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Commercial Premises, Discussion, Health and Safety, Latest News, Management, Outsourcing

New ISO health and safety certification will cover suppliers and the local community

Fergal Bell
August05/ 2014

A new ISO standard for occupational health and safety management that is soon be published promises to act as a comprehensive level of certification for companies, not just in the UK but around the world. The new certification has incorporated contributions from 50 countries and international organisations and proposals are currently going through the ISO approval process before being rolled out internationally. Expected publication date is in October 2016. The new standard has evolved from OHSAS 18001 – one of the most widely recognised workplace safety standards around the world. This British-led certification was introduced in 1999 and by 2005 had been used by approximately 16,000 organisations in more than 80 countries.

The new standard will be entitled ISO 45001 and from information released so far it appears to take a much broader view of an organisation’s responsibility for creating safe working environments than its predecessor. The new certification will look beyond the health and safety of employees in the immediate workplace and consider the impact of the organisation on other stakeholders, such as contractors and suppliers. Moreover, the new ISO standard may also take into consideration how the work of a company affects non-commercial stakeholders like local communities. For some industries, like the construction industry where subcontractors are common the new standard will represent something of a sea change in its scope.

In another change the certification body will also place greater responsibility on senior management for driving health and safety systems management. While the details of this are still being worked out in committee it will almost certainly mean a requirement for health and safety to be integrated as a key part of organisational strategy.

Having effective health and safety systems in place can benefit a company greatly in a number of ways, including reducing the number and frequency of accidents and as a consequence, the level of employee absence. Strong, effective systems can also help a company avoid criminal or civil prosecutions for more serious failings, while also having a positive effect on the morale of employees, who see that their employer is taking an interest in their welfare.

Some of the statistics relating to health and safety issues should make employers sit up and take note. According to figures by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) there were 133 workers killed at work in 2013-14. Additionally, there were 175,000 incidents where workers were hurt badly enough to warrant being away from work for more than 7 days. The cost of injuries has been estimated at 27 million working days (2011-12) and £13.8 billion (2012-11). Last year HSE prosecuted 597 cases and secured an extremely high conviction rate (95 per cent). Fines for duty holders found guilty of offences averaged£15,153 per offence.

GoSBS.IT provides bespoke health and safety training, auditing and consultancy services. Our expert mystery shopper service is designed to provide businesses with vital information on how their business is operating. We can provide you with the real life data you need to ensure your company is running the way it should.

Offices, Outsourcing

A behavioural gap analysis can nip workplace safety issues in the bud

Fergal Bell
August04/ 2014

One of the ways your business can protect itself is by undertaking a behavioural gap analysis on your operations. This examines how the business is being run at the moment and allows management to compare it with how they would like the organisation to run, particularly where working practices are concerned. This can be an incredibly useful tool when assessing risk and identifying the changes you need to make in order to get the business to where you want it to be.

All too often senior people in an organisation are unaware of how the business is operating in key areas and often only when accidents occur is attention properly focused. In many cases safety begins slipping long before incidents take place but by the time management becomes aware of an issue the damage has already been done.

Signs that you need to pay more attention to workplace safety

  • The frequency of accidents or near misses is higher in one area than another
  • The levels of absence or staff departures are on the rise
  • You can’t remember the last time you carried out an evacuation drill
  • There is constantly a tense environment in particular areas

Once you have identified a potential issue in the workplace, a behavioural gap analysis can be conducted by either you or a qualified professional. This will investigate problems thoroughly, enabling you to put a plan of action in place to address dangers effectively.

When conducting a behavioural gap analysis, management or other professionals will firstly set out the health and safety standards that the company wishes to implement (if these are not in place already). Business operations can then be assessed to identify whether these standards are being met in practice. Often organisations use a check sheet with four columns, such as:

  1. Required standard
  2. Current practice
  3. Action required
  4. Additional information

In this way the business can cover all relevant areas, identifying not just the original items of concern but also others that may have gone under the radar up until then. A behavioural gap analysis can also be incredibly effective in helping an organisation to focus its resources in the right areas. For example, if there are slippages happening in one location because of water collecting, a team member can be tasked with mopping up on a daily basis. The analysis can allow an organisation to put a practical action plan into place with realistic timeframes, which should bring the business up to the desired standards.

