integrated System
Communication is often thought of as something solely for people. The fact is the most effective communication in your business isn’t going to be between people. It is going to be between your software and systems. Automation can improve efficiency, can help you run smoothly, and can reduce dead time. You can reduce overhead and improve profit margins simply by having an integrated system that can communicate.
This means that your inventory system can set up automatic alerts and even place orders automatically when you are low. It means integrating new clients and offering better, personalized services easily.
When it comes to communication, work out how your systems can communicate more effectively, and you will have a much better business overall.
Train Your Employees
While learning on the job often means learning while you go for the best results, always invest in a proper training regimen. This will include communication skills. Refreshing every employee on how to properly communicate clearly and respectfully will make a massive difference when it comes to your company and the interpersonal relationships within your company.
Part of this training must include how to use the tools properly. Even something as simple as filing can get complicated if you do not have a uniform system. All of this is part of communication, even if it isn’t direct. Create set standards so that everyone can speak the same language, and you will have a much more efficient workforce.
Create an Effective Brand Persona
Finally, look at how you can improve the communication with your customers. Everything from customer service complaints to social media needs to have guidelines to follow. This keeps the communication focused and uniform. It can also work to help protect your employees by giving them scripted responses when it comes to dealing with complaints or questions.
Being able to convey a message effectively and uniformly will cut down on communication and make even small businesses feel larger and more professional. You will need to tweak these measures as time goes on and be able to adapt depending on the customer for the largest levels of success.
How to Improve Communications in Your Business was last modified: May 7th, 2024 by Cassandra Kosmayer
Powerpoint presentations are one of the most effective tools you can use when in need of presenting a new project to your colleagues, or maybe you’re a student and have an exam or seminar.
Whatever the case, with this useful tool you can easily present your ideas, categorize them slide by slide, and make the whole experience visually pleasing to your audience. So, therefore, if you want to further upgrade your “game”, here are some useful tips on how to make it even more appealing, or if you never did one, here is how to.
Make Sure the Font Is Right
When making a presentation, you want to make sure the letters you use are in the appropriate font. Depending on the type of presentation, and the type of statement you want to make, the choice of the proper letter font. For more serious meetings, you’ll use maybe Ariel or Calibri, or when you have to highlight a newspaper article, Times New Roman is maybe more convenient. This also applies to school work and student projects. Another piece of advice we can give you when it comes to presentations is choosing the right background, meaning using the template which will emphasize the content the most. People often make the mistake of putting a dark template and not changing the color of the letters, often resulting in zero visibility of what they wrote. Avoid these amateur mistakes, and make sure the template is not distracting. Also, make sure to write less and say more, meaning make the sentences short. They are essentially there to summarize the most significant aspects, providing concise definitions rather than entire textbook passages.
Slide Master
The slide master feature is one of the most useful tools you can have on a presentation, as PowerPoint actually allows for several different options, like two separate columns, or maybe even a bulleted list. It allows for a better background, depending on the need. Sometimes you can use the two separate column features when you have to highlight the contrasting parallels between two things, or you can easily make it text/image as the feature also allows you to put one. This choice is more than beneficial for a presentation and a better visual presentation of your message. It will appear more professional and demonstrate you have put more work into it.
Make the Transition between Slides Smooth
In an attempt to make the PowerPoint presentation more appealing and more interesting, people often use different features like the jump or fly-in feature between slides. The transition might be useful when you are presenting in front of little children, who’ll find it amazing, but when it comes to serious projects in front of colleagues or students at college, avoid these as it seems unprofessional. Make sure it is smooth, meaning less flashy and more serious. This also applies to the use of sounds, animations, and other similar comic book-like features available. Although there is a place and time for them, overusing them will distract your audience from the content and make them focus on the animation instead. Therefore, be careful with these items and make sure to incorporate them into the presentation when necessary.
Make It Coherent
One thing to have in mind when making the presentation is being coherent. Meaning- the fewer slides the better, and make sure the content appears on the slide in a consistent fashion. PowerPoint allows for the appearance of lines slowly or gradually with every click of the mouse. This amazing feature is perfect for building audience anticipation and hiding parts of the text you are not going to refer to right away. This also means that every line has to be coherently linked to the previous, so if you are thinking of making a little digression, do not use this feature. Referring back to the previous phrase, if you have a lot of slides, your audience is likely to lose patience and focus, so try to condense all you want to convey into a few concise and effective slides.
Use this guide to help you orient yourself and navigate through your information in a non-distracting manner for those who are listening. PowerPoint has the feature of jumping from the front to the back and back again to the front, so there is no need for every single one of them when searching for that piece of text.
The text on your slides is there to remind you of the most important bits, therefore do not be the kind of guy who reads from the slides, especially as everyone else can do that in their head. The points you make are there to be like a little note to yourself, you are the one with the “actual” content, not the slides. We hope your presentation will be a true success.
Need to Make a Powerpoint Presentation? Here Are Some Useful Tips was last modified: August 8th, 2022 by Charlene Brown
Among digital promotion channels, influencer marketing stands apart. It is one of the few channels that has not lost but only increased its relevance in recent years. And attract more and more advertisers. We have collected everything you need to know about this way of promoting both goods and services and the brand.
How to Find B2B Influencers?
Today, the influencer marketing sphere consists of advertisers, bloggers, and audiences. In addition, a layer of intermediaries and services has formed that make it easier for advertisers to find and interact with opinion leaders. Among such intermediaries, can be distinguished:
Agencies. Many top bloggers work through agencies. Agencies enter into exclusive contracts with bloggers, so you can hardly negotiate placement directly. Agencies are suitable for brands that benefit from completely outsourcing the development and implementation of the campaign to the contractor.
Blogger exchange. These are online platforms for working with bloggers. As a rule, there is a catalog with search and filters, analytics on the accounts of each blogger together with influencer categories, the ability to conduct secure transactions, and other functionality to facilitate search and cooperation. This type of cooperation is helpful for small and medium-sized companies that plan to work with several bloggers at once and other customers who want to make working with bloggers as easy as possible without overpaying the agency.
