App Development Strategies for Enhanced Black Friday Customer Experience

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Here’s why SME’s need a strong digital presence

These days it is perceived by many that if a business is not online then probably, they don’t exist. The digital makeover has compelled businesses for having a dynamic online presence.  So, if one belongs to the category of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), then they must embrace the potential of online presence and marketing their products and services digitally. This will certainly help them to prosper and take the business to newer heights. Even during uncertain times, rethinking strategies can be crucial. Here’s how re-imagining digital presence in a crisis can help businesses adapt and thriveStudies say that more than 71% of the population uses the internet for viewing products/services online. So, if one can promote their business to even a fraction of this section, chances are there, the business will attract the required target audience. With most recent trends we see, people are highly active over Social Media and other digital platforms, hence this can help the SMEs to target and grab their attention and thus maximize the conversions. It’s about being where your customers are. Traditional marketing tactics for running campaigns and finding customers emanates a heavy cost and this is exactly where the need of digital presence comes into the picture. Here is how you can get started on building a robust web presence -  Make an attractive website that tells your brand’s story It’s perplexing that about 68% of Indian SME’s are still offline and don’t have a website which means they are losing on new opportunities every day.  Therefore, the first step in creating visibility for the digital world is to make a bespoke website.  A custom-built website could serve as a comprehensive information source and if you are in retail, then an online commercial store for your products and services is what you need. If the website provides great UX design and easy navigation, it will help in new customer adoptions and further engaging the existing ones.Build a strong social media presencePresent day marketers claim that social media is an important tool for promoting and improving sales. It has bridged the gap between the consumers and the brand helping them to get more exposure in their niche segment. If Businesses spend as little as six hours per week on doing right social media efforts, they can fetch a good amount of business leads through the online channels.  Having a presence in multiple social media platforms can increase the chances of getting referrals for your business and would also help in improving the visibility through SEO Analytics.Get your business listedIt’s true that big companies and international brands have more capability to invest in marketing strategies than SME’s. So, the best way to reach out your target audiences would be to get your business listed in a local online business directory for improving online visibility. Generally, customers look for local businesses that can solve their problems and fulfil their needs. Thus ‘proximity’ and ‘affinity’ are the catch-terms that keep the business at the top of the mind of the customers.Search Engine OptimizationOnce the website is up and live it is important to focus on SEO to get your website traffic by search engines. Often having a great website might not help as it needs continuous improvement and optimization. The customers rely on the search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo to find your company and research your products and services. Here SEO helps to boost your web page and get it listed in the organic result as opposed to their paid or sponsored results.  Use relevant SEO strategies like tags, keywords, headlines and unique content for better visibility and improving SERP which will lead to more people visiting the website.Delivering better experienceOver the time, the purchase pattern of customers has changed and digital technologies are helping to understand and track the online behaviour of the target audience. This enables small businesses to deliver personalized and relevant things that the customers would prefer to visualize. At the same time, digital platforms facilitate real-time communication which helps to resolve customer queries, improving customer loyalty and maintaining a positive image of the brand.SME’s can effectively leverage digital tools and technologies to expand their geographical presence and create a strong brand identity to survive in this highly competitive marketplace. In order to have an awesome digital presence for your business, connect us at support@sundewsolutions.com.

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A quick guide to developing PWA apps for your business

Perhaps you're wondering what is Progressive Web App (PWA)?There is a lot of buzz around PWA app with assertions that it is the future of web app development. Since its inception in 2015, it has taken the industry by storm because of the relative ease of development and excellent user experience which is equivalent to the native apps.Progressive web applications are reliable, fast and engaging. It takes advantage of the most recent technologies to combine the best of web and mobile applications.  With such a combination, it is possible to create ultra-fast web pages that provide improved user experience, better visitor engagement, and increased conversion rates. You can also explore how mobile applications as an integral part of today’s business model are shaping modern business strategies..PWAs can be saved on desktops just like any native Android or iOS App.  These are specialized, Java-based websites that give mobile users an app-like experience. It loads fast and responds quickly all while using web technologies. PWAs bring significant benefits to businesses like higher conversion rates and customer retention.So, let’s get into the core principles for better understanding: Connectivity or offline supportPoor internet connectivity won’t be the hindrance for launching PWA apps. They solve the slow connection issues and work on all possible scenarios. Regardless of bandwidth and latency, the navigation inside the app is fairly smooth.PerformanceHigh bounce rates are something that scares all business owners. The root cause of high bounce rates is slow page loading time.  As reported by Google, if a website takes more than 3 seconds to load, 53% of users abandon it and if the time exceeds to 5 seconds, the probability of the bounce increases by 90%.  So, this is where PWAs comes in making it readily available on the user’s device and browser.Rail modelRAIL is mainly an abbreviation for describing key performance metrics. By analyzing human interactions with computer programs a user-centric model RAIL was created. This model can be applied to all user-oriented software programs like websites, desktop applications, mobile applications, and video games.EngagementThe essence of Progressive web applications is that it should have the feel and the capabilities of native apps and needs to be built on the application shell model, with minimal page refreshes. On the desktop, PWAs can be added to docks and taskbar. Also, shortcuts can be added to the desktop.SecureIn a progressive web app, all network requests are intercepted through service workers so, it is imperative that the app is hosted over HTTPS to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.Merits of Progressive Web Apps (PWA)Progressive Web App (PWA) offers a package deal of some lucrative features:•    The size range of PWAs is way too light and can range in KBs which is much lesser than native apps.•    Cost of acquisition is very low as it is easy to convince a user to visit a website than to install an app to get a first time experience.•    Fewer efforts are required to build and release updatesPWA apps can build a strong mobile presence and drive your business in areas of poor internet connection. In the coming years, we are going to witness a massive rise in progressive app development. Mainly the areas like e-commerce, media, and restaurants can reap more profits and attract new customers with the implementation of PWA. 