Of course, creating a plan will do nothing on its own. Once the action plan has been devised management must communicate this to employees. In this way workers are made fully aware of the changes that need to take place and the standards of behaviour that are expected. Having done, this one or more individuals (depending on the size of the company), must be appointed to oversee the implementation of action points. Without doing this the changes will remain as a paper exercise with no changes to how things are done every happening.

GoSBS.IT provides bespoke health and safety training, auditing and consultancy services. Our expert mystery shopper service is designed to provide businesses with vital information on how their business is operating. We can provide you with the real life data you need to ensure your company is running the way it should.

Discussion, Latest News, Your News

Who is policing UK Ecommerce?

Martina Mercer
June28/ 2014
A quarter of all Ecommerce Shops Break UK Law According to Research by Internet Watchdog.
UK Research by SafeBuy has highlighted huge discrepancies in online retailing, with massive numbers of Ecommerce stores ignoring the law. According to SafeBuy’s research, a shocking one quarter (25 per cent) of Ecommerce Websites surveyed were found to be committing breaches of legal requirements for online trading.
The research reviewed SME websites at random (who were not accredited by SafeBuy), and found 75 breaches of basic legal requirements for retailing on the web.
Richard Jones, Founder of SafeBuy stated,  “there are an estimated 65,000 UK online retailing sites and what this could mean is that some 16,250 of those websites are not complying with the law.”
Internet retailers are required to display a proper geographic address, a contact phone number and an email address, as well as having a legally-compliant goods returns policy.
SafeBuy found:
  1. 6% did not provide a geographic address where they conduct their business from. However this is a legal requirement.
  2. 20% did not publish a contact e-mail address. A ‘contact us form’ is not an alternative. On this matter the law is unequivocal, stating: ‘… the details of the service provider, including his electronic mail address, which makes it possible to contact him rapidly… must be displayed’. Contact us forms do not normally provide anything more than a small, scrolling box for typing with no retained evidence together of date, time and text sent, as an email would provide, let alone any file attachments such as photos of faulty goods.
  3. 7% did not advise the customer before paying that they have a legal “right of return” if they change their mind for 14 days after receiving the goods. A number of the websites surveyed appear to attempt to even prevent consumers from being aware of their legal rights. Some went to great lengths to prevent consumers exercising their legal right of return.

 

SafeBuy uncovered examples such as:
  • ‘We will use our discretion in deciding whether to accept a return.’
  • ‘If you open the packaging you can’t return the products.’
  • “If you’ve tested the product… you’ll have to pay us a fee.’
  • ‘Returns must be in perfect condition.’
Richard Jones of SafeBuy stated: “Some of these appear to rule out sending back any faulty or damaged-in-transit goods. These statements are most clearly illegal. SafeBuy’s view is consumers in general do not know the ins and outs of the law, but SME online retailers certainly should.”
There is extensive legislation over and above the Sale of Goods Act included in the Distance Selling Regulations, the E-Commerce Regulations and the Privacy in Electronic Communications Acts.
Richard Jones, added: “The situation is outrageous. We knew that there were dodgy traders out there but this number of online retailers breaching the law is patently unacceptable. What we need is ‘People Power’ based on consumers’ very basic knowledge of their rights.”
People Power needed!
SafeBuy aims to make a web shopping as safe as possible for consumers and so havecreated both consumer and retailer checklists which are available in full from the SafeBuy website.
What consumers should do
Jones’ recommendation is two-fold. Use the SafeBuy checklist to validate any website not well-known to you and be prepared to challenge the retailer if you are not happy with the way you are being treated.
There is further legislation in the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations which prevents the retailer from trying to exploit the consumer in any way which other laws do not already specifically prohibit.
To help consumers SafeBuy have published a free quick 5-point checklist for consumers available at https://care.safebuy.org.uk
What retailers should do
Ecommerce websites need to comply with the law. Those who want to be sure they comply with the law should contact SafeBuy and go through the accreditation process in full however SafeBuy also offer a FREE comprehensive free 8-point checklist for retailers with loads more information to help them in both legal and marketing terms.
The checklist is also available from https://care.safebuy.org.uk

 

eSeller Guides, social media management, Technology

Must Have Business Tools for Social Media

Martina Mercer
May23/ 2014

By Martina Mercer

In modern content marketing, social media is essential as websites are now ranked by popularity and engagement, rather than outdated SEO. The more shares a post creates, the better your post must be, and if you’re producing quality content – people will come and read.

I caught up with Paul Makepeace of Visualsoft eCommerce to pick his brains on social media. Paul manages the marketing for many well known brands and knows just how to make you stand out from the crowd.

