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Digital Transformation and Salesforce

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The business world is in a period of transition. We are experiencing the fourth industrial revolution – significant changes are happening in technology, industry, and day-to-day life in a rapid way. Companies across the globe started realizing that today’s customers are connected, informed, and technologically savvy and they expect that the companies and the brands will also be likewise.

Digital transformation — the process by which organizations modernize themselves to incorporate new digital technologies throughout their entire business — is becoming completely essential. Salesforce, widely recognized as one of the most innovative CRM in the world, helps companies in their digital transformation while making them more agile and increasing their ability to innovate.

In this article, we look into two important areas in a business that digital transformation most affected – Sales and Service. One brings in new customers and the other retains existing customers.

​Digital transformation in Customer Services

Customer expectations of how companies should interact with them have changed significantly.

Additionally, more than 70% of consumers say that customer service provided at any time has an influence on their loyalty. They want brands that can offer service and support them where they are, that offer a seamless experience across every channel.

Salesforce service cloud offers great tools that help the service agents work on the cases efficiently with the single customer view at their disposal. The community cloud with Knowledge center enabled is a great example. This offers features like self-logging of incidents, service tickets, and knowledge base articles that can be searched. Customers need to easily contact the Service team in the channel they most prefer be it Email, SMS, Phone, WhatsApp etc. To accomplish this, you may want to look at AppExchange apps that centralize all the communication channels, syncs the data with Salesforce seamlessly, with the option to access the information within SF at any time.

Digital transformation in Marketing

The aim of marketing is to increase your customer base and revenue while spending less money. Digital marketing helps in generating more quality leads and helps you to be in the same digital space as all of your customers.

In this age of customers, you’ll need to change your marketing strategy. Switch marketing print materials with digital materials, printed mail campaigns with personalized email campaigns and journeys, billboard advertising with social media advertising, brick and mortar storefronts with online websites and eCommerce sites, loyalty clubs with mobile apps, and loyalty gamification.

Using Salesforce you can build 1-1 personalized customer journeys spread across multiple channels be it Email, SMS, Mobile Apps, or Social Media, and reach the customers in the channels they are active and at the time they most prefer. The message you reach out to customers should be personalized and relevant to the customer based on their past transactions, their personal purchase preferences in their preferred channel of communication.

Another thing that is important to pay attention to is responsiveness. In a digital-first world, where every content you share, every email you send is opened via mobile, the content has to be mobile responsive. Therefore you must use default mobile responsive aligning with your strategy.

 

Digital transformation is a must if you as a business want to stay current in this period of revolution. Choose the right platform, app, and software that is best in the business and serves your customers well, help your company grow and transform into this digital world.

Sometimes people make mistakes : The 14 most common mistakes in email marketing, how to avoid them and recover

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Approaching the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, this is the perfect time to update your clients, contacts and employees of what you’ve done in the passing year and what’s coming up. Before sending out this summary email, it’s important to pay attention to several things.

Fact: according to a recent study, about 52% of the marketers have made about 2-5 email marketing mistakes in the past year alone. Email marketing mistakes are located on a large spectrum starting from a small “oops” up to a complete disaster. Some were “just” mistakes resulting from a lack of attention or proper spelling, and some could be problematic and harmful.
Most mistakes are on the “oops” side of the spectrum, but when you make them, it still feels like a complete disaster. After all, you just emailed your mistake to a few hundreds, maybe thousands of people, who you probably imagine sitting there, comparing or making fun of you.

In order to help you avoid those mistakes, recover after having made them, or even help you feel better about the ones you’ve already made, we’ve drafted a list of the most common email marketing mistakes.

So for the sake of all of you out there, here are the 14 most common email marketing mistakes people make:

  1. Display issues – No matter how well your content is written and how precise the copywriting is, if it’s not presented perfectly according to the screen display (responsiveness) you’re missing out on something. Always check the display on several screens to avoid losing users just because they’re not getting a good user experience.
  2. Attaching wrong links, cut links or forgetting to attach a link – You want to get your links right: you’ve chosen to attach a link to your mailing list? Make sure it’s not “broken” and that it actually directs the user to the correct page. You wrote “Here’s a link to something incredible” and didn’t attach the link? That might not be the best thing… make sure to double-check your texts and your links.
  3. Sending the wrong email to the wrong person – Sending an email about a revolutionary shampoo to a group of bald guys – might not be the best thing. Make sure your emails are sent to the right target audience.
  4. Not inserting an “Unsubscribe” button – Actually, this is borderline illegal. Use a mailing system that allows people to unsubscribe with a click of a button.
  5. Sending out-of-date information / photos – The accuracy of the information you’re sending out is basic. Selling swimming pool equipment and having an email with a photo of a heavy winter coat? That’s one big “oops”. Make sure the photos you’re using and the information you’re providing are correct and accurate.
  6. Sending large emails – Don’t overload your users’ mailbox, it’s unnecessary. Try to send out emails with regular texts and not overload it with photos which slow down the email display.
  7. Sending out contradicting emails – Make sure the emails you send your contacts match each other. A client who purchased a new dishwasher and receives an email with a guide on how to operate a dishwasher and shouldn’t receive an email with an offer for replacement parts.
  8. Sending the same email twice – Shortcuts are great. That is why we have the wonderful “Duplicate” option allowing you to duplicate a campaign and send it again. However, please be careful only to duplicate a campaign that is actually relevant “as is” and doesn’t require corrections or changes.
  9. The issue of “Copy-Paste” – It is extremely comfortable to copy and paste text, but you have to make sure you’re copying the right text in full and pasting it in the right place.
  10. Sending unfinished emails – Imagine we would stop this sentence in the mid…. or have an XXX in the middle of a sentence. Not a very nice feeling. Make sure you’re sending out full emails and not half-finished ones.
  11. Typos – You cannot send out emails with typos. Period.
  12. Sending emails from the wrong account – Do you have several email accounts for your various activities? Make sure to send your emails from the right account and profile. You don’t want to send the wrong marketing message to the wrong audience from the wrong account; not only will it confuse your readers, but it could also create an unprofessional image for you. Just make sure you’re using the right account whenever you send an email.
  13. Defining a schedule with wrong dates – Just like a sitcom, timing is everything. Make sure to send your marketing emails at the right moments that don’t clash with special days or times that might be unsuitable for your contacts.
  14. Not following up on sent emails – You went through all the trouble, put in the work, made a whole design, and sent it – don’t you want to follow up on the results? Collecting data is the basics of success – make sure to check the results of your campaigns to constantly improve.

Conclusion:
Already feeling better about your mistakes? Great 😊 That’s a great starting point.
Found yourselves among the mistake list? That’s okay. Email marketers make mistakes sometimes. The correct working method will ensure to reduce your mistake margins as well as efficient mailings. Good luck!

What is segmentation and why is it so important for your business?

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We watch series on streaming apps (Netflix) that adapt different content to our personal taste, listen to music according to playlists adapted for us. We live in a world in which everything is personalized. This is the consumer revolution of the new business world and that is what potential clients are expecting of you. The most personalized experience possible.

In an era of digital transformation in which we are all bombarded with content coming from all directions, making your contacts open the email or newsletter sent to them requires a precise adaptation of what interests them, and even more so – of the way they think.
Studies show that starting the moment a person comes across an email or a landing page, it takes them 3-5 seconds to decide whether they would like to continue reading or move on to the next thing.

A proven way to intrigue your client into staying and keep reading is by triggering the right marketing message to the right person. How is it done? Using segmentation.
Market segmentation is a division of audiences into groups according to common characters, out of the purpose of adapting campaigns and automatic processes to them. The more precisely you segment your contacts, the more personally you will be able to address them and increase the chances of the email you sent actually being opened, read, and eventually boosting your campaign as well as the conversion and purchase rates. Studies show that the opening rates of segmented campaigns increased by 14% and clicks by 62%.

So which tools can assist in market segmentation? according to which segmenting categories? And what can be done with all this information? All the answers are coming up…

Tips and ideas for your market segmentation

In order to send each person the content and information that fits them, we first need to locate the common characteristics of the target audience, and in fact, create sub-audiences out of them. Ideas for common characteristics:

  • Biographic characteristics – age, gender, type and level of education, field of business.
    This category is particularly important for matching the service/product. The brand of yoga for pregnant women will usually address women. The way of addressing and way of writing (slang, professional) could change when addressing teenagers or adults and helps adapt the message to the target audience.
  • Demographic data – living area, family status, etc.
    Helpful mainly in publications of local events and business for which the living environment is relevant.
  • Shopping preferences – where your contacts usually shop: online or physical shops. What grabs their attention: offers and sales or being the first to purchase the latest update?
  • Significant dates – birthdays and anniversaries, birth, sweet sixteen, etc.
    Relating to personal events and dates of your contacts will increase the engagement and personal contact, through sending a personal card with wishes together with the offer.
  • Subscription rate – in order to strengthen the relations with the contacts that went a long way with you or increase new subscribers. For example, sending a card or discount for one year of the date they subscribed.

