technology

In a world where innovation is the captain, professionals grapple with the challenges of staying ahead. The marketing tech revolution is like a mighty wind, propelling businesses forward.

Still, for many, it’s a daunting storm of change. There are some pros and cons to using it. The question isn’t whether to ride the wave but how to ride it effectively without being swept away. 

In this article, we will provide you with a list of strategies to consider when using marketing tech in 2024. Let’s get started.

The Evolving Landscape of Marketing Technologies: A Shifting Horizon

Imagine your marketing strategies as a fleet of ships, each equipped with the latest navigation tools to conquer uncharted seas. This analogy mirrors the contemporary marketing scene where technologies are the compasses and maps guiding businesses through a vast digital ocean.

Yet, this sea is constantly changing, with new islands of innovation emerging and old ones sinking into obsolescence. To stay ahead, professionals must understand the landscape’s fluidity and anticipate the winds of change.

Innovative marketing tools emerge as beacons in this dynamic environment, illuminating the path forward. Automation and analytics have become sturdy ships navigating the tumultuous data and consumer behavior waves.

The challenge lies in adopting these tools and understanding which ones align with your journey. 

Innovative Marketing Tools: Sailing into Automation and Analytics

Automation has become a reliable crew member, taking over repetitive tasks and freeing human resources for more strategic endeavors. From email campaigns to social media posts, the efficiency brought by automation is akin to having a team of tireless sailors who never need rest.

The statistics tell a tale of increased productivity and reduced human error. Studies show that businesses using marketing automation to nurture leads experience a whopping 451% increase in qualified leads.

Analytics, on the other hand, acts as the navigator, providing insights into the waters ahead. Understanding customer behavior, preferences, and the impact of marketing efforts becomes not just a luxury but a necessity.

According to recent surveys, companies leveraging analytics are five times more likely to make faster decisions than their counterparts. It’s like having a real-time weather report for your marketing journey, helping you adjust your sails before the storm hits.

Strategies for Evaluating and Adopting New Marketing Tech

Like any seasoned navigator, professionals need effective strategies to evaluate and adopt these technologies. It’s not just about picking the shiniest tool but understanding how it fits into your fleet.

Case studies become treasure maps, guiding you through the success stories of others who ventured into these waters before you.

Here, the statistics take on the role of seasoned sailors, offering wisdom from their journeys. Research indicates that 91% of successful marketers believe that marketing automation is “very important” to the overall success of their marketing across channels.

These are the captains who have seen the value of innovative tools firsthand and have reaped the rewards.

Evaluating and adopting new marketing technologies is a crucial process that requires careful consideration and strategic planning. Here are some of the best strategies for effectively navigating this terrain:

1. Understand Your Business Needs

• Assessment of Current Processes: thoroughly understand your current marketing processes before adopting new technology. Identify pain points, areas for improvement, and the goals you aim to achieve.
  
• Define Objectives and Goals: Clearly outline your marketing objectives and goals. Whether increasing lead generation, improving customer engagement, or streamlining workflows, having defined plans will guide your technology choices.
  

2. Conduct Thorough Research

• Market Research: Stay informed about the latest marketing technologies in your industry. Understand emerging trends, customer expectations, and how your competitors leverage technology.
  
• Vendor Evaluation: Research potential vendors thoroughly. Consider factors such as reputation, customer reviews, and case studies. Look for a vendor with a track record of success and positive customer experiences.
  

3. Align with Your Strategy

• Integration with Existing Stack: Ensure the new technology seamlessly integrates with your existing marketing stack. Compatibility is crucial in avoiding silos and maximizing the efficiency of your overall system.
  
• Scalability: Choose technologies that can scale with your business. Consider future growth and whether the technology can accommodate an expanding user base or increased data volumes.
  

4. Trial and Testing

• Pilot Programs: Consider running pilot programs to test the effectiveness of the technology in a controlled environment. This allows you to assess its impact on your specific business processes.
  
• Free Trials: Take advantage of free trial offers. Many technology providers offer trial periods, allowing you to explore the features and functionality before committing.
  

5. Cost-Benefit Analysis

• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Beyond the initial cost, evaluate the total cost of ownership, including implementation, training, and ongoing maintenance. Ensure that the technology provides long-term value for your investment.
  
• ROI Projections: Project the potential return on investment (ROI). Calculate how the technology can contribute to revenue growth, cost savings, or efficiency improvements.
  

6. User Training and Adoption

• User-Friendly Interface: Choose technologies with user-friendly interfaces to facilitate quicker adoption by your team. A complicated interface can lead to resistance and hinder successful implementation.
  
• Training Programs: Develop comprehensive training programs for your team. Ensure they are well-versed in using the new technology to maximize its potential.
  

7. Security and Compliance

• Data Security: Prioritize technologies that adhere to robust security standards. Ensure customer data is handled securely, mainly if you operate in industries with specific compliance requirements.
  
• Compliance Check: Verify that the technology complies with relevant regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or industry-specific standards.
  

8. Seek Expert Advice

• Consult Industry Experts: Engage with industry experts or consultants who can provide insights and recommendations based on your specific needs. They can offer valuable perspectives and help you make informed decisions.
  
• Network and Peer Discussions: Attend industry events, webinars, or join forums where professionals discuss their experiences with different marketing technologies. Learn from the successes and challenges of your peers.
  

9. Continuous Evaluation and Adaptation

• Feedback Loops: Establish feedback loops to gather user insights. Regularly assess the technology’s performance and gather feedback on its usability and impact.
  
• Agile Approach: Adopt an agile approach to technology adoption. Be willing to adapt and adjust based on evolving business needs and technological advancements.
  

10. Measure and Analyze

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Define KPIs aligned with your objectives. Regularly measure and analyze the impact of the technology on these KPIs to ensure that it’s delivering the expected results.
  