After our chat I thought it would be best to share what we considered to be the best tools for managing social media globally.

The social media world opens doors to a whole array of opportunities for a business, regardless of the size or the sector it is involved in. Social media is a rapidly developing phenomenon and as such it is essential that social media experts are aware of the latest advancements and make the most of the marketing potential these platforms provide.

The level of social media success for professionals will depend very much on which tools they choose to use to ensure that a business enjoys maximum exposure across the many social media platforms. These are some of the top “must-have” business tools for social media.

1.        Buffer

Buffer is a clever tool which enables those who run social media campaigns to schedule posts ahead of time. Used carefully this tool is an effective way to post regularly when you are unable to physically be present on a platform all of the time. Many users schedule tweets and updates which drive traffic back to their websites on a weekly basis and for many this works extremely well. It is however important to remember the social element of social media and ensure that from time to time to do monitor your social stream and reply to queries or direct conversations.

2.        Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is a Twitter client and much more. In addition to the many features which enable social media experts to manage numerous twitter accounts and engage with followers at the same time, the ease of use makes this client a firm favourite. Engagement is important and having all streams in front of you makes life easier and frees up time for other network-related activities.

3.        Topsy

This is a fantastic business tool which enables those looking to run a truly successful social media campaign to identify influencers in their chosen field and for specific keywords. This sort of information will aid those putting together a social media plan which incorporates successful social media tactics that others with the same or similar target audience are using.

4.        Slideshare

This tool has been around for some time. It enables website visitors or blog readers to easily share an article, product or imagine via a number of conveniently placed social media buttons which just happen to arrive as and when they are needed. Much more visual and easier for users to locate than the usual plugins which hide share options underneath the post or the comments, this tool is a wonder when it comes to sharing content and increasing both website traffic and brand awareness.

5.        PostAcumen

This is a relatively new tool which works with probably the most popular social media platform, Facebook. Analysis is a most important part of running a social media campaign and this tool, which incidentally has been designed by the same people who put together the EdgeRank algorithm, shows how well a user is doing in relation to their competitors. This is a rather blasé description for such a feature-packed tool which goes a long way to shaping successful campaigns and increasing visibility. It is definitely one to incorporate into the business tool collection.

6.     Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a great tool for updating. It can still take time when uploading excel wordsheets for bulk scheduling – especially if you have many accounts to manage- but it’s great for posting to multiple accounts with a click.

It also makes use of RSS feeds and PressThis so nothing escapes the sharing possibility.

Thanks again to Visualsoft eCommerce for the tips!

Discussion, Latest News, YOU!

Omnichannel the biggest disruption in retail since Amazon

Martina Mercer
May23/ 2014

By Martina Mercer

The latest ResearchFarm report, “Omnichannel 2014 – In store technology, logistics, retail as a platform”, finds that omnichannel is the most significant tipping point in retail since the migration to online and the emergence of Amazon. The frictionless symbiosis of smartphones, tablets, online and physical store channels at the front end needs to be matched with a back end logistics network that produces consistent customer satisfaction, throwing up a considerable execution and investment challenge. The competitive environment and shoppers demanding omnichannel capabilities combined with the potential to add turnover means retailers are moving towards a model that significantly erodes margins through the associated cost structure of an omnichannel proposition. The future challenge then is to move from the current margin-erosion to a mutually beneficial set up for retailer and shopper through innovative technology solutions.

 Apart from the online marketplace and social media, ResearchFarm believe that the key channels to focus upon are smartphones and tablets (and perhaps wearables) because they act as the crucial connector between store and online, the hardest obstacle to overcome to link up the customer seamlessly across channels. The huge opportunities in m-commerce and mobile payment in the years to come further demonstrate the central role the devices will play in omnichannel retailing and the report finds them to be the catalysts in the omnichannel transformation.

This does not mean that the traditional bricks & mortar stores will decline in influence though. Conversely, the authors are adamant that the omnichannel model needs to have the physical store as a foundation to which the other channels are connected. “The physical building needs to be the building block from which to devise the strategy”, says Edward Bickel, retail analyst and co-author of the report. Careful alterations will be needed to transform the bricks & mortar store into one fit for the digital age through technology solutions such as footfall tracking, beacons, clienteling and AR.