Blogger directories. Just lists of bloggers, sometimes with filters, but no other functionality to work with. As a rule, they are free and suitable for cases when you need to find just a couple of bloggers for one-time posting without comparing and analyzing them.
If the question of how to find B2B influencers is still unsolved for you, it is a wise decision to try https://getprospect.com/b2b-contact-database or other similar databases and save your time.
B2B Influencer Content
We propose a straightforward definition. Influencer marketing is a way to promote products and services through b2b influencers. Any person trusted by the target audience can be an opinion leader. Famous bloggers or media personalities are most often considered opinion leaders in influencer marketing, but it can be any authoritative person whose opinion is listened to. For example, a frequenter of a thematic forum is respected for his competence and helpful advice.
In addition to opinion leaders, there are also “agents of influence.” An influencer is not necessarily an opinion leader. It is the name of people who can influence other people’s opinions through their actions and authoritative comments. Agents of influence form the attitude towards a particular brand. Their task is to direct the discussion in the direction necessary for the customer and set the “correct” tone from this point of view. It can even be small discussions, and correspondence within various forums, thematic platforms, commentary feeds on social networks, and other resources where the target audience can hang out. Such posts attract the attention of regular users and even companies who get involved in the threads – for this reason, their posts are called the B2B influencer content.
Another person often takes part in the process of forming loyalty – the brand ambassador (the “face” of the brand or the “ambassador” of the brand). It is a well-known, famous person who is invited to represent the values and ideals of the company. Most often, with b2b influencer marketing, the target audience associates with the company’s visual image.
Who is Influencer Marketing For?
Best of all, such marketing works in projects with vast geography – online stores, financial services, cinema, and cellular communications. Also, good results are shown by projects aimed at sales in metropolitan cities. Emotional or situational goods that can be ordered immediately or are easy to subscribe to are not wrong – food delivery, games, mobile applications, and so on. If you target a specific region, pay attention to how many subscribers the blogger has from your city or region.
Helpful Tips for Working With Bloggers
To work with an influencer, you should prepare in advance. Speak out your requirements and the desired result. If you work directly, then agree on the provision of advertising services. Here are some tips for working with influencers that always work:
Respond to comments, even negative ones. Ignoring negative comments under the post nullified all efforts. There is no need to ask the blogger to delete them – show professionalism and write worthy and adequate answers on the merits. And if the commentators are right, admit it publicly and promise to get better. Often this works better than the most positive review.
Ask the Youtube blogger not to remove the promotional video or link you. Such videos continue to be indexed in Google and video hosting itself. And this means that by placing a link under a popular video, you provide yourself with traffic and leads for months and even years in advance.
Come up with promo codes related to the blogger’s name. Unique promotional codes are used to receive a discount, additional service, or other bonuses. On the one hand, this will increase the audience’s interest in your product. On the other hand, it will demonstrate the blogger’s concern for his subscribers. And you will get another tool for marking and evaluating the effectiveness of the channel.
Influencer Marketing Examples
It’s time to look at examples of b2b and understand what type of influencer marketing is right for you. There are lots of influence marketing examples on the Internet, let’s review one of them.
Business Case. Natural cosmetic
The company produces and distributes a youth brand of facial care cosmetics, mainly through a network of offline distributors. The competition is high. You have to fight for the client’s attention to your brand and the best places on the shelves of pharmacies and stores.
Goals: Create an association with the brand, expand the audience by increasing the reach, and show the product’s benefits.
Audience: girls from 17 to 26 years old. The most relevant audience is the so-called “beauty bloggers,” girls who keep video blogs about self-care and beauty.
Criteria for choosing a blogger: From 100,000 subscribers, the channel’s topic is personal care and beauty, the age of the bulk of the audience is 17 years old.
The blogger is tasked with making a detailed review of several brand cosmetics to achieve these goals. In one of his videos, the blogger talks about the existence of the brand and demonstrates some cosmetics. This approach increases subscribers’ interest in the brand and builds trust in its products.
Influencer Marketing – a New Word in Advertising was last modified: February 15th, 2022 by Maxim Grigoryev
In a rush to impress the clients, small business owners often forget to rectify unintentional mistakes after generating estimates. And if they hand over the estimate without checking those errors, then it will look unprofessional. Consequently, they are more likely to lose their potential clients.
Estimating and invoicing process could be complicated, especially for young entrepreneurs who want to level up their construction business. Freelancers or those who are associated with small-scale construction businesses may have more difficulty sending the estimates to their new clients.
But how can one avoid such estimating mistakes? One of the easiest ways is to start using the estimating software where one can get online assistance. Here, we will discuss more common mistakes occurring while creating estimates and their solutions.
These 8 simple mistakes must be avoided when it comes to preparing estimates for clients.
1. No On-Field Visit
As a business owner, not visiting a job site means that the service provider will not have an idea about the possible damages. Also, there are chances that they may have a wrong calculation of cost and materials.
Such an on-site meeting is necessary to judge the condition and to measure the working area. On the basis of the measurement, a contractor can then submit their bid via estimating actual cost.
If they refrain from visiting the site, unknown issues may come during the ongoing construction work. These issues need more time and cost which might not have been included in the estimate. Hence, it is suggested to visit the job site.
Solution: Construction contraction must inspect the working area before beginning the work. If possible, contractors can also take sub-contractors for detailed analysis of the site and structure.
2. Simple Mathematical Errors
Minor errors or wrong calculations in estimates can often take place when contractors want to wrap up the task in hurry. These silly mistakes can have a negative impact on the construction business. And clients might refrain from recommending such services to their friends and family members.
In terms of calculations, contractors usually make mathematical errors while adding line items, local taxes, and offering discounts. These calculation errors are human errors that are quite possible when contractors generate estimates manually.
Solution: Creating an error-free estimate could only be possible when it is not done by humans. The best remedy for such errors is to generate estimates by using online invoicing and estimate software.
3. Sending Incomplete Estimates
Those who are into the construction business will agree on how incomplete estimates can put a dent in their business reputation. The partial estimate sent to the client could be the result of not itemizing the products and services. Therefore, it is recommended to include every detail of the material cost, overhead expenses, and other necessary instructions.