Which tools are at your disposal to create segmentation?

After defining the right characteristics for segmentation of the target audience to sub-groups, you must have asked yourselves how can we collect all this data… so here are a number of tools and ways to receive this information:

  • Using signup forms embedded in your website and popups – the registrations testify to various fields of interest and allow segmentation of your contacts into groups.
    For ex., an interior design website will have a popup show for a webinar on the kitchen design page. The subscribers will be added to a group of people interested in kitchens. On the garden design page, the signup form for the mailing list regarding garden architecture will appear.
  • Landing page – a concise and focused web page designated to call for action. This is another great opportunity to add, in the form, additional questions beyond basic contact info.
    For example, a traveling company can ask which kind of vacation you would be interested in: relaxing, hiking or extreme vacation.
  • Mailing – did they open, click or share – here you can learn quite a bit about certain content that might interest your contacts – which mails do they tend to open more than others? Those elaborating about a certain content or updated on offers and sales? On which days and times did they open the email, and do they even react to the call for action.

How do we move forward 🙂

Once you’ve fulfilled your obligations and sent the subscribers the thing you committed to sending, it is time to send the same group further relevant offers – but make sure not to spam them. You can send all the subscribers a digital download menu about building websites, emails about opening a website building course in the summer and later on a newsletter with updates in the field.
Once you’ve obtained personal data such as date of birth, anniversary, you can send a happy birthday and gift code on January 1st to all of the people born in January.
This information is valuable to strengthening personal relations with the client.

How can we improve? Using analytics reports – following up on opening and clicking on links will reflect an image of the interest level and responsiveness of your client.
Any answer to any question can be a segment list to which additional mailing should be sent according to the action performed.

 

In conclusion, correct use of market segmentation and implementing the ideas listed above will assist you in sending your clients content that has relevant value for them, significantly increase the chances of the email you’ve sent being appropriately received, and create a loyal client community in the long term.

 

UPDATE VERSION – NOVEMBER 2021

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In the midst of the shopping season, we’re launching a version that allows you to send relevant campaigns to your customers. When customers see only the content that’s relevant to them, the results are superior.

Remove contacts who received Email/SMS campaign or belong to other group

After selecting the contact group that you want to send the campaign to, you can set specific submission restrictions, making it so the campaign isn’t sent to contacts who’ve already received other campaigns, or to contacts who are in other groups without the need for complicated functions in Excel files.

Sending settings - Remove contacts who received specific campaign

Link bar

The new link bar centralizes the possibility of linking texts, buttons, or images to a wide range of options:
Web pages, sending emails, landing pages built in inwise, media, anchors (another component of emails and landing pages), dialing phone numbers, WhatsApp calls, location links on Waze or Google maps, or sending invites through a calendar.

Link bar

What else?

Bug fixes and additional improvements

We would love to hear about your experience with the new version – contact us and tell us.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION TRENDS 2021

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In the last decade, not to mention in the last year of 2020, the way people work and communicate within the organization has changed dramatically. Adapting to those changes and to the evolution of the organization and the people constructing it is as important as adapting to the market and consumer evolution.
Today we are focusing on the most recent trends in internal communications, and how you can easily and quickly adapt to them, optimizing essential elements as company culture, values, employees’ connection to the company and their engagement in its activities.

Remote work

One of the trends that were dramatically accelerated in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic and is still as evident in 2021 is remote work. Many organizations switched to a full-on remote work model, while others took on a mixed office/remote work model, and predictions suggest remote work will stick long after the market returns to “normal”. Working remotely has many benefits. At the same time, it also requires a shift in internal communications to keep employees focused, productive, up to date, and feeling connected.

Ever-changing world

We live in an ever-changing era thanks to its dynamic technological nature. Innovation, change, and rapid shifts are the constant in our lives today, work environment being no different. This dynamic nature is manifested in the experience of employers, employees, and candidates, forcing organizations to continuously monitor, adapt, and correspond with the never-ending stream of data and forces of change.

Transparency and clarity

Employees today want and ask for transparency, reliability, and clarity in their workplace. They want the ease and sense of security that comes from receiving data and info that is clear and reliable, allowing them to direct their attention and skills to their future. Employees today do not settle for a false sense of confidence that all will be ok. They wish to be part of an organization that tackles issues with accountability.

Update > Engage > motivate

A motivated employee today is an employee that is up to date with the organization’s doing, that feels connected to its values and significant to achieving its objectives.

