Articles

How to Design a Contact Page That Drives Engagement

,

How can your customer reach you? If a client arrives on your website after searching on Google, what can they do to take the next step in a relationship with your brand, without buying anything?

One of the primary aims of any website is to drive conversions. However, it usually takes between 5 and 8 touchpoints to generate a viable sales lead. People don’t want to convert straight away.

Since building a relationship with customers is crucial to success, it makes sense that the contact page would be an essential part of driving results. Unfortunately, a lot of website owners pay virtually no attention to that page. They ask their designer to create a page with their address and phone number on – and that’s it.

What many business owners don’t realize, is that the contact page is the door to deeper, more lucrative relationships with potential prospects. The design of this essential website element needs to be fantastic to drive results.

So, where do you start?

Defining a Well-Designed Contact Page

Let’s start with the basics, what makes a great contact page?

The complete answer to that question depends on the target audience. Some customers will want to see fun and friendly contact pages, complete with social media sharing buttons. Others will want to see a map that shows them exactly how to reach an office or business.

There are a few golden rules to keep in mind, of course. Contact pages should be:

  • Easy to find: Don’t hide the link to the contact page on the website footer. Make it easy for customers to find out how they can get in touch.
  • Simple: Don’t put too much content on this page or it will overwhelm your audience. Just let them know where they can go to get answers to various questions.
  • Professional: Even if you have a friendly brand personality, your contact form still needs to be grammatically correct and well-designed to show a professional edge.
  • Convenient: Make your phone number clickable so customers can use it on Skype. The same can apply for your email address. Provide easy access to social media profiles, and if you have a contact form – keep it short and sweet.
  • Informative: Include all of your contact information in the same place. This may include your address, a map to your location, social media pages, email addresses, and even forums.
  • Accurate: Ensure that the information on your contact page matches the information listed elsewhere. Check directories and Google my Business listings to be sure.
  • Attractive: Yes, a contact page needs to look good too. Plenty of white space will make essential information stand out. A good layout will guide the eye through the page.
  • Consistent: Make sure the contact form on your website matches the brand personality that appears on all of your other pages.

Take a look at the Tune Contact page:

It’s beautifully laid out, with clear information that’s easy to read. The company shows exactly why customers might want to get in touch and how they can reach out. As you scroll through the page, you’ll find additional office locations, email addresses for different teams (sales and support), and links to social media accounts too.

How to Drive Engagement on a Contact Us Page

A good contact page needs to look fantastic, showcase the company’s personality, and capture audience attention. However, there’s a big difference between a contact page that gets the job done, and one that convinces your audience they have to connect with you.

Here are some excellent ways to make your contact us page stand out.

Step 1: Using Color Correctly

Color and color psychology have a massive impact on user experience.

Studies constantly demonstrate the conversion powers of having the right shades on certain pages throughout your website. For instance, changing a CTA button from red to green can increase click-through rates by 27%.

However, every audience is different. The colors that drive engagement on a contact page for your company will depend on your target customer. A/B testing color palettes that match your brand personality is a good way to get started.

One interesting example of colors that make the right impact on a Contact Us page comes from Hubspot. Here, the brand maintains it’s brand color (orange), but it also introduces some new shades that convey trustworthiness and professionalism.

Blue is the most calming and credible color for any brand, The gradient that Hubspot uses here blends perfectly with its brand identity, allowing for a stunning contact page, with CTA buttons that still stand out.

Experiment with colors that can generate the right emotional response from your audience, but don’t ignore the golden rules of color in web design. You still need to showcase your brand identity, and you still need a way of making crucial information stand out.

Step 2: Humanizing the Customer Service Team

Some of the customers that arrive at a contact page are interested in your product or inspired by the potential of your service. Other customers will be looking for assistance because they’re frustrated with something or stressed out.

If you’ve ever had a problem with a product and wanted to reach out to the brand about it, you’ve probably noticed how annoying it is to find a blank contact page with nothing but an email address. The lack of effort and humanity in the contact page is enough to convince you that you probably won’t get a response.

But what if you add some happy smiling faces to the page?

Research indicates that brains are fine-tuned to recognize and appreciate human faces. Having a picture of your customer service team, or just any human being on your contact page makes you instantly more approachable. Your customers start to feel like they’re reaching out to a person – not an empty website.

Look at how engaging and personalized this contact page from Amber McCue looks:

Although you can show any human face on your contact page and potentially get results, showing your actual agents will be more likely to drive positive results. It’s a great way to showcase the authenticity and humanity of your team.

Step 3: Making it Easy to Find

A surprisingly large amount of the time, companies shove their contact information into the footer of their website, forcing customers to spend forever looking for them. However, your audience might not want to spend an age searching for your details if they’re in a hurry to get answers.

Stowing a contact page in a footer is also a problem for those visiting your website via mobile, as they might not be able to see all your footer details and links as well.

A Contact Us page doesn’t have to be a massive part of your website navigation if you don’t want it to be. However, it should be one of the first things your audience can see. Putting the information on the header of your website, or even sticking it to the top of the page as your users scroll is very helpful.

Zendesk makes it easy for customers to get in touch in multiple ways. First, the Contact section of the website is clear at the top of the page. Secondly, if you start scrolling through the Zendesk website, a “Get Help” button pops up, so you don’t have to scroll back to find assistance:

Remember, aside from making sure that your contact page appears in the right part of your website, it’s also worth ensuring that it’s easy to understand. Don’t use unusual terms like “Chat”, or “Chill with us”. Stick to tried-and-true options like Help, Contact, or Support.

Step 4: Making the Experience Relevant

There’s a reason why it’s practically impossible to find a one-size-fits-all contact page.

It’s because different customers need different things from your brand.

Some customers will be looking for the answer to a question; others will want to discuss something with your sales team. That’s why many companies are using adaptive contact pages that can change to suit the situation.