By doing so, clients will have more clarity on the estimated cost for their construction work.
Hence, the business owner can expect a quick approval. Whereas, incomplete one will make the customers choose other services.
Some contractors may only itemize the line items, which may not help the clients have a clear picture of service charges. So, before sending the estimates it is crucial to recheck the estimates whether it is completely filled or not.
Another important aspect of making accurate construction estimates is to take into account any potential foundation issues. For example, if you’re working on a project in Toronto, it’s important to consider the unique soil and weather conditions that can cause foundation damage over time. By factoring in the cost offoundation repair in Toronto, you can ensure that your estimate is as comprehensive and accurate as possible.
Solution: It is safe to use an online estimate generator so that it shows a preview of estimates before a contractor hits the send button.
4. Forgetting to Assess Risks
Little the construction contractors may know that if they don’t pay a visit to the client’s house, they are not aware of the risks. Since the construction work has the potential to damage valuable assets, contractors must complete the risk assessment before they start making estimates.
It is the necessary step to ensure customers about the possible threats. However, if they skip assessing risk factors, then it will be difficult to manage in the later stages. And as a result, an estimate will have no important notes of possible risks.
Solution: Construction contractors should closely inspect the job site and inform the customers before creating estimates. If there are risks involved in the job, they should be mentioned in the estimate.
5. Making Random Guesses
Local contractors who are connected with the construction industry often prepare estimates by making random guesses. It won’t help them when it comes to clearing the payment. In this case, the asking price may vary at the time of the payment and this may lead to disagreement between the client and contractor.
Professional contractors usually don’t make guesses when they are unsure about the actual price. Instead, they ask the experienced person to get the correct price. Thus, contractors should refrain from making the guesses, or else it would negatively influence the business profit.
Solution: Contractors should stay updated with the current prices in the construction industry. Before visiting the site, have a brief idea about the construction job and discuss it with the subcontractors too.
6. Insisting for Contract Agreement
Contractors might have no idea why they should not insist the client accept the contract agreement. Though it is not considered an error, contractors must take care while offering contracts to their clients. Some of the clients will not accept the annual contracts if asked frequently. And it would have adverse effects on their business.
Therefore, contractors should discuss with the clients prior to the work. In case, if the client agrees to the contract, offer them an annual contract with discounted rates. In this process, they should be confident while analyzing the working areas. With the proper analysis and judgment, making an estimate would be easy and the client may accept contracts as well.
Solution: Let the client trust your services and thereafter advise them to choose the annual contract.
7. Not Highlighting the Payment Terms
Many construction contractors often describe incomplete payment terms which might create differences with the clients. To avoid such last-moment issues, they should clarify the payment policy so that their client will not have any payment-related problems.
Mainly, contractors should include the various payment modes, accepted currency, and refund process. When they forget to highlight the payment policy, new customers won’t be ready to trust their services. Thus, one must clearly mention the payment instructions and necessary guidelines in the estimates.
Solution: Contractors should make payment policies in one go so that they do not need to change frequently. Else, re-writing the policy every time means there would be errors.
8. Applying Hidden Charges
When the person is connected with professionalism like construction, there is no such place for undisclosed matters. Therefore, contractors should not surprise their clients by asking the prices which were not discussed previously.
If contractors want to add more charges for extra activities or material costs, they must inform their clients. Otherwise, slight hesitation to reach the customers will create communication gaps and customers would not be ready to pay the added costs.
Solution: Create an estimate that is easy to understand by the clients and refrain from applying any hidden costs. If there are extra charges that need to be added, then discuss additional costs with clients.
8 Common Mistakes To Avoid While Making Construction Estimates was last modified: March 31st, 2023 by Mehedi Sazal
A Quality Management System (QMS) is a series of written procedures for key processes and methods put in place to ensure a business can meet customer requirements consistently and effectively. A well-maintained and implemented QMS can boost productivity and ensure your business hits performance targets. If you haven’t yet implemented a quality management system, read on to learn more.
Why is a QMS Important?
A QMS is very important, particularly in sectors like manufacturing. Implementing a QMS will help you reduce waste and boost efficiency. It can also help you meet the standards required to achieve your compliance. If a business is not compliant, it could trigger all kinds of problems, legal or otherwise.
A QMS can support a business, but there needs to be a robust framework in place for managing the QMS processes. There are software QMS solutions available to help businesses put a quality management system in place. Enterprise software is ideal for larger businesses, and EQMS are essential tools in any manufacturing process, where lean methods are used to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
Building a QMS Framework
A QMS framework, whether software or actual paperwork, is all about maintaining accurate records. The QMS will include records, reports, and help employees carry out their tasks in a compliant manner. If there are incidences of non-conformance, the QMS will record these, as well as the outcome. An effective QMS creates an accurate paper trail, so when processes are audited, perhaps for compliance purposes, data is accurate and up to date at all times.
All quality management systems have a hierarchy of essential documents. The first is a Quality Manual. There should also be a list of policies, procedures, instructions for how to carry out various tasks, forms, and lists.
Essential Steps in Implementing a QMS
Implementing a QMS can seem like a challenge, but many companies already have a lot of documentation already in place. However, all documents must adopt the same template and be easy to read and understand. All existing policy documents and procedural manuals must be brought up to date, checked for accuracy, and imported into the new format.
Map all areas of the business and decide which ones should fall under the umbrella of a QMS. It may be that some areas are left out of the process. Include all members of the business in the process. It is very important that everyone gets involved, so any areas of non-compliance or missing documentation are highlighted early on in the process.
Documents must be drafted according to the master template, and accessible to everyone. Ensure documents are reviewed by department heads to check for inaccuracies. Documents must be filed in a way that they can easily be identified and retrieved (this is one benefit of using a QMS software solution, as all documents are stored electronically in the cloud, and accessible to everyone, from anywhere).
Note that staff training will probably be needed so employees know how to use the QMS.
