Ambush – one word that could potentially sum up the year 2020. This time last year, you may have had a nice wine session with your family or friends while talking about how good 2019 has been to you. Or perhaps you spent lots of time planning where to go, what to do, what things to accomplish, or who to meet. But then for some weird reason none of those plans came to fruition in 2020. 

All of the horrible things that happened this year mostly came as surprise – which is, in fact, the most daunting part of it all. None of us expected that a year could be as action-packed and scary as this year, as if we were characters from an apocalyptic, disaster-themed kind of film. Some of us actually thought that we were in some sort of experiment or simulation, plotted by some unknown extraterrestrial beings, playing altogether the worst possible scenarios at once. 

But if there’s one lesson that 2020 has taught us, is what love truly means. Seeing so many people coming together to help other people throughout this year only proves the goodness in all human beings. This year showed the world that despite peoples’ differences in principles, political views, beliefs, and whatnot, when it came to hard times, we were all, at the essence of it all, bounded by true love and kindness.

This article is quite different from the rest of the blogs that we’ve published because this is about us – how iManila thrived, how we managed, and the beautiful things that came out of this experience.

The beginning

2020 started out a bit shaky, but overall many of us felt hopeful. Everyone celebrated a wonderful holiday season. When we returned to the office, our mancom prepared a nice welcome breakfast or as we like to call it, “First Breakfast”. Everyone enjoyed telling stories about their holidays, the places they went, and all the food they ate, while having a cup of coffee, some pandesal and to each his own palaman. Our “First Breakfast” may have sounded simple – but to us, these small celebrations simply make us feel at home. 

The first hurdle of our year came in February, smack in the month of love, when we received news that one of our own – Jet, our amazing and beloved senior website developer had passed away. We mourned as a family and remembered all of our good times with him. We all tried to stay strong despite his quick passing. 

We thought that the trials would be over but about a month later, the world suddenly stopped. What we thought would just be a regular flu was suddenly declared into a global pandemic. In fact, things changed too quickly as little did we know that our March socials held last March 13 would be our last face-to-face party as a family for the entire year. 

Work-from-home Journey

The months went by quickly. Summer came and went, the ber months arrived and now Christmas is over. Through it all, we all worked at the safety of our homes. This was a decision our management stood by from the beginning, not just for our welfare, but for our families and clients’ as well. 

Despite the struggles of adjusting from walking to your colleague’s desk every morning, to suddenly just sending them a message, we’re thankful that before the pandemic we had already established our main communication channel, Microsoft Teams. Just the same, even prior to the pandemic we had been used to working across cloud-based collaboration tools such as Google Workspace and Trello. And, being the tech company that we are, thankfully we had all of our files on the cloud! 

Even then, in the 24 years we’ve been improving lives through technology, this was still the first time iManila had gone 100% virtual so we weren’t really sure all departments could adapt to the set up. Fortunately as weeks turned into months, everyone learned. We managed all weekly meetings through calls, we taught clients how to use Microsoft Teams or Zoom or Google Meet. We did whatever was necessary to do to survive – and we did!

On top of letting go of our usual face-to-face interactions, the saddest thing we had to let go was our old office of about 20 years on the 7th floor of Hanston Building. For us, it wasn’t just a space for work or a place to accept client calls, but a haven or safe space for many of us. It’s a place where we all looked forward to being in, either to chit chat and laugh about nonsense, celebrate holidays the iManila way, party over our successes, or to just simply catch up and lift everyone up when work was getting a little tough. We shared over two happy decades in that very place and letting it go was just heart-breaking.

Now, we are so close to ending this year and yet we are still here waving our iManila flag high. We fought not just for the business to thrive but to stay together despite the challenges.

It’s weird what a year can do to anyone. But we always like to remember that there’s no other way but up. From the words of our President and CEO, Robert A. Deluria, “We aren’t tested for something that we can’t do. So if we are given huge challenges like this, it’s because we can get through them. We just need a leap of faith and hope that all these will one day come to pass and in the end are the better and braver versions of us.”

