Here are some email marketing conversion tips all small businesses can use:

1. Include descriptive tags with your images

Online publication MarketingCharts cites data revealing that the average person receives more than 400 commercial emails a month. Emails that include images can help your small business stand out in an already-crowded inbox, especially if you choose those that evoke an emotional response to a product, a promotional campaign concept or your brand.

However, email marketing now comes with a “catch 22,” given that at least half of all email messages are checked on a mobile device, according to experts at Litmus, an email analytics company. While mobile devices may positively boost response to time-sensitive messages, small screens aren’t always conducive to images. If a recipient opens your email only to see that images have been blocked, you could be banished to his or her spam box indefinitely. The more often that happens, the harder it is to form a reputation as a sender whose emails are recognized as legitimate: According to the experts at Sender Score, 28 percent of the email messages that are sent reach a user’s inbox.

Descriptive ATL tags can help you improve conversion, and decrease the risk of images in email marketing. Nonprofit organization WebAIM point out that ALT tag copy that is applicable in both context and functionality ensures the meaning of an image translates, even if the recipient can’t see the picture. Review the ALT tags for images on your site and in your email campaigns for relevancy, using descriptive words that will make the customer want to take action.

2. Don’t send messages that aren’t targeted

While you may not have robust data on prospects, you can learn a little more about what they respond to with each message you send. Diligently track open and click-through rates with each campaign, including the optimal times to send messages based on response and headline tests. Place email recipients in segments based on your findings to build an effective drip campaign that is personalized and relevant based on their activity.  Internet Retailer reports that retailer totes Isotoner improved its email marketing campaign revenue by a whopping 7,000 percent when it used analytics based on past email activity, site search history and past purchases to deliver highly targeted email messages.

3. Don’t ask for too much

Segment your email marketing campaigns so that each recipient is served the most relevant offer based on his or her preferences, and that he or she is presented with one clear message, call to action and a seamless checkout experience — whether on a desktop or mobile device. Prefill special offers the email message may include so customers aren’t required to key special discount codes that are part of your email offer at checkout. Partner with a reputable mobile payment provider for a secure and branded checkout experience to eliminate concerns with payment security, or require the customer to take additional steps to complete the transaction. For example, Mobile Commerce Daily reports that despite the popularity of PayPal by retailers in online sales, evidence suggests that it kills conversion by nearly 15 percent (particularly when consumers are shopping on a mobile device), because it requires additional steps to make a purchase.

4. Use emails to form a lasting relationship

Email campaigns should build upon one another, and acknowledge what you know about the customer, based on his or her past activity. In fact, marketing firm Epsilon cites data indicating that “triggered” emails targeted based on a recipient’s engagement with past messages have open rates that are 76 percent higher than those with generic messaging. If you cannot convince your customers to click on your message, you can’t convert them, regardless of your pricing or product quality.

Email marketing is an affordable way to communicate with prospects and customers, gain valuable insights about their preferences and increase sales. However, it requires strategy to convert message recipients into buyers. Follow these steps to improve the ROI you realize from every email you send.

The post 4 Easy and Effective Email Marketing Tips for Your Small Business appeared first on First Comm Marketing Consultancy.

Business associates shaking hands in office

“The models that worked in the past ten years will not work in the next five,” says Dr Yasar Jarrar, Vice-chair, Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government, World Economic Forum, stressing on the need for innovation in the public and private sectors in the Middle East.

The governments and private firms in the region had, until the recent past, held on to old traditions and shied away from taking roads untraveled. But things began to change in the last few years, after the ripples of major developments in the global economy made their way into the oil-rich nations in the region.

In AMEinfo’s special report, 7 Strategies to Survive the Rest of 2016, Dr Jarrar argues that there is no choice but to innovate, as the Arab world’s finances are faced with difficult times. “The region’s governments and the private sector have two options: they can continue to watch the economy soften further – and their own finances soften with it, or they can turn around and rethink what is possible.”

The experts say that innovation is increasingly being recognised as a necessity in the region and it is at the heart of the structural changes and regulatory reforms, especially after being hit by the cheap crude oil prices.