For instance, you may start by asking customers what they need help with. Zapier takes this approach with its Contact page:

By asking the client what they need straight away, Zapier can make sure that the visitor finds the right information, and the right number or email address for the appropriate agent. You can even scroll down the help page and look for something in the available help centre, using the search bar. Or you can click on View our experts to hire a Zapier pro.

Creating a dynamic and customized experience like this does a few things. First, it ensures that the customer will reach the right person to help them first-time around. This reduces the number of inappropriate calls your employees have to deal with, and the number of transfers.

Secondly, you deliver a better experience overall for your client, because they don’t have to repeat their issue to multiple people or start a massive email thread. They get the support they need immediately.

Dynamic contact pages can even save you some money and time. If clients decide to solve an issue themselves, using your resources, that’s great for your busy agents.

Step 5: Direct People to the Right Place

The central focus of your contact us page needs to be the available contact options. Centralizing the contact options on a page is an excellent way to make sure that they get the right amount of attention. Centralizing also means that your customers can spend less time searching for the contact details that they need, which is great for usability.

The Melonfree.com website uses a contact us form that’s centralized to immediately pull attention to the customer’s options for getting help.

Centralization isn’t the only way of using design principles to guide visitors on a contact page. According to Ray Hyman and Edmund Hick, increasing the number of choices on a page often increases the time it takes for people to make a decision.

When it comes to connecting with a brand, the right option for each customer will depend on the person and the situation they’re trying to overcome. For instance, a customer that needs to reset their password will probably be able to get the solution they need from an FAQ page.

On the other hand, someone who needs help using a new feature might need the guidance of a professional. To help guide customers to the right solution, Basecamp gives customers a variety of steps to follow to get the right solution fast.

The main purpose of the contact page is to help customers get the right answer with an informative form. However, there are unobtrusive alternative options available too. If all you’re looking for is a way to help yourself fix a problem, you can click on the help guides link before you ever scroll down to the form.

Step 6: Support the Contact Team Too

The best contact us pages aren’t just a great way to improve customer experience. Well-designed solutions also help the customer service team to save time and stay productive.

One of the primary metrics that companies consider when evaluating the success of a service team, is the number of replies required before an issue is resolved. However, if the initial question from a customer doesn’t contain enough information, this number often increases.

Using the design of the contact form to access the right information helps with:

  • Automatically routing people to the right team member: Companies can set up segmentation rules that automatically send certain emails to different employees based on keywords. You might have questions that go to the sales team, and separate queries that you direct straight to the customer service team.
  • Show appropriate support options and FAQs: Remember to give the audience a chance to help themselves before they reach out for extra support. Links to an FAQ page or self-service options can really reduce the pressure on a team. Some companies even add automated chatbots to the mix to help with self-service.
  • Prompt for extra context: Although not every customer will take advantage of an opportunity to add extra information to a form, some will. Adding a box to your contact form for “anything we need to know?” is a great way to generate more information. Ban.do includes a simple “question” box where customers can add as much detail as they like. An option to add screen shots or documents might be a nice touch too.

Building Your Own Contact Us Page

Every customer has their own specific set of needs. The right contact page for another business might not be the right one for you. That’s why it’s so important to take some time getting to know your customers and speaking to your support team.

When you’re planning your contact page, it helps to ask yourself some basic questions about what you want to achieve. For instance:

  • What kind of channels will our customers want to use to connect with us? Look at things like social media messaging, email, or phone calls. If you’ve got a relatively tech-savvy audience, then they might want to use things like instant messaging with chat bots too.
  • How can we direct clients to the appropriate channels in as little time as possible? Having a system in place to automatically route your customers to the right agent will reduce the time to resolution for your customers. The faster you solve problems, the better your reputation becomes.
  • What can we do to set customer expectations and build confidence before they speak to us? Designing a professional-looking contact page will increase customer confidence, while an FAQ section shows that you’re ready to answer common questions.
  • How can we showcase a unique brand personality without making the page complicated? Everything from using distinct brand colors on a contact page, to adding images and illustrations reminds customers that they’re in the right place.
  • What can we do to reduce the friction points in a customer’s path to contact? Avoid adding too many input options to a contact form and ensure that it’s easy to reach out when your clients have a problem.

Understanding exactly what your audience needs from you, and what they’re looking for when they come to your team for help reduces the effort involved for your client when they reach out for help. Remember, today’s digitally-savvy customers expect their interactions with companies to be as streamlined and simple as possible.

Make the Most of Your Contact Page

Contact pages are frequently an afterthought in the website design process. However, they’re one of the most valuable tools your company has. With a good contact page, you ensure that your customers can always reach you when they have problems. What’s more, you boost your chances of people wanting to reach out to the sales team too!

Good luck creating a contact page that encourages engagement from your target audience. Don’t forget to track your results from each design, and A/B test for optimization.

Source


Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

/par

Mule 4 HTTP Connector — Listener Configuration Explained

,

In this article, we will set up an HTTP connector and will work with the listener configurations to build a simple HTTP service to return a static message as the response. The Anypoint studio version used will be version 7.6 and the mule run time version will be 4.3 for this demonstration and better to use the same version of Anypoint studio and mule run time if in case you are planning to try out to build the project.

Setting up a simple HTTP service:

Source de l’article sur DZONE

/par

3 Essential Design Trends, November 2020

,

As we turn the corner into the final part of the year, many of the new websites and redesigns that we see during much of the rest of the year tend to slow down. Many businesses are focusing on fourth quarter and holiday sales.

With that being said, there are plenty of holiday flourishes already showing up on many websites. But there are still a few trends that don’t have a holiday theme.

Here’s what’s trending in design this month.

1. Beautiful Connectivity

Web elements that merge and flow into one another can be difficult to design but the payoff is totally worthwhile. This website design trend exemplifies connected elements in a way that’s beautiful and mesmerizing.