How to Implement a Quality Management System was last modified: February 2nd, 2022 by Ink Elves
A landing page is an effective tool to boost leads and conversions. It is the page that helps promote your specific product or service and directs the visitors to your lead magnet. However, a landing page needs to be highly enticing and flawless to grab the attention of the visitor and make them take the desired action. It should give your customers what they want in a simple and clear way.
Let’s learn how to create a highly effective landing page to convert visitors and generate leads.
An Attractive and Relevant Headline
The headline is the first thing a visitor sees when they land on your landing page. It’s the hook that either compels the reader to stay on your page or leave it. Make sure that your headline is attention-grabbing, persuasive, concise, and tells the readers what problems your product or service solves. Your headline should ideally be between 10-20 words and should convey a sense of urgency.
Attention-Grabbing Media
According to BANG!, a Web Designer in Phoenix, giving website visitors some “eye candy” visuals and letting them know visually they’re at the right website is a smart move to prevent high bounce rates on your site.
Relevant and catchy images or videos on your landing page not only effectively demonstrate your products or services but also help persuade your visitors. Adding videos is also helpful as research suggests that videos convert better than other forms of content. Video also helps with SEO and maintains user engagement. Make sure that the images/videos are high-quality and relevant to your products/services.
A Powerful Call to Action
Call-to-action (CTA) is crucial for any landing page; they persuade your visitor to take the desired action. Use buttons to draw attention to the CTAs. Make sure that your Primary CTA button is actionable and visible above the fold. Use actionable phrases like “Start Now,” “View a Demo,” and “Get a Free Quote” for CTAs to increase conversion. Moreover, use strong and bright colors to make your CTA button stand out.
Responsive Design
Most customers use their mobile devices to buy a product or service online, so make sure that your landing page is friendly for people viewing it on mobile devices. Mobile responsive landing pages can help convert leads from traffic that comes from smartphones or tablets. Likewise, responsive landing pages support your social media marketing (SMM) campaigns as most people use social media on their mobile phones.
Show Social Proof
Your social proofs (the number of likes, subscribers, shares, etc.) should be prominent on your landing page. Social proofs help win the trust of the visitors and increase their chances of converting into customers.
Testimonials from your existing customers work as great social proof if you don’t have a lot of data to share yet. When adding testimonials, make sure that they’re accompanied by a picture of a real person. You can also add social proofs into your CTA, such as “Join my 50k+ community.”
Use the Right Colors
Colors have a great impact on human psychology; they influence how we feel or act. Using the right colors on your landing page not only increases the user experience but also helps guide their behaviors, which can improve our conversion.
Depending on your product or service, use colors that convey the message you want. For example, red and yellow are the colors that grab attention and ignite appetite, making them an appropriate choice for a food-related landing page.
You also want to make sure each color you use signifies something. For example, you may use black color for the copy text, orange colors for your CTAs and other clickable links, and red color to highlight something important such as social proof.
Contact Information Should be Visible
Having clear and visible contact methods helps strengthen the trust of the visitor by telling them that your business is legitimate. So, make sure your landing page mentions the methods of contacting you.
You can add multiple methods such as a phone number, an email address, social media buttons, a contact form, and a physical business address. You can also add live chat popups that ask the customers if they need any help.
Keep the Layout Simple
Your landing page should present the information in a simple, minimalist, and attractive way without looking cluttered. Use a clean and simple design that helps people understand what your landing page is all about by utilizing a landing page plugin. Use white space and choose large fonts for increased readability and user experience. Your CTA button should be visible, and make sure that the visitor doesn’t have to scroll to find it.
8 Essentials to Create a Highly Converting Landing Page was last modified: June 5th, 2024 by Scott Fluent
Every business communication needs to come across as professional and stylish. They should engage prospects and drive customers to take the next step via clear calls to action. Therefore, they need to look good and read well, while being exciting and direct. Follow these tips to make the best-looking emails that deliver results for your business and customers.
1. Build Effective Email Templates
Templates help build the brand of a business, so should be treated as seriously as any other design aspect. Email templates should be stylish, provide clear areas for text, broken up with branding, products, or imagery, and ensure that all legal corporate and other messages are in place at the bottom.
Templates ensure consistent branding and a strong look, but should still be quick to load and ensure that calls to action are near the top, as people will rapidly lose interest in a lengthy or text-dense email.
Time-limited events should be clearly sign-posted with strong visuals to get customers engaged. Remember to update the templates regularly to stop customers from thinking that the brand is unchanging and boring and that years or copyright dates are always correct on the template.
Also, pay attention to the signature as a professional-looking one can make you appear credible. Here’s a great guide on how to add signature in Outlook.
An email signature generator for business can be a valuable tool for building and maintaining a strong brand identity. By using consistent branding elements and including relevant information, such as contact details and social media links, in the signature, businesses can reinforce their image and promote their products or services.
Newoldstamp makes it easy for businesses to drastically improve their brand identity.
2. Double Check Titles, Body Spelling, and Sending Times
Email titles and subheads need to grab the attention of readers, with strong verbs and calls to action. Brainstorm several titles and test them with a few people on your team to find the strongest possible message.
Also, check that the email makes sense from a consumer perspective and ensure it is grammatically correct. Double-check any text within images, as that often bypasses spellchecks.
Finally, ensure that the emails are sent out at the appropriate time or date. Many emails are commonly sent at 9 AM, 2 PM, or 5PM, and you do not want to get lost in the stampede in someone’s inbox.
3. Personalize and Customize With Plug-Ins
Just like WordPress and Shopify, you can customize or automate emails with a range of plug-ins to add features to Outlook. These can help create automated newsletters to your subscriber email list, or schedule emails with smart tools.
There are even payment tools for email, to add PayPal or other services directly to messages, encouraging shopping with fewer steps for customers. Additionally, you can also create custom signatures for different types of messages from various personas or teams within a business.
From time-saving to making emails look better, there’s usually a plug-in for that.
4. Make Emails Part of the Marketing Campaign
Marketing emails remain a key part of most business consumer outreach efforts. By ensuring that your emails are integrated with key marketing messages, you can create a consistent tone of voice and ensure they are in harmony with advertising, promotions, and other efforts.
