Category: Insights

Ways to Improve your Restaurant Business Visibility in 2021

Miley on April 8, 2021

As the world comes to rely on modern technology solutions, businesses worldwide are facing a major twist in their operations, and the restaurant industry is no more immune from this disruption. Furthermore, due to the pandemic, restaurant owners are already battling for survival. Fierce competition and customer’s changing preferences are the major reasons behind the restaurant industry’s drastic change.

Food delivery apps such as Zomato, GrubHub, Postmates, etc., have changed the way people order and eat. Hence, more and more restaurants are upgrading their current technology in order to achieve optimal results and make their business successful for long-term suitability. Moreover, social media and various online marketing activities help restaurants to promote their products and services. Having a solid online presence is no more an alternative; it is a need.

If you have just launched a fine dining restaurant but lacking an online presence, then you are leaving lots of money and potential customers on the table. In short, you need to embrace emerging trends that build brand advocacy and boost your bottom line. From online ordering to social media marketing to business listing, you need to quadruple efforts to improve visibility in 2021.

Tried and Tested Ways to Improve Restaurant Visibility

These days, the restaurant industry is no longer just about offering quality food and earning money. Things have changed, and the diner’s preferences have been changing. Customer’s expectations from brands are also changing. Along with the quality, modern customers seek digital ordering facilities, strong social media presence, attractive offerings, and much more that encourage them to visit restaurants more often.

Gone are the days when restaurants opted for offline marketing techniques to attract diners. Now technology has changed the entire game since the era of the Internet and smartphones has begun. Diners and restaurants are relying more on modern technology to maximize their business revenue and customer base. According to research, almost 95% of restaurants admit that technology has improved their business efficiency.

Some well-known brands like Starbucks, Chipotle, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut have already implemented mobile technology and are following ongoing marketing techniques to get an edge over the competition.

Overall, it opens the door for new opportunities and improves profitability. So let’s discuss several ways that improve restaurant visibility and keep your customers entertained.

Let Customers Order Food Online

Source: TweakYourbiz

Online ordering has become a boon for time-starved customers. This is why the online food ordering market is not growing, but it’s exploding; it will soon cross the $200B mark. Digital ordering services allow customers to order their favorite food within a couple of clicks.

Hence, technology partners are developing ordering platforms for startups with exclusive features as it offers many golden opportunities to make a solid customer base. As a restaurant business owner, if you have not jumped on the bandwagon of online ordering, this is the right time.

Popular food delivery service apps such as Zomato, Postmates, and DoorDash have encouraged people to order food online as it saves time and money. The majority of customers claimed that attractive deals are the reasons they often order food online. Hence, more and more restaurants are listing themselves on these apps. If you are not doing so, you will lose out on a huge chunk of customers.

When you offer online ordering, you also increase sales and clear up the crowd at your doors. Eventually, it will increase order accuracy, reduce waiting time and create an additional revenue stream for your food business.

Be Active on Social Media

Source: SproutSocial

No matter how quality food you offer, all your efforts will go to waste without having a strong online presence, and you won’t be able to drive traffic. This is what it is imperative for restaurants to have a strong social media presence. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are popular social media channels where you can engage with customers and promote your products and services at cost-effective rates.

You might be wondering how social media presence increases sales and improves visibility; the below statistics will give you a better idea.

Almost 63% of restaurants leverage social media sites to market their products and services.
More than 35% of customers use social media websites to research brands before making purchase decisions.
And 88% of diners are influenced by online reviews and comments; Sprout Social stated that.

Now you must be clear why social media presence is critical for the restaurant business as it is one of the most powerful advertising weapons for your food business. Apart from the promotion, you can engage with customers on a personal level. All you need to create a business profile on these platforms; later, you can promote and communicate with your diners.

Leverage Other Form of Marketing

Earlier, restaurants had limited resources and understandings of marketing. Radio and newspaper were key sources to market restaurants, but now we have plenty of emerging online marketing techniques that have the potential to reach a large audience.

More than 88% of customers research a restaurant online before they order or actually visit the place. While 70% of the American diners stated that they read online reviews to make informed decisions. The introduction of different sites such as OpenTable, Yelp, Zomato, etc., has changed the entire landscape of the restaurant industry.

Here are several emerging online marketing techniques that you can adapt to improve the visibility of your restaurant.

Video content (YouTube)
Get Found Locally ( Google My Business and Local listing)
Website and App ( for menu browsing and ordering)
Paid advertising ( Google Ads)
Content marketing
Email marketing

Above are the popular online marketing techniques that can expand your business reach, boost brand value and upscale your restaurant business without any geolocation barrier.

Stay Updated with Modern Technology

Technology keeps changing, and restaurants are one of the sectors that are disrupted more in recent years. Customers’ expectations are also increasing; this is why it is important to adapt ongoing technology changes to stay competitive and relevant. From ordering online to social media to offering wifi and digital kiosks facilities, technology is everywhere.

Moreover, customers are now preferring online payments over cash, so offering them multiple payment options would be advantageous for you. Make sure the offered payment system is swift and secure. Before you lose a huge chunk of customers, implement modern technology solutions and stay one step ahead in the competition.

Verdict

Once everything is humming for your business, and you have a strong customer base, you have a website, you have a strong online presence, now it’s time to focus on what works and what not for your restaurant business. Change is constant; all you can go with the flow and keep adapting to new changes to thrive your restaurant business.