Another key area of the business to focus on to make omnichannel a success is how to adapt logistics with the proliferation of click & collect and next day delivery services for example. The authors predict this area to become a competition differentiator for retailers to win customers over with an extensive range of fulfilment options and efficient returns policies. “Just look at the investments Amazon have made into their fulfilment operations to understand how fundamentally important this is to retailers”, adds Edward.

To make the transition into omnichannel retailing seamless the authors recommend the following three actions:

  • Micro-manage and have a keen eye for detail. Adopt technologies that are relevant to your business rather than trying to incorporate all of them, gain specific insights from customer data and combine with a single view of customers and the stock to develop personalised and contextualised strategies and consider price arbitrage techniques for the different channels.
  •  Be innovative. Adopt a 70-20-10 mindset to ensure a steady stream of ideas flowing through the business and launch R&D centres to find solutions to future problems before they arise and become the market leader in a new space.
  • Think about security issues. New security threats emerge with the vast amounts of personal information now online and the potential for hacking new technologies. Ensure procedures designed to protect the long-term health of the business are in place.

“A useful starting point is to think of three Ss: System, Skills and Structure. Ensure an effective IT system that not only captures customer data accurately but also mitigates the growing online threats. This requires employing the best technical people out there who have the skills to extract actionable insights from the data. Support this foundation with a well-defined yet flexible logistics structure that meets customers’ exacting standards”, concludes Edward.

 

eSeller Guides, social media management

How Video Can Work for You

Martina Mercer
May08/ 2014

By Martina Mercer

Summary: Consumers know what they want and they want it all. They want the social media experts to give them an experience that is visual, amusing, engaging, informing and they want to see videos. The customer is always right therefore integrating quality video into shared content pleases everyone including the SEO consultants.

Video is an extremely powerful medium for connecting with people. YouTube, the well-known video content sharing site was launched in November 2005. It is now estimated that over sixty hours of video content is uploaded every minute. This and the fact that YouTube receives in excess of eight hundred million unique visitors a month strongly backs up the theory that video is the way forward.

When running a business, regardless of the sector it is involved in a large part of achieving success depends on how well you connect with your target audience and increase your visibility. By injecting your social stream with useful and interesting video you may achieve levels of sales previously unexpected.

Video may work for you in many ways and all of these points are to be considered carefully as if integrated into your marketing campaign they will increase the success of your business.

1) Video and SEO
Everyone has heard about keywords and tags and appreciates that when used carefully (no-one enjoys keyword stuffed poor quality content, least of all Google!) a business may well enjoy the benefits of increased visibility online. Not everyone realises however that it is not simply written content which may be tagged and have keywords associated with it, video may too. Carefully labelling your YouTube videos will result in more relevant members of the public, those who are likely to come a positive lead, finding and enjoying your content.

2) Viral Videos May Make You Famous
Every so often a brand releases a video and it goes viral, that is to say the reach of the video, the number of shares, likes and views for the piece spirals way past the expected. A viral video will hit the social stream of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of would-be customers and if done right will do great things for your brand image.

One surprising campaign which led to a viral video was the Toyota Yaris Motherhood Rap which was extremely popular and painted a very positive picture of the brand, particularly amongst women who found the video amusing yet also in-tune with what women want and need.

3) Video Adds Interest
Using video content for a specific marketing campaign is a fantastic idea however there is no reason why this popular visual tool can’t be used daily in blogs, on websites and across social media platforms. The level of social media success for professionals depends very much on how much effort they put into ensuring that their social stream is regularly updated with fresh, interesting and useful content which appeals to consumers and encourages them to share and recommend your page, account and business.

It is no secret that video marketing is a hot topic. Take advantage of the popularity of video, realise what video can do for your business and act on it.

 

Copywriting Services, eSeller Guides, Marketing

How to Use Photos as Part of Your Marketing

Martina Mercer
April28/ 2014

How to Use Photos as Part of Your Marketing

Summary: Marketing is a competitive sector and social media experts and SEO consultants alike are all vying for the top spots. An effective way to increase their chances is to enhance their content management by using photos in their marketing.

According to recent facts and figures released by Facebook photographs and images are seven times more likely to receive “likes” and up to ten times more likely to be shared. Consider your own social stream for a moment and the content that is most regularly shared and your own reactions to different types of Facebook posts and you will see that this is very true.

Social media success for professionals depends very much on their ability to think outside the box and adapt campaigns to work most effectively with their target audience. The evidence suggests that visual content does the job so to speak to that is how today’s marketers need to proceed.