If you’re seeking help with email management to implement best practices for sending more professional emails consider using effective tools for organizing and managing your inbox, allowing you to craft and send emails more efficiently.
As part of the marketing plan, consider how email can offer a different way to express key messages, along with SMS, on-site messages, and other communications. Use the power of email to deliver regular and interesting messages with more depth than shorter communications.
5. Vary Your Emails to Deliver Active, Timely Messages
Emails from a company can get very boring, very quickly. This leads to them being ignored, deleted, or unsubscribed from. So vary the look and type of messages you put at the top of emails – while remaining on brand and in tune with other marketing efforts.
Use email outside of your usual sending times to share fun or interesting information about products or events to encourage customers to look forward to receiving and opening those messages. You can also have a range of personas talking to consumers to help build more of a rapport, and use different tones of voice with them.
6. Link Emails to Activities, and Always Remember the Unsubscribe Button
Emails should always link to a new or upcoming activity to give it a sense of urgency or timeliness. Natural seasonal events like summer holidays, festivals, industry gatherings, or social occasions are tracked and used by most brands, but you should also look for different or new events that help make your business appear more progressive or in touch.
Finally, even though every business and marketer hates the unsubscribe button. Make sure it is there and clear at the bottom of each email. Firstly for compliance reasons, but also should customers wish to move on, it is a sign of good grace to let them go without any fuss or shenanigans.
7. Control your Inbox
Managing your email inbox well is key to keep productive and pay attention to important messages. An important method is to often unsubscribe from newsletters or ads mail that you do not need anymore. Online tools can help with email management. Most of these emails let you unsubscribe easily. When you check and cancel these subscriptions regularly, you cut down a lot of unneeded emails. This makes room for more important emails.
Decide on particular times to look at your emails to greatly better your focus and work. Getting many email alerts can take your attention away, so having set times to read and reply to emails can improve how you use your time. At these times, get rid of or archive emails that are not important. This keeps your inbox tidy and easy to handle. It gives you more time to focus on emails that need your reply.
Conclusion
It is very easy for a company to think that an email campaign is just a string of regular messages, sent out with an expectation of a small response rate. Instead, focus effort on making those emails beyond the norm, with unique information or offers to make consumers more likely to react and feel positive about the messages coming from your business.
6 Best Practices for Sending More Professional Emails with Outlook was last modified: December 12th, 2023 by Mitt Ray
Email campaigns are the basic need of today’s brands, companies, and organizations. While everyone is striving to be on the top of the business, the competition in email marketing is becoming higher than before.
These email marketing campaigns contain offers, informational content, and great deals for your subscribers. But what if your emails remain unopened? What if your delivered emails remain in spam messages?
Email delivery and open rates decide the success of your email campaign. If you don’t have proper information about your email marketing campaigns, tools, strategies, and ideas it would not be possible for you to win the race!
Here are 7 actionable ways to improve Email delivery and open rates by CaptainVerify- A top-notch Email validation provider working across the globe and having 15000+ Happy clients. They not only tell you the validation of bundles of emails quickly but also give you recommendations, access to useful tools & consultancy to help you to make your email campaign successful.
Email Validation
The first thing you need to confirm is the validation of email addresses. It will help you to filter your email address list from invalid users. The best way to check the validation of email addresses is to check it through an email verifier.
Another thing, you need to keep in mind is to allow your subscribers to reply to you. It will not only help you to gain positive responses but also help you to generate more sales through conversation.
Legitimacy
Would you buy from any person who is trying to sell his products without showing his actual name? absolutely NOT!
Be authentic and legit in your business. Send emails through your valid email I’D containing your brand name in the domain.
It will help your customers to consider you as an authority!
Trust factor
No one would spend a penny on your products if you have nothing to show as a company. It could be your office address, social media pages links, and website link.
Help your audience to easily connect with you in any way! It will help you in a long run!
Blacklisted emails
With the advancement in technology, email marketing strategists are now smart. They carry the list of “blacklisted emails” that are known to report the emails they receive. CaptainVerify can help you in removing these types of users and make sure to resolve all the issues in the process.
Filtered database
Do you know which of the email listed in your emails list is invalid, incorrect, or misspelled? CaptainVerify can help you in eliminating invalid, incorrect, hard bounces, NPAI, honeypots, and spam traps quickly.
Deliverability
Improve your email deliverability by optimizing your market campaign. For this, simply ask your subscriber, if he is interested in receiving emails from you or not? This will help you to create a list of people who are actually interested in your products or services.
Plus, it will help you to remove users from the list who are no longer interested in your products or services. Definitely, this wise decision will help you in maintaining the email open rate.
Summary
To conclude, it’s very important to consider all the factors to make your email campaign successful.
Make sure your email address is valid, and you are sending emails to the right people. The best thing of all is to use an email validation solution like Captain Verify as they have all the required expertise, tools, technologies, and experience that are necessary to make any email marketing campaign successful.
7 Actionable Ways to Improve Email Delivery and Open Rates was last modified: June 14th, 2023 by Abdullah Sheikh
Cross-national surveys refer to studies in which different countries are compared and therefore require the design, implementation, and organization of the study to be comparable. It is important that researchers make additional considerations when conducting cross-national surveys so as to account for the social and cultural settings of different participant groups. A translation agency can assist by providing valid text for cross cultural interpretation. By doing so, the internal validity of the study increases and any differences in cross-cultural comparisons that are found can be attributed to actual differences rather than methodological flaws.
Within this article, we will explore the ways in which researchers accommodate certain social and cultural settings when they design sampling schemes, construct surveys using survey software, and select modes of data collection.
Sampling
When sampling in cross-national studies, it is important that researchers carefully select the data their sampling design will be based on. The following are three reliable sources of data that can be used:
Census Data
Census data is useful to use when the countries being compared in the study have census data that is reliable and easily available. Census data not only helps generate macro-level demographic statistics but also makes it possible to create a list of individuals within the population.
Resident Registers
This data source is a good option for countries where resident registration is compulsory. Resident registers will generally provide data that is more current and up-to-date when compared with census data that may become obsolete more quickly.