Development Insights

How to Maintain Your Brand on Social Media

Miley on March 26, 2021

90% of Instagram users say they follow a brand
1.62 billion people visit Facebook daily
92% of companies will tweet at least twice per day

Maintaining your business’ brand was never an easy task, but as social media has reached new heights in popularity, it’s another piece of your brand that you’ll need to take very seriously. Social media sees billions of users log on every day, and that means you have an incredible opportunity to reach many of those users – or at least the ones who will be interested in what you have to offer.

So, this is not a situation to be taken lightly. Having a strong social media presence can give you the edge over your competition, but it’s not as simple as logging onto Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to make an occasional post. That’s why hiring a digital marketing agency Miami is often the right move, but first, let’s take a look at some social media branding tips to get you started.

Make a Policy

This is crucial. Having a social media policy that details everything that needs to be followed can save you from dealing with a not-so-fun digital marketing situation in the future. You’ll need to figure out what kind of voice to use and how to handle numerous different types of situations.

Plus, since you’ll have everything in writing, you’ll have a consistent guideline for dealing with anyone who decides to take things a little too far. Your social media policy should include topics such as:

Security
Copyright
How to handle a crisis
Privacy

Keep Your Voice Consistent

Having a consistent voice across your social media platforms reinforces that these pages fully represent your brand. This doesn’t mean, however, that everything should be the same across these platforms. People expect to see a different type of post on Facebook than Twitter, even if it’s basically about the same thing. Use emoticons (check Kaomoji); they can help you out to emphasize the things you want and show some personalization.

This might involve a little bit of trial and error to discover what you want your business’ digital voice to be, but having the help of a digital marketing agency can help streamline this process.

Work on Your Bio

When it comes to digital marketing, even the small stuff counts. As someone browses through social media, they’ll be seeing many posts, but one of yours might catch their eye. It interests them so much that they decide to check out your profile to learn a little more. This is the moment you’re waiting for. This is your time to shine. A well-crafted bio can lead someone to make a purchase.

What should you include in your bio? That can be up to you, but it’s always important to highlight these areas:

What you do
Where you are
How to learn more

This is also a great space to show some personality, so users aren’t bored by another generic profile.

Communicate with Your Followers

Communicating with your followers – or anyone – on all social media platforms is necessary, but putting the focus on Twitter can give your brand a lot of positive recognition if you handle things well.

Twitter is where people tend to go if they have a question or complaint. They see it as a more natural way to communicate with someone who can help them or take care of their problem directly. If you have someone or multiple people from a digital marketing agency dedicated to solving these problems on Twitter, it will help maintain a positive image for your brand.

Be Prepared for Backlash

As we briefly discussed the importance of creating a social media policy, not everything will be a positive experience in the digital marketing world of social media. Something you tweet might be considered offensive. Something outside of social media might’ve happened that negatively shines a light on your business. It could be anything – and you have to be prepared for anything.

Having a strategy to handle rough times and customer complaints consistent with your overall brand image can prevent a rough time from becoming awful. Mistakes happen. It’s how you respond that’s important. Having a digital marketing agency Miami on your side can help in these situations.

Your Social Media Voice Can Bring Positive Awareness to Your Business

Some businesses just have digital marketing locked down on social media. They always have the right thing to say. They still have the funny but appropriate reply. They always show they care about their customers. These businesses have made an online name for themselves through a fantastic social media presence. By setting a plan and getting some assistance from a digital marketing agency, your business might be able to reach these heights.

Insights

Website Vs Mobile App: What’s Better For Your Business

Miley on March 24, 2021

Every business strives to reach a wider audience with its digital presence; in trying to do this, both mobile apps and websites come as irreplaceable solutions for most enterprises. Though they have their respective value propositions, both have significant mutual differences as well.

While websites represent a basic solution addressing a larger audience’s needs, mobile apps are more specific solutions to user problems. Though most businesses gradually extend their digital presence to a mobile app starting from an enterprise website, many companies avoid building a website instead of building a mobile app as their critical digital facet. Other enterprises prefer building Progressive Web App (PWA) to incorporate both the attributes of a website and mobile app.

In recent years, in remote corners of the world, having a mobile app presence and a web presence has become essential to address the increasing mobile audience. When it comes to app development Ireland startups across all niches are increasingly preferring native apps to share their digital footprint. The same can be found across other countries as well.

Now the question is whether you should choose mobile apps or websites for your digital presence. Well, here we are going to explain the critical considerations for choosing between these two.

Budget consideration

The first and foremost consideration will be the budget for shaping your digital presence, whether through a website or a mobile app. Depending on your budget, you have a few credible choices like the ones mentioned below.

● Mobile web: Mobile website representing a highly mobile optimised look and feel and offering a web experience tuned to the mobile browsers is the least expensive solution, but you need to compromise on the user experience and mobile-specific user interface.

● Progressive Web Apps (PWA): These are websites coming with an array of native app experience attributes such as offline access, Home Screen access with a native button, faster loading time, etc. PWAs are cheaper solutions irrespective of bringing together the benefits of both web and mobile apps.

● Hybrid apps: Hybrid apps allowing app presence across multiple platforms can enable a business to shape their mobile app presence at a relatively lesser cost just because hybrid development allows using the single codebase across multiple OS platforms.

● Cross-platform apps with native user experience: Now, modern app projects can also utilise modern app development frameworks like Flutter or React Native to build robust cross-platform apps that, in spite of reusing the core codebase, can also allow incorporating platform-specific UI attributes. This is less expensive than the hybrid approach while ensuring several benefits of native apps.

