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Smart Ways to Optimise the Security of Your SMB

on July 26, 2019

The job of an SME building manager is both challenging and rewarding. The working hours are long, risks high, and responsibilities often relegated to a small workforce. One can argue that concerns about the security of equipment, building, and employees are not unlike concerns about the safety of a home and its residents. Here’s a list of ways SMB owners and managers can increase safety for their property and business 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/silver-security-camera-207574/

Analyse business risks and company culture

The way you approach the building security and safety sends a message to both your employees and clients about what kind of company you want to become. Overhanging security cameras, remotely-activated doors, and mandatory ID cards might make your business look like a top-secret government installation. On the other hand, the total absence of any visible security measures might speak of a laid back approach to securing the company assets and workforce.

Appraise potential loss

Determining the level of physical and digital security that your company needs becomes easier if you apply a universal risk analysis formula R=PxC, where R stands for Risk, P for probability, and C for consequences. Take a look at all the security incidents your business has had in the past two years and estimate the potential loss or non-financial consequences associated with each threat. When the estimate is done, look for solutions that will eliminate or minimize the chances of each incident repeating. The measures should also reduce the impact and magnitude of the incident, as well as enhance the recovery measures.

Ensure absolute access control

Business owners and managers are constantly in motion, whether within the company limits or in the field. The latest technological achievements in access control systems allow them to control access remotely, using mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Still when the high tech fails, and one gets locked out, they still need an emergency response locksmith service to solve the problem. For example, if a scheduled delivery needs to be made via the main gate, using a remote technology a shift manager can grant temporary access to the premises and revoke it as soon as the goods are unloaded.

Focus on digital security

The increasing incidence of data breaches has raised digital security measures to a high priority level for every SME. One way of gaining customers’ trust is keeping their personal data, like name, address, and financial details safe from cyber-attack. For example, a gym that is open 24 hours a day can have automated security solutions that grant members with key cards access, while keeping unauthorised persons out. Even with no overnight staff, paying members who like to take advantage of extended working hours can exercise without worrying about their safety, while the owners know that their assets and patrons are protected even with no staff around.

Eliminate risks from inside

The security solutions you’re looking to implement shouldn’t be measured simply by their efficiency and cost, but also by their impact on your business culture. For example, if the assessment has identified employee theft as one of the highest risks, video surveillance coupled with 24/7 access control eliminates the need of additionally security valuable assets, which also saves time employees would waste signing them out from a specialised storage. By letting non-invasive technology do the ‘policing’, you’re keeping the atmosphere in the company relaxed and enabling yourself to keep any security breach a strictly technical issue.

While challenges that will test the security measures in your SMB can never be completely eliminated, any security measure you implement becomes much more effective if you assess internal and external risks and evaluate potential consequences beforehand.

Laptop
InsightsProductsSaaS

13 Best Features of Mac OS Mojave

on July 23, 2019

The macOS Mojave happens to be the 15th prime release of the desktop operating system by Apple. 

Hence, it is packed with a range of new functionalities, features, and new capabilities to look at. In this article, we aim to introduce the top 13 best features of the macOS Mojave.  

Mojave 10.14 is compatible with Mac system from mid-2012 or later, just as 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro models that incorporate the prescribed Metal-skilled illustrations cards. On the off chance that you’re shaking one of those systems, then finding what’s going on in Mojave would be of incredible help.  

Dark Mode

The Dark Mode is one of the most loved aspects of Mojave. In this mode, all of the native applications such as Xcode, Photos, Calendar, Safari, and more feature darker themes and colors. These colors happen to be very easy on the eyes, which is especially handy for those who spend a significant amount of time working on the mac. 

Dynamic Desktop

Have you always dreamt of having a desktop experience which changes as the day progresses? Well, the dynamic desktop of Mojave allows you to experience a desktop that shifts along with the position of the sun based on your location. Essentially, it changes the wallpaper dynamically from the light sky to blue, followed by darker blue as the night approaches. 

Desktop Stacks

Do you struggle with a messy background that is full of icons? Well, the Desktop Stacks in Mojave can help you in bringing everything into order. In order to use Stacks, simply right-click on an empty space and choose ‘Use Stacks’. 

Screenshot Markups

The Screenshot Markup feature has been on the IOS for some time. Previously, there was a need for a separate app to annotate the screenshots. However, Mojave brings options to quickly make edits after you have taken the screenshots. 

Screenshot Utility

There is a new shortcut added to the macOS screenshot arsenal. The Screenshot Utility bar can be brought up by pressing Cmd + Shift + 5. Using this bar, you can screenshot a specific window or the entire screen. On top of that, you can also record the entire screen or a specific area of the screen. 

Continuity Camera

The document scanners are dying out as the world moves to the digital side. The continuity Camera on the Mojave makes it easier for you to scan your documents. Essentially, it detects the document in the frame and cuts everything else out while fixing any minor issues. 