Voter Registers
In some countries, the percentage of registered voters within the voting age population is high enough to provide comprehensive population data for sampling. In such countries, voter registers can be used as a source to base the sampling design. It is crucial to note that in highly mobile societies, voter registers can become obsolete quickly, and for such societies, resident registers may be more suited.
Questionnaire Design
Designing a questionnaire for cross-national surveys is generally a tedious process as these designs must be modified to take into consideration the different circumstances in countries that differ in their political, economic, cultural, and social settings. This is especially crucial when conducting market research studies using market research software.
Terms and Concepts
One of the most complex problems to solve in order to achieve comparability across cross-national fieldwork are linguistic idiosyncrasies. Literal translations of questionnaires are likely to be counterproductive when trying to achieve equivalence within a survey. If the language employed cannot achieve equivalence, it will threaten the validity of the research.
Skilled researchers appoint both qualitative and quantitative methods to achieve equivalence of meaning and measurement in different languages. The systematic method of translation has two minimum requirements:
Detailed annotation of the source of the questionnaire
Iterative back-translation
Measurement and Response Categories
Beyond concepts and terms, other aspects of questionnaire design also require careful planning in international surveys. Measurements and response categories must be carefully decided after the pretesting of different numerical scales across different countries. Certain scales may seem unfamiliar or confusing to the people of one country while being completely familiar to those in another country.
Another issue associated with the point scaling system has to do with the cultural values and social norms that differ between societies. Cross-national variations can cause varying response patterns among countries, reinforcing the importance of thoughtful design, practice, and interpretation of cross-national surveys.
Modes of Data Collection using Surveys
There are many different modes of data collection that researchers can use including mail surveys, CATI surveys, internet surveys, and face-to-face surveys; each having its own strengths and limitations. the different factors researchers must consider while choosing a mode of data collection are as follows
● Questionnaire Length and Content
Internet surveys are generally effective for short and basic surveys. However, if the survey is too long or complex, respondents may choose to drop out. Therefore, in more long and complex surveys, other modes that have a moderator or interviewer present, such as telephone surveys or face-to-face interviews, are more appropriate.
● Country
Certain modes work better in certain countries, For instance, in countries with large populations of illiterate residents, where telecommunications is tedious, face-to-face interviews are most appropriate.
● Costs
With technological advancements, the use of face-to-face surveys continues to decrease as other modes of surveying become easier to use and more affordable. Cost is usually a major factor that is considered when making a decision about which survey mode to employ.
Types of Surveying and International Comparisons was last modified: April 26th, 2022 by Pranav Buchake
Want to improve your salon business’s marketing game but don’t know where to start? You’ve come to the right place.
While starting and running a salon business can certainly be profitable, you’ll still need the right strategy, patience, and hard work to guarantee success. Especially in these post-COVID-19 pandemic days where customers are more concerned about physical interactions (which are obviously common in salons!), it’s very important to rethink your marketing initiatives to attract more customers.
With that being said, here are six actionable tips for booking more customer appointments for your salon
1. Improve your local SEO game
Nowadays in this digital age, there are two primary ways people learn about local businesses, including salons: first is through social media recommendations (i.e. when their friends mention your salon), and through Google search via queries like “salons near me”, “hair spa near me”, and so on. Here we’ll discuss the latter.
To attract more people and encourage them to book your services, your business must appear on top of the search results for these queries. However, Google will pull results from Google Maps for these queries, so the answer is Google Maps SEO or local SEO.
Although local SEO might seem like a daunting task at first, actually we only need to follow four main steps:
Claim and verify your salon listing on Google My Business
Optimize your listing, focus on providing complete and accurate information for your potential visitors. Don’t forget to include high-quality photos of your salon
Build local citations by listing your salon on relevant online directories (directories for salon businesses and your city’s directories)
Get more positive reviews from your existing clients on your Google Maps listing
Do this consistently, and you’ll start climbing the Google Maps ranking, which will give you a sustainable source for booking more customer appointments.
2. Focus on selling the customer appointment, not your service
A very common mistake when marketing your salon is to put too much focus on selling your service, forgetting to sell the appointment itself. Yes, you should communicate how your salon service is better than your competitors and how your service can help your customers, but don’t forget that the objective is to get them to book an appointment.
Be concise and to the point. Quickly and clearly communicate their needs/problems and how your salon can solve them (i.e. valentine’s day package to help them prepare for their romantic dinner), then be definite about the next steps and tell them exactly how they can schedule an appointment.
3. Make it as easy as possible to book your service
Attracting potential clients to consider booking your service is already difficult, and you wouldn’t want them to leave your site or social media profile just because it’s too hard or confusing to schedule an appointment.
It’s very important to optimize the booking process so it’s as streamlined as possible:
Make sure you have CTA buttons for appointments displayed prominently on every single page of your website. Be straight and to the point “schedule your appointment here!”.
Make sure it’s easy to find where to schedule an appointment in your navigation menu.
Integrate the booking solution to your social media profiles when possible (at least, link to your website’s booking page).
Integrate an online salon scheduling and booking software that can sync automatically with your and your client’s Calendar app. So potential clients can easily view up-to-date available time slots.
Make it as easy as possible for them to reschedule their appointments, this will also help in reducing no-shows.
4. Build relationships in your local community
Again, with your salon as a local business, it’s very important to engage with your local community.
This will provide you the opportunity to interact with your target audience and introduce your business. Personally interacting with prospective clients in your local events, for example, can help in raising brand awareness and also to establish your credibility as a trustworthy business owner.
Join local events like trade shows and expos, and participate in social causes when possible.
Also, build relationships with other businesses in your areas, especially those offering complementary services to yours so you can do cross-promotion campaigns. For example, you can partner with nearby restaurants so they’ll promote your business and you can also promote their restaurant (i.e. offer discounts) for your clients. If you don’t offer spa or nail art, you can also cross-promote with nearby spas in your area.
5. Smart social media marketing
Everyone is on social media nowadays, so it’s quite obvious that you should market your business on relevant social media platforms.