● Native app development: Finally, there is a native app development approach to help build a mobile app for specific OS platforms by utilising the platform-specific SDK, language and tools. This is great as far as offering native user experience is considered, but it is more expensive as an option.

Performance, speed and accessibility

A website entirely depends on the internet and cannot deliver the performance and loading speed of a native app that stores several data layers locally within the device. On the other hand, the PWAs, through local caching technology, are capable of accumulating a lot of data locally in the device to help offline access when internet connectivity is slow or not available.

Another consideration is the installation time and storage space required by a native app. A website, in this respect, doesn’t have the constraint of storage and installation. In this respect, both PWAs and cloud-based apps have an edge as both also perform as websites depending on the remote servers for storage while allowing ease of access through local caching.

Which of them is more user optimised?

Now coming to the usability elements and user experience, mobile apps certainly have the edge over mobile websites. Unlike websites, mobile apps come with a more interactive and intuitive user interface targeting specific user expectations. An app is also a highly-targeted solution to one or a few particular problems the users face and hence are more user-specific than the websites in general.

Today’s mobile apps offering customisation with the user interface, better access to the device and platform features, and better scope to use intuitive user experience attributes provide a lot more than the websites to satisfy the users’ needs. The integrated device features and the platform-specific user experience attributes are the most significant advantages of the native mobile apps.

Marketing and business conversion

Now coming to the roles mobile apps and websites play for marketing and business conversion, there are significant differences. When it comes to marketing and ensuring wider customer reach by utilising the potential of the major search engines, websites optimised for mobile users are clear winners in this battle.

Apart from driving SEO campaigns and targeting users more specifically using search engine specific keywords, mobile web ensures wider accessibility as users don’t need to download and install it. On the other hand, Mobile apps can only take advantage of the mobile App Store or Play Store optimisation to reach more audiences. SEO has an edge in terms of business conversion and outreach over App Store Optimisation (ASO).

Conclusion

To conclude, we must say that having a mobile optimised business website is the first step to shape your digital presence, followed by extending the presence across mobile apps. When you have a popular website and have already used your website for branding and business conversion, you can further strengthen your digital presence with a native or cross-platform mobile app. You can also build a versatile Progressive Web App (PWA) to bring together both the benefits of web and mobile apps for your business brand.

Insights

How to set a store on amazon in 2021? Inside tips and tricks

Miley on March 19, 2021

Amazon is not only a platform that helps you sell and buy products. But it has rather become a credible place that is adding value to the products. The products sold on Amazon are trusted by the customers for being high-value products. Setting a store on Amazon is not only a matter of increasing business but also is a matter of adding value to your business. It can enhance the credibility of your business and can help you establish a fine brand. Setting a store on amazon in 2021 is indeed a good beginning to the New Year.

There are plenty of ways to get information on how to set up your store- websites like olifantdigital.com is just one way to go on that matter. But before you start setting a store on this wonderful platform, let us introduce you to Amazon in real-time. The following content will cover the section below.

What is an Amazon store?
Amazon store features?
How to create your Amazon store?

What is an Amazon store?

It is a free premium space offered to vendors looking to sell their products in an organized manner. Vendors can use the space to showcase a curated collection of their products. It will not only help one sell but will also let one establish a good brand image. The product positions and promotions get to the next level once a vendor gets to Amazon for selling its products. Amazon stores enhance brand-centric shopping and let a seller enjoy some splendid benefits. Amazon stores can certainly enhance the shopping experience by;

Capitalizing on the flow of visitors coming from internal and external sources.
Automatic organic promotions of products can elevate sales for prestigious products.
A seller always has the luxury to promote the new products to the existing line of customers.
A meticulous mobile experience that never lets your customers go away from your offered deals.

Amazon stores offer multi-page platforms, and that simply means more space to showcase your offers. You can also add more content and rich media to make your brand stand out. A good amazon agency can teach you how to do it perfectly for your products.

Pro-tip: when driving traffic to your newly established storefronts, you have the luxury to divert shoppers to specific categories. Each page can be linked with a unique URL, and all you have to do to promote a specific category is linking that page to the campaigning URL. Amazon will offer you three useful themes to choose from.

Marquee
Highlight
Product grid

Amazon managers will be working on four windows, i.e., page manager, preview window, tile manager, and status bar.

Amazon store features

Amazon is always there to help sellers with richer and more engaging content. It is always rolling out the features that can help brands stand out. Advertisers can showcase products with high definition images and quality content. Some other splendid features are described below.

Shop-able collection images

With shoppable images, you can always take your customers by surprise. You can direct a visitor by offering live links. The shop-able feature of Amazon stores can assist customers in having a wonderful shopping experience. Customers can view the features, basic information, rating, and price of the products by simply viewing the fine details offered in the images. The images inspire and grab the shoppers’ attention and then guide a customer through the purchase process.

Pro-tip: shop-able collection images are your chance to showcase great attention-grabbing images. You can drive sales by doing interesting photography.

Images with text

Product images can sell and can guide a customer about the product relatedness as well. A fine class descriptive text and sell better. It can also work with SEO content.

Bulk uploading

It is another wonderful feature of the amazon store as it allows you to upload products in bulk. Scheduled updates & links to stores

You can set schedules for updates and can add workable links to the store pages by using Amazon store settings.

How to create your Amazon store?

It is easy; just follow the steps below.

Amazon’s brand registry is always there to host your brand for growth and development. You are required to register your business or brand with Amazon before you can go on to set a store. You can get help from an amazon agency in this regard. Generally, to register, you will require to have:

A registered trademark that will appear on all of your products and packaging.
The ability to verify yourself as the sole owner or an authorized agent of that brand.
An Amazon account, you can create one for free if you do not have one already.