Innovation now tops the boardroom agendas of the region’s businesses and more and more firms are allocating dedicated human and financial resources to drive innovation in their businesses.

“Today’s companies exist in a climate where strategic risks – those that either affect or are created by business strategy decisions – can strike more quickly than ever before. This means that companies that fall behind on the innovation curve may quickly fall prey to what is seen as innovation’s evil twin – disruption,” says Rami Wadie, Partner, Deloitte Enterprise Risk Services (ERS) and Middle East Leader of the Deloitte Centre of Corporate Governance.

All of the countries in the Middle East, except Algeria and Yemen, ranked in the top 100 in The Global Innovation Index 2015 by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which ranked 141 economies around the world.

The Deloitte Innovation Survey 2015 had revealed that 96 per cent of respondents globally consider innovation to be among the top five strategic priorities, with more than a fifth of companies classifying it as a top priority. Two-thirds of respondents said they innovate in order to grow or differentiate themselves from the competition.

Dr Jarrar further says that instead of waiting for somebody else to come up with great ideas, organisations should challenge their own people to create something.

“They should turn to their human capital and tell them: “Here are the challenges. We need to find solutions,” he says.

The AMEinfo special report serves as a survival guide for businesses operating in the region, highlighting the main areas they need to focus on to survive and thrive during the rest of the year and beyond.

The seven strategies explored in the report are: Innovation, Diversification, Collaboration, Optimisation, Transparency, Talent Management and Agility. These survival tips are further strengthened through insights from the MENA region’s leading business players, thinkers and analysts.

Source : AMEinfo.com – June 19, 2016

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But have you ever thought what goes into the creative side of a designer’s mind every time he/she is transfixed in front of a computer. Have you ever thought why (at least some of the best designers I know) are always dressed in casuals no matter what the occasion is? And why designers are at their best after office hours?

So how exactly do you interpret a designers’ thought process? Many scholars are still perplexed about how a human brain works, especially a female brain (I mean this as a complement), but I often wonder what neurons get activated in a designer’s mind when they are briefed on a campaign? One of the main ingredients of a successful campaign is based on the element of surprise designers generate in their creatives and the subsequent impact it creates that draws attention. I once asked the Creative Designer of First Comm Advertising – What goes into the fundamentals of crafting an outstanding creative or a series of effective concepts that represents a brand? And without getting all philosophical like most designers do, his rationale was candid, well that’s what I thought. He said and I quote –

“The world is the canvas of our thoughts and we always try and connect the seemingly unconnected”

Honestly … his explanation got too theoretical for my taste. But he went on to enunciate in layman’s terms that eventually made sense.

In his dictionary most successful designers don’t lead normal lives. They see things differently, they have bizarre hobbies, everyone tries to portray themselves like Albert Einstein and in most cases they are dreamers trying to find answers that don’t need an explanation. A successful designer will try and seek creativity in everything they encounter. For eg. – they pay attention to real life events and see humor in it and the same is translated into a creative. Sometimes ideas come tumbling down instantly but there are days where you just sit in front of the computer and twiddle your thumbs waiting for lightning to strike. It also matters how you perceive things and visualize a concept in your head. Of course brainstorming with your colleagues is of paramount importance. But the bottom line is, either you have it in you or you will remain a pushover, as simple as that. For a designer it’s important that he/she should be smart and spontaneous in understanding the requirement of the client and knowing the thought process of the target audience. A creative person has to use diverging (thinking process) and converging (creating process) smartly. For a successful designer it’s all about managing their mindset which can help them optimize their thinking process when they are trying to be creative. Unlike stereo type thinking, a creative process is based around the building up of ideas. This eliminates the fear of failure and encourages maximum input.

Well it was clear after the conversation with my designer that it’s not only important to be creative but you need to have the talent of putting your thoughts into prospective. I guess now the quote

‘The world is the canvas of our thoughts and we always try and connect the seemingly unconnected’ made sense.

I endorse the fact that designers are the backbone of any campaign and they play a pivotal role in the agency’s success. After all you get rewarded for being creative and if you can make an impact, you will be graded Exceptional.

Madaiah .U.K
Firstcomm Marketing Consultancy FZE

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