Employees touchpoints

Well-being is an integral part of employees’ needs, and organizations’ need to deliver. Well-being is manifested in various ways, including the culture and after hours events and activities usually managed by the HR department; mental health and well-being support in personal and global times of difficulty as we could very well see during the Covid pandemic of 2020, and more.

 

How to optimize internal communications?

To deliver all we have mentioned above and more of the current trends and needs of employees these days, you need to assist in a system able to meet these aspects of internal communications, delivering as many of the following as possible:

  • Easy and friendly to use
  • Accessible across the board from the most to the least tech-savvy employee
  • Available
  • Allowing direct messaging communicating
  • Avoiding the need to wait for IT, designers, and more
  • Multi-channeled: Email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat, video.

Each organization and enterprise has their own language, voice, and colors. Understanding these elements is based on understanding the organizational culture, company values, human mix, and more. To deliver a good internal communication meeting current work trends, there is need to assist in the right system / tools for conveying the right messages in the right manner, time, and format. We hope that after reading this article you have a better sense of how to do that.

 

 

 

ON-PREMISE VS. CLOUD MARKETING SOFTWARE: WHICH BEST SUITS YOUR ORGANIZATION?

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Digital marketing is a must. That is no news. But digital marketing can be done either on-premise or using cloud services. What is the difference between the two? And which best suits your organization?
Today we will take a closer look at on-premise vs. cloud based marketing, layout the differences between the two methods, list the benefits and features of each one, in order to allow you to choose the one best suited to your businesses and organizations based on its needs, requirements, and characteristics.

What is On-premise Marketing Software?

On-premise marketing refers to marketing services that are delivered locally by installing the marketing system on the company servers. Using inwise marketing system on-premise, for example, means that inwise platform is installed on your company servers, allowing you to use all inwise services and solutions locally.
On-premise allows companies to integrate existing systems with marketing, logistic, or other communication channels with customers, employees, or any other audience.

What is Cloud Marketing Software?

Cloud marketing refers to marketing services that are delivered via cloud, which is basically an online server. Using inwise marketing system via cloud, your business can use all inwise features and services online, using the cloud.

The benefits of On-premise Marketing Software

Installed directly on the company servers, this approach provides the following advantages and benefits:

  • Greater control – limited to the organization servers and not existing it, a marketing system installed on the company servers allows the company greater control and monitoring.
  • Maximum security and privacy – All data is kept within the company servers. No data exists the company realms when using on-premise, and communication between the company and its recipients is done directly with no third or mitigating parties. Recipients’ communication back to the company is also direct and kept within the safe borders of the company servers.
  • Regulation requirements – some organizations are under regulatory requirements to use on-premise / local server services, keeping all data within the company server borders.

The benefits of Cloud Marketing Software

  • Accessibility – anytime, anywhere: Using cloud services allows all company employees to access the organization info and data and perform actions anywhere, anytime.
  • Cost – Cloud services are significantly more cost effective, allowing companies to pay for what they use.
  • Plug & Play – No need for installing, IT support, maintenance, or upgrades.

 

In summary, On-premise marketing is ideal for businesses with in-house IT teams for support, businesses handling sensitive data, or under a regulatory obligation to keep all data within the company servers only.

Cloud based marketing, on the other hand, is ideal for smaller budget organizations that need a plug and play service accessible by company employees anywhere, anytime.

 

Related – Which digital marketing tools included in inwise Marketing Cloud platform?

 

 

UPDATE VERSION – INWISE FOR SALESFORCE – 1.53.8

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What’s new?

​Report syncing

Salesforce to inwise contact/lead syncing using preset reports.

Contact/lead analytics

Overall display of contact/lead actions in campaigns sent from inwise (opened, clicked, unsubscribed).

Contact/lead analytics

 

To enjoy these valuable features, please download the updated version from here.

 

What else?

Bug fixes and additional improvements

We would love to hear about your experience with the new version – contact us and tell us.

UPDATE VERSION – AUGUST 2021

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August’s newest version is up and running, with improvements and innovations that will add some extra help, order, and lightness to the system since we could always use more of those.

Shortening the process of updating names and titles

It is now much easier and faster to update the names of campaigns, contact groups, pages and forms on your account. Just click on the name and update (Inline).

Update version - Inline text

The names and titles can be updates out of the editor itself during the work process.

Update version - Inline text - 2

All the help you need on the go

We’ve added a link to tutorials and guides that will assist you in the various stages and actions during the work process in the system. Just click on the question mark icon wherever you are in the system. The help menu and relevant guides are waiting for you there.