Create a store homepage and select the theme

It’s time to navigate to the Manage store from seller central or ad console to set up a store on Amazon in real-time. Here you will be shown a list of your brands that stands eligible for setting up a store. You can choose from four standard themes to pick one for your store homepage.

Build out store pages

As described earlier, Amazon offers more space, i.e., a multi-page store setting. Hence, you can set store pages once you are done with the basics. The catalog categories and bestselling products can be categorized on these pages.

Ad content tiles

Once you have set pages and have categorized your curated products, then it’s time to add some valuable content. Content tiles allow you to add useful descriptions, images, and videos to the pages. It helps visitors interact with your pages more seamlessly.

Upload your ASINs

You can add individual products on the pages and in the categories you have created in the earlier steps. You can also add ASINs and other older products. A good amazon agency can guide you in setting ASINs properly.

Submit your store for review and publish

Once you have done that all, then it’s time to submit your store for review and publishing at Amazon.

Insights

The Importance Of Digital Marketing For A Small Business

Miley on March 2, 2021

In the past few decades, small entrepreneurs never got a chance to compete in the market. From budget limitations to the lack of resources – big businesses always had a monopoly. After all, the only way to grab audiences’ attention was by spending heaps of money on television commercials and billboards. Unsurprisingly, this wasn’t possible for small businesses, but things are changing in the 21st century – all thanks to technological advancements.

The emergence of digital media and smartphones is changing how people engage, interact, and shop. Social media forums are letting brands build business profiles, while search engines open doors to a whole new online advertisement world. Earlier, online marketing was a different way to promote products, but now it has become inevitable for businesses.

Digital marketing lays a foundation on which entrepreneurs build their presence. It establishes their position in communities and niches, creating brand awareness amongst audiences without costing a fortune. In short, it is an opportunity for small businesses to become a part of the industry and win their market share by breaking monopolies.

However, now digital marketing is beyond running ads or having a website. It is more about leveraging tech-savvy tools and analytics to conduct market research and gain an edge over competitors. And your failure to acknowledge its significance can drive you out of the competition. Let us look at the importance of digital marketing and why your small business needs it to grow and thrive.

1. BUILDS BRAND RECOGNITION

These days, it is quite impossible to attract customers by sending out pamphlets and business cards. Since people have a strong presence on online platforms, they expect the same from every small brick and mortar business. Therefore, focus on building brand recognition by exhibiting your presence across multiple marketing channels. Are you clueless about it? Have a look at this marketing guide and learn the ropes.

Firstly, create business profiles on the search engine, social media, and other digital tools. Use the power of content marketing to spread your brand message across. Consistent branding across multiple networks reflects a positive brand image. Remember, customers have a plethora of options in the online world. If they didn’t find your brand, it would take them two minutes to find a substitute and switch. Hence, utilize social media – Facebook, Instagram, etc. to build brand recognition amongst audiences. A great idea is to hire a professional video production company like Signature Video Group and make videos that will promote your brand or your get you noticed by potential customers.

2. TARGETS RIGHT AUDIENCES

When it comes to running a billboard campaign, brands have some target audience in mind. Unfortunately, you don’t have any control over whether that target audience would see the advertisement or not. Amongst the million benefits of digital marketing, targeting the right audience is likely to be the best one. It lets you break clusters into small and focused groups while allowing you to engage with them.

You can run a survey, start a conversation under the comment section, and offer customers solutions. For running advertisements, select demographics – age, gender, location, religion, and interests to connect with potential customers. If you have a women’s apparel brand, the target audience will be mostly women aging 18 to 45 years or above active online shoppers. It helps you reach out to people who have a keen interest in your product offerings, boosting sales and profits.

3. EASY TO SCALE & ADAPT

Every marketing campaign requires initial investment to get the traffic flowing, but surprisingly, this is not how digital marketing works. It doesn’t cost a dime to create a business profile on any social forum, nor you have to spend any money on forming community groups. Only social campaigns, advertisements, and sponsored posts cost you a few bucks. You can choose a daily budget, which can be as low as $1, and schedule the ad.

Similarly, if you see the ad doing well instead of renegotiating the deal, you can keep the ad running by increasing your budget. All these marketing campaigns provide instant results. From the number of people who clicked on your ad to possible conversions – you can analyze data and make informed decisions. The significance of digital marketing to small business becomes more prominent when you recognize how simple it is to grow business online.

4. LEARN FROM COMPETITION

Believe it or not, audiences turn to brands that offer discounts, initiate trends, and provide reliable customer service. Therefore, if you want to win an edge, adopt a different perspective towards your competitors. Instead of seeing them as someone you want to beat, look up to them as a learning opportunity. Are they using content marketing? What is their mode of communication with clients?

With the help of digital marketing, you can find answers to all these questions. Feel free to surf through their website, blogs, and social media pages to track their performance. It will make you apprehend how actively they respond to changing tastes while fostering interactions with customers. Remember, the aim is not to copy your competitors but to learn from their mistakes.

5. PROVIDES REAL-TIME CUSTOMER SERVICE

With utmost reliance on the digital world, customers need support at every step of their buying journey. Alongside providing contact details or email address, use savvy tools to provide real-time customer service. You can hire customer support representatives to assist your social media followers. They would collect responses, answer queries, and take feedback from customers. After all, customer satisfaction is a critical point in establishing an outright market presence.