As a salon business, you should especially focus on Instagram as a visual platform. You can use your Instagram profile as a portfolio for your salon. For example, with the client’s permission, you can post your hairstylist’s best work on Instagram. This can help a lot in attracting new clients.
Consider investing in paid advertising options, especially on Instagram, but also on other relevant social platforms. Also, partner with relevant local influencers so they can help promote your salon to their followers.
6. Maximize customer retention and loyalty
Don’t solely focus on getting more appointments from new clients. Getting previous clients to come back is just as, if not even more important.
You can start a loyalty program to keep satisfied clients coming back to your salon. Encourage them for referrals, for example by offering them a discount if they can bring more people on their next visit (group discounts). You can also offer a free service for every 10th visit or so. This will encourage them to keep cooking back.
Maintaining customer loyalty is the key to success for many local businesses, and salon business is no exception. By keeping your existing customers happy, you’ll be able to convert them into advocates that will promote your business to their peers and family members. This is how you can naturally grow.
6 Tips for Booking More Customer Appointments for Your Salon was last modified: July 23rd, 2024 by Mike Khorev
Many growing businesses in Canada may experience slower speeds and reduced performance on their website if it has lots of traffic and lots of new content being posted regularly. One thing that often limits the speed of websites is the type and quality of the web hosting, if your website is hosted on a shared hosting plan then that is likely the cause of performance issues.
The best way to solve your website speed issues is to move it from a shared hosting plan to a virtual private server (VPS) where you have more control over the server and how your website is hosted. There are several benefits of using VPS hosting including better reliability, more bandwidth, guaranteed server resources, increased hard disk space, a managed service, and stronger security.
If you are looking into dedicated VPS hosting for your business’s website site in Canada, then here are some of the top VPS hosting companies out there.
4GoodHosting
Based in Ontario, 4Good Hosting provides a range of affordable VPS hosting throughout Canada suitable for both Linux and Windows systems. Hosting your website on their VPS servers also means you will have access to all the standard features, resources, and support. These include 24/7 server monitoring, custom configuration files and system libraries, and round-the-clock emergency support.
WHC
With data centers in Montreal, WHC hosts over 130,000 websites in Canada and has been around since 2003. Some key features of WHC’s hosting are:
The ability to quickly scale up server capabilities
The choice of self-management, assisted management or full management by WHC of the server
Customizable plan
Starter or Pro packages
Hostinger
A European web hosting company operating in 178 countries including Canada, Hostinger provides a choice of six semi-managed service plans that function with a range of operating systems including CentOS, Fedora, and Ubuntu. Although Hostinger has 24/7 support via email and chat, it does not provide phone support.
HostPapa
Founded in 2002 and run out of Burlington, Ontario, HostPapa has data centers located in Canada and around the world. There are also six tiers of VPS service available on HostPapa, with 125 GB of storage and 2 TB of bandwidth provided in the second tier which would be suitable for newer websites, however, you can scale up the service quickly.
Kametera
With over two decades of experience in web hosting, Kametera is well established with over 13 data centers around the world. Their VPS hosting plans come with a range of affordable price points and consist of all the usual capabilities and features, including customizable server settings and scalable options.
Cirrus Hosting
Since its foundation in Toronto in 1999, Cirrus Hosting has been providing web hosting solutions to over one hundred thousand small and medium-sized businesses. Their VPS hosting service includes the usual scalability options, secure SSD drives, and reliable bandwidth.
Canadian Web Hosting
Canadian Web Hosting has over 20 years of experience and offers a range of affordable VPS hosting and higher performance SSD VPS options. The VPS plan includes guaranteed reliability, full root access, a choice of operating systems, and customizable settings.
If your website is starting to get more traffic which is affecting its performance then it’s probably time to upgrade to VPS hosting, However, it’s worth taking a look at the most reputable VPS providers in Canada first to see which suits your needs best.
Top Canadian VPS Hosting 2021 was last modified: June 16th, 2021 by Allen Brown
Shockingly, 60 percent of businesses do not have a long-term internal communication plan, according to a Workforce report. Those organizations could be making a costly mistake – one that hinders their business productivity. Poor internal communication leads to low employee engagement, low employee productivity, and lower profit margins. In fact, companies with engaged employees reported a 20 percent bump in sales and a 21 percent hike in profitability. At the same time, many businesses have no idea where to start when it comes to internal business communications protocols and tools, including choosing an internal business communication software to invest in. Regardless of the phase that your business is in, there are a few key communication tools that can prove invaluable.
Team Messaging And Video Conferencing Tools
The idea of the ‘office’ has become much more expansive over time. More companies are moving to remote working. With such models, investing in employee communication software, including internal messaging and video conferencing tools, becomes paramount to maintaining great internal communication. Video conferencing software and messaging apps like Slack, RingCentral, and GoToMeeting include file sharing and group video meeting features that enable employees to share business documents or screens while on a call- simulating an in-person meeting in every way.
Analytics And Sentiment Software
You can’t manage what you can’t measure. This popular saying is particularly applicable to a business’s internal communications. A business could be disseminating information and news to its employees, but it does not guarantee that it’s being received well by your employees. For instance, a Prescident Digital Media survey showed that 31 percent of employees never use their company intranet. Similarly, some employees report that the communicators can often use jargon-rich language, which can be alienating and confusing. The makers of Tryane analytics software note the value of insights into commonly-used applications like Office365 to drive digital transformation and boost the efficiency of business communications: by using analytics, you have a better understanding of how software is being used, and can gauge employee understanding.
Employee Engagement Platforms
Regular communication with your employees is important to maintaining their engagement and satisfaction. Cultivating a culture of constructive and non-judgmental communication helps employees feel like they can express their concerns – and helps the business address those concerns. Employee engagement is a useful way to gain employee feedback and useful employee engagement data, without cutting into the company’s time and resources too much.
Approximately 83 percent of HR leaders say all people decisions should be made using data, yet only 37 percent of leaders do so, according to a survey by Sage People. Therefore, the right employee engagement platform can make all the difference in your organization. Employee engagement software Achievers Listen provides managers with continuous feedback, and encourages them to follow up. The platform also automatically creates reports and presentations of key findings and trends. Other employee engagement solutions include Ascentis, Lessonly, and Culture Amp, which tracks employee job satisfaction trends.