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Leverage the analytics capabilities of the technology to make data-driven decisions. Analyze performance data to refine strategies and optimize marketing efforts.
  

By following these strategies, businesses can navigate the complex landscape of marketing technologies with a clear focus on their goals, user needs, and long-term success.

Remember that the evaluation and adoption process is iterative, and continuous refinement is critical to staying ahead in the dynamic marketing technology field.

CRM’s Role in Integrating and Optimizing Marketing Technologies

Amidst this sea of innovation, a CRM system emerges as the ship’s helm, steering and orchestrating the entire fleet. CRM systems seamlessly integrate with various marketing technologies, providing a unified command center.

You are no longer managing tools and platforms separately. With CRM, it’s a synchronized dance, each technology moving in harmony.

Consider CRM as the compass that keeps your fleet on course. Research indicates that 74% of businesses using CRM report improved customer relationships.

CRM ensures that your automated marketing campaigns align with customer data, analytics inform your decisions, and the entire fleet moves cohesively toward your goals.

Conclusion

The marketing tech revolution isn’t a storm to weather but a wind to harness. The evolving landscape is an ocean of opportunities, and with innovative tools, strategic adoption, and CRM as your guiding star, you not only navigate the waves but conquer them, setting sail for new horizons.

Learn more about CRM systems and how you can use them for your business. Talk to our CRM experts. Book a FREE consultation and demo below.

A new era of customer service has emerged where human-like conversations meet seamless automation. Chatbots have become the unsung heroes of customer interactions in a world where time is precious, and efficiency is paramount.

From handling inquiries to resolving issues, chatbots are changing the game, transforming how businesses engage with their customers.

In this article, we will explore the fascinating world of chatbots—their rise to popularity and their impact on the business landscape. Let’s get started.

Chatbots Demystified: A History of Evolution 

Let’s start with the basics. What exactly are chatbots?

Chatbots are intelligent virtual assistants simulate human-like conversations powered by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. Initially introduced in the 1960s as rudimentary text-based systems, chatbots have come a long way.

Thanks to advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning, they now possess the ability to understand and respond to human queries with remarkable accuracy.

With the rise of messaging apps and voice assistants, chatbots have become increasingly popular, offering immediate and convenient support.

The Impact of Chatbots on the Business Landscape

The business landscape has witnessed a seismic shift with the widespread adoption of chatbots. Today, chatbots are the frontline soldiers, revolutionizing customer service across industries. They offer 24/7 availability, instant response times, and consistent interactions. 

According to recent studies, 64% of consumers believe that chatbots provide real-time assistance, while 55% appreciate their instant responses.

This efficiency translates into tangible business benefits, including increased customer satisfaction, enhanced brand loyalty, and significant cost savings. Moreover, chatbots were projected to have saved businesses over $8 billion annually by 2022.

How Chatbot Can Help Your Business

Chatbots can help businesses perform service-oriented tasks without the need for manual work.

For example, even without a man behind the computer, a business can talk to customers using an intelligent, personalized chatbot that could answer queries right away or book appointments for the customer.

Some businesses personalize their chatbots to a level where the chatbot can sound witty, entertaining, and friendly. This helps make the chatbot feel more human-like, removing communication barriers and making the process of growing meaningful relationships easier.

Chatbots can also answer frequently asked questions (FAQs), guide customers through product recommendations, or resolve simple issues. Overall, chatbots empower businesses to provide round-the-clock support and foster meaningful customer relationships.

Revolutionize Your Business with a Chatbot

In a world where time is of the essence, chatbots have emerged as customer service superheroes. They tirelessly assist customers, providing instant resolutions and freeing up human agents to focus on more complex tasks.

From witty banter to lightning-fast responses, chatbots bring a touch of automation to customer interactions, leaving customers impressed and businesses thriving.

Want to learn more about chatbots and their potential impact on your business? Book a FREE demo with our experts below.

The United Arab Emirates is one of the Middle East’s leading economies. Its success has been built on diverse industries such as tech, tourism, banking and finance, automotive, and construction, among others.

With its robust business environment and strategic location, the country is well-positioned to become one of the most prosperous nations in the world. By investing in these industries, entrepreneurs can capitalize on this potential and ensure that their companies remain competitive in an ever-changing market.

However, there are unique challenges faced by each sector. In this article, we’re going to discuss what these challenges are and how tech can address these challenges. With that in mind, here are the top five highest-performing industries in the UAE for 2023:

1. Technology

As technology continues to evolve and become increasingly important in business, it is no surprise that this sector will play a vital role in the UAE’s overall economic performance.

From cloud computing to artificial intelligence and robotics, tech companies invest heavily in new technologies to keep them competitive. Many international players have established their headquarters in the UAE to capitalize on their forward-thinking attitude toward technological advancement.

Challenge: Access to local talent and resources often challenges the technology industry in the UAE.

Solution: A CRM could help address this issue by providing businesses with the tools they need to effectively manage their interactions with customers, partners, and stakeholders worldwide.

By streamlining processes such as tracking customer queries, managing sales pipelines, and automating recurring tasks, businesses can ensure that they deliver quality products and services without investing heavily in on-site personnel.

Additionally, a CRM system can provide valuable insights into customers’ behavior so that companies can identify opportunities for growth and tailor their offerings to meet local needs better. Implementing a CRM system can help tech companies in the UAE remain competitive while maximizing their access to global resources.

2. Tourism

Tourism has long been essential to the UAE’s economy. As the country continues to attract more visitors, it will remain a significant source of income. From iconic landmarks such as Burj Khalifa and the world’s biggest mall to luxury beach resorts, there is something for everyone in this vibrant desert nation.

As demand for tourism grows, new attractions are constantly being added to cater to different interests and budgets.