Moreover, you can also leverage artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning to streamline customer support. It uses human intelligence to provide human-like responses for answering customer queries. It means bots will be catering to queries and helping people make purchase decisions. Although you can integrate AI with social profiles, consider adding live chat options on your website. It will help visitors find products while instantly getting answers to their questions, boosting sales.

6. ENGAGES CUSTOMERS

Unlike conventional practices, digital marketing offers two-way communication. Brands get to promote, and customers respond with comments and feedback. As a result, the online audience has a lot of power in their hands. In addition to promotions, small businesses have to focus on building relationships with clients. If you are wondering how? Have a look below.

i. Initiate conversations on social platforms. You can start a Q&A session through live video to learn more about your potential customers.

ii. If you are bringing a new product, use online polls to get an idea about what customers want.

iii. Run surveys to get honest feedback and reviews of your customers.

Iv. Create online quizzes to learn more about visitors.

Unsurprisingly, customers appreciate the attention and prompt replies. They are more willing to trust a business when they get honest answers to their questions. Thus, interact and engage with them on a personal level to establish brand loyalty.

7. OFFERS A PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE

Earlier marketing was more about trial and error. Marketers were devising campaigns by following their gut and instinct, but everything has a reason in this digital era. Customers are feeding businesses information round the clock by signing up for newsletters and filling questionnaires. As a result, they await brands to treat them as individuals. Fortunately, digital marketing lets businesses segment markets and offers a personalized experience to customers.

In addition to generating leads, you can use this as your unique selling proposition. If you use email marketing, personalize emails by adding the first name of every customer. Likewise, recognize customers on individual levels – understand their preference, check their purchase history, and customize ads for them. For instance, if a visitor has abandoned his cart, send an ‘email’ with a special discount offer, or remind them of their cart. You can also send an online SMS, as mobile marketing is an extremely effective channel.

8. EXPANDS CUSTOMER OUTREACH

Every business wishes to expand globally, but would that be possible with a store in one corner of the city. Your offerings and services should be for the people of that region and the people around the world. It can put your business on a global forum where people from all around the world can shop from your brand. After all, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon are all international forums accessible by everyone.

If expansion is on your bucket list, devise a digital globalization strategy. Before stepping overseas, concentrate on local expansion by making your products and services available nationwide. Similarly, use social media to set demographics of another country and start promoting. Join hands with a reputable logistics company and cherish your versatile customer base.

9. ENJOY HIGHER ROI

Digital marketing offers a higher return on investment (ROI) than any other type of marketing. It is an ideal opportunity for small businesses to make the most out of a limited marketing budget. Let us unwind the returns of every campaign one by one.

i. Email marketing offers the peak ROI since it works like a conversion machine. Build an email list with quality subscribers and deliver high-quality content.

ii. Content marketing generates three times more leads than television commercials or any other traditional marketing campaign. Alongside website traffic, it brings buyers to your website.

iii. Social media establishes brand image and turns leads into potential customers.

While operating a small business, you have to ensure budget-friendliness. Learn how to stretch every dollar as you grow your brand because each cent counts. Understand the costs and see whether it would provide you with a sufficient ROI.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As a small business holder, you would have multiple questions regarding the benefits of digital marketing. From increasing customer outreach, developing brand image, improving customer service to saving money – digital marketing provides a pathway to success. Hence, look for smaller ways to jump into it. Create a social media account, list your business on Google, develop a web page, and see its impact on your business. With all these overwhelming benefits, what is stopping you from marketing your business online?

AUTHOR BIO:

Danish Mehmood is a senior SEO strategist at a web development and digital marketing agency based in Orlando, FL. He is passionate about digital marketing and loves to analyze the SEO industry in his spare time and stay in touch with the latest happenings. Connect with him at @InboundDM on Twitter and on LinkedIn.

Insights

Benefits Of Marketing Technology For Small Businesses

Miley on March 1, 2021

An increasing number of people are venturing into the business world. The idea of owning a small business is gaining acceptance. E-companies are replacing brick and mortar firms, and many people are taking benefits of technology and turning their ideas into reality. People running small businesses have their limitations as they do not have the liberty to spend a lot of money, and they need to be vigilant about their expenses. Moreover, businesses do not start churning out profit overnight, and entrepreneurs have to put in earnest efforts and long working hours before seeing fruitful results.

Marketing is a crucial element of running a company, and in this fierce competition of the business world, small companies have to fight tooth and nail to make a name for themselves. Today, people have excess options, and small businesses have to indulge in extensive marketing to make their presence known. Small companies cannot dedicate a large sum of money to marketing, as they have a limited budget. Marketing technology, commonly referred to as Martech, applies to all initiatives, channels, and tools that harness technology to achieve marketing objectives. Small businesses can use Martech and change the game for themselves.

The following are some of the benefits of marketing technology for small businesses:

Higher Conversion Rates

Irrespective of your niche, every small business’s motive is to generate more sales and earn more revenue. Conversion rate tells you about the percentage of visitors that visited your website and took the desired action. Digital marketing enables a small business to achieve higher conversion rates in less duration. Marketing technology helps generate leads and get higher sales through a proper sales funnel.

Small business owners can be innovative with their strategies and try different digital marketing methods to boost conversion rates. Blogging is an effective way of luring customers into purchasing on your website. Unique and informative content on blogs can hike up conversion rates and make a small business successful. Companies can use online tools to view blogging stats, determine keywords and sites ranking high on SERPs, and develop content accordingly.