You can accomplish it with static elements or interactivity; the common theme is that design parts enter the space of one another and merge in ways that are seamless and visually interesting.

The thing that makes it exceptionally tricky is responsiveness. To ensure that pieces work well at all sizes when they overlap or encroach on the space of one another takes a lot of planning and testing.

Here are a few examples of projects that do it well – and each one does it in a different way.

Kirk Whayman’s website uses a floating ice cube over simple lettering. The interactivity is spot on here with hover actions that allow you to move the block with the letters refracting in an expected manner. (It would be easy to play with it all day.) But the coolest interaction happens when you “break it” (click on the cube). The elements continue to merge and interact in a new and different way.

Kikk Festival uses animations and giant scrollable illustrations and plenty of elements that overlap within the space. What’s neat is that everything on this canvas seems to touch everything else. The staircase design encourages scrolling and lettering and smaller animated elements all connect to the steps in the sky motif.

Multi Options Nursing takes a totally different approach. It uses a static split screen with a photo on the right side that merges into a round graphic element. It takes two not-s-interesting images and makes something out of them. The design carries this theme below the scroll as well and this style of image presentation carries a nice visual weight without feeling heavy.

2. Almost Brutalism

Brutalism just seems to keep coming back around. For those that love this trend, it keeps evolving as well.

The latest styles of brutalism are a little less mono but still pretty sharp with harsh lines, questionable type readability, and a lot going on in a compressed space. These projects also seem to be embracing color and alternative font choices more readily.

Fledge uses a split screen – still a dominant trend two years running – with a blue that’s almost too bright with an almost white offset color. The text is big and smooshed into the space tightly. Depending on the breakpoint, you might not even get the whole phrase on the left side. The design challenge is what are you supposed to do here? There are some hover animation cues, but they aren’t very direct.

Loeven Morcel’s design has hints of brutalism and elements of elegance. What makes this design skew toward the brutal side is use of space and typography. Like the previous example, it falls into the territory of “what should I do here” with some concerns about readability. Most of these issues are resolved on the scroll if you move beyond the homepage.

Szymon Michalczyl’s site is another that is close to brutal in style but has an element of sleekness that doesn’t quite carry it over the edge. The simple framework has that brutalist feel but the use of simple, clean fonts with plenty of space pulls it back into a more mainstream design scheme.

3. Beige Everything

Is a shade of beige the color of the year for 2020? Or is it just how we all feel?

Beige backgrounds are everywhere, making this one of those design trends that you can’t miss. The good news is that designers are playing with different shades of beige as well as warm and cool variations. Beige on its own can take on some of the color from accent hues and imagery, so that’s important to keep in mind when using this in the background.

The other variable is how saturated to make beige coloring. Most designs are using some of the more muted options while mostly playing with the levels of green and red. But darker beiges are also an option.

Simon Daufresne uses a beige that is the color that comes to mind when you think beige. It’s simple, a hint reddish, and is used with black only to maintain true color.

Discovered Wildfoods uses a more neutral feeling beige with a more green undertone (or is that color feel coming from other design elements). The neutral and natural color fits the brand and association this website is trying to create.

Aebele Interiors also uses a more traditional beige but with a bold mustard accent that makes the color feel exceptionally warm. What’s nice about this color combination is that in small sizes the mustard colored-type almost falls into the beige background, but at larger sizes seems to almost jump off the screen. It’s an interesting color juxtaposition.

Conclusion

Personally, this month’s trends are a mixed bag. I love the lines and interactivity of the beautifully connected examples. It shows that elements can cross and work together well.

On the flip side, brutalism and beige just aren’t my style. But apparently, they appeal to a lot of people based on the number of projects using these styles. What do you think? I’d love to know how you feel about these trends. Let me know on Twitter.

Source


Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

/par

Everything You Need to Know About Websites And Privacy Laws

,

When it comes to compliance, website developers need to keep their eyes on more than just ADA regulations and Section 508. Privacy laws are a big consideration and decisions on how to build privacy into a website start with architects. 

And that’s exactly what website developers (and designers!) are. They build up attractive, functional websites and apps for their clients. Yes, they work closely with clients, copywriters, vendors, and other professionals to get the job done, but the developers are the ones who put it all together. 

That’s why it’s critical that website developers are well-versed in marketing privacy laws — these regulations directly impact the end results of their work. But how does a website architect create a digital platform that honors both user privacy and the needs of their clients? 

What Privacy Laws Are Important For Web Developers?

The two biggest privacy laws that web developers need to keep tabs on are the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Each law has its own unique scope and provisions, but they both shifted the landscape in defining an individual’s rights to their personal data and set mechanisms for how these rights would be protected and enforced.

Each regulation also carries with it fines, fees, and legal measures for non-compliance. These can be substantial. And if that’s not enough, there’s an ever-increasing consumer demand for websites that prioritize privacy and security. Consider these statistics:

  • 82% of Americans surveyed say they are concerned about the security of their online data
  • 79% of adults claim they are very or somewhat worried about how companies use the data they collect about them
  • 63% of Americans believe they understand very little or nothing at all about privacy laws and regulations that are intended to protect their data

How Can Developers Implement These Laws?

Privacy by Design is Critical for Websites

Under GDPR, web developers are required to adopt the Privacy by Design framework, which is a multi-point methodology intended to standardize data protection measures. 