From all of us at iManila, we wish you and your family a safer, happier and a more hopeful new year!

2020 has been a challenging year for us all. We entered the year strong with so many plans and growth targets in place – ready to beat last year’s numbers and ready to come out a stronger iManila family. Little did we know that the challenge ahead of us would go far beyond numbers. We were even celebrating our monthly company socials last March not knowing that it would be our last activity face-to-face together.

Despite all of the struggles and adjustments, the office space we’ve left behind after 20 years since we are all working from home, as well as the people whom we have had to bid goodbye to, there’s still a lot of things to be thankful for. We are grateful for the good health of all of our employees and our ability to stay operational throughout the pandemic in order to provide for our people’s livelihoods despite the economic downturn this year. We are thankful for the good health of our loved ones and for the time we have been able to spend with them as we continue to work from home through next year. 

Lastly, we are grateful to our loyal clients whom we have grown with throughout the years, sharing the many economic struggles that we have faced together. I know that together, we will be able to adapt, survive and thrive from this pandemic. Thank you for your continued trust and support and we look forward to continuing to improve your lives through technology for many more years to come. 

Wishing you and your family a blessed and joyful Christmas!

Cheers!

From,

For a lot of people, Christmas is an exciting time filled with holiday cheer! But for businesses, what this means is an opportunity to take advantage of an increase in consumer spending. With the right marketing strategy, Christmas is just about the perfect time to hop on the holiday hype train to help boost your business’ sales!

In order to have a great campaign, every marketer needs two things: opportunity and strategy. Christmas alone is a great season of opportunity for businesses to meet the needs of their shoppers. How you can properly capitalize on this opportunity is if it is paired with the right strategy. Waiting for customers to come knocking at your door will not be a sufficient holiday marketing plan. The right strategy can help you cut across the noise of the holiday shopping sphere and reach your customers. It is important to keep in mind that the effects of COVID-19 include a shift in the usual consumer buying patterns. Learning how to unlock this with the right strategy is invaluable. With that, here is a quick guide to get you started on your Christmas campaigns and why it’s never too late. 

Think in terms of the customer 

The biggest question is figuring out what to sell, and if it is something customers will like. The key here is to think in terms of the customer. Find out what customers usually need, and in particular, how your target market would react to the upcoming holidays. Once you figure this out, this is when you can look to other competitors for inspiration and check out current trends in marketing to see what clicks with customers. Combining what you know here can then help you form what offering you can give them. 

Urgency is the best medicine 

Customers are aware of time constraints and this is something you can help them with by giving them a sense of urgency in making that conversion. What you can do is to give customers a definite date for the end of the offer or promotion. It’s always a good idea to bundle some of your products together or offer one or the other for free or at a discounted price for a limited time. This makes your offer irresistible and it gives your consumers a sense of urgency to buy your products today. 

Find inspiration with what works

You do not have to search far and wide to get original content for the holidays. Oftentimes the best way to save you time and to remove the trial-and-error of a new marketing idea is to take ideas from previous ads that work. These ads have appealed to customers which is what makes them a great reference point for your ads or organic posts. This means you wouldn’t be needing to rack your brains on whether the messaging you’re thinking about will be one that connects with your customers. Remember that having the most unique or original content or post does not necessarily make it an effective one for customers.

Have content for the holidays 

Christmas is on the minds of customers the closer we get to the actual day, so as marketers, showing customers that you are also putting out content that is holiday-themed shows that you are relatable and understand what they are feeling. The best part about this is getting to play around with content and using the holidays as an opportunity to engage with customers by putting out content you can’t use anywhere else. Creating Christmas themed content that still keeps your branding intact is one way to achieve this. This time of the year is the best time to get your business ready for the holidays amidst the pandemic!

Keep them thinking of holidays with blogs 

Blogs are vital not just for the SEO of your website but also in keeping customers engaged. It’s good to have regular blog posts but you can take it to the next level by turning your December blogs holiday-themed. Use this not just as a means to promote your product but also as a way to put out relevant advice and content for the season. 