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Tips to make your digital brands all-inclusive.

What does it mean to be all-inclusive and why is it important?Diversity is a beautiful element of the human race, but often it fails to be recognized. With a globalized base, markets have flourished internationally, and the need to include newer consumers is growing. The “all-inclusive” concept is essential, both for the brands that are striving for more reach and the consumers whose needs are left unsatisfied.Being all-inclusive does not only mean recognizing the diversity of people in general, but it is practice-oriented. Often, brands put various ad campaigns in which they tend to include happy faces of people belonging to different ethnic backgrounds. Still, a particular type of race mostly fills the company's organizational structure. Moreover, digital brands suffer from biased AI and insufficient services to the differently abled. The growing technological aspects have the potential to alter these shortcomings and thus make a brand all-inclusive.Here we will discuss tips to help digital companies adopt an inclusive outlook.An all-inclusive design structure - Designs are the essential features of digital brands as they directly impact the user experience. A reasonable consumer experience is precious for a brand’s reputation. Ux designers are encouraged to find designs that fill all the gaps between the consumers and the products.A product can be built in various ways, but if it includes all the general methods of operation, it is more likely to be all-inclusive. Suppose the product is a ” Website”. The designers can mold it in such a way that it bears all visual, readable, and audible contents and that the essence of the “Website” can be obtained by everyone, despite physical differences. The three recognized principles of inclusive designs-Recognize exclusion- When a group of people design products based on their physical perceptions and experiences, a large population gets left out. To include everyone, the focus thus needs to be on those who are excluded. The designers need to understand their consumers well and the different groups they belong to. They need to understand their users' various environmental factors and physical limitations and design accordingly, based on their needs. Language translation features, impairment substitute functions like audio, visuals etc., for contents, and other such design elements are thus essential.Learn from diversity- Differences are not always contradictory. There are so many features of designs that, when we adapt for a general group of people, increase the efficiency of user experience for everyone. A diverse pool of experiences often results in various solutions.Solve for one, extend to many- When we weigh human beings based on their abilities, each individual is different. Thus disability is a nonexistent term, we are just differently abled. The incompetence in our abilities might be a result of various factors. Some are born with it, others acquire it due to temporal conditions or old age. Hence when designers solve one problem intended for a particular group, they should consider the other potential problems that can be solved by that solution, perhaps opening different doors with a single key. For example, the feature of larger text fonts helps anyone with inborn vision impairment or temporal vision difficulties.A diverse team - A diverse group of product developers crafts something which includes their own experiences. Hence it is easy to recognize any form of bias and exclusion in a product when people with different ethics, physique, gender, and ability backgrounds are a team developing that product. Digital companies should hire people in an all-inclusive manner so that the exchange of cultural ideas is feasible. Not only it benefits the company in its functioning, but an inclusive structure also amplifies the reputation of the company and extends its consumer reach.Know more about your customers - It is essential to understand the group of people consuming one’s products. Rather than feeding them newer versions of the same products every year, the company can aim to know their views, needs, and feedback through interviews. It highlights what the company needs to do for that set of people and marks the excluded lot. When you know about your customers, you also understand the other half of the people who are not your consumers, and you can question their needs that havent been met by your product design.Use inclusive language- Language is the basis of sharing one’s ideas with others. Digital services are based on sharing some kind of information, and thus language is an essential part of digital products. However, it is necessary to use words that are bias-free and do not cause any discrimination. Easy language that everyone can understand should be used in the product’s interface as well as its manual, so that anyone can operate it and linguistics doesn't become a barrier.Visuals need to be mindful- Visuals are as important as language, and digital products are prone to using stereotypical images and graphics. While designing any digital product, be it websites or smartphone applications, the usage of graphics that do not enhance any insecurities in users and also do not stereotype them is needed. The designers should also consider the colors and fonts used in a product as they affect inclusion. People with visual impairments like color blindness and understanding deficiencies like dyslexia should be taken into consideration.An inclusive marketing strategy- Inclusive marketing strategy has existed in some form or the other for a long time. Brands use faces of different colors and models with varying types of body to promote their products to the masses, but it isn't sufficient. Specific communities of people are left out in the ad campaigns and most of the people included are models. Instead of this brands can use real life experiences which are authentic to promote their business. The usage of real people in their ad campaigns and real stories can influence their reach to furthermore genuine people.Digital brands are slowly adapting to the all-inclusive character. As technology is meant for everyone and Digitals are always a part of technology, it is crucial to look into a bias-free and all-inclusive digital product. With more features to eradicate specific ability dysfunctions built into digital products, the number of users is also increasing. It is a matter of human values to include every possible person for the availability of specific user experiences. After all, “Technology can disqualify disabilities.”