Clear and effective communication is vital in running your business smoothly. For any organization, internal communication isnot only about sharing information with employees, but enabling ongoing conversations with your employees and implementing the best practices to give your company a good internal communications strategy – and valuable internal business software like these can be a good start.
Critical Internal Business Communications Software Every Business Needs To Invest In was last modified: March 17th, 2023 by Cassie Steele
CB (citizen’s band) radios are not just for truck drivers. There are several situations where CB can be a great communication tool, and we are going to go over some of those uses. That being said, CB radio is so much more than a tool for emergencies. The possibilities when it comes to using a CB on a road trip are truly endless. Some of the best CB radio models can be found here.
Large Groups
Whether you are traveling with friends or family, you will stay in touch with each other using CBs. Instead of calling every one individually, you can say who is with you and announce that you are leaving. If someone needs to wait for that one person or stop at a specific place along the way, you can let everyone know as well. When the group is split into cars, you can tell them to jump in the car with you at certain locations because you want to get there as quickly as possible or have time to explore together.
CBs are already in use on the road, so you don’t need to convince other drivers to use theirs.
You can talk with them while you’re both in motion or pull over and talk when you park for a rest stop or in case of emergency. It’sIt’s common practice to make friends with drivers whom you regularly see at the same time and place each day. This will only help you become more open and helpful to those drivers who may need help.
They are a Lot Better than 10-10 Codes
Much of the communication over CB is still done via 10-10 codes, but there are people in this world who still do not know what a 10-10 code is. Even if you have never used these codes in your life, a lot of the time you can guess what someone is trying to say based on the context of their question or statement. You may also use the best police scanner so you know everything about local road conditions.
A CB Radio can Help You Find Out About Traffic Jams!
7 AM traffic on the 405 and 101 freeways. Traffic jams are never fun, and they are often hard to predict. However, if you have your CB radio nearby, you can find out about traffic ahead. For example, ask other drivers if they can see a jam in front of them, or you can listen to a trucker nearby and see how much traffic they are encountering.
Self-Reliance
When you drive alone on the open road, you are self-reliant. Being self-reliant is a good thing – it means that you can fix things when they go wrong. A CB radio is a great communication tool, but it also allows you to communicate to self-reliant Americans who will help you out.
A CB Radio is Convenient.
You can carry a CB radio in your glovebox and talk with other people who are nearby. This is true even when cell phones don’t work or don’t have service CB radios transmit on their channel, so they work even in areas where your cell phone does not).
5 Reasons CB Radio is Still a Powerful Communication Tool when on the Road was last modified: July 29th, 2021 by Kyle Bachmann
These days, there’s more than one way for a person to provide goods and services. While some companies own physical premises, others create online shops that have the potential to reach a global audience. People may choose to set up their own website or pay to feature on places like Shopify.com or Amazon.com.
It may be that you have already started down this road but are still waiting for the sales to materialize. Fortunately, there are a number of tried and tested things that people can do to increase their online sales. Are you interested? Let’s find out more right now.
Begin With Research
There are a number of specialist websites that post free quality content. The marketing consultants at Store Growers say people are hungry for information on everything from Google shopping ads to Search Engine Optimization. People want to access courses, receive coaching and read helpful blogs.
Without this, when you start your ecommerce business, you may create products and marketing campaigns that appeal to you but not the public. You may be totally unaware of who your target audience is, or where and when they are looking.
Create A Quality Website
This will need to be your base of operations, and the place where you direct all your online traffic. The public wants web pages that load quickly and that can be viewed easily from a computer, tablet, laptop or smartphone.
People want you to create online shops to explain what you are offering, and why. They seek clear branding and details of your best-selling products. Added to that they look for customer reviews and video tutorials.
Offer Free And Discounted Stuff
This can come in the form of e-books, coupons and vouchers. Offer ‘first-time customer’ discounts, and provide price reductions on their birthday. Join the New Year and Black Friday sales by temporarily reducing your prices.
Give away free samples and create exciting competitions to generate interest. Offer free trials, or discounts on extended subscriptions to help keep existing customers. Offer free shipping deals or promote your full (‘no quibble’) refunds policy.
Harness The Power Of Social Media
Much of this will be free, so why not use it? Create and build an online presence on places like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It’s barely an option because people expect it. Write regular posts that will appeal to your target audience so that they will see you as a trusted authority. Use social media to push your sales, discounts and new product launches. Mention those freebies too, and include links to the sales pages on your website.
You may initially start small by creating your business page and encouraging your friends to share it. If you stick at it faithfully and make your content engaging, your following should grow.
Start Blogging
If you began your business as an extension of a hobby or passion, this may especially appeal to you. As with social media, you need to frequently post free material that people will want to read. Feature the blogs on your website and regularly include URLs to your online shopping pages.
Some businesses pay for content writers to create articles relating to their goods and services. They can be used to include links to their sales pages.
Become Visible
Once again you may begin small by offering sponsorship for a local charity event. If you offer it for an event related to your line of business, it may have even greater influence.
You could also give away branded freebies such as T-shirts or mugs. If there is a business convention that relates to your particular industry, consider paying for a stall to promote yourself there.
Advertise Online
There are a number of different campaigns people can do. They include Google, Facebook, Instagram and Amazon ads. Some of these provide special monitoring software so you can see what is or isn’t working, and amend the campaigns accordingly.
In many cases you don’t pay every time your advert is viewed, but only when people click on your links.
Make Your Website Search Engine Optimized
This is all about using the right words on your web pages so that you become visible in peoples’ Google searches. It may involve using special software tools or a company that can do this for you.
Hopefully, this has fueled your enthusiasm and provided some tools for you to use. When they are implemented well, there should be a marked improvement in your sales. The stage will then have been set for what could be many years of successful and enjoyable business in your chosen field.
Proven Ways to Boost Your Ecommerce Sales was last modified: February 2nd, 2022 by Charlene Brown