Increased Brand Visibility

Small businesses often struggle in establishing a strong brand identity as other big fish often dominate the space. Digital marketing can help to increase small businesses’ visibility online and enhance their reach. Making people aware that your brand exists is the first step that exposes them to your products and services. The effective use of Martech succeeds in igniting interest in the audience to check out your products. Increased brand visibility can put a small company parallel to big fish in the market by exposing them to the same target audience. Or even more, if you’re offering additional value.

Better Customer Experience

Strong customer bonds are the key to success, and Martech has helped companies give their customers enriching experiences. Martech has introduced multiple channels that enable companies to reach their customers and gain insights into their experiences. Customers can use channels like email, social media, or company websites to contact brands for their queries, and brands can use this as an opportunity to strengthen their bonds with them.

Good customer service turns customers into a marketing tool, as they recommend your brand in their social circle leading to widespread word-of-mouth marketing. And we all know that WoM and positive referrals are excellent!

Enhanced Business Relationships

Businesses can run on their own, but in the modern world, survival without taking other businesses’ support means an extra load of work. Today, entrepreneurs can have a computer and a robust Internet connection, and they can search for like-minded people for their companies. Martech supports small businesses in establishing strong business relationships, and they can also take advantage of technological tools to enhance existing bonds.

Supposedly, as a retailer, you can search for companies that provide coupon codes and collaborate with them. This way, you can give discounts to your customers. The win-win strategy has always benefitted businesses, and Martech provides business owners with multiple opportunities to devise a win-win plan.

Automated Marketing

One of the best advantages of applying marketing technology to a small business is automation. Small companies can now take a backseat and let technology handle their marketing. This includes collecting data and running highly targeted ad campaigns.

Easy Access

We live in a technologically advanced world. People prefer staying in their homes and browsing options without stepping out. Online shoppers make up a considerable percentage of today’s customer base, and through Martech, small businesses give them easy access to products online. Advanced technology makes small companies more accessible and helps them attract more people.

Accurate Measurements

Business owners have to face difficulties in taking precise measurements of their marketing efforts, which primarily affects their budgets and marketing strategies. Marketing technology has enabled small business owners to integrate software and other tools, giving them accurate measurements of their marketing KPIs and strategy. Key matrices and other tools are significant in measuring effectiveness, and in the light of these measurements, small business owners can devise their different techniques. Besides, it helps business owners to stay aware of the outcomes of their marketing endeavors precisely.

Conclusion

Technology has become essential for small businesses to survive in today’s cut-throat competition. Marketing technology is robust, and small business owners can use advanced technical tools and channels to put their companies ahead of their competitors.

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8 Ways Manufacturers Can Reduce Industrial Energy Consumption

Miley on February 22, 2021

The industrial sector (manufacturing, agriculture, construction, mining, oil and gas industry and similar) is responsible for nearly one-third of all energy usage in the world. Only in the U.S., these facilities spend around $200 billion every year to stay powered, and they waste nearly 30% of all energy they require. All in all, they produce a lot of unnecessary energy waste. So how much energy is actually used for powering big plants? Much less than you think since a lot of energy escapes through leaky compressors, outdated equipment and other energy guzzlers. So how can manufacturers reduce their energy needs?

Infographic created by Resource Energy Solutions, a well management software company

Creating Energy Management Teams

One of the main reasons companies don’t achieve good energy saving is because they don’t know which sector is responsible for energy management. If a manufacturer decides to create an energy management team, they will monitor energy usage in an efficient way and implement ways to reduce waste.

Conducting energy audits

Energy audits that employ professional help from energy specialists can quantify how much energy each department is consuming and identify peak consumption times from month to month. Audits also offer recommendations on best energy efficiency upgrades that provide users with the best ROI.

Updating the equipment

The equipment also plays a big part in the energy efficiency puzzle. No matter how many computers and analysts a company has on its side, no industry can achieve necessary efficiency without investing in new-generation equipment. Every manufacturer should take note from oil and gas giants who have been working on energy consumption reduction by investing in efficient machines, tools and other equipment. Even small changes like more effective butterfly valves can result in the improvement of output and lower downtime, both of which can reduce energy consumption.

Using AI

Every industry has certain key processes that can’t be changed. However, the way they are conducted and the waste they leave behind can be cut with the use of big analytics and AI-driven forecasting. This move can improve the efficiency of processes and improve machinery use from 60-70%m, which is something most equipment scores, to 100% as it should be.

Automating important processes

Artificial intelligence can help with data analysis, but it can also take direct control of certain processes. Infrastructure laid out by the Internet of Things, in the combination with recent breakthroughs in the field, can soon bring us fully automated, safe and energy-efficient manufacturing processes. In some industries, humans will mostly be responsible for maintenance duties.

Studying machinery energy consumption

The data collected by the Energy Management Teams and energy audits can tell the manufacturer with machinery uses the most energy to operate. If possible, companies can schedule operation of these machines outside of peak hours which can reduce costs and unburden the electric network.

Switching to sustainable energy sources

Various production processes often require the use of heavy machines that use a lot of power to run. One of the easiest ways to reduce waste and make any industry more efficient and green is to find green ways to power these giants. Many industries and their biggest polluters already invested a lot of money into clean energy projects giving the entire world hope that we will one day be able to forget about nonrenewable sources.

Engaging in recycling

While recycling is still on the margins of many industries, it has the potential to change them from the core. For instance, the oil market is estimated to reach a waste amount of US$ 13,806.2 million by 2026. So, many of the big players are repurposing some of their infrastructure to recycling instead of extraction. In many cases, recycling requires less energy than the extraction of resources and production of new materials and products, plus it reduces overall output while keeping the industry viable thanks to a new source of revenue.