Challenge: The tourism industry in the UAE is often faced with the challenge of keeping up with a rapidly changing landscape. With so many tourist attractions opening, closing, and reinventing themselves each day, it cannot be easy to keep track of customer expectations and needs.

Solution: A CRM system could address this issue by providing businesses with insights into their customers’ behavior, enabling them to identify trends and better tailor their offerings to local markets.

Automation tools would allow tourist companies in the UAE to respond to customer queries quickly, send targeted campaigns, and segment audiences effectively. This will ensure that customers receive high-quality services, increasing satisfaction levels and creating more opportunities for revenue growth. Implementing a CRM system could help the tourism industry in the UAE remain competitive and ensure its sustainability in the long run.

3. Banking and Finance

Abu Dhabi is the financial hub of the Middle East, home to some of the world’s largest banks, with over $2 trillion in assets managed through its institutions. This sector is vital in driving economic growth by providing funding and resources to businesses looking to expand their operations or enter investment opportunities.

Challenge: The banking and finance industry in the UAE is often challenged by a need for more access to accurate customer data, making it difficult to manage customer relationships effectively.

Solution: A CRM system could address this issue by providing businesses with the tools they need to collect and store customer data, automate reporting processes and integrate multiple systems.

This would enable banks and other financial institutions in the UAE to better understand their customers’ needs while ensuring that all information is up-to-date. The banking and finance industry can also use automation tools to streamline processes such as credit card applications, loan approvals, or account management tasks.

These companies can improve their efficiency by taking advantage of these capabilities, leading to higher customer satisfaction levels and more growth opportunities.

4. Automotive

The automotive industry is booming in the UAE, with vehicles being exported to more than 150 countries around the world. As well as manufacturing cars, there is a thriving second-hand and rental market that helps employ many people within the country.

With its strategic location providing easy access to Europe and Asia, the UAE has established itself as a significant hub for vehicle sales and distribution.

Challenge: The automotive industry in the UAE is often faced with a need for more visibility into customer preferences and trends.

Solution: A CRM system could address this issue by providing businesses with the tools to track customer interactions, monitor customer feedback, and identify potential growth opportunities.

Automation tools can also streamline processes such as scheduling maintenance appointments or delivering targeted campaigns, helping companies save time while increasing customer satisfaction.

Additionally, a CRM system can provide valuable insights into sales performance so that automotive businesses in the UAE can make more informed decisions about their offerings and better compete in the marketplace. Implementing a CRM system could be an invaluable asset for automotive companies looking to remain competitive in 2023 and beyond.

5. Construction

This sector contributes significantly to the UAE’s economy, thanks to its growing population and increasing demand for housing and infrastructure projects.

From residential complexes such as Palm Jumeirah to skyscrapers like Burj Khalifa and iconic landmarks like Dubai Marina, construction companies are responsible for developing these projects and many others that span across the seven emirates.

Challenge: A need for more communication between different stakeholders often challenges the construction industry in the UAE.

Solution: A CRM system could address this issue by providing businesses with the tools to coordinate projects and keep track of customer feedback. Automation tools can also streamline processes such as document sharing, time tracking, or project management tasks, helping companies save time while increasing satisfaction levels.

Additionally, a CRM system can provide valuable insights into customer analytics so that construction companies in the UAE can better understand their target audience and tailor their services accordingly. Implementing a CRM system could be an invaluable asset for construction businesses looking to remain competitive in 2023 and beyond.

Conclusion

These industries face challenges such as managing customer relationships and streamlining processes. A customizable CRM software can help to address these issues by providing businesses with the tools they need to effectively manage customer relations, automate recurring tasks, and integrate data across multiple systems.

This ensures that all customer information is up-to-date and easily accessible from anywhere worldwide, allowing businesses to respond quickly to customer requests or inquiries. A CRM system can also provide valuable insights into customers’ behavior so that companies can identify growth opportunities.

Want to know how we can solve your industry challenges? Get started here.

The global economy is bound to recover after the pandemic. What should businesses do to take advantage of the growth in a post-pandemic world?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected big companies and SMEs alike. It has created unprecedented levels of uncertainty, and businesses are left to grapple with understanding the new ways of interacting with consumers.

A shift in strategy is needed— businesses ought to find ways how to keep not only customers engaged but also their employees. 

With the complexities the crisis has created, what should businesses consider as part of their growth strategies to keep them not only afloat, but moving forward?

What you should know:

To brace for the market changes post-pandemic, understanding your customers’ needs is key to making an effective business strategy.

Smooth online experiences can make or break a business, during and, especially, after the pandemic.

Speed also gives companies an edge over competitors. And this can only be achieved through investments in technology.

It’s not enough for companies to sympathize with customers during crucial periods of their lives. Companies must demonstrate a higher level of customer understanding through business practices that provide impact to individuals and communities.

How Can Businesses Prepare for a Post-Pandemic Market?

Below are four important ways businesses can brace and adjust for a post-pandemic market:

Understanding the customer’s evolving needs and wants

Creating smoother online experiences for consumers

Investing in speed through technology

Creating value through business empathy

Understanding customers’ evolving needs

This concept is fairly simple. Customers’ needs are bound to change and evolve throughout time. What they need now may not be what they will need in the future, and vice versa.

Understanding customers’ needs is key to making your business strategy work. Without properly determining what customers are going to buy from you (or your competitors), it’s going to be difficult for you to navigate the market. 

To identify customers’ needs, a customer feedback loop is needed (i.e. allowing your customers to give you feedback at every important point of engagement).

You can also do the following techniques to identify customer needs and preferences:

Gather data about your customers (through interviews or surveys)

Mapping the customer journey (where they buy, how they check out the products, etc)

Understand the customer buying process (how the needs arise, what they think about when the needs arise, etc.)