IOS Apps on Mac

After you update Apple Mac to Mojave, you may notice a number of familiar icons in the app launcher. Soon, Apple will introduce a translation layer which will make it possible for you to run the IOS apps on the mac. As of yet, only four supported apps from IOS can be run on the app including Voice Memos, News, Stocks, and Home. Also, it is always good to know about CleanMyMacX Review.

The App Store

The new relationship between the macOS and IOS grows even further due to the App Store. Currently, we can see hints of the mobile counterpart in the desktop app store. The new app store is expected to e much more powerful and easier to move around. 

Finder

The Finder has not been ignored in the entire Mojave treatment. Previously, the pictures used to look a little awkward with the Quick Look or Cover Flow in the Finder. The new Gallery View in the Finder has changed this completely.

Other enhancements in Mojave

Mojave carries a range of security improvements, along with improvements in Safari revolving around autofill, creating, and storing passwords. 

Use APFS to help Fusion Drive

Mojave currently cares more for your files. As guaranteed, Apple made APFS work with Fusion Drive in macOS 10.14 – the unity which empowers you to make, resize and store various volumes of data all the more proficiently on your Mac. 

Ask Siri more

The old great Siri gets smarter in macOS Mojave. Not exclusively is Apple’s voice aide lined up with Home Kit, it can likewise enable you to discover saved passwords. 

Follow trending topics on Apple News

With Mojave, Apple adds macOS-improved Apple News to the Mac. If you already an active user, you’ll be glad to know that the News application is synced with the iOS version, so you can get speedy access to your preferred sources on Mac directly. Right now, the application is accessible only in a few selected nations like US, UK, and Australia. If you can’t get your hands on Apple News because of geographic restrictions, News Explorer is a good alternative. This convenient newsreader Mac utility is a great device for reading, marking, and sharing content online.

While this is Apple’s greatest and best MAC OS update yet, there are bunches of significant improvements, as well as hidden features in Mojave, which make the upgrade worth it, despite all the trouble. Combine all these tips with the tried-and-trusted applications and you’ll be one happy Mac user.

InsightsMartechProductsSaaS

How To Protect Your Office Network From Data Theft

on July 23, 2019

Many businesses, especially SMEs, are unaware that they are at risk of data theft until it actually happens to them. This finding was supported by data from the UK’s Cyber Streetwise Campaign indicating that two-thirds of small businesses in the United Kingdom do not think that they are vulnerable to cybercrime. Because of this, it should not come as a surprise then that according to a 2018 Verizon Report, 58% of malware victims are also small businesses.

While there is no 100% guarantee that any method is foolproof, applying these recommended security measures will give you that extra peace of mind that you deserve.

Install anti-malware programs

One of the most common ways cybercriminals steal data is through malware. Malware is short for malicious software, which are usually harmful computer network programs like viruses, worms, adware, spyware, and Trojan horses used to access various devices stealthily. Nowadays, infecting a device with malware does not only happen by plugging external devices like USB sticks and hard drives. You can also get malware on your system electronically when you click a malicious email, download files, and visit unreliable websites. In fact, according to a 2018 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, around 92.4% of malware sneak into a device through email.

You can prevent malware from infecting your office network and risking data theft by installing anti-malware applications on all devices. The more advanced programs can detect even the most sophisticated malware. However, if installing an expensive anti-malware program is out of your budget, you will be surprised to know that even the most basic antivirus apps are still better than leaving your system vulnerable with no protection at all. 

Enforce access control policies

With most companies digitizing their data and using Cloud technology, it has become much easier for employees to access and use the information on demand. But with this convenience, there is also the added risk of confidential data being vulnerable to data theft. Business owners often fail to realize that there is a need to enforce data restrictions so that unauthorized users will not be able to access sensitive business information.

This does not only apply to external users but to the internal employees as well. Depending on their job roles, employees should only be granted access to information related to their tasks. For example, entry-level employees, interns, and temporary staff should not be given access to the company’s financial information, legal contracts, and other confidential data assets.

Only use trusted third-party service suppliers

It is common for businesses to use third-party service providers to run business operations. In many instances, these service providers gain access to the company’s data so it is critical to choose with whom you work with very carefully. When selecting a supplier to work with, make sure to research about the company, its track record, and client testimonials.

Examples of third-party suppliers that usually gain access to your data are web hosting and email providers, cloud computing companies, and companies offering remote services. For example, having remote printer diagnostics connecting to an external company means that people outside of your business have access not only to your printers but also to your office network. When granting remote access, make sure to limit the duration of access and the specific part of the network the third-party supplier is allowed to access.

Aside from screening companies that have electronic access to your data, it is also important to scrutinize third-party service providers that gain access to your physical workplace. Building maintenance, facilities management, security, and catering are examples of such services that are often outsourced to third parties, especially by larger companies. Make sure that the suppliers are reputable companies and are not fly-by-night entities.

Use data encryption

You can add another layer of protection to your data by encrypting them. In case anti-malware programs and access control measures fail, having encrypted data will make it harder for data thieves to open and use the stolen information. When you encrypt your data, an encryption key will be required in order for it to be accessed.