Building privacy into websites shouldn’t happen at the end stages. It should start with how the websites are conceptualized in the first place. Here are points to prioritize:

  • Minimize that data you’re collecting and pseudonymize it to protect data privacy
  • Are you capturing consent? How? Where?
  • Integrating security measures to protect data — anytime you capture data or implement a third party product, a security risk is born.
  • Knowing where you’re introducing privacy and data sharing notices
  • Implement just-in-time notices to provide consumers transparency and build trust 
  • Giving your users the opportunity to manage their personal data

Let’s look at these a little more closely…

Data Minimization is the Goal

Data minimization is an important principle embedded in GDPR. Data minimization itself is a pretty straightforward concept: organizations should limit how much personal data they collect and only process the information necessary to accomplish their business purposes. Once the data is no longer useful, it should be deleted. 

For web developers, this means several things. When it comes to building websites, forms, cookies, and other methods should only ask for essential information. For example, if you are creating a pop-up to collect email addresses, don’t ask for their location unless it’s relevant to the email list and better serving their needs.

How and Where Do You Introduce Privacy Policies and Notices?

Let’s say you take data minimization seriously. That’s great! Now you need to put those data collection practices into words and share them with your customers. 

Privacy policies and notices are a big part of both GDPR and CCPA. Both the CCPA and the GDPR mandate that your privacy policy detail why you’re collecting information and how it will be used, as well as what the individual’s rights are and how they can exercise them. 

CCPA takes a slightly different angle, requiring privacy policies to disclose if the business sells personal data and what third parties have access to the data. CCPA also dictates that privacy policies and notices are current, updated at least annually.  (Nota bene: GDPR also asks for updated privacy documents, but doesn’t specify frequency.) 

How does this translate from policy into web development?

  • If you’re collecting data to improve user experience, allow for targeted ads, or sharing information with third-parties, this information will need to be included in a privacy notice. Remember, CCPA works with a broad definition of selling data, so you may need to account for a “Do Not Sell” link on your home page. 
  • Considering using data beyond these purposes? Plan to obtain explicit user consent for each additional purpose.
  • What’s your plan for the data after the user gives it to you? Where is it stored? Who has access to it? How long are you keeping it? These are all questions that a website developer should consider, and that needs to go into a privacy notice. 

Just-in-Time Notices for Transparency and Trust

Part of Privacy by Design is the use of individual components of your website to create transparency and support compliance. From a development and design perspective, this means you should always be looking for ways to communicate the hows and whys of data collection. 

Yes, your privacy policies and notices aid in this, but going beyond these pieces is important. Customers recognize when businesses go the extra mile for them, after all. 

So consider implementing just-in-time notices at points where users enter their information. These notices are a chance to share your data collection practices with your users. It’s transparent! It’s open! It aids in consumer awareness! 

Keep Users in the Loop

Want to win over your customers? Make it as easy as possible for them to manage their personal data and how it’s being used. This starts with making sure they are aware of why you’re requesting their information and how you’re planning on using it for the website. You should also:

  • Get user consent — clear and unambiguous user consent — prior to gathering any data at all. This includes cookies.  
  • Don’t pre-tick boxes for consent. Just don’t. (It’s bad practice AND it’s against GDPR.)
  • Link to all legal documents on the site. Users should be required to agree to them before using the service. 
  • Want to send marketing communications like email newsletters to your customers? Make sure they agree to this. Expressly. 

One helpful tool for keeping users in the loop is a marketing preference center. A marketing preference center allows users easy access to their information. From there, they can manage, edit, and delete their information at their discretion.  

Bonus? A marketing preference center is an excellent point at which to communicate a business’ commitment to privacy. While users will pick up this through all the discrete elements of privacy on your website, putting it all into one hub that also allows users control over their data really reinforces this message. 

Remember, it’s not just on the consumer to manage their data. Web developers should commit to managing the data in their systems. This means they should:  

  • Maintain accurate and clean records of users’ data consent preferences
  • Send regular reminders to users to update their personal information in your system
  • If a user deletes their account, promptly delete all of their personal information  
  • If your client goes out of business or is sold, they should delete all personal information in their system

Make it User Friendly

A final point: making your websites user friendly is important regardless of privacy compliance. Users expect websites that don’t make them think deeply about, or worry about, their privacy. Make it accessible and easy. Don’t make people figure it out on their own.

Give them value for sharing their data

Your users don’t have to share their data. They’re choosing to. So in exchange for their personal information, make sure you’re using it to provide a user-friendly website. Offer them a secure, enjoyable experience.  

But don’t ask for more than you need

Let’s loop back around to this point again. While consumer data can help you build a better website, don’t plan your websites around it and don’t demand data to create a good experience. 

Usability, web design, and website security; all of these things benefit from consumer data. But privacy laws should always guide how any personal data is collected and used, and respect for consumers’ individual rights, and honoring their privacy should be top-of-mind for web developers. 

 

Featured image via Pexels.

Source


Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

/par

You Won’t Win SEO With Hacks, Here Are 3 Winning SEO Strategies

,

The world of search engine optimization was born with all sorts of different hacks and shortcuts that many people use in an effort to grow their business.

Knowing effective SEO tricks would be incredibly profitable, but unfortunately it’s not that easy

This becomes evident as soon as you do a Google search about anything SEO-related, only to find pages and more pages replete with blog posts and videos disclosing all the tips and tricks you “need to know” in order to achieve the best SEO results, in the fastest way possible.

Knowing effective SEO tricks would be incredibly profitable, but unfortunately it’s not that easy.

In its essence, SEO isn’t about hacks, shortcuts, and hidden optimizations, but rather about resource allocation. Keep reading to learn why!

Be Careful About Over-Reliance on Hacks

Before we start talking about resources, it’s important to understand why the quick and easy SEO hacks we’ve all read about online aren’t as reliable as they might seem.

The reality is that yes, there are some traditional hacks and optimization tactics that many people swear by. However, SEO has become way too competitive for these hacks to still work.

Think about it: anyone can learn about these hacks and shortcuts in a matter of seconds, which means that anyone can use them, which means that they’re not going to help your website stand out. By way of example, when thinking about keyword usage, many websites simply decide to put them everywhere on their website, without actually planning and strategizing. Perhaps years ago, doing so would lead to excellent results, but that’s not the case anymore.