Due to growing energy demand, diverse energy sources and diverse user needs, many industries are facing energy consumption challenges. Some challenges manufacturers face are also of the legislative nature, concerning regulatory and legislative activity intended to minimize environmental impact from energy use. Many countries are further exploring laws that aim to reduce pollution, energy waste and gas emission. Industries all over the world are asking their bigger consumers to provide energy consumption reports. Still, we have a long way to go to fix the damage we’ve caused to the environment due to our reckless energy consumption. But, hopefully, the future is bright and filled with responsible energy consumers.

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Artificial Intelligence and Test Management Tools

Miley on February 19, 2021

Artificial intelligence has changed software testing and it continues to improve the processes involved in the software development and testing lifecycle. The success of any product majorly relies on the customer and during the software development process, testers need to ensure their products earn customer satisfaction. Similarly, the use of AI bots in software testing is necessary. Software testing is essential in the software development lifecycle. It helps in identifying any issues in the software that could affect the business or the application of the software in the near future.

Due to the new software technology that simplifies how large data is collected and analyzed, it is possible to mine software defect data from past releases and exploit the data to improve your organization’s software development testing practices and while using the test management tools. This approach employs artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, that allow teams to make better and more intelligent testing decisions right from the start.

AI helps in the identification of complex areas of companies. Software testing is essential during the product development lifecycle. When developers lack the time and resources to ensure exhaustive testing of the software apps, QA aids in detecting areas within a QA process that requires attention. Generally, software testing is a time-consuming process, for this reason, AI aids in speeding up software testing as all the processes are automated.

Another way AI is changing software testing and testing management systems is that it does not require too many human efforts since AI is used to detect issues and defects, thus speeding up the QA process. It simplifies the software testing process. Software developers work with huge amounts of data and testing scripts. AI utilizes sophisticated algorithms that can analyze large amounts of data quickly and efficiently. It also improves the accuracy of the test management tools. AI eliminates the need for guesswork and developers can get a hang of what needs to be changed as the defects in the software app need to be detected and developers need to be provided with complete information on where testing is required and where they need to make a change.

While conducting manual testing, AI will reduce the number of bugs. Although it is not an easy process, software testing is important to ensure they are detected and eliminated before the software reaches the QA stage. Typically, bugs enter the program undetected, but with the help of AI, software developers get to know when the bugs enter the program, how and where they came from. AI is also capable of testing for bugs and identifying errors that developers can use to improve the code. Testers can use the information AI generates to find out whether more coding is required to protect the program against the bugs. This way, bugs can be eliminated during the software development process.

AI has given birth to automating the software testing processes. The lack of time during the software development process makes the developers push software apps to the market without testing them thoroughly at each stage. This is how the users end up with software that is full of errors and mistakes. The budget also becomes an issue in the software testing process. Since software testing is a repetitive process where each application needs to be evaluated at every phase, and repetitive manual testing is time-consuming. AI uses a set of algorithms to analyze software functions and identify errors through automated testing, thus minimizing the pain of repetitive testing tasks to improve accuracy.

AI improves the test capabilities. As testing needs to be done at each stage of the development process, manual testers may find it challenging due to the stress associated with each test. When AI is combined with machine learning (ML) it helps in generating test data where testers can feed the data into an AI machine allowing it to perform different tests are each stage without the need for manual testing, thus improving reliability and the security of the software application.

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence is dominating each area of our daily lives. AI has found its way into the software development process. AI has changed software testing and it continues to improve the testing processes are still to adopt AI within their practices of software testing. There is no doubt that AI is here to stay. With the help of AI, QA teams can save time by using an optimized test list that provides a complete test suite with the necessary test management tools.

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Best Wix influencer tools

Miley on February 16, 2021

OSI Wix Affiliate Software

The first one on our list is the OSI affiliate software that can help you with a lot of the stuff. If you are looking for affiliate marketing software that can help you manage the referral programs and help view with other promotions and marketing, this might be the one. It will help you with better promotions using the influences and make your brand more visible to the customers. That will help you find out the best products for the customers using the email server process, and it will also provide you with the landing page templates available. Isn’t it the best? We would recommend it to be one of the best Wix influencer tools that you can find because of its excellent services and features. It will help you with the basics and the complex promo code tracking features and for social media sharing as well.

Growth Hero

Growth hero is another one of the affiliate applications that is counted as the top-rated software. You must be wondering what it offers? Well, it will help you with affiliate marketing and with referral programs. Moreover, it will also provide your help with multi-level marketing on social media platforms and creating a network. The seamless setup and improving features of this affiliate software will make it an even better choice for businesses such as Drum Set Lab.

Advocately

Advocately, it will help you increase your sales and make the profit more effective and faster. This is the tool that will help the customers and especially the businesses to create more customers. Moreover, it will help you with collecting the reviews regarding the customer in no time. The tracking and responding process have become a lot easier with this software. It will also assist with the Search Engine Optimisation ranking that has tremendously helped Hunting Bow Lab gain a competitive advantage.

Bamboo referral program

This bamboo referral program is another application that is considered one of the best Wix influencer tools you can use. For better marketing and better influencer actions, you can get this tool. It will not only help you with networking and social media promotion, but it will also help you with the referral programs and cracking the promo codes available. All this application is an excellent choice for people who are looking to promote their website. It is an application that will help you with getting more referrals in no time.