Using photos effectively means not simply sharing funny pictures; top quality content should be used pro-actively to build the brand image and send important messages. Consider these points when next reviewing the content used for your marketing campaigns.

1.        Top Quality is Key

Quick snapshots and run of the mill product pictures will not capture anyone’s attention. Ensure that your pictures are of a high quality, paying for professional shots if appropriate and arrange products, staff pictures, demonstration pictures and more in new, fresh and original ways. You want your content to stand out on the social stream and not merge with other less interesting pictures.

2.        Facebook Cover

Every single person who visits your Facebook page will see your Facebook cover picture. This is therefore prime advertising space and should be treated accordingly. While Facebook have very specific ideas about what information you may or may not have on your cover photograph there is still huge potential here. The social media experts have built your Facebook following so use them wisely.

3.        Brand Awareness

When you think of Coca-Cola what images instantly come to mind? Is it the red and white bottle, the Diet Coke Man or the Christmas Coca-Cola truck? This is one brand that has very cleverly used visual marketing to enhance the awareness of their brand. While you may not have the same budget as this soft drink giant you should still look to instil a consistent message about your brand when sharing visual content.

4.        Be Personal

People connect with people better than they do products or characters. Keep your visual content sharing real by putting a face to it. This could be by having imaginative staff photos on your website and social media pages or choosing a figurehead as such who is recognised as being part of the organisation.

One company who have this spot-on is the white goods retailer Appliances Online. They have a huge social media following and much of their online content features “Yossi” who features in all of their giveaway videos and many of their branded content. Yossi is likeable and people identify with him and his image which is great for the brand.

5.        Be Useful

Share content that will help potential customers somehow. Use pictures to demonstrate how a product works, to highlight deals, special offers or indeed any important message the customer will appreciate and find helpful.

 

Using visual content properly opens the door to a wealth of opportunities and could well mean the difference between which company gets the contract or the sale. Don’t waste the opportunity to use photographs in your marketing in a wise and interesting way.

Engagement, Facts & Figures, Marketing, Promote, social media management

Amazing Facts About Social Media

Martina Mercer
April28/ 2014

By Martina Mercer

Some people are still a little sceptical about social media for business, but the statistics can’t be ignored.  It is quickly becoming the ONLY way your customers want to communicate – learn more…

The statistics can’t be ignored as now surveys have proven that an incredible 80% of consumers would choose connecting with your business through Facebook over contacting through your website.

Some businesses are of the idea that social media can lower the tone; however this is not the case. Just like a website, a Facebook page can be as professional and high quality as you want it to be. It can be adapted to suit your ethos, your identity and your brand.

If you’re unsure of social media, make sure you hire a reputable PPC Agency to manage your social media advertising.

Social Media has a 100% Higher Conversion Rate than Outbound Marketing!

The statistics don’t stop there though; apparently the websites with a social stream that is constantly updated receive a 100% higher conversion rate than using outbound marketing alone. Social Media has been proved to increase sales, not just generate leads.

The results are obviously impressive, but to benefit from these incredible returns just how do you start? The time involved along with the campaigns often puts people off as CEOs and directors who manage their own social streams have admitted it swallows over 15 hours a week.

On top of this, marketers have admitted that a simple blog (which when integrated with a social media strategy has the potential to reach millions) takes from one to three hours at a time. This is when the time consumed seems to outweigh the benefits, as time is of course money too.

Maintaining the Momentum

For a social media campaign to be effective the momentum must never be lost, as this can send a company directly back to square one. A consistent, regular approach is best.

Social Media experts can do all of this affordably yet more than that, they can do it well as a professional will understand the tricks of how to crawl inside a buyers mind, engaging them from the outset and tempting them to share. You can buy likes or followers yet a true social media expert will make sure every follower is a potential client or customer, which ensures you achieve te conversion success of companies before you.

It’s more than simply posting updates or tweets it’s about thoroughly researching your business, analysing your target market and using psychology along with great content to produce incredible returns.

There’s much more to it than this as the survey results show that over 42% of businesses believe they wouldn’t exist without a social stream, while a third wish they could spend much less time managing it.

Which Site?

There are so many sites to choose from it’s difficult to choose just one in the beginning, yet the statistics show that now over 90% of online businesses have a Facebook Page, while Twitter follows closely behind at 70%.

LinkedIn is ideal for professional companies and networking, while Pinterest gives ecommerce sites a platform to promote their innovative products.