 

What else?

Bug fixes and additional improvements

We would love to hear about your experience with the new version – contact us and tell us.

How Apple’s Ios- 15 Affects Email Marketing

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For the purpose of improving the privacy of the clients using its platforms, Apple enables its users to block tracking of applications and hiding their IP addresses.

How will this update affect Apple’s email software?

  • Receiving an indication of opening an email even if the contact did not open it at all.
  • The precise date of opening the email and as a result, sending emails on the optimal timing will no longer be possible – regarding the emails scheduled to be sent exactly when the contact usually opens the email he receives.
  • No indication will be given as to the type of device on which the email was opened.
  • The geographical location of the contact when opening the email will no longer be available
  • Disturbing the campaign analytics process.

What can be done?

Even before Apple’s update, it was recommended to refer to the campaign execution analytics according to clicks on email links and not according to their opening.
In order to properly prepare, we’ve developed an email sending feature in an optimal timing based on the calculation of clicking on links (instead of according to the opening of emails).

This update is currently only relevant to Apple’s email software users and not relevant to the other email applications and software (such as the Gmail app on the iPhone).

FROM ZERO TO ONE: THE YEAR DIGITAL TRASNFORMATION BECAME A MUST

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Year 2020 is behind us. But the dramatic changes it has brought to our lives are still very relevant, even after the years’ digits changed from 0 to 1. 

One of the key changes for businesses was the need to be digital to stay in the game. If prior to the global Covid pandemic crisis, a business who chose to provide its customers and/or employees digital tools and solutions enjoyed a list of benefits, now that the rules have changed digitalizing businesses is no longer a good idea. It is a must.

The process of business digitalizing is called digital transformation. 

After reading the lines below you will have a clear understanding as to what digital transformation includes, where it starts and where it doesn’t necessarily end, and what are the key advantages of leading a digital business. 

Digitalization does not end with website or Facebook page

Digital transformation does not boil down to digital presence (i.e. website, social media, and additional digital elements your business may already use). Digital transformation refers to developing innovative digital solutions and services for your customers and employees. Let’s begin with your customers.

 

Enhanced and upgraded customer experience

One of the key advantages to digital transformation is enhancing customer experience. This means that your customers enjoy a streamlined, clear, and pleasant experience every time they interact with your business, use its services, or purchase its products. Some examples and advantages to help better understand what it all means in practice? You got it!

  • Customers can choose their preferred means of performing actions and communication with your business, whether it’s Whatsapp, SMS text messages, email, or phone.
  • All communication is documented for a streamlined and monitored process. 
  • Customers can receive newsletter updates via email and/or phone SMS text message.
  • When there is need to send personal files (i.e. invoices, policies etc.), customers can easily and conveniently get them directly via email. 
  • Newsletters are sent to customers at different times depending on the specific day and times they each tend to open and read them. 
  • Blocking distribution of newsletters at sensitive dates and times like memorial days is optional. 

Innovative & streamlined work environment that “gets things done”

Employees are no less important than customers to a business. That is why digital transformation provides employees with a customer experience that is as good as that of customers, with key advantages like digital access to employees, internal organization communication keeping employees UpToDate, event and activity registration via forms, and more.
Bettering daily work using friendly and easy to use systems making more streamlined work and saving valuable time.
Creating a smart, fast, and innovative work environment using digital tools and solutions unblocking bottlenecks and work “traffic jams”, allowing independent work free from the need to wait for response and assistance from IT, graphic designers etc. 

Streamlining without getting lost in the process

Digital tools can achieve significant streamlining of the business activity. There are countless tools and solutions for various needs available in the market. One of the most important things to remember is to use systems integrating as many tools and solutions as possible under. Such systems are called integrative systems. They allow streamlining without getting lost in the process, preventing confusion and discrepancies that may result from working with several systems, each responsible for different elements. 

Automation: solutions that do the work for you

One of the key examples delivering enhanced customer experience and streamlined processes is automation. When you digitalize your business using an integrative system a whole new world of automation opens, automating as many business processes as you wish. It allows, for example, to easily create customer journeys automatically responding to customers’ actions. Customer journeys are an innovative streamline way to create sales, increase engagement, involvement, positive dialogue, and enthusiasm of customers. 

 

In summary, if your business is not using integrative systems using digital tools to enhance customers’ and employees experience, streamline work and internal organization communication, automate sales and marketing, there is no better time than now to ensure your business stays in the game under year 2021’s new rules.