What I want to go over, and what I mean with this article, is that when developing your SEO plan, you should think less about hacks, and try to focus on strategy and resources instead.

As tempting as they might be, most SEO hacks won’t really go that far.

What does go far are those strategies and resource allocation decisions, which you can master as long as you know three things:

  • Who your competitors are;
  • What you have;
  • and What strengths you can double down on.

Base Your SEO Strategies on Your Business’s Resources

So, SEO is about resource allocation – we know that now…but what exactly does that mean?

Well, this logic is based on something you might have heard of before, and that is the three pillars of SEO.

As a refresher, everything in SEO revolves around three pillars:

  • Link building and referring domains;
  • Content development and content marketing;
  • Technical SEO.

Many businesses have a limited digital marketing budget and, as if that wasn’t enough, their SEO budget tends to be even more restricted.

This means that we can’t try every hack out there or do every campaign we can come up with, hoping it will lead to positive results. On the contrary, it means we need to be methodical and understand which strategies have the most potential and are actually worth exploring.

In summary, there’s one big challenge that every SEO team and company experiences, and that is the limitation of resources versus possible operations, and that leads us to a question: what mix of SEO pillars will give us a good shot at ranking high and surpassing our competitors?

Develop Your SEO Strategies Based on Your Inherent Strengths

The mistake that a lot of business owners make after reading SEO articles or hearing about amazing case studies is that they try and copy the strategies they learned about, from beginning to end.

However, contextually, each case study or article could refer to a strategy that was specifically optimized for a different type of business.

So, although copying what other successful businesses can work in certain situations when speaking about SEO, it’s best to borrow ideas and use the ones that fit your inherent strengths.

Based on the pillars of SEO that we discussed earlier, there are three strong points that a company can have:

If You Have a Strong Network…

Some businesses don’t have the resources to create an in-house content development team or outsource writing services.

However, they have another strong suit, which lies in their ability to go out into their community, speak, and be heard. They can do this because they have built a strong network over the years and, in cases like this, what we often do is use a backlinking approach.

When working with businesses that have a strong community presence, go out and double down on their network. Pitch their relevant contacts for guest speakership and guest posts, building thought leadership, while also driving links to their website.

If You’re Not That Popular But Are Good With Words…

Right now, some of you might be thinking: “Yeah, well, that’s easy when you’ve built the exposure, but not all of us are lucky enough to be well-known”.

Listen, I get it, we’ve all been in that position.

For clients and businesses that feel like they don’t have the brand equity or exposure to develop a strong backlinking strategy, opt for another route, and invest much more on content (and/or technical SEO, see below).

If the client has a team who’s ready to put its head down and get to work, then focus on producing a lot of content for their website.

Ultimately, the goal is to build a content library that is thorough and expansive, and that provides the client with more opportunities for keyword rankings, while also reinforcing the relevance of their website for those specific SEO keywords.

If Technical Knowledge is Your Forte…

You may not like (or have time) to write and you may not have a strong community presence, but if you have advanced technical skills and the ability to create a strong website quickly, then there’s another approach you can take.

This leads us into the third pillar of SEO: technical SEO.

This solution is indicated for technical teams that can create large websites, databases and user experiences in no time, and it is typically adopted by tech startups that are trying to create an app that provides user value.

First and foremost, winning at technical SEO requires strong technical skills that will allow you to build the web assets that you need, but that’s not all. It also requires you to understand how you can double down on these skills and manage large websites in the rather complex Google ecosystem.

So you need, for example, to know how you can get Google to notice and properly index the new pages you create on your website, even if you already have 100,000 pre-existing pages.

Or to ensure that each of your new pages is properly optimized for the best keywords.

Needless to say, using technical SEO does become a complex operation. However, when done right, it can lead your SEO to grow by sheer size, with the hopes that certain relevant keywords will start to rank for your business naturally.

Conclusion: Your Strategy Will Probably Be a Combination of the Three Pillars

When it comes to SEO, honing in on your strengths and accepting the fact that you can’t do everything is definitely the way to go.

When you’re running an SEO campaign, you should always focus on what you’re good at, know your resources, and augment what you already master – and that will put you in the right direction.

By focusing your resources on any of the pillars of SEO (or even a mix of them), you substantially increase your chances of achieving long-term success, which will not happen if you go for hacks and shortcuts instead.

A long-term, highly-organized, resource-allocated SEO strategy won’t only guarantee continuous success, but it can ultimately become self-sustaining, meaning that it will allow you to keep growing and growing, becoming an organic part of your marketing plan.

I’ve seen a lot of people try SEO hacks for two weeks, only to realize that they didn’t work and that their efforts had been in vain. 

It’s unfortunate because by doing so, you’re turning your back on a marketing channel that is very valuable to a lot of people, and these hacks trick people into thinking it’ll be overnight.

So remember, resource allocation over hacks and shortcuts!

Source


Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

/par

Accélérez les décisions pour tenir le coup en ces temps de disruption sans précédent

, ,

Le climat économique et social actuel a mis les entreprises de toutes tailles face à des défis inédits. Notre époque n’avait encore jamais connu de tels chamboulements, à la fois internes et externes. Les directeurs et services financiers, qui s’efforcent de bien gouverner leur entreprise, vivent sans doute les moments les plus difficiles de leur carrière.