The way you can have the best marketing campaign for the holidays is to plan ahead to make a strategy that works for you while capitalizing on the opportunity. It is not too late to start on your holiday marketing campaign. Follow these easy ber-months marketing guides for all digital marketers and find the right partner who can guide you with your holiday campaigns.  iManila has years of experience in helping brands get a holiday boost with their digital marketing campaigns.  See how we can work together and contact us now! 

Now that Christmas is just around the corner, there’s bigger pressure to connect to your consumers. Since this is the time of the year where people are more willing to spend, most consumers will rely on what they see on social media and websites as reference for gifts. This is why it is essential to make your social media pages holiday-ready.

Here are some tips to make your social media pages ready for Christmas: 

Prepare your Social Media Calendar

This year anticipate that you’ve got more on your plate than usual. That’s why it is important to prepare a fully-developed social media calendar which includes product images, captions, call-to-action buttons and teasers to have a guide on what to post on a specific day. Ensure that every post is scheduled at the right moment. Take this chance to have a strong presence on all social media platforms relevant to your business and work on your digital marketing for the Holiday season.

Start teasing sales and new products

Roll out your sales and announce before they happen. Get your audience excited about the promotions that you have coming up. If you plan to have free shipping for December, showcase it since customers are now doing their research before purchasing gifts. While some impulse shopping can and does happen, a lot of people go into holiday shopping with a game plan. If you highlight an appealing promo, you will surely capture the audience’s attention and generate more sales for holiday shopping will be different this year.

Create genuine holiday messages

In addition to having all your hard-sell content it is also important to show your gratitude to your consumers. Ask your followers what they’re doing for the upcoming holiday season, or just thank them for their loyalty and wish them a safe and happy holiday with their family. Also, it is important to get your social media inbox ready since your followers will definitely message you regarding shipping dates, product information and order status.

It is important to have a social media plan this holiday season to make sure that you will be able to achieve your goal. Take this chance to boost your online presence and raise brand awareness this coming holiday season by following the tips mentioned above. iManila is a full service web and digital marketing. We can help you make your social media page holiday ready this season. Visit us at https://imanila.ph/ now to learn more! 

It’s difficult to estimate just how much disturbance and disruption the COVID-19 has brought into our lives. Especially during this upcoming holiday season, what we used to look forward to such as family gatherings, parties with friends and co-workers would have to be delayed indefinitely until such time that it’s safe for us to meet face-to-face once again. 

Being resilient through it all may not be enough. As business owners, we have to do whatever is possible to adjust in order to keep operations running and to prevent laying off more employees. To be fair, the trend in the previous months has been for businesses to make adjustments in terms of their holiday plans. As companies shift towards online shopping and move their marketing efforts online, here’s some more tips on how to prepare for the holiday shopping season during a pandemic.

Create a plan of action early

Even in the previous years pre-pandemic, before the holiday season, businesses traditionally start planning and setting goals early. Now, more than ever, as consumers’ behaviors and preferences have shifted towards online platforms – be ready to offer more Christmas promotions and discounts whether in-store or online. If you’ve planned to move all marketing efforts online, make sure that you have an online channel available for users to view or purchase your products right at the comfort of their own home. If you’ve managed to ride on the Christmas sale dates such as 11.11 or 12.12, make sure that you have enough inventory and are able to plan out the logistics of all online purchases made, and on a timely manner. 

Stay flexible during the holidays

As businesses transfer to online selling, being flexible is a must to continue earning. The beauty of e-commerce shopping is that it allows consumers to purchase products anywhere and any time of the day with the trust that the merchant will deliver and fulfill their order on time. But as you continue operations throughout the holidays, consider also your staff. Importantly, set up clear policies outlining how you will handle possible cases of employees testing positive for the virus. Come up with a plan B on how to operate in case of infections or how to move operations remotely in case the need arises. 

Improve your online presence

This holiday season is quite different but one thing’s for sure: businesses will now reduce in-store purchases and increase online sales – which means that you need to increase your brand awareness online. Make sure that your website and e-commerce site is updated regularly with the latest promotions and brand updates. Moreover, consider investing in online advertising or social media marketing to reach a wider audience especially during this holiday season when there is traditionally an increase in consumer spending. Ride on the wave of the holiday and reap the benefits of the season. 