Data encryption is also important because it ensures that your data is protected at all times, whether it is just stored when it is in transport. There are also data encryption programs that can protect your data across different devices. This means that even if you lose a device with access to that shared data, it will be more difficult to access because it is encrypted.

Update your software and apps regularly

How many times have you clicked the “dismiss” button when prompted that you need to update some of your device software and applications? A lot of people ignore these important updates and many are even guilty of skipping the automatic updates set-up by their IT guys. You may not be aware that these updates are actually essential to protect your system from a data breach.

Most programs often need to be updated to fix issues including security vulnerabilities discovered by developers. If your system is filled with outdated programs and apps, you are exposing yourself to potential risks so make sure that you’re always running the latest version. 

However, it is also recommended to wait at least a week before installing the latest update instead of installing it on Day 1. The reason for this is because there have been instances wherein newly released software updates contained security flaws that were not discovered until users started experiencing them first-hand.

Block instant downloads and access to unreliable websites

During off-peak hours, many employees admit to browsing the internet to pass the time. While it may be harmless for your staff to read the latest news or watch a YouTube video, some of your employees may not realize that the funny gif image that they’re downloading to share with other colleagues is infected with malware. Another common scenario is when users try to download songs or videos from piracy websites, unknowingly downloading spyware in the process.

To prevent this, you can use web filtering software that can automatically block access to websites depending on the categories you choose, the nature of the websites, or the reputation of the websites.

Protecting your data is a worthy investment

The increasing number of businesses being dependent on technology also means that more companies are becoming vulnerable to different types of cybercrime, including data theft. Whether your business is a small start-up or a huge corporation, implementing security measures is definitely worth your time and your money.

DevelopmentInsightsMartechProducts

Importance of Live Event Integration for Tech Enterprise Marketing 

on July 22, 2019

To keep with the changing scenario of modern business marketing, enterprise technology, and software companies especially need to follow a different approach in their marketing endeavor. The prime objective should be to leverage tactics that will ensure that they have real results.

In this modern business world, there is an increased competition especially in the technology companies to gain more attention to the different digital channels that are available. The technology companies in the Business to Business sector especially are often found to be struggling to reach out to the right decision-makers to get an idea to increase their sales funnel on the right channels.

However, this inability of them to connect with the decision-makers regarding an important issue or challenge and to find the most dynamic a solution to meet their business goals create a dramatic, if not a drastic impact on the success of most enterprise technology organizations.

The solution to the issue

Now the question is what should you do in such a situation? According to expert marketers and digital marketing agencies like blastup.com and others, if you want to maximize your investment in your marketing initiatives you must look for:

  • Workable strategies and tools that have the potential to engage these decision-makers and 
  • Making they understand the specific challenges that you are facing currently.

Since they are the thought leaders of the industry they will come up with useful and most dynamic and unique solutions that will help you to gain substantial ROI.

In addition to that, the best things that you can do as a technology, the company is to transform how you market yourself. This will help you to emphasize digital marketing because no matter how counterintuitive it may seem to you, face-to-face interactions are the most important thing to consider. Using the digital channels solely you will be able to separate contenders from pretenders.

Attending live events

Attending and integrating live events will let you have a different focus on your marketing approach, depending on where your organization and solution stands in the marketplace. This will help you to meet your core marketing needs at any point in time and given circumstances. Apart from that, there are several other good reasons to integrate live events with your digital marketing strategy. 

  • Better branding and awareness: For any startup tech company, the main challenge during the early stage is to get noticed in the marketplace. If you take help of the live events you will get a better opportunity to showcase your skill and a couple of good factors about your solution. Live events will also help you to the history of your company as well as yourself. All these will ensure a better branding and creating a larger awareness about your tech company among the audience, targeted and beyond. The prime objective is to get the word out in the marketplace so that when prospects evaluate your solutions eventually they find you ready for service.
  • More lead generation: If your business is in a much more mature stage, you will need to generate more ‘face to face’ sales leads. Planning here is a crucial aspect and therefore you must make sure that you communicate well with all your important prospects well in advance so that you can drive more attendance to your booth in the event. To collect more contacts, you can have systems installed in place. This will ensure that you have more qualifying leads. You will be better off if you also set up follow-up sales engagements either during the event or after it.
  • Stronger customer engagement: To meet and greet your existing customers, there is no better way than live events. This will help you to engage with them in a more fun way in a low-pressure format. Since they are your customers already, it will be easier for you to know them in a more personal and granular level. You can discuss their success more casually regarding your solutions. This will, in turn, help you to know whether or not there are any potential up-sell openings.
  • Impart education: You can organize educational workshops and content in the live event to draw more current customers and new prospects towards you. This will also help you to drive decision-makers to your company on the technical side. This will also help you to gain contact info upfront before you set up any training session. You will also be able to follow up with them just to find out what they got out of the event and the consequent sessions. Finally, you will be able to determine whether they are any good as a potential sales qualified lead.