À l’heure actuelle, le directeur financier et surtout l’équipe de planification et d’analyse financières doivent continuer d’avancer malgré de nombreuses incertitudes, notamment :

  • l’impact des perturbations des canaux de ventes sur le chiffre d’affaires
  • la gestion du flux de trésorerie et des liquidités
  • la gestion des dépenses et la maîtrise des coûts
  • les projections financières optimistes et les conseils basés sur des suppositions floues

Incertitudes et choix à faire

Pour le service de planification et d’analyse financières, ce ne sont pas des questions isolées, mais tout un ensemble de problèmes et de doutes qu’il faut gérer de manière globale. Faut-il puiser dans une ligne de crédit pour préserver la fluidité du fonds de roulement ? Le flux de trésorerie et les liquidités actuels permettront-ils de couvrir les dépenses à court terme ainsi que les initiatives de capital actuelles et à venir ? Peut-on bénéficier des programmes gouvernementaux d’aide salariale ? Que dire aux actionnaires sur les prévisions du solde de l’année ? Existe-t-il des moyens d’aider nos clients à réussir ?

Ces questions se posent aux services financiers, mais aussi à l’ensemble de l’entreprise, dont les différentes équipes se penchent sur les budgets et les tactiques envisageables.

  • Les programmes actuels tiennent-ils compte du marketing ?
  • La chaîne logistique est-elle confrontée à des disruptions ?
  • Quelles sont les conséquences pour la planification de la demande
  • Quelles sont les suggestions des RH concernant les niveaux d’effectifs actuels, et quels effets auront-elles sur les résultats ?

Il faut regrouper tous ces budgets et modèles individuels en une vue unique pour pouvoir comprendre les interdépendances.

Planification d’entreprise collaborative pour éliminer les silos

Un paradigme de planification moderne permettrait de résoudre facilement ces problèmes : la planification d’entreprise collaborative. Elle consiste entre autres à éliminer les silos, et ainsi à relier instantanément toutes sortes de plans. Les finances disposent donc d’un aperçu réel de la santé financière actuelle pour ne prodiguer que les conseils les plus avisés. Par exemple, elles peuvent évaluer l’impact d’un plan commercial sur les campagnes marketing, ou relier un processus S&OP (ventes et opérations) rapproché à un plan financier. Un analyste peut déterminer quel plan d’effectifs pourrait impacter la productivité des collaborateurs et la trésorerie.

Les finances doivent aussi pouvoir prendre des décisions rapides. Grâce à la planification d’entreprise collaborative, le service financier n’est pas tenu de suivre les plans établis. Aujourd’hui, on ne peut plus travailler dans un environnement où les plus mauvais services financiers repoussent les décisions parce qu’ils utilisent des feuilles de calcul et outils de planification obsolètes. Si au contraire ils disposent des technologies adéquates, ils pourront instantanément simuler l’impact de plusieurs scénarios. Les outils d’analyse modernes associés aux outils d’analyse prédictive et au Machine Learning leur permettront de suivre les recommandations pour obtenir les meilleurs résultats. Quant aux tableaux de bord et à la visualisation intégrée, ils offrent aux utilisateurs finaux un reporting en temps réel et une expérience esthétiquement agréable avec un risque d’erreur minimal, contrairement aux feuilles de calcul.

Une discussion instantanée pour une prise de décision rapide

Enfin, la plupart des organisations, y compris les services financiers, ont étendu leur capacité de travail à l’espace virtuel ; elles ne sont plus limitées par les murs de l’entreprise. La planification d’entreprise collaborative encourage la discussion instantanée pendant la planification et la prévision. Les problèmes géopolitiques ont eu des répercussions extraordinaires sur les prix des marchandises. Une situation qui, tout comme les problèmes liés à la pandémie, nécessite une collaboration et un consensus immédiats. Les décisions doivent être prises sans délai, sans le soutien des réunions, messages vocaux ou fils d’e-mails.

Avec la planification d’entreprise collaborative, les services financiers peuvent guider leur entreprise pour l’aider à obtenir les meilleurs résultats et à continuer d’avancer dans le bon sens malgré les difficultés du moment. La planification d’entreprise collaborative permet aux finances de comprendre tous les aspects de leur entreprise, de recommander et d’évaluer divers scénarios, de prendre les bonnes décisions, et de se positionner comme les véritables leaders de l’entreprise.

Pour en savoir plus, lisez ce rapport de Ventana Research intitulé « Planification d’entreprise collaborative : Améliorer la valeur opérationnelle de la planification et de la budgétisation à l’échelle de l’entreprise ».

À propos de Pras Chatterjee

Pras Chatterjee est directeur marketing produits principal pour la planification et l’analyse chez SAP, en particulier pour les solutions SAP Analytics Cloud et SAP Business Planning and Consolidation. Avant de rejoindre le service Marketing produits, Pras était directeur du cabinet SAP EPM et responsable des services SAP Business Analytics en Amérique du Nord. Il a également été architecte de solutions pour SAP, spécialisé dans la planification et les consolidations dans le monde entier. Comptable agréé, Pras a travaillé au service financier de diverses sociétés de logiciels, dont plusieurs entreprises du Fortune 500.

The post Accélérez les décisions pour tenir le coup en ces temps de disruption sans précédent appeared first on SAP France News.

Source de l’article sur sap.com

/par

Dépoussiérez votre décisionnel avec SAP Analytics Cloud

, ,

SAP Analytics Cloud concrétise la Business Intelligence de nouvelle génération, avec une ouverture totale, un plus large ensemble de fonctionnalités et l’intégration de technologies intelligentes, allant jusqu’au prédictif.

« Être une entreprise Intelligente, c’est rechercher au sein de l’ERP les voies d’automatisation, d’intégration et de fluidification des processus, explique Florian Hamon, Business Development Director, SAP Center of Excellence, SAP. SAP Analytics Cloud ou SAC participe à ce mouvement, avec son analytique temps réel et ses fonctionnalités avancées. »

SAP Analytics Cloud combine dans une unique offre cloud une solution de Business Intelligence avancée, des outils de planification et des capacités d’analyse augmentée. Des atouts clés pour accélérer le processus de décision.