Analyze your competition (what does your competition do to serve the same customer? What makes your competition unique?)

Creating smoother online experiences

Digital customer service interactions are expected to increase by 40% in 2021 (Forrester). That means, with the fear of virus transmissions, customers are going to rely on the internet to get their products and services, compared to going in-store.

The online experience will then dictate whether or not the customer will buy from a business again. Bad websites, slow apps, or online services with issues would discourage customers from using these marketing channels again (and might even result in customer churn).

Creating smooth online experiences is then critical to keeping customers engaged.

Investing in speed through technology

According to a McKinsey survey, investing in speed pays off. Companies that make faster strategic decisions and deploy resources faster were found to outperform others when it comes to profitability, resilience, and growth.

Making fast data-driven decisions is essential to get an edge over the competition. Improving internal and external communication, as well as providing platforms for smoother collaboration will need technologies such as CRMs to get companies quickly running. Automation will also distinguish companies from competitors.

Creating value through business empathy

Being able to assume the position of your customers isn’t just being sympathetic with them. It’s all about providing value to customers by demonstrating that you know what they need at that particular point and you’re willing to go the extra mile to cater to that need.

Empathy in organizations not only creates satisfied customers but also makes happier employees. Connecting with communities, addressing customer questions or complaints quickly, hiring people from a variety of backgrounds, or allowing employees to work from home (WFH) permanently are some of the practices in business that demonstrate empathy.

Invest in technology

Get a better understanding of your customers. Provide quicker feedback. And allow for smoother employee collaboration. All in one technology. Get started here.

Online education platforms have been on the rise, especially since the pandemic started. Find out how this industry is doing with these 19 stats.

Online education platforms have been developed even before the pandemic started. The industry made it possible to connect and link educators and learners from around the world. Online learning platforms such as Udemy, Skillshare, MasterClass, Coursera, EdX, and Udacity are among the biggest names out there.

The pandemic has only accelerated the adoption of online education platforms. In fact, many analysts predict that online learning will become the future of learning.

How is the industry doing? Will it remain relevant post-pandemic? Check out these 19 stats for online education platforms in 2021.

The future of online education platforms

Online education platforms are one of the preferred modes of learning for many students around the world.

By 2022, the global e-learning industry is projected to surpass $243 billion. (Statista)

It is also projected to reach $336.98 billion by 2026. (Research and Markets)

As the quickest growing market in the education industry, digital learning has grown 900% since 2000. (KPMG)

Growing adoption in the US

The platforms have seen an increase in adoption even before the pandemic. A growth explosion in the industry is expected post-pandemic.

In the US alone, online student enrollment has been increasing for 14 years in a row vs. the overall US college enrollment, which has been declining over the last 10 years. (Taylor and Francis)

Around 63% of American high school students use digital learning tools daily. (Statista)

For American elementary students, around 45% of them use digital learning tools daily. (Statista)

And 64% of American middle school students use digital learning tools on a daily basis. (Statista)

More than 30% of American students report having enrolled in at least one online course. (Taylor and Francis)

Corporate E-learning

Online education platforms are not exclusive to students alone. Many corporations believe that training their employees via e-learning platforms will lead to improvements in performance.

• Globally, the corporate e-learning market is estimated to grow by USD 38.09 billion during 2020-2024 and will be one of the biggest drivers of the e-learning industry. (Business Wire)
• Around 42% of companies reported an increase in revenue after implementing e-learning. (SHIFT)
• What motivates employees to continue with e-learning are individual learning pace (95%) and no traveling (84%). (KPMG)
• Target groups of corporate e-learning include middle management, junior executives, high potential individuals, and senior management. (KPMG)
• Corporate e-learning reportedly resulted in an 18% increase in employee engagement. (SHIFT)
• And a $30 value of increased productivity for every $1 invested in e-learning. (SHIFT)

Massive open online course (MOOC) stats

MOOCs are courses aimed at providing “unlimited” participation to learners and open access using the Web. Examples of the largest MOOCs are:

Introduction to Computer Science (Harvard / edX)

Learning how to Learn (UC San Diego / Coursera)

Machine Learning (Stanford / Coursera)

Justice (Harvard / edX)

The Science of Happiness (Berkeley / edX)

Intro to Artificial Intelligence (Udacity)

In 2019, the global MOOC market was valued at $5.16 billion. (Mordor)

By 2025, it is expected to reach approximately USD 25.33 billion. (GlobeNewswire)

The global MOOC market is projected to have an annual growth rate of 29% from 2020 to 2025, the quickest growing market in the education industry. (Mordor)

However, around 73% of students remain unaware of MOOCs. (eLearning industry)

Out of the top 25 universities in the US, 22 now offer online courses for free. (Mordor)

Manual tasks are often used to copy and paste data between internal and external systems. This data can be extracted from websites, portals, enterprise applications and legacy systems.

Though the world is advancing, many organizations are still reliant on manual tasks to collect, review and input data. More often than not, these repetitive, remedial tasks require workers to log in and out of multiple systems. This situation is often referred to as the “swivel chair integration.” It is best illustrated with employees reading or copying data in one computer screen and keying it into another.

These activities might seem harmless upfront, but they’re actually costing your business money, time and resources. Here are some interesting facts about manual processes.

45% of current paid activities can be automated by today’s technology, an equivalent of $2 trillion in total annual wages.

A study by Unit 4 revealed that globally, office workers spend 69 days a year on administrative tasks, costing companies $5 trillion a year.

Contrary to popular belief, multi-tasking can be counterproductive and costs companies 40% of lost productivity simply due to constant task-switching.

Professionals, on average, take 18 minutes to locate a document manually––20% to 40% of their time––and spend 50% of their time searching for information.

