Everyone is looking for the Holy Grail of a successful direct marketing email, those emails that not only make it through the delete button and spam filter but translate into direct action. It’s hard to get it right, but when you do, you’ll know about it. We take a look at how your direct marketing strategy can be improved.
Audience
How well do you know yours? Not just through guess work, or even from some first hand interaction but solid, deep drilling research that creates a customer avatar. Whether you sell your web development services or Judge Diane Ritchie, getting to know your audience is the key step to making the whole process work.
Relevance
Get to the point quickly and make your offer something that your customer will want to act upon. Your call to action must be relevant and timely, so avoid an email and offer that is abstract and vague.
If you don’t know how to write in a way that inspiries your customers, don’t do it. Short, punchy and engaging is what you’re looking for. On top of that you need to completely avoid any missteps when it comes to syntax, spelling and grammar, so have anything you send out, double and triple-checked for errors.
Subject line
This is the first and only way to grab your customer’s attention so make it count. The first six words are key to getting the reader to open the rest of the email so make it punchy, relevant and tantalizing. Whether you offer a bit of salacious gossip, a give away or a discount, make it count.
Avoid writing anything over 12 words, or anything that sounds boring and irrelevant to your carefully-targeted customer base.
Test
Not all emails look the same across all servers so make sure yours works well whether received via Microsoft, Explorer and so on. The only way to do this is to send test emails so spend some time doing this and getting the feedback you need to make any adjustments to your mail out.
You’ll also want to ask testees to carefully check all the embedded links to make sure they work and take you to the correct page. Once sent out, it’s too late to send out corrections so everything has to work perfectly first time. Your first impression is everything so mistakes and non-working links are a big no-no.
Monitor
Once you’ve sent your mailout, that’s only half the job done. You’ll want to spend a lot of your time monitoring how effective they are. How many were opened? By who and what action did they take then? Knowing how many people visited your website isn’t quite enough, you’ll also want to know which pages they visited and what they did while they were there.
Your mailout isn’t a one off but a series of responses, so craft your follow-ups with different messages depending on the responses of your customers to the previous mailout. So make sure you customise and tailor your responses accordingly for a direct marketing strategy that translates into real results.
It is really quite hard to overstate the importance that a product has within a business’ overall framework of goals. In most cases, that product is the whole point of the business existing, and certainly it is the one thing that your customers are looking forward to when they started supporting your company in the first place. Ensuring that the product is as close to perfect as possible is not only a way of showing respect to the customer, but it’s also a means of keeping your business doing well as much as possible. In order to make sure you are doing that, however, you will need to think about what it is that defines the perfect product. In this post, we will look at three of the top qualities of a perfect product which you should focus on.
Whatever it is that you offer your customers, you need to make sure that it is solving some kind of problem. This is generally how you will ideate for a new product notion, by looking first at what it is that people need help with, and then trying to fix that problem. So as long as you have done this right, you will find yourself with a product which helps to solve a specific problem, and as such is likely to be something that customers really want. This is an absolutely essential aspect of a perfect product, and if you have not satisfied this then you are not really going to feel that you are offering a product which people can make good use of. If you feel that your product is not offering much in the way of a unique solution, look to something else instead.
Packaged & Labelled Clearly
A lot of people find they are somewhat surprised by just how important the packaging and labelling of a product might be, and actually it is interesting to note that it is one of the more important parts of any product at all. This is due to a number of reasons. For a start, it makes it clear what the product is, what the customer can expect from it, and what concerns they might need to have in mind before using the product. It also makes clear what they are spending money on, which is important. And using custom packaging boxes will mean that you can use it as a perfect opportunity to push your branding even further, which is something that you absolutely need to make sure you are doing.
Once you start having to price products, you soon discover just what a minefield it can be to get this right. The pricing of any product is dependent on many factors, and you need to make sure that you are both making it profitable enough for you to turn a profit, but also keeping the price low enough to keep the customer happy. Carrying out some pricing analysis is important for this, but you will also need a little trial and error to ensure that you do not get this wrong.
We are already living in a world where people don’t have the time, money or the energy to continue with hobbies in their personal lives, but did you know that there are a plethora of traditional hobbies that are dying out? When someone asks you what you do in your spare time, it’s highly likely that you’ll give a sarcastic answer about sleeping to catch up after the long days at work that you take part in. But have you ever really thought about what you do beyond social media and watching Netflix?