To organize and attend live events more frequently you must make sure that you stay engaged and active on social media not only before the event but also after it as well. In addition to that you must also:

  • Encourage your employees especially in the sales team
  • Spread the word on social channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others
  • Find ways to maximize the probabilities of active prospects attending or meeting and 
  • Moving ahead along your sales funnel and cycle.

To move ahead with your sales cycle, you will have to choose the best and most effective channels both online and offline to market your events. A few of these channels are:

  • Website and blogs
  • Email and social media
  • Social communities
  • Mobile web and apps
  • SMS text
  • Paid search and outdoor ads
  • Online display advertising and direct mail
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Print and other media
  • Telemarketing and others. 

All these will help you to get quick exposure and increase the volume of your prospects. All you have to do now is create a useful and smart strategy to nurture these prospects and convert them to your sales leads. 

Technology will help you a great deal in all these with marketing automation and set up a proper sequence to follow.

Author’s Bio

Pete Campbell is a social media manager and has immense knowledge about email marketing and Instagram promotion. He delights his clients by helping them buy real Instagram likes. He loves to travel, write and play baseball.

Digital marketing
InsightsMartech

Skills of a Digital Marketing Consultant

on July 20, 2019

Featured image credits by Diggity Marketing

Digital advertising is also called Internet marketing. It can be explained as when the technologies are involved in the business to deliver promotional advertisements to the consumers. It includes promotional advertisements, messages delivery, social media websites, search engines, and online advertising, etc. Are looking for a source to improve your skills in digital advertising?

Networks for online advertising

In the new era, luckily we have various preeminent platforms such as Google, Instagram, and Facebook to enhance online marketing. It helps your business to reach your customers through advertisements and promotions. Though these networks give a wide range of advertisers and offers, digital advertising is one’s own cup of tea. It depends on the interest and potentials to do something outstanding.

The growth rate of digital advertisements

Digital marketing plays a strategic trick to improve business. You can reach millions of people with a laptop and an Internet connection. It helps in spreading your message or product in a matter of hours. 63% of business marketers believe that generating traffic for their promotions and ads is the biggest challenge. Connecting with the right people also matters in advertising. Here is a quick glance at the growth rate of digital marketing:

  • Email marketing: increases the growth rate by 158% with the help of button clicks.
  • Social media: helps in doubling the budget over the past few decades
  • Content marketing: Content marketing strategy increases the growth rate by 50%
  • SEO Optimization: creates traffic through organic search and increases marketing by 33%
  • Events: 67% of business runs on event marketing and it is considered to be the most effective strategy

Digital marketing skills

In today’s world, it is highly difficult for you to choose and opt for the right channel with the right plan. To work with a startup or with established firm digital marketing skills are essential. Though it is tough to master all the skills in digital marketing, you can choose the sub-skills and improve in those areas. Here are some tips to learn more about how to improve your digital advertising strategies.

1. SEO – Search Engine Optimization specialist

In the rapidly shifting world, SEO optimization kicks the user experience across the websites. It also helps in driving more traffic to the business via online platforms. SEO helps in adding keywords to the sites with the consideration of border scopes. If you want to enhance your skills in SEO initially you should try to sort and keep track of the important metrics of the selected websites. You should check out these SEO Services.

2. PPC marketing specialist

As the name says “Pay-per-click” is a blog post which operates on three different strategies. If you have to become a PPC marketer then you should have a strong grasp in mathematics and analytics. As it involves huge investments it is said to be highly risky.

  • Initially, get the money which follows the thumb rule as spend, learn and refine.
  • Empower yourself with the gathered data and start the marketing
  • Customer acquisition and keeping yourself upgraded to compete in the market. 

3. Become a social media expert

In the current marketing world, social media is growing faster. Almost one-third of the population uses social media platform for various purposes. As there are multiple options like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google, Yahoo, YouTube and so on, the opportunities for marketing is wider. It also includes,

  • User engagement
  • Copywriting
  • Analytics
  • Visual marketing
  • Color psychology
  • Paid marketing

So, if you become a social media expert then you can master the study of marketing.

4. Email marketing

If you have a large number of contacts in your email, then you can master the skill of email marketing. Most business people prefer responsive design for their products along with emails from their campaigns. Writing emails that deliver value, respecting privacy, making unsubscribing easier, creating filters will help in marketing rather than spending hours searching for clients’ every day.

5. Mobile marketing

Writing complicated thoughts, intelligently via an SMS with a responsive design is a way to conquer mobile marketing. The art of mobile marketing overlooks desktop marketing. It also adds real value to the company and also it is less complicated than SEO.

6. Digital marketing analytics

Tracking and analyzing the data is highly important for any marketing strategies. It helps to acquire knowledge about the overall skills of digital advertising. Analyzing different marketing strategies like,

  • Preparing a report of the intelligence
  • Product design
  • Pricing strategy
  • Pre-post campaign strategies
  • Marketing ROI

Apart from the above-mentioned skills, there are few more like UX Designing, Desktop marketing, etc.