These numbers can affirm that doing business manually is indeed more expensive. But, let’s stop at the ballpark estimates and let’s discuss what the actual price tag of doing your business manually costs or what its downsides for your business may be.

The Downsides of Doing Business Manually

1. Reduced Productivity.

A survey from IDC states that businesses with 1,000 knowledgeable workers lose $10 million a year from poor productivity tools in search alone. Cognizant says that 22% of an employee’s time is spent on repetitive tasks. From the same document of IDC, 40% of a knowledge worker’s time is spent looking for and organizing information.

Repetitive manual tasks can actually slow down your employee’s performance. Your employees have to copy data from one system and paste it into another to approve an application or answer a customer question. Imagine multiplying this repetitive activity by the number of times they do this in any given day or week, it quickly piles up and eventually results in lots of wasted time.

2. Data entry errors.

Contrary to popular belief, manual data entry is more prone to errors and can be costly in the long run. The more manual tasks you have, the more you need to reinvent your entire process.

Let’s take the logistics sector as an example, you may have this scenario:

Customer emails a shipment request.

Customer service representatives (CSR) monitor email, print and file the shipment request when received.

CSR logs into your scheduling systems and manually enters the shipment details.

CSR logs into the shipper’s portal and manually re-enters the pickup date, location and time.

Making mistakes is only natural, in fact, out of every 100 steps, a human is likely to make 10 errors, even when carrying out somewhat redundant work. However, if it becomes a common occurrence in your business, it could cost you plenty. All of this manual repetition causes errors that eventually lead to delays and unhappy customers. And we all don’t want unhappy customers.

3. Increased labor costs.

Manual and paper-based processes during a typical onboarding process can cost up to 20 times more than computer-assisted, electronic document processing.

You have to factor in training, payroll, facilities, equipment, and benefits. You’re essentially paying a lot for people to copy and paste data. According to a study, labor represents a median of 60% of the total costs of invoice processing. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as rework and data re-entry caused by manual errors can slow your whole operation down, leading you to hire more people just to keep your operations moving.

4. Inconsistent workflows and lack of visibility.

Every employee has their own workflow. Reconciling these workflow variations across dozens or hundreds of employees can be costly.

Manual variations and errors within critical tasks such as claims processing, mortgage lending, accounts receivables, and shipment tracking can directly impact your profitability.

When your workflows are inconsistent, there is no visibility as to what is happening around your business and its operations. There is no clear and complete understanding between your teams or departments as to how the process works and who the people involved are.

Furthermore, if there is no consistency, all stakeholders are out of the loop, eventually decreasing transparency and leading to lack of accountability.

5. Lack of business elasticity and innovation.

Manual tasks can slow you down if you’re trying to rapidly scale up. When repetitive tasks depend on human workers to complete them, scaling up during seasonal or peak times is extremely difficult to manage from a resource and cost perspective.

You must find, hire, and train new employees – taking time to guide them throughout the learning curve. You may lose growth opportunities due to a lack of trained staff or the inability to quickly adapt to changing demands.

This eventually renders your business unable to innovate. Mundane administrative work takes time away from your employees and knowledgeable workers, more valuable business building, customer oriented and strategic activities.

Taking Advantage of a New Ecosystem

Reports have stated that  70% of business owners said they haven’t taken advantage of new technology. This means that they’ve been stuck with the same solution for a long time, unable to move forward.

If you’re a part of the 70% of business owners who have been stuck with the same process since time memorial – it’s time for you to take advantage of Saphyte’s Ecosystem.

What is Saphyte?

Saphyte is a digital ecosystem, designed and engineered to be highly scalable and flexible, adapting to the unique needs of its users as they grow. This allows them to continue making powerful, impactful connections with customers around the world.

A cloud-based, centralized platform designed to support sales and marketing operations seamlessly and streamline through automation and intuitive tools. Through this leading-edge technology, businesses can now take a holistic approach to innovative and proactive marketing and sales strategies, that can future-proof their business.

Saphyte has plenty of features that can easily automate your administrative and repetitive tasks. Allowing you to spend on sales generating activities that add value to your business.

Saphyte can also be customized to suit your business’s unique needs when it comes to workflow automation, marketing, and sales. This allows your business to be more scalable and flexible without breaking the bank.

If you’re ready to take the next step in making your business more flexible, scalable, and innovative, you can book a demo or you can chat with our ecosystem experts.

The world has changed its course and eventually changed the needs and wants of customers too. At a time when everything is volatile, things are made harder for businesses to plan their long-term goals. With the recent pandemic, not only has it shown that anything is possible with technology, but also enriched us with lessons as well.

What’s ahead for businesses

The pandemic introduced a number of challenges to marketers and business owners alike, of which many challenges will still persist this year. These lessons are hard-earned and will be persistent for this year, at least.  WARC states that there are five (5) key challenges marketers are going to face for 2021.  Before we share our tips on how to up your marketing game, we first need to understand where the challenges and gaps exist.

Responding to recession

Marketing strategies are now re-shaped to suit the new e-commerce reality. There will be cuts on media budgets and brand-building activities might be put on hold. Businesses can expect an accelerated shift in performance marketing toward digital channels, in order to cope and keep up in the post-pandemic marketplace.

Budget cuts will affect 70% of brand advertising, 67% of agency fees and 53% of sponsorships/partnerships.

2.  Staying relevant in the age of e-commerce

One of the many things COVID-19 has accelerated, is the global growth of e-commerce. Knowing how to respond to this trend is a top priority for 2021. This shift in distribution will have a knock-on effect on brand strategy and media investment.

“Habits formed over the last few months, such as familiarity with online shopping will heavily impact consumer preferences in the months and years to come. We’re only at the early stages of this growth. For brands and marketers, e-commerce, and in particular mobile commerce, is no longer a nice to have, but an essential touchpoint to tap into this opportunity.” Agatha Soh, Regional Head of Marketing, Shopee

3.  Engaging at-home consumers.

The ‘at home’ lifestyle will remain a driver of change this year and a great opportunity for businesses. The challenge for businesses here, is discovering where and how to become in-tune to your customer’s needs.

74% of respondents said post-pandemic changes in consumer behavior will significantly impact 2021 marketing strategies.

4. Succeeding in the closed web.

Context, personalization, and access to audience information will play a vital role for marketers this year. With digital advertising being dominated by a few media platforms, marketers will face the intimidating task of managing their content marketing activity across those garden walls.

81% of respondents agree that COVID-19 has only served to concentrate power in the hands of ‘big tech’, while 83% of respondents agree or strongly agree that those firms should be subject to “greater regulation” to help level the playing field.

5.  Structuring for volatility

Businesses will still feel disruption throughout 2021, however, there will be room to find opportunity. According to WARC, 49% of brand respondents and 44% of agency respondents admit that their company doesn’t have diversity and an inclusion policy at all or that it is not a priority.

Diversity and inclusion still lag behind. People need to step up and go beyond walls.”

How to Step Up your Marketing Campaign Game In 2021

The year ahead might be tough, but a bit of preparation and restructuring might do the trick. Here are some tips and tricks as to how you can step up your marketing campaign game this 2021.

Review and Know your target audience.

Your first step should always include defining your target audience as part of your content marketing strategy. Having a clear idea of whom you’re trying to reach can go a long way and can help you mitigate future losses. Make sure this target audience is clearly defined.

You need to ask yourself:

·        Where do they get their news?

·        What apps or digital channels do they use?

·        How can your business connect with them?

·        Is there anything you can do to improve how you’re reaching them?

How will this benefit your overall marketing strategy?

·        Maximizing your Time and Resources.

·        Your Competition Value Proposition.

·        Content Design and Social Media Marketing.

2. Embrace the Power of Nonlinear Journeys

Digital channels are now savvier, which means the days of linear click paths — or as we all know them – old customer journeys – are long gone. Gone are the days where a customer would see an ad, and head to the store, and buy that product as a result.

Today’s consumers are bombarded with ads that fit exactly what they’re looking for. This due to the fact that algorithms of our current technology have an explicit understanding of what consumers search for. Whether this is camping gear, apartments near them, or anything else they might need or want, 9 times out of 10, technology knows exactly who is looking for what!

Mind you, the internet isn’t a mind reader. It simply harnesses the power of data to gain an inkling or insight into your customers’ thoughts and behaviors.

In 2021, nonlinear journeys will go well beyond social media. Some other businesses will incorporate traditional TV and radio advertisements, alongside ads on voice-driven devices. To stay on top of your campaign marketing game, you should embrace the power of nonlinear journeys and everything that comes along with them.

How will this benefit your overall marketing strategy?

·    Have clear insight on customer pain points – both service and communication.

·    Increase customer engagement.

·    Reduce cost and increase in sales.

·    Encourages customer loyalty and better employee satisfaction.

3. Get up-close and personal with your engagement

Are you guilty of hiding behind your work as a service-based business owner? Or only featuring your physical products or services on your social media feeds? It’s time to get some of the most loveable features of your business, out in the open and create an empathetic approach towards your content marketing. 

Personalization will be the prime driver of marketing success for this year and the years to come. By embracing and harnessing the power of empathy and machine learning, you’ll gain the advantage of securing more customers in the future.

How will this benefit your overall marketing strategy?

·        Effectively target specific audiences.

·        Create better content.

·        Build deeper relationships with customers.

·        Gives a face to your business.

·        Make better recommendations.

·        Boost sales and conversions.

4. Create Content for Humans

Gone are the days where search engines looked for exact keywords and phrases, which frequently meant that the content found on websites are bland and hard to follow.

Key phrases often miss prepositions, or tend to place words that are not in tune to human readers. However, for 2021 those days will be gone. The search engines of the present are smart enough to understand what the searchers are looking for, and they can gather context clues from your write-ups even if you insert a preposition into a key phrase. That is why one of the key components to up your campaign game, is to write for humans, not bots.

How will this benefit your overall marketing strategy?

·        Increase audience retention.

·        Better social media traction.

·        Establish trust with your audience.

·        Generate leads.

·        Improve conversions.

5. Include Marketing Automation

A study conducted by Salesforce indicated that 67% of successful marketers were using a marketing automation platform or have a digital ecosystem like a CRM, while another 21% planned to use one in the coming years.

Some other businesses have already incorporated marketing automation strategies into their company’s strategy. If you’re a part of the few, you’re in a good space, because the coming year will bring even more technologies to which businesses will need to adapt.

These tools will enable you to create better personalization and customization in your advertising efforts. Allowing you to speak to your prospect’s interests or actions by using cost-effective, yet highly strategic and targeted messaging.

How will this benefit your overall marketing strategy?

·        Marketing and sales alignment.

·        Increase conversion rate.

·        Accurate reporting.

·        Personalized marketing strategy.

·        Lead scoring.

·        Data management.

·        Scalable processes.

·        Lead nurturing.

Conclusion

Getting ahead of your competitors means you have to up your game too. The year ahead is a road filled with uncertainties, but, with a good campaign strategy, you’re going to be just fine.

A business that wields a great marketing strategy with the proper tools, is like a double-edged sword. As you create strategies that work for your business, have a full-scale digital ecosystem like Saphyte to join your ranks.

Saphyte is a full-scale digital ecosystem that enables you to conduct your sales and marketing activities, automate some of your repetitive tasks, and streamline all of your corporate activities in a single platform. The system is built to scale and grow with your business, and be customized according to your sales and business process.

Interested in a full-tour of Saphyte’s system? Book a demo with us today or start your free trial – all for free.

Saphyte, helping you create endless possibilities. 

Remote work has made a buzz all throughout 2020. The pandemic made the flexible work revolution gain traction throughout the world. And as social distancing is now the “new normal,” working at home, away from people, is becoming seriously considered as a permanent arrangement.

Remote working has apparently been observed to result in increased productivity, collaboration, and team management. Teams are now changing the ways on how they share information, stay connected, and achieve more.

What is Remote Work?

Remote work is a way of working outside of a traditional, centralized workplace, usually with the support of digital technology. The option to work remotely is very attractive to many workers. In America, there are 34% of American workers said they are willing to reduce their wages by 5% in order for said employees to work from home.

Why is it so Popular?

There’s no denying that remote work is changing the way how the global workspace operates, and it shows no sign of slowing down. More and more companies are now opening remote positions, either full-time or part-time, with a large proportion of the workforce looking for positions with flexible schedules.

But, why though? Simple, the idea to work anywhere you want or even at the comforts of your own home is enticing. Moreover, there are also plenty of benefits from working at home – aside from having more time with the family or your furry kids.

Here are some examples.

Benefits of Remote Work

There is much more to working from home and having more time for your family. The topic of remote work has grown a lot of attention — and has led to plenty of research. Several reports from private companies like OwlLabs and Buffer have observed more benefits of working with remote jobs.

However, privately-sourced data can also have biased results.

So, to ensure the credibility of this article, there are several collections of statistics sourced from the world’s leading research organizations for remote working and how it will affect work-life balance and work productivity like that of Harvard University, Gallup, Global Workplace Analytics, and Stanford University.

Here are the results of the benefits of remote working.

Employee Productivity. Remote teams are reported to be more productive than their office counterparts on an average of 35-40% and have an output increase of at least 4.4%.

They are also observed to focus more on their tasks and can get more work done. They no longer have to commute or spend lunch money which allows them to save money and time. Well, except if they spend money on food deliveries or spend more time binge-watching their favorite TV shows.

Better Employee Performance. With more independence, workers have shown results with 40% fewer quality defects.  This is due to the fact that remote employees can now avoid loud co-workers and office politics.

As a result, they rely on self-discipline, self-motivation, focus, and concentration to get their jobs done. When all these things come together, a higher performance rate is guaranteed.

Straightforward Employee Engagement. Remote working can lead to higher productivity and performance, which when combined together, can create stronger employee engagement resulting in 41% lower absenteeism. 

No matter what the work schedule is, engagement is not an issue. With the help of internal communications tools and some established guidelines, employees can engage in important matters and be more productive at work.

Easier recruitment. Remote work allows you to find the cream of the crop easier. First of all, when you do remote work, you’re not only hiring locally but even globally. You have an enormous talent pool to choose from. This will come in handy, especially for those hard to fill roles.

Second, remote work easily attracts talents. In fact, according to a Global Workspace Survey, 78% of companies think that offering flexible working enables them to expand their talent pool. 

Personalization. If employees work remotely and have their own office space, they can personalize it to reflect your personality. This leads them to be happier with their work and can be free from the prying eyes of their co-workers. Thus, making them more productive and more fulfilled with their output.

Better Employee Retention. According to reports, 54% of employees say they would change jobs for one that offered them more flexibility. This in turn results in an average of 12% turnover reduction if a remote work agreement is offered to an employee.

Lesser employee turnover means improved morale, reduced costs, reduced acquisition and training time, and increased overall productivity. 

Secondly, flexible work builds loyalty. When employees feel “trusted” in their job, this builds respect. Thus, leaving your employees happy and saving you from future talent acquisition costs.

Organization Profitability. Organizations reported to have saved an average of $11,000 per year per part-time telecommuter. This is equivalent to 21% higher profitability. Due to fewer office space costs like floor space and operational costs, you can save more money for more important matters. 

Remote work is here to stay, might as well join the parade

As mentioned, COVID-19 only accelerated the rise of remote work and it’ll be here to stay. So might as well, adjust to it. Whilst remote work is not a new concept, moving forward, the degree of remote work will change how employees will work to get their job done.

Even when the pandemic ends, employees will still continue to work from home. Working from home helps employers and employees alike to avoid work interruptions due to weather, child care issues, commute problems, and more.

Remote work is no longer an option, rather it is a necessity, and necessity is the mother of invention. The rapid development of collaborative technology in the market makes remote work viable for companies and their employees.

Conclusion

As more companies transition to flexible work, you are more likely to see how work-life balance can reshape cities for the future. Now is the perfect time to consider and prepare your business for the remote work future.

Get expert help when transitioning to remote work. Contact us here at Saphyte.

Imagine getting leads without having to do anything. Imagine getting sales and marketing tasks done with just a few clicks. That’s the power of automation. And there are so many things automation can do for you beyond your imagination.

What you should know:

Workplace automation uses technologies like CRMs to cut expenses, have better team communication, and more productive employees.

More and more employers are using automation to improve company operations and reduce employee turnover.

Automation contributes to better team chemistry which improves customer service, sales productivity, and overall faster business growth.

What is Workplace Automation?

Workflow automation is the process of using technology to automate time-consuming, energy-draining manual tasks (e.g. sending emails, data entry, creating sales reports).

The usual end result of automating the workplace is an improved product quality and a faster accomplishment of everyday business tasks with the elimination or reduction of human error.

How Does Automation Work?

Automation isn’t just about robotics. It could be using a software that can gather leads for you, a software that can automatically generate sales and marketing reports, or a software that can automatically send emails for you.

Usually this can be done using artificial intelligence, a CRM software, or an ecosystem of sales, marketing, support, and team workspace products.