Carro

Need to get another one of the Wix influencer tools? Don’t worry because we have found another one of the excellent tools that you can use. It is not only exceptional because of its performance but also significant because of its features available. You can enjoy the referral marketing, and also you can get the best promotion and marketing on your business with this application.

Viral loops

The viral loop is the referral marketing platform that will help you with better marketing of your business. It is a simple process that provides you a referral solution. You can quickly launch your campaigns within a few minutes, and you can also find out the best customers. It is a double click sharing and inviting software that will help you with quick programming and marketing of your business. It is not only perfect for Wix, but it is also great for Shopify and other applications and platforms. It will offer you the newsletter referral, and it will also provide you the option of referring it to a friend. Some features are just perfect for your website. And the templates will help you even more.

ISORAW Reward done right

ISORAW Reward, done right, is a platform that will help you to find out the influencers for your business in no time. It is a reward program that will help not only the influences but also your business. It is an easy platform that allows you to promote and market your business and connect to the brands and influencers in no time. It offers various features, including a reward program and influencer marketing. There is fantastic support available that will help you even more. With the account analyzer, you can get the best services. Moreover, a social calendar is available to help you better organize your events, and the gallery visit will help you showcase your pictures and posts on Instagram.

Affiliatify

Affiliatify is another one of the best tools that you can find for external links or better support. This is the software that will not only help you with better affiliate marketing, but it will also help you with other promotion and marketing features. It will help you link to the affiliate offers and the other external products that you can connect your website to. It is a quick and easy formula to generate earnings. Check this website for better earning and easier marketing and linking of affiliate products.

Mention me

The last option on the list is the Mention me; a platform is another one of the best tools that you will find on the internet to help you with Wix influencer marketing and earn more revenue. It is a platform that will maximize the customers and will help you with engaging the customers. It will help you with driving the referral and making your referral program even more robust. It is the award-winning Marketing software that can help you in a lot of various ways.

Above, we have compiled the 10 best Wix marketing tools that can work just correctly for you when looking for the best options available. Make sure you are making the right choice and finding out the best and the most appropriate option. However, we would recommend you to go for the OSI affiliate.

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The Rise of Digital Nomads: Benefits of Remote Workers

Miley on February 8, 2021

Working remotely and being able to create your own schedule is something we’ve all heard about, but nobody could anticipate how common this idea would become in 2020. With so many people being quarantined and not being able to leave their homes, we’re all slowly turning into remote workers, whether we like it or not. However, those original digital nomads – i.e. the people who work while traveling around the world because they want to and not because they have to – are still everywhere around us, introducing changes into traditional business models and doing things their own way. One of them is Andy Sto. Andy is a digital nomad and remote work enthusiast. He believes that digital nomads are the future of remote work and has been traveling to various locations around the world for the past six years while running a full-time remote digital marketing agency, Sendabee. Andy is interested in cultural differences and the local mindset of each destination he lives in. He also enjoys hiking in nature and discovering hidden gems in the places he visits.

So, whether you’re one of these remote workers or someone who’s thinking about hiring them, here are a few benefits of this concept you need to know.

Ultimate freedom

Instead of working from 9 to 5 and spending hours commuting every single day, working from home means you can create your own schedule and come up with the setup that works for you the most. If you want to, you can get up at noon, stay in your pyjamas, download the latest GTA 5 realistic car mod and play video games all day long – as long as you complete your projects on time, you can do basically whatever you want!

This kind of freedom is something people in the past knew nothing about, but creating your own schedule and doing things your own way can be more beneficial than you can imagine. You’ll feel relaxed and well-rested, and that’s the best way to boost your motivation and become more productive than you’ve ever been. In the end, feeling that way will help you do more work in less time, which is why so many people actually prefer working from home whenever they can.

No more expenses

It doesn’t matter where you work and how long it takes you to reach your office – doing this day after day means you have to spend tons of money just to get to your work in the morning and then return back home in the afternoon. And it doesn’t really matter how you’re doing that because every form of transportation costs quite a lot in this day and age – except if you’re using your bike.

But, if you work from home or work remotely, you won’t have to spend money on transportation. You’ll just have to work from your bedroom to your kitchen, your living room, your outdoor deck, or any other space you’ve converted into a home office. You’ll also save money on food and clothes because you won’t have to buy new work clothes anymore, and that’s always a great way to boost your monthly budget.

Explore the world

In case you decide to turn into a real digital nomad and work while traveling the world, find a way to make the most of this idea. Doing this isn’t easy, and it will take some getting used to, but once you adapt to this lifestyle, you’ll be able to make it work.

You can travel wherever you want to and have as many new adventures as you want, and still be the employee of the month. You just have to find a place to stay while traveling – for instance, a comfortable studio apartment that comes with all the amenities you may need is an awesome solution – and make sure you get some work done every single day.

Explore new careers

If you’re tired of your job and the people you’re working with, making a change is a must. And the best way to introduce a massive change into your life is to change your job and become a digital nomad. What’s great, though, is that life as a digital nomad can give you more opportunities than you can anticipate, and finding a new career shouldn’t be too hard.

Depending on your preferences, skills, knowledge, and previous work experience, you can pick different industries and businesses, from IT and marketing to administration and software management. Doing something you’ve never done before might be challenging, but if you’re dedicated to your new job and exploring the life of a digital nomad, this might be the best decision of your life.

The best thing about this idea isn’t the number of people who are living as digital nomads at the moment, but the number of people who are going to become digital nomads in the future – ultimately, this is the biggest reason why you too should join this movement today!