Consider flexible payment options

As we still follow government protocols in line with the pandemic, physical and traditional payment methods such as cash-on-delivery (COD) or over-the-counter banking are discouraged for the time being. Instead, shift your payments by using online methods such as PayPal, GCash or PayMaya and be more comfortable paying online via credit card. Go cashless and give your customers contactless payment options for safer and smoother transactions. 

Keep your customers safe

Aside from making sure your physical stores and office places are safe for your employees, also consider the welfare and safety of your customers. Set up hand sanitizer or alcohol stations at the entrance and exit of your physical store and have clear signages available to direct customers to find what they are looking for faster. Make sure to mark your waiting areas and queues with proper distancing measures and continue to remind your customers to observe social distancing at all times. For customers who are not comfortable with making transactions on your physical store, give them the freedom and choice to purchase your products online. Keep your lines available for clients who have questions about products to lessen the traffic in your physical store and to lower the chances of possible infections. 

With more safety protocols to be implemented in the coming weeks, being ready is better than being sorry. At the same time, we’ve entered a new trend of transferring physical stores to online e-commerce. Setting up your online store can be quite a handful but with a digital agency like iManila to help you out – you can rest easy knowing that we have a long term plan to help you continuously grow your business online. What else are you waiting for?  Make your move and let iManila maximize your online presence now! 

We can all look back and agree that a lot has happened this year. On top of health concerns, the economy was greatly affected. Businesses across the globe had to adjust and adapt to the changes brought by the pandemic.

One thing the COVID-19 affected was traditional retail as a whole. In a world that’s adapting to the online world, online shopping has become a part of our life.

Here are the reasons why holiday shopping will be different this year,

The people are now buying online.

Pandemic has brought lockdowns and social distancing that made us stay at home. The digital world has changed ever since then and brands had an opportunity to create online shops and choose different online commerce platforms that would help their business to thrive and survive.

All business owners are now focused to meet the requirements of an online shopper and, the convenience that it has brought is a huge deal in the customer’s buying behavior. A lot of business owners even launched online shops this year successfully.  It’s important to know Effective Seasonal Marketing strategies and work on them effectively to make sure that your brand doesn’t miss out.

COVID-19 has accelerated majority of the consumers’ shifts to direct-to-consumer.

According to the recent study of Yogov, 52% of DTC brands are increasing their expenditure on online ADS. The brands are in this research have seen surges in demand for household items, fashion, beauty, electronics, food, and more.

The businesses that adapted to the digital has been successful. For traditional retailers, their sales massively declined since the pandemic started. There are a lot of ways to for your business not to get left behind in the hustle and bustle of online marketing and sales campaigns over the holidays.

Every business and brand should encompass all given situations for business continuity and respond right to all types of risk the company may face. Online shopping has been ensured and is here to stay.

Fueled by a lot of changes in customer preferences and economic situations due to the pandemic and crisis this year, holiday shopping will be different this year. A lot of people have been collecting their gifts from the 10.10/11.11 sales and online sales will continuously increase this upcoming 12.12!

Unless you’re living under a rock, you will know how the ecommerce retail industry and online shopping is growing at a fast rate. One question to ask for your business is are you making the most out of the new normal way of online shopping? If not, start now and allow iManila to maximize your presence online from Web Design and Development, Apps Development, and Digital Marketing. Learn more and contact us now.

The global pandemic has accelerated online shopping. 2020 is posed to be a different year in terms of holiday shopping. Businesses will have to step up their online efforts in order to drive more sales. Following the trend is one of the best ways to keep your business afloat this holiday season. There are many e-commerce holiday season trends that are likely to have a drastic effect on online and overall sales this year.

Here are some e-commerce trends for the 2020 holiday season.

Online businesses should expect more return this year

Due to the increase in online ordering and shipping, e-commerce returns are expected to increase. Businesses should update their websites and inform their prospective consumers regarding procedures and policies. This