Our customers use any number of difference devices to surf the web, including laptops, desktop computers, tablets and smartphones.  It has become increasingly important to provide a seamless experience to potential customers no matter what device they are using, your business website needs to be built with responsive web design in mind.

What is responsive web design? And why is it such an important part of your overall digital marketing strategy? Here’s what you need to know on the subject.

Responsive Web Design

A website that utilizes responsive web design will automatically resize depending on the type of device being used to access the site.

Responsive websites intuitively respond to the type of device being used and adjust the layout of a website accordingly, information is more easily accessible and the user experience is much more enjoyable.  No more scroll bars, no more pinching and squeezing to be able to read content and no more separate mobile sites.  Think beautiful, clean websites that are easy to read and navigate on any device.

The Importance of Responsive Web Design

Are you thinking of updating or building a new website for your business? Make sure you go with a web designer (like BIS Designs) that knows how to create responsive web designs.  Here’s why:

Consumers steer clear from websites that aren’t mobile friendly. 57% of mobile users say they won’t recommend a business that has a poor user experience on their smartphones.  Today, mobile users account for nearly half the internet traffic and online shopping, browsing and researching is the new favorite past-time.  If it takes too long to navigate or load a website, the consumer will move on to your competitor.  The key is to be accessible, no matter what device is being used.

You have a limited amount of time to catch a consumer’s attention.  Websites that don’t load within 9 seconds are considered to be low quality and if the site does not fit the screen of a user's smartphone, making it more difficult to navigate, the consumer will leave your site without engaging, and more importantly, no conversion. 

Also important to keep in mind, the higher quality your website, the more stock goes on in SEO.  Google is impressed by a responsive design and knows it creates a better user experience, which in turn puts your business higher in the rankings. 

Here at BIS Designs, we’ve made it our business to create high quality, responsive and seamless websites for our clients, no matter their industry.  Let us improve your customers’ online experience when they visit your website!

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Phillip Long - CISSP, CEO of BIS Technology Group, along with his team of marketing and information technology experts, will walk you through an overview of  what your business should be doing to protect your data and plan your digital marketing strategies.

About BIS Technology Group

BIS Technology Group is the technology leader on the Gulf Coast and is comprised of four divisions: Information Technology, Web Design & Digital Marketing,  Office Equipment and Business Consulting. Together these divisions help local businesses exceed expectations and allow them to group to their full potential while minimizing risks. To learn more about BIS Technology Group, visit bistechnologygroup.com.

You may reach out to us at:
Phone: 251-405-2527
Email: plong@askbis.com

For years now, marketing strategists have pondered whether good old fashioned email marketing is going to fall by the wayside with all the various digital marketing options that currently exist. But never fear, emails are not going anywhere any time soon. 

Email marketing has only just begun to tap the surface in discovering how savvy it can be. 

A technology market research group has estimated that by the end of 2016, there will be:
• 4.6 billion email accounts
• 7% more emails landing in our inboxes

If email is still king, how can we cut through the crowd? How can your emails be seen, heard and effectively resonate with your target audience?

Across the board, analysts are responding to that question with the main ‘do it or die’ strategies to combat getting lost in the shuffle. 

The most common components to strengthen an email marketing campaign are:  

1. Ensure you have a responsive email template in your email campaign. 

a. Mobile devices are now the principal devices used in opening emails.
b. There’s a 23% higher click-through-rate with responsive templates.
c. 65% of total email opens occurred on a mobile phone or tablet in Q4 2015, compared to 54% in Q3 2015. - Experian “Quarterly email benchmark report” (Q4 2015) 
d. B2C emails get 57.4% more opens on mobile than B2B email, ranking 42.78% opens on mobile for B2C compared to 27.18% for B2B. - DDMA “Nationale email benchmark 2015” (2015)

*One thing to note is that there is a difference between a responsive email versus a mobile friendly email. Responsive emails respond to different devices by adjusting the text size and layout of the images. Mobile friendly emails do not change the design for smaller devices. This results in emails often having text that is too small to read on a mobile device, forcing the users to zoom in.

2. Segment your email audience.

a. “Batch & Blast” is out.
b. Focus on hyper-personalization. Go beyond “Dear First Name.” 
      • Use data analytics and CRM tools to gather more data about your customers.
c. Send different emails based on the unique qualities of your various subscribers.  
      • Where are they in the customer journey?
      • Group them by shared demographics.
      • Group them by differing buyer personas (psychographics).
d. Write emails that subscribers feel were made exclusively for them.
e. Click-through rates have said to improve 14%.
f. Conversion rates have gone up by 10%.

* You can segment for a variety of groups depending on what information you asked for on the sign-up form and what data is provided with your email analytics software.

3. Content is king. 

a. Make sure your email marketing messages are full of useful content and, if applicable, persuasive offers. 
b. A good balance is 90% educational and 10% promotional.
c. Subject lines are vitally important. Keep them short and sweet (less than 60 characters ideally).
d. Keep the look uncluttered. Keep copywriting concise and balance design with enough white space.

4. Test the open rates for what resonates with each segmented email subscriber group.

a. Test different subject lines – some shorter than others, some possibly humorous. 
b. Try different wording for Call to Action buttons.
c. Try testing with emails that include no images (plaint text emails).
d. Test who you want the email to come from – the sender name.

5. Budget for it. 

a. Allow for a budget to get the type of data collection and analytics information that’s best for your business. 
b. Budget for internal resources (staff) needed to implement and manage the technology and email communication.
c. The budget should also include allowances for testing to gain refined insights about your customers.

74% of surveyed marketers from 2015 said they still predict email communication to be one of the marketing channels that yields the highest return on investment. 

It’s been widely accepted that the return on investment (ROI) for email marketing is roughly about $44 back for every $1 spent. This healthy figure is mighty impressive, especially when you consider it’s factoring in many low-performing email campaigns to get the average number. 

So how are the super successful ones making that kind of return? 

The Direct Marketing Association says their best practices include “aggressive, smart spending on technology and services.”

Because of the increased demand for more personalized and relevant content, budget allocation for these advanced data analytic services is needed to keep companies earning an impressive ROI.

By creating dynamic content with a focus on customized emails, businesses provide their subscribers with useful information and ultimately develop strong relationships. Once this level of customer loyalty and brand recognition is reached, the less chances your emails have in getting marked as spam. 

BIS Designs offers customized email marketing services for clients in Mobile and Baldwin County, Alabama, to fuel their business through effective and well-thought out emails and newsletters. Download our free marketing plan and learn more about how to boost your business’ ROI with email marketing. You may contact us through our website or call 251.405.2535 to speak to one of our digital marketing professionals.