Hobbies are the passions of those who love to be creative, active, busy and have fun. They take up the time that we are willing to give. They are a way for us to learn something new, take up a skill or simply relax and do something away from the working day. Everyone should have at least one hobby as their way to relax and unwind, but most hobbies in the world today are centered around social media and technology. Gaming, blogging, vlogging – all of these things require people to stay connected. Even the old school board games have found their way into apps and tablets!
Thankfully, there are ways around this. It is never too late to take up something new, learn a new skill or even revive an old hobby that you used to enjoy as a child. You are the master of your own time, and you can choose to take up a new hobby any time that suits you. It would help to know, though, that a lot of the hobbies that we used to consider popular are now dying out – and it’s because of the technology that we have access to. If you want to take time away from the screens and go for a hobby that is a little different, check out the list of the old-school hobbies that you could revive.
Okay, so while we can acknowledge that there is still a market for fishing as a hobby today, it’s nowhere near as popular as it was before technology and smartphones boomed. You could take a look at Johnny’s Sport Fishing Legendary Sturgeon Fishing Guide and decide to turn your hand at learning how to fly fish, or you could learn how to cast and catch and release for fun. Fishing is a peaceful hobby, giving you the time to get into nature and take on a slower pace, away from the working day that you’re hemmed into right now.
Scrapbooking
A casualty of the technology industry, scrapbooking has changed a lot in the last twenty years. While there are still a handful of people out there, who will go and buy new scrapbooks, washi tape and glitter stickers to journal and scrapbook their lives, most of it as now moved into scrapbooking apps. Some people cite that it’s because of the impact on the planet, and others just don’t have the time to get out all of their crafts. We’re living in a world where we don’t take the time to make something beautiful anymore; unless, of course, it’s on a screen. You can bring it back, though! As I mentioned; plenty of stores out there still carry all the necessary tools to aid you in your scrapbooking desires!
Embroidery
This is one of the old school hobbies that is actually making a comeback. For 900 years, the embroidery was used to pass the time – particularly for women – and it was essential for women to learn how to darn and sew. People spent less time buying new things and more time fixing the things that needed fixing. Embroidery is making quite the comeback these days, with people returning to their sewing machines in the attempt to do better in regards to exposing exploitation. They also do it for fun! Buying in fabrics and creating their own clothes? It’s exciting, and you could be a part of that.
How many of you out there know how to fix your own car when things go wrong? Not many, and it’s not because there’s no time. There’s a whole industry of mechanics and garages that people now use, which means that they no longer HAVE to learn to fix their own engines. Some people have grown up learning how to repair their own car, while others never learn and never have the pleasure of fixing their own vehicle. It’s a hobby that needs to come back for those who love to learn about the inside of cars, and if you want it to be a future job one day, then it can help you to learn early how to fix yours. Plus – it’s fun! You can relax into the quiet tinkering of your own vehicle in a way you can’t with anything else.
Woodworking
Popular with older generations, woodworking is a dying hobby. Again, it comes down to technology and how much our interactive screens take away from the pleasure of using our hands to create something beautiful. Taking the time and the patience to craft something from a lump of wood isn’t for everyone, but it’s something that can prove a deep creativity and vision that others just don’t have. Some people choose to paint their visions, and others choose to write about them. Then you get the group of people who work to carve their visions from a piece of wood in front of them.
Most of the hobbies today that are dying out are those that don’t have the younger audience to keep them alive. Younger generations lose interest in making and creating in favor of their smartphones. Of course, not everyone is glued to their technology, but you can choose to put your phone down and take up a new hobby right now. It just takes research to know that you are doing the right thing and find something you’re passionate about.
You might have heard about the Yaghan of South America, who used to send messages via smoke signals. Of course, in this modern era of technology, we don’t use smoke anymore. It’s generally not a good sign when we spot smoke nowadays! Usually, when a fire breaks out in the daytime, we can sense it by seeing or smelling it. But if there is a fire at night, or while we are fast asleep, the results can be worse than imagined. Fire produces toxic carbon monoxide and harmful gases that kill the oxygen in the air, making it particularly challenging to breathe. These smoke detector alarms act as a lifesaver and are very cheap considering the consequences of not having one.