Workflow automation also allows for better team collaboration, sharing of files, documents, and data between team members or departments, and the streamlining of important business tasks such as lead conversion and client onboarding.

What are the benefits of automated processes in your workplace and how will it make your business grow? Let’s delve deeper into some of the benefits of automation in the workplace.

Benefits of Workplace Automation

Here are the ways automation in the workplace can help your company:

Less Expenses

One of the commonly known benefits of work automation is the replacement of manually accomplished tasks with that done by automation technology. That means whatever human workers do gets done by the automation software faster, more precisely, and more efficiently.

This leads to better results in terms of output. This also eliminates the need to hire more to perform a task that can be automated. According to statistics, 24% of employers would automate repetitive tasks to reduce operating costs.

Better Workplace Communication

A lot of companies fail because of bad communication. In fact, 57% of employees report that the directions given to them are often unclear and 69% of managers report being not comfortable communicating with employees in general, according to statistics.

What workplace automation does is reduce the friction between employees and managers by allowing them to visualize their goals with automated reports on dashboards. It also improves communication when members are automatically reminded of important tasks using the software. As a result, everyone’s always in the loop.

More Productive Employees

Because boring jobs that require human work can now be replaced with automation, employees can now have the time to focus on more important tasks that are yet to be automated.

This leads to a better employee experience which overall contributes to more productivity. According to statistics, 57% of employers want to use automation to improve employee performance and productivity.

In addition, about 70% of workers believe that automation will bring them opportunities to study more important skills and qualify for higher skilled work.

Improved Employee Retention

Automation can improve employees work performance and overall experience. When you allow employees to focus on the less mundane tasks, their job satisfaction will increase. As a result, this reduces employee turnover and improves employee retention.

Why is this important? According to research, it is more expensive to hire and train new employees than doing all you can to retain them. Employees that are satisfied with their workplace are also 31% more productive than those who aren’t.

Faster Business Growth

With all the efficiency, increase in productivity and output, and a decrease in operational costs, your business will experience a faster growth because of automation.

It helps you retain more employees which may be necessary for workplace harmony to occur: allowing for a smoother transition in ideas and seamless collaboration between team members.

Workplace chemistry leads to faster business growth, an increase in profit margin, and a better service to customers.

Conclusion

Enjoy a better workplace with automation using Saphyte. Contact our support team now for more information.

Imagine being able to work and collaborate with your team members from different parts of the world at the comfort of your home. This seemed impossible before but today, sales and marketing teams can now work remotely with their distances bridged by technology.

Remote working has been on the rise since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. How can this new work arrangement benefit your business and how can you accelerate your business growth with it in 2021?

What you should know:

• Remote working can mean lower costs for your business
• It can bring more diverse talents and skills
• It can improve efficiency and productivity
• Improves operational flexibility
• Results in more employee satisfaction and retention

Challenges of Remote Working

There’s a reason why, for so many years, remote working wasn’t chosen as a default way of running a business. It was previously difficult to collaborate with team members when using only phones or communicating via email.

But with the recent innovations in communication technology and software development, remote working can now be done without the hassles of, well, remote working.

Technologies like CRMs, for example, have been able to address the difficulties of team coordination and collaboration online.

Saphyte was designed to address this problem. It was built to serve as an ecosystem of sales, marketing, support, and team workspace so companies can run their business at the comfort of their own homes.

Five Benefits of Working From Home

These are five major benefits of remote working:

1. Lower business expenses

When employees work from home, that means they won’t be working in your office (or will less frequent your office). This can eliminate the need to get a bigger office space and lessen the need to get more equipment which can help you save money and get lesser overhead charges (e.g. utility costs).

According to Global Workplace Analytics (GWA), employers can annually save around $11,315 per remote worker who telecommutes half of the time. Employees could also save around $2,500-$4,000 in travel and work-related expenses.

• More diverse talent pool

Opening remote jobs can mean getting more options when it comes to skills and talents.

Removing geographic obstacles eliminates hiring borders and can lead to a more diverse set of employees for your company. It could help bring in fresh ideas, approaches, and strategies to improve the overall output of the company.

This may be difficult for some companies. Problems such as language barriers, cultural differences, and technological barriers (e.g. slow internet connection, lack of technological knowledge, etc.) can pose a challenge for many companies.

Related article: How to Improve your Workplace Collaborations

• Better efficiency and productivity

As reported by CMS Wire, remote work productivity boost has been documented in a 2020 Airtasker survey report.

The survey showed that remote employees spent more time on work tasks at home compared to being in an office, although they spend more breaks in between. Nothing is wrong with getting breaks, though, if it leads to overall boost in productivity.

In fact, some Japanese companies encourage employees to take naps at work, believing it would lead to better work performance.  

• Improves operational flexibility

The work-from-home (WFH) model allows employees to flexibly perform tasks wherever and whenever. It’s not even required for them to be “at home.”

As long as employees can submit the required outputs and finish the assigned projects, they can go wherever they want to go and still continue working. This, as a result, improves flexibility for employees which redounds to the benefit of the company as a whole.

This can even result in overall employee satisfaction and may improve employee retention over time. Speaking of which.

• More employee satisfaction, retention

A significant number of employees prefer working at home than in an office. In a Mom Corps survey of 1,071 working adults, around 42% were found to be willing to get lower pay in exchange for more flexibility at work.

The survey further shows that those that belong in the 18-34 age group is up to three times more likely to give up more than 10 percent of their salary just to have more workplace flexibility and work/life balance.

More than 62% also agree that flexibility is one of the most important factors they consider when looking for a new job or when choosing a company to work for.

Conclusion

Remote working can be challenging for some companies but with the right technology, the gaps can be bridged right away. Stay in the comfort of your homes while enjoying increased productivity with Saphyte.

Contact our support team now for more information about how you can run a WFH model with Saphyte.