With these figures increasing daily, it’s easy to see how businesses can ill afford to ignore social media as a platform to drive growth, and that’s where we come in!

Engagement, eSeller Guides, Marketing

How to Plan Your Content Strategy

Martina Mercer
April28/ 2014

By Martina Mercer

By now you already know that great, engaging, enticing content is the key to increasing conversions and widening your target audience. Unfortunately great content isn’t always enough, you need a plan in order to build momentum and maintain it to keep those customers coming.

The first step is to assess all of your content, both online and offline. Here’s how:

Bring together every flyer, brochure, leaflet, business card and sales letter to see what you are currently using in the offline world. Now bring together all of your web content, articles, blogs and social media content to assess the entire range.

Simply throw away any that is outdated, irrelevant, or hasn’t generated leads or interest. Then write down what message you want to convey and what you want to achieve. Aim high, the only limit to your exposure is your ambition.

Pick a Place

Now you’ve wiped the slate clean consider your customers, do they use Facebook or are you more likely to find them on LinkedIn? Will they enjoy an informative blog every week or would they rather read tips through an article? Would they be enticed to sign up for a newsletter or could you capture them with a clever email campaign?

The best content strategies are seamless integrations of all platforms, along with combining the online and offline world too. For example, you can start a great content plan for your social media, gather information and likes then follow up with offline marketing to seal the deal.

Roll Out and Reveal

Once you’ve hired social media experts and a good copywriter you can then decide how you will reveal your content. This is where a content calendar comes in. It’s unrealistic to expect one single person to manage all content across all platforms, so a clear calendar is needed in order to prove consistency and to ensure leads are converted and not lost through mis communication. If everyone knows what they’re doing, you can create an unstoppable campaign.

Keep it Going

Social media success for professionals depends on enticement, engagement and consistency. It’s not enough to simply post, you need to lead customers to where they need to be (your contact or buy page). Great content will do this, however your social stream is essential too. Simply posting great videos or content is useless if you don’t interact quickly with those who take the time to like and comment.

Remember that content is created to captivate your audience so you’re defeating the object if you don’t communicate once you have them on your Facebook page, Blog or other social media streams. It’s the ability to create the conversation and to keep it flowing that social media experts are so famous for.

Analysis, Marketing, social media management

How to Measure Effectiveness of Email Newsletters

Martina Mercer
April23/ 2014

Measuring the Effectiveness of your Email Newsletters

 It isn’t easy to build a significant list of email contacts who have expressed an interest in receiving details about your business, updates and most commonly newsletters. Most email lists degrade by approximately 25% each year so having built a respectably sized list and having to continually bulk the numbers it is important to ensure that the newsletters that are being sent out are actually doing your business some good.

Having put the time and effort into writing your newsletter you want the result of this work to be for readers to take action and ultimately buy your product or engage your services. Using these metrics will show you how many people opened your newsletter, how many messages simply bounced indicating an inactive email account, how many people clicked on specific links within the information and of course how many people went on to buy. This information will allow you to assess the success of these mailshots and make changes where necessary to ensure that your newsletters are the keen business-building tools that you want them to be.

1.        Open Rates

As the name suggests this metric is a measure of how many people looked at or opened your newsletter. The “general standard” for open rates suggests that businesses that are doing ok should fall into the thirty to forty per cent range where those with absolutely great and compelling newsletters will reach approximately fifty per cent. Don’t be disheartened then if your open rate does not look near one hundred per cent.

2.        The Click Rate

This metric measures how many readers clicked one of perhaps more than one of the links in your newsletter, be these to your social stream or direct to a page on your website. Without a decent click rate or CTR (Click Through Rate) you won’t receive may conversions.

3.        Conversions

These are the prize. Conversions are what you get when people read your email newsletter, click through and then buy. This really is the golden egg in terms of profitability. The more conversions the better so watch this metric carefully to see what you may improve upon.

4.        Number of Bounces

A bounce is what occurs when your email newsletter goes undelivered. It may not ever reach its destination for a multitude of reasons and the main one is where an email address has become inactive. Remove any email addresses that consistently bounce as it will keep your list clean and up to date.

It is important to keep an eye on these metrics so that you can save wasted time on ineffective campaigns and instead enjoy the benefits of a newsletter campaign which results in increased sales and sign ups. Social media success for professionals relies very much on their ability to adapt their social media campaigns and the same applies to those who wish to run a successful email campaign

View, assess and adapt for optimum results.

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