Smoke Alarm Technology
Smoke alarms are indispensable devices that sense smoke, making us aware of fire in the surrounding before it spreads and becomes life-threatening. Smoke alarms work well for both personal and commercial use and are adaptable to each situation in different ways. The sizes and shapes of smoke alarms can vary greatly depending on their design. For business purposes, https://meshwrx.com/ offer some of the best solutions for making sure your team and property stay well-guarded against the threat of fire. Below are some of the types of fire alarms you can expect to find generally.
Types of Smoke Alarms
People nowadays are facing more in-house accidents due to internal fires from electric wires and home appliances. Where technology has created problems, it has also found solutions for, too. There are two types of smoke alarm systems:
Optical Smoke Detector (Electronic Eye)
Simply put, the optical smoke detector is a device using electric ‘eyes’ as their main way of detection. They are most of the time fixed to the ceiling, being able to catch any smoke moving upward. When the smoke particles enter the alarm’s fire detection chamber, containing the alarm’s photocell, it triggers the infrared light and the internal alarm. These detectors work better and are more responsive when compared to ionisation smoke detectors.
Ionisation Smoke Detector (Electronic Nose)
The other type of smoke alarm you can expect to find is a little cheaper and more common than the optical smoke detector. It still is able to detect fires quite efficiently, although it does take a bit longer to get going. These types of smoke alarms are triggered similarly to the human nose. When the fire moves up towards the smoke detector, smoke particles get into the device, clogging the ionisation chamber. This clogging eventually sets off the alarm, making everyone in the vicinity aware of the fire.
The Importance of Smoke Alarms
In a recent survey, the in-house fire accident rate in the U.S had decreased to over half, due to the installation of smoke alarm detectors in the home and small offices. The technology used in these alarms is very intuitive, meaning that they can even detect the vaguest inkling of smoke. Having a smoke alarm in your premises is not only beneficial for protecting your business – but is a legal requirement. Knowing you are protected from the worst-case circumstances can offer you a true piece of mind.
Medicine is a discipline which is as old as society itself. Hippocrates, largely considered the father of modern medicine, died almost 400 years before the birth of Christ. For as long as human beings have been falling sick, other human beings have taken it upon themselves to cure them… And it’s safe to say that the road of healthcare technology has endured some gruesome twists and turns (from trepanning to release demon spirits from the head to lobotomies) it has seen its fair share of wonders too.
Today the advent of digital technology combined with an unparalleled mastery of chemistry has yielded a plethora of fascinating technologies with an astounding propensity for saving lives and gradually revolutionizing the field of medicine.
Whether you’re looking to startup a new medical tech business, looking for somewhere to invest or simply interested in new technologies, here are some technologies to watch in the field of medicine…
3D printing
3D printing has been applied with enormous success in a range of industries from heavy manufacture to aerospace. Its ability to create extraordinarily detailed and precise parts and components make it an extremely useful tool.
It stands to reason, then, that it should easily find numerous applications in the medical industry, not least the 3D printing of prosthetic parts as well as fully 3D printed internal organs.
Parylene Conformal Coating
As the healthcare industry leans harder and harder on electronic and digital devices, it’s more essential than ever to ensure that these devices work effectively and predictability. As more and more lives come to depend on them, and as medical devices become smaller and more compact, the need has arisen for new technologies to ensure that medical devices work efficiently while also being safe for use within the body.
Medical device coating using parylene helps devices to maintain thermal stability and dielectric barrier protection. It may be a subtle technology, but it’s nonetheless one that helps to save lives.
Artificial intelligence
From chatbots and virtual assistants to video games we see AI everywhere we look these days. Needless to say, enterprising medical minds have found a number of practical uses for AI in the field of healthcare.
AI is already hard at work in the claims processing sector, facilitating faster claims to prevent administration from hindering the healthcare process. It can also aid diagnostics, and help physicians to construct courses of treatment by parsing historical data and employing pattern recognition to reduce the risk of “false-positives”.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Just a few decades ago VR was the stuff of science fiction, and a point of fascination for Hollywood which churned out speculative pieces from The Lawnmower Man to The Matrix. Today, however, VR and AR are no longer the stuff of sci fi nor are they strictly confined to obvious industries like video games and entertainment.
As well as helping physicians to train through simulated procedures, it is also an increasingly common treatment solution for a wide range of conditions including the treatment of chronic pain and recovery from traumatic brain injuries. It has even been used in the treatment of Autistic Spectrum Disorders and has proven effective in helping partially sighted patients to partially some of their sight.
There was a time when the pestle and mortar were considered the peak of medical technology. Who knows what new technologies will further transform healthcare in years to come?
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