Final words

The cool fact about digital marketing is that even if you master any one of the above-mentioned skills, you can achieve success in a fast lane. It serves various purposes either for your own business or if you are an entrepreneur for different clients.

DevelopmentInsightsMartechProductsSaaS

Benefits of Developing Mobile Application for Business

on July 19, 2019

Did you know mobile apps are predicted to generate 189 billion USD in revenue by 2020, and right now, the Apple App Store has more than 2 million apps ready to download while Google Play Store has almost 3 million apps? Tools, communication, social media, entertainment, shopping, and health are some of the most popular uses of the mobile application. Individual developers may make some of these apps. Others might be small businesses. Whoever it is, it is evident that certain benefits of mobile apps can’t be denied. 

So, here are seven benefits of mobile apps for small business

– Promote Communication

The objective of developing a mobile app is to make mobility more dynamic and communication more efficient. Apps are a useful tool for communication between management, employees, and stakeholders. Additionally, mobile apps are also a robust way to create awareness about company activities, promotional offers, and product launches. Whether it is geo-targeting or direct communication, an app can work miracles.

People also use apps to search the web when they are moving. Besides hunting, apps also enable users to get in touch with the company’s management. It is reasonable to post notifications based on the demographics and proximity of users through mobile apps. Therefore, apps, in a way, help your business meet your customer’s demands and enhance marketing strategies. 

– Grow Customer Loyalty

It is a difficult job to create and manage your business’s reputation online. Here, mobile apps become an online agent. They build an uninterrupted and seamless link between a company and its customers. You can add many features that would let users finish tasks, starting from reminders to offering better customer services. Apps help to spread awareness swiftly about your products, which helps in growing brand recognition. 

Additional Helpful Resources:

10 Ways Your Business Can Grow with a Mobile App

Stand Out Of The Crowd With The Best Of Mobile App Development

Top 10 Mobile App Development Trends to Watch Out in 2019

– Boost Company Sales

As already mentioned, mobile business apps that are rich in features can increase recognition of your physical or digital products. You can take advantage of the paradigm shift now happening where people are moving more to smartphones from desktops or laptops when they search online for products. People today do a lot of product browsing when they are either waiting or traveling. Your app allows you to approach a broader audience that contains such people.

Apps also offer easy, interactive, and quick navigation. It makes them more suitable for browsing and shopping when contrasted to websites. Thus, customers prefer mobile apps more to buy products. Sites can facilitate awareness, but mobile apps are more suitable to elevate brands and produce sales. These are some advantages of mobile apps over websites. 

– Improve Customer Engagement

Mobile apps are more interactive and engaging than enterprise websites. It bolsters business-to-customer communication by expediting customers to get in touch with the management regularly. Be it reviews, feedback, suggestions, or complaints, users can quickly provide their views and also use your social media accounts for the same. Since you can be in direct contact with customers, an app helps a lot in improving customer engagement. 

– Offer Competitive Advantage

When your app performs seamlessly and is visually appealing, you are already way ahead of the crowd. With regular updates that meet the demands of users and address the evolving needs of a business, you manage to retain customers, and this gives you an advantage over your competitors who may not have invested in an app yet.

– Develop Brand Recognition

Customer support, reviews, loyalty program, and integration with social media are among the most appealing and essential features to a user. These features help the brand grow and add to your online marketing efforts. Business mobile apps provide a cost-effective method of promotion. Hoarding, newspaper ads, or paid ads on social media can consume a considerable part of your advertising funds when you want to develop brand recognition. However, with an app, you don’t need to spend a lot on developing brand recognition.

– Increase Visibility

Google has created its mobile-first approach, which it is now more comfortable for you to get noticed and improve visibility with your mobile app business. With a tailored app, you can get word-of-mouth suggestions with sharing on social media. You can reach a larger audience through this, and your online visibility is also enhanced. 

There are also other ways to create buzz to enhance visibility. With advancements in technology, IoT, AR, and VR becoming mainstream, many app development enterprises are ready to integrate these technologies into their apps, which offers users an engaging, interactive, and immersive experience. 

Conclusion

By extending all these advantages, a mobile app rich in features can take the business to the ensuing level of success irrespective of its scale and size.

Author Bio

Maria Brown is Chief Content Editor, Blogger and maintaining Social Media Optimization for 21Twelve Interactive which is one the top iPhone App development company in India and USA. She believes in sharing her strong knowledge base with a leaned concentration on entrepreneurship and business. She also writes for Top Mobile App Development Companies. Follow her on @Twitter.

DevelopmentInsightsMartech

Tips for Building a More Engaging Newsletter

on July 19, 2019

An email newsletter isn’t your typical promotional email. It contains a lot of information that isn’t necessarily geared towards directing readers to a call-to-action. To make it interesting and fun for readers to read through, it’s important that the in-email content be engaging. 