Une solution conçue pour les défis d’aujourd’hui…

SAP Analytics Cloud est né d’un triple constat : un changement de paradigme en matière de BI, une très forte accélération des solutions cloud et la volonté d’accéder aux solutions métiers depuis tout type de support.

Concernant la Business Intelligence, SAP Analytics Cloud est capable de se connecter à toutes les sources de données grâce à des connecteurs SQL, BusinessObjects et SAP. La création de stories s’effectue à la souris, avec la possibilité de personnaliser les dashboards et d’insérer des éléments visuels évolués (par exemple de la cartographie). Des fonctions avancées de collaboration et de partage sont proposées. Enfin, une intégration native avec Excel est assuré, au travers d’Analysis for Office.

Sur le terrain du planning, SAP Analytics Cloud permet une planification dans l’instant, c’est-à-dire en live. Vous allez pouvoir ainsi analyser et restituer depuis le même outil. Mais aussi simuler, au travers de scénarios de type what-if, qui permettront d’explorer différentes options de décision. Là encore, le collaboratif (partage de plannings, délégation de tâches) est au cœur du module planning de SAC.

… et de demain

Le pilier Smart de SAP Analytics Cloud est primordial. Ses fonctionnalités intelligentes s’appuient massivement sur les algorithmes et le Machine Learning.

  • Découverte intelligente : SAC va proposer automatiquement et intelligemment des dashboards clés en main construits automatiquement à partir d’un jeu de données, sans préparation préalable. Des KPI variés sont proposés et les indicateurs clés influençant les données sont mis en valeur.
  • Interrogation des données : il est possible d’automatiser la génération de contenu en effectuant des recherches exprimées en langage naturel. Vous n’aurez plus besoin de passer par le service informatique pour disposer d’une restitution personnalisée.
  • Analyse intelligente : cette fonctionnalité permet de comprendre ce qui se cache derrière une donnée de base. Elle pourra également détecter des patterns dans les données ou donner la raison d’un point de données particulier.
  • Terminons par l’une des fonctionnalités les plus innovantes de SAP Analytics Cloud, les scénarios prédictifs : l’entrainement de modèles de Machine Learning avec des données existantes permettra par la suite de les utiliser sur de nouveaux jeux de données. Une technologie qui ouvre la voie à l’analyse prédictive !

The post Dépoussiérez votre décisionnel avec SAP Analytics Cloud appeared first on SAP France News.

Source de l’article sur sap.com

/par

Agromousquetaires adopte SAP TM pour sa nouvelle filiale transport

, , ,

Dans le cadre de son plan A2P 2020, Agromousquetaires a créé une société dédiée à la logistique. AgroM Transport s’appuie sur SAP TM 9.5 pour assurer la planification et l’exécution des opérations de transport. Une solution mise en place par itelligence.

Agromousquetaires est le pôle agroalimentaire du groupe Mousquetaires. Avec 4,03 milliards d’euros de chiffre d’affaires annuel, 11.000 collaborateurs, 19.700 partenaires agricoles, 62 usines en France et 10 filières, Agromousquetaires est un poids lourd du secteur. La société est en effet le leader français des marques de distributeur, mais aussi le 4e groupe agroalimentaire et le 1er armateur de pêche de l’Hexagone.

Dans le cadre de son plan Agro Performance Plus 2020 (A2P 2020), Agromousquetaires souhaite réduire ses coûts de production au travers de l’innovation. La société passe d’un réseau de PME à une logique de filière, plus efficace. L’un des volets de ce plan prévoit la mise en place d’un pôle logistique dédié.

Le choix de SAP TM et itelligence

En avril 2017, Agromousquetaires a décidé de transférer l’activité logistique de ses filières bœuf et porc vers une nouvelle société, AgroM Transport. Avec comme date butoir le premier janvier 2019.

L’utilisation de SAP Transportation Management (SAP TM) est rapidement apparue comme une évidence pour le groupe. Car le SI d’AgroM Transport mise sur d’autres solutions SAP pour la comptabilité, la finance, le contrôle de gestion et les achats non marchands. Le choix de SAP TM va donc dans le sens d’une cohérence du SI de la nouvelle entreprise.

L’intégrateur itelligence a été choisi pour sa taille rassurante (plus de 7900 consultants présents dans 27 pays) et sa connaissance étendue des solutions SAP (activité 100 % SAP et 30 ans d’expertise). Il a su également convaincre avec sa méthodologie pragmatique, consistant à proposer une solution fonctionnelle le plus tôt possible. Les utilisateurs ont ainsi pu faire remonter leurs recommandations rapidement, l’objectif étant de bâtir une offre de transport moderne : cartographie, diagrammes de Gantt, échanges informatisés avec les partenaires transporteurs, suivi des camions, etc.

Un planning serré

Le projet a démarré en septembre 2017, le pilote devant impérativement être achevé un an plus tard, pour une mise en production le premier janvier 2019. Dans la pratique, le prototype de la solution SAP TM 9.5 a été mis en fonction en mai 2018, avec une phase de stabilisation se terminant en septembre 2018, puis un déploiement progressif jusqu’à la fin de l’année. SAP TM se charge de la planification et de l’exécution des opérations de transport, la gestion des données de base (fournisseurs, clients, articles…) et de la facturation étant prise en charge par S/4HANA Finance.

Le premier janvier 2019, la société AgroM Transport a été lancée avec 331 collaborateurs transférés, 331 cartes grises, 135 transporteurs partenaires, 17 sites gérés et 12 entrepôts frigorifiques. 130.000 ordres de fret sont prévus sur l’année, pour un chiffre d’affaires estimé à 72 millions d’euros. Une grosse volumétrie que SAP TM a su prendre en charge.

Une deuxième phase déjà démarrée

Les enjeux sont atteints à 100 % sur de nombreux critères :

  • mise en place d’un plan de transport efficace ;
  • optimisation du réseau de transport ;
  • exploitation centralisée ;
  • cartographie, GIS et diagrammes de Gantt ;
  • communication avec les partenaires par voie électronique ;
  • intégration avec l’ERP SAP…

Le tout pour un budget maitrisé.

À ce jour, Agromousquetaires n’a migré que deux de ses filières vers la nouvelle société. Une seconde phase programmée sur deux ans est toutefois annoncée. À terme, le choix de SAP TM permettra également de faire remonter des informations vers les outils de Business Intelligence (BI) d’Agromousquetaires.

The post Agromousquetaires adopte SAP TM pour sa nouvelle filiale transport appeared first on SAP France News.

Source de l’article sur sap.com

/par

Anypoint Deployment Models Which One to Go For?

,

Being an Architect, Product Owner, or a CXO of your organization has already purchased a brand new Anypoint platform subscription or planning to get one based on evaluation of the platform and now In dilemma which subscription model to go for?

This article will help you to provide a 1000ft overview of various deployment options available in Anypoint platform and which one to go for. 

Source de l’article sur DZONE

/par

The Latest Research for Web Designers, August 2020

While a lot of the research for web designers that’s come out this year has to do with COVID-19, we’re starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Many of these reports aren’t just looking at the effects of the pandemic on business and marketing today. They’re now looking at what consumers plan to do once the pandemic is gone.

So, I have some very interesting research for you here today. Three of the reports have to do with coronavirus side effects — pertaining to ecommerce, market research, and freelancing — and one of them is just a really great argument against using PDFs on websites.

1. The Digital 2020 Survey Says Ecommerce Growth Will Continue Post-Coronavirus

Obviously, everyone is paying close attention to COVID-19’s impact on the world. For the purposes of the work you do as a web designer, you should be clued into what it’s doing to the business and marketing fields. Because, if those opportunities dry up or companies begin to pivot, you need to be ready to adapt.

The Digital 2020, a joint monthly report from we are social and HootSuite, brings interesting news about the state of ecommerce thanks to COVID-19.

Because the pandemic has forced consumers indoors, online shopping has increased. But, according to about half of those surveyed for this report, this isn’t some temporary solution. They plan on doing more online shopping even after the pandemic ends.

This means that web designers are sitting in an enviable position now and for the foreseeable future. If you’re not already helping businesses sell through their websites, now is the time to do so as more and more businesses are going to need reliable online stores to sell their offerings through.

2. eMarketer Shares Data on Social Listening

When conducting research at the beginning of a design project, what kinds of sources do you turn to for quick and reliable information? Your client provides you with information on their business, industry, and the competition, of course, but what else?

You can conduct user surveys and interviews, but those take time and resources. It also usually means working with clients who have existing businesses and user bases to tap into. Unless you’re working as a UX designer where that’s a big part of the work you do, you might not have the ability to do that level of research.

As reported by Gartner (via eMarketer), leading marketers are now learning about their target audiences through the following channels:

Thanks to the surge of traffic online right now, social listening platforms have become really useful resources for learning about one’s users, with 51% of marketing leaders using them.

If you feel as though your initial research and planning phases could use a boost, I’d recommend taking advantage of one of these social listening tools now.

If you build websites for a specific niche, you can set up keywords/hashtags that are universally relevant to (most of) your clients. By listening in on these conversations regularly, you can become more attuned to what the visitors of your websites actually need and you can proactively build better experiences for them as a result.

3. Upwork Reports Increasing Numbers of Freelancers Entering the Market

The main focus of the Upwork 2020 Future Workforce Report is on how employers are changing their approaches to hiring now and in the near future. And the basic premise is this:

  • It’s long been predicted that more and more of the workforce would be allowed to work remotely.
  • COVID-19 has escalated those predictions to the point where most of the workforce is remote right now.
  • Businesses see the value in remote work arrangements, especially if it enables them to get work done more quickly and cost-effectively by freelancers.

While this is certainly great news for web designers looking for new clients, the report also provides us with this data:

64% of professionals in the top of their field work independently. That statistic alone means you’re up against some tough competition. But there’s also the 50% rise in signups on freelancer marketplaces that should have you worried.

Even though business demand for freelance talent is growing, this unprecedented rise in freelance competition may pose some problems. So, if you’re not already doing everything you can to position yourself as the web designer in your niche, get going on that now so you don’t get drowned out by the rising number of competitors.

4. NNG Says That PDFs Are Unsuitable for the Web

While I don’t have statistics to share with you from the Nielsen Norman Group’s post on why the PDF is “Still Unfit for Human Consumption”, I do have a ton of usability arguments against them that are worth summing up here:

  1. PDFs are written in the style of print documents, which means that strategies we use to design content on websites — like making a page scannable and accessible — don’t apply.
  2. They’re not designed to be as concise or attractive as a web page.
  3. They don’t operate like a website, which disrupts the seamless experience you’ve worked so hard to create when one is opened up from your site.
  4. The website navigation disappears and any sense of orientation (besides the browser “Back” button) goes out the window.
  5. There’s no way to build an internal navigation in a PDF document, save for internal linking or a table of contents.
  6. If they’re formatted for paper sizes, scrolling through them can be difficult for mobile users.
  7. They load more slowly the bigger they get, so unless it’s something like a small and optimized menu, expect visitors to wait for the download to appear.

And those are just the arguments that came from NNG’s researchers. Take some time to read through real user complaints about PDFs and you’ll never want to include one on a client’s website again.

Wrap-Up

Thankfully, the research for web designers and marketers is finally starting to move away from the confusion and speculation we saw a lot of earlier this year.

Just as with anything we do on the web, the more time you give it, the more data you can collect. And, luckily for us, the data suggests that there’s a pretty positive outlook for web designers if they position themselves the right way now.

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

Source


Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

/par