Newsletters are effective only if they are well executed and perfectly designed. However, marketers are advised not to try and put too much into a newsletter. Often, we get to see examples where product updates are blended into promotional offers and blog posts. This causes the newsletter to lose focus.

According to Hubspot, an email newsletter needs solid ground to hold it together. Your audience needs to know what it is they are reading about as soon as they see the subject line. They also need to quickly identify the focus of the email and understand it quickly. This increases your email’s engagement rates. 

If your email newsletter isn’t performing as well as it should, it’s time to take a back seat and revamp your strategy. Your newsletter might even be something you wouldn’t want to read yourself. A good newsletter should be three things: relevant, interesting, and valuable. Try an email builder to be sure you will have a good email template.

First, it should relate to the reader’s interests and the things that they care about. Second, it should delight, educated, and entertain them. Third, it should teach them and give something that they would find useful. Without these basics, your newsletter will struggle to draw an engaged and consistent readership. 

Experts recommend coming up with a newsletter strategy at the very beginning. This should include the objectives of the newsletter, a way of identifying target readers, and choosing the newsletter’s visual style. These will provide the right foundation for making it more engaging.

We will share 5 tips below for building a more engaging newsletter: 

An Interactive Table of Contents for Better Navigation

If your newsletter contains a lot of content, you can make it more navigable by including a table of contents. This shows your audience what to expect as they start to read your email. A static table of contents works well. However, an interactive one makes things way better. The latter allows readers to skip to a section once they click on a particular topic within the table. This can be done using anchor links. 

The table of contents is clickable and when tapped, the page jumps to the exact module. This is one of the best techniques where the business wishes to include tons of in-email content. What’s even better is that most interactive tables of contents are supported across a wide array of email clients. They are easy to implement and do not require any coding. 

Grab Attention Using Hero Module

Make your readers feel cheerier and brighter from the very beginning. The perfect way to do this is to build a full-width effect in the hero module using an HTML background color. Sending an email filled with images could increase your chances of landing in the spam folder. This is, especially for readers that have their image-viewing capability turned off. This would mean that your email isn’t read. 

The best solution is to cut images with HTML design and plain text. The technique also works if you want to incorporate a certain color into the background of a plain text. This color could be obtained from a product image. Color-blocking concentrates the focus on a single idea and unifies the newsletter’s composition. 

Keep Things Interesting by Varying Content Width

Maintaining consistency in each module in your newsletter achieves a certain level of design efficiency. However, you can create more interest, fun, and delight by using varying content modules and asymmetrical designs. For example, you could use bold HTML color to increase the width in your opening module. Changing the width as you scroll down through the content gives the newsletter a playful and dynamic appeal. HTML background colors and large font sizes add an element of visual interest as well. 

More and more brands are experimenting with colors, type, layering images, and module designs to take things a notch higher. This results in collaged emails that look like they were handmade. Fortunately, the techniques can be incorporated easily without fuss. 

Use GIFs to Animate your Offering

A little animation goes a long way in conveying an offering or product. A static screenshot isn’t likely to achieve as much as what a helpful strategy would using the right web tools and apps. GIFs bring a sense of motion and aliveness to a business’ storytelling techniques. 

Before including them in an email, think about the story you are about to tell. Your GIFs should have a purpose. One which is well thought out could blend well with your email to give your audience a good reason why they should act. Remember to keep the file size small so that it does not take too much time to animate. You can do this by removing frames, animating the part that has the picture only, reducing colors, and cropping out what’s not needed. 

Make it Personal

The best way to stand out from every other email in your audience’s inboxes is to make a personal connection. While at it, keep it simple. Make quick responses where necessary. According to a study carried out by the Harvard Business Review, waiting longer than 5 minutes to get back to your customer’s decreases your chances of landing a new lead by up to 400%. Go the extra mile while chatting with them. They will always remember how you made them feel. This makes it extremely essential that you provide the best customer service. 

Use these tips to increase engagement in your email newsletters. If you have trouble knowing what to say to your audience, make use of an email builder which helps you create and edit email templates. Your audience will soon start to feel as if they are a part of your business. They will contribute more, share their concerns, and make it easier for you to find out what they want. Also, they are likely to refer others to your business, hence, increasing your audience.

InsightsMartechProducts

Why Is AR A Real Estate Agent’s Best Friend?

on July 17, 2019

Augmented Reality (AR) has been around for ages. It is a technology that allows our physical world to extend by adding layers of digital information to it. Thanks to its immersive capabilities, AR has become one of the best possible partners for a real estate agent. Even though the real estate market was not as quick to adopt AR in real estate as other industries, considering its endless possibilities, millions have been invested by firms to provide simple AR solutions to real estate.

From communicating property features to potential buyers in a more effective way to competing with peers in the market, real estate agents should embrace AR-enabled tools to provide more value to clients and get a good return on sales. Similarly, AR can help potential tenants decide whether they should go for Dubai Marina Apartments for rent or Business Bay apartments, or they should stick to Studio or a single-bedroom apartment. Here’s how AR can be used to facilitate real estate agents:

No More Static Brochures

When a potential buyer looks for a property for sale, it is quite possible that they get engaged with more than one real estate agent. There’s also a possibility that they are going through several property brochures to compare and analyze parameters. This implies fierce competition among agents. The main challenge in this scenario is to provide useful information to a potential buyer in the form of easily digestible chunks and that’s where AR comes to the rescue! AR-enabled interactive brochures can help a real estate agent stand out from the crowd. The brochures can have triggered at various points of the property which buyers can tap and see a 3D model of that section of the property, hence improving the way a buyer interacts and visualizes a property. Furthermore, it can also provide a refreshing and innovative new experience to house hunting. It can also improve the operational efficiency of real estate agents, by reducing the amount of time they spend away from their desks and allowing them time to focus on more important sales work to be done.

No More Single Dimensional Floorplans

For a typical house hunt process, floor plans play an active role in letting the buyer decide whether the property is worth investing in or not. Floorplans, as we know them, are usually single-dimensional, on-page diagrams or structures meant for the buyer to visualize the property. However, with the help of AR tools, real estate agents can show buyers a 3D floorplan and buyers can literally visualize themselves in it. It can help them analyze what they should do in all that space and help them perceive the property better. So, AR has taken this single-dimensional experience to a whole new level.

Stand Out With Window Displays

The power of AR in real estate can be used to improve the way buyers get information about all available properties for rent or sale. Using interactive window displays or overlaying technology on traditional pictorial displays, buyers can now get information on property for rent or sale even when the office is closed, hence redefining ways of engagement with buyers and securing more deals.

These uses of AR can go a great deal in helping real estate agents to gain a competitive edge among their peers. The interactivity and benefits AR brings with itself add great value to buyers and sellers and improve the overall customer experience. As a result, your corporate and brand reputation in the industry gets improved, and you are led towards new business and a higher return on sales.       

MartechSEO

4 Exciting Technologies Evolving with AI

on July 17, 2019

Companies in dozens of industries are investing heavily in artificial intelligence to develop more streamlined and cost-effective ways of serving their customers and powering their operations.

What does the future have in store as far as these technologies are concerned? Nobody can say for sure, but we know robots will be a big part of it.

As far as the present-day goes, let’s examine four exciting technologies evolving with AI before our eyes.

Medical Diagnoses 

We tend to view doctors as flawless if we’ve received proper medical care. But they’re humans like the rest of us, which means they’re prone to mistakes. According to studies, medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S. What’s more, around 10 percent of those deaths are attributed to faulty diagnostics like missed and misdiagnoses. This is why breakthroughs in AI-assisted medical diagnosis technology carry the most excitement in an AI healthcare market that’s projected to reach $150 billion by 2026.

With AI able to quickly learn a patient’s entire medical history and run several algorithms on the patient’s current symptoms, it can diagnose conditions faster and more accurately. Doctor’s will never be removed from the loop, of course, but AI allows for greater patient-to-patient visibility.

5G Augmented Reality 

Augmented reality is an extension of our physical world with layers of digital information laid on top. Data like animations, videos, images, and 3D models are presented to users via devices like projection glasses, head-mounted displays or mobile devices while technology like depth-tracking and location mapping provide a realistic user experience.

Retailers ranging from Sephora and Nike to Ikea and Lacoste have introduced augmented reality apps in the last few years to great success.

According to Business Wire, the augmented reality market is expected to hit $60 billion by 2023, meaning more unique shopping experiences are on the way for consumers. The arrival of 5G technology makes this especially true. Experts say that 5G technology is not only pivotal to augmented technology. It will change the way we live.

Self-Serve Advanced Analytics 

It’s no secret the world is creating an enormous amount of data. We only need to look to at our mobile devices, the number of apps we have, and our daily behavior to imagine the global impact on data generation. Analytics isn’t just a way for companies to make more money and offer their customers better experiences, but to also uncover insights related to any initiative.

The power of insights used to be locked away within the data team and required a lot of time to yield insights. But with the advent of search analytics, even non-technical end users can dig into data to inform their workflows. Some advanced analytics platforms, such as ThoughtSpot, are using AI to find deeper insights that even trained professional miss, displaying them to end-users through detailed visualizations.

Robo-Advising

The financial system has been tilted toward the elite for centuries. From savings strategies to budgeting tips, we don’t all start our adult lives with the same advice. The disparity in education is particularly apparent with investing. Investing is the only way to grow money substantially (but passively) over time. Yet, because of the aforementioned equality gaps, many people living paycheck to paycheck don’t know how to start investing, let alone be able to afford a few shares of a tech stock. 

Robo-advising makes investing straightforward for everyone. These platforms bypass a financial advisor, a significant expense over time, and instead offer investment advice and strategy via online resources. Some platforms even allow investors to buy fractional shares of stocks and funds, allowing them to continually invest in the market versus having to save up to buy full shares.

There’s no shortage of rousing technologies evolving with the graces of artificial intelligence. However, some developments are more of a reality than others. The best part of these four technologies is that they’re affecting and improving our everyday lives. Isn’t that what technology is all about?

DevelopmentInsightsProducts

What Is Power Dialer Software and How Benefited For Business?

on July 17, 2019

“A Power Dialer is an automated dialing system connecting agents to prospects more efficient with allowing agents to focus on live connections. The system automatically dials the next contact, when an agent is available, based on your desired calls-to-agent ratio.”

So the power dialer increases the amount of time agent spend to real prospector and customer. Power dialer is specially benefited. When a call center which has a small number of sales executive and quantity of prospects.

Power dialer is different from other dialers. The agent is already active on the phone when the dialer being going through the contact numbers. Power dialer only dials the next number when initiated with the agent.

A Superior Option for B2B (Business To Business)

Dialers are usually limited to being a piece of hardware. It makes routine calls. There are different types of dialer, but the most superior option is B2B calling, that is power dialer.

This dialer only calls one number at one time; yet heightens productivity and lower cost of saving leads. This is from the waste that occurs with other types of dialers. Predictive dialer supposed to dial several numbers at once.

With hope, there will enough reps that are available to take the calls on time. And they answered. It leaves the phones agents rushed and less well-prepared. With also allowing many leads lost to over-dialing

How Do Power Dialers Work?

This is contact center type of dialer where the agents are already active on the liner at the time of the call. Usually, the agent stimulates the calling session and when a live answer is detected. He/she answered the call. And the agent is already live here, so there is no call transferring required.

This is ideal for single-person scenarios or in remote agent environment. So, it doesn’t require multiple agents to transfer calls to. The possibility of abandonment cost rules out here. The dialer dials one line at the same time. An individual – line power dialer make around 75-80 calls per hour.

For this power dialer, the agent is always there to take the phone call. If a person picks up. They also get to catch whatever the live person that will say and they pick up. Unlike the other dialer where the agent might not find the hello causing a delay in response.

Benefits of Power Dialer

  • With the benefit of the power dialer that eliminates the abandonment rate. This is already a live person on the phone ready to receive a call.
  • Use of power dialer also goes with some many more quickly than manual dialing.
  • This is possible for the agent to call over seventy leads in just an hour.
  • Power dialer like Dialer360 is useful for individual agent businesses. Approximately the technology available today support both predictive and power dialing.
  • Power dial would be attractive because it gives you a choice depending on your needs for the day.
  • This is easy to use and very active. Since the assistance available before the call gets connected. Power dialer is a complete clear winner.
  • With power dialing, the number of calls depends on receiving capability of teams.
  • So power dialing call center gets quick response and information. Power dialer notches higher in term of customer satisfaction.
  • This also helps out there to increase your businesses and sales with some methods.
  • You can save the time if you can make seventy calls in an hour, plow with a significant number of prospects at the day. Some of those leads which are bound to run into decreases dramatically.
  • Help to skip over number where there is no answer or leaving an auto-message. It happens when voicemail picks up.
  • An agent can focus exclusively on communication with real people. Rather than on leaving the same voice message over and over until he/she finally reach a live person.

Features of Power Dialer

Must-have features of the best power dialers

Let’s have a look at the characteristics of a power dialer. Here are four indispensable elements.

Customized caller ID

With a fantastic challenge faced by the telemarketer is caller ID. This is to notify or at least make the people suspicious as they are about to receive a sales call. Customizing the caller ID that allowing associating your request with another legitimate number. With using your mobile number instead of your name. The difference between talking to someone and moving on the next call.

One-click voicemails

Some other standard features with the best power dialer are one-click function. Instead of leaving the same message over, wasting time you have prerecorded messages to leave automatic. With the click one single button on the power dialer platform. It also saves you more time than the auto-dialing features all power dialer that has.

Contact info preview

The best power dialer is complete without the contact info preview function. So the power dialer moves on the next call. The information about the impending contact appears on the screen. Give agent opportunity to the personalized invitation best understanding of his/her audience.

Compliance

Some of the other features that integrate with Customer Relationship Management (CRM). As such call campaign, customized email, whisper coaching, and reporting among other things. Suppose the device is missing four essentials and don’t have a couple of other features that consider shopping around.

Final Thoughts

Usually, your company purchases a particular service. They try to figure out if your call has gone through. When you have reached a human being can cost critical time you could be used to make a sale. The power dialer cuts that time sucks out. Moreover, the software allows identifying callers to maximize efficiency and mask. You’re out calling number to discourage potential customers. Those who typically avoid telemarketers, from dodging your call.

This can mean less frustration and more effective calling for your agents. Fundamental, business requires making daily phone contact with a variety of people successful. Its time and level of efficiency can expect to see very positive results from using the power dialer.

Author Bio

Abdul has spent his career developing high-performance organizations. He is working as a chief marketing officer for a leading call center software company Dialer360. As both a marketing executive, Abdul has created and executed numerous programs that build market awareness, drive lead generation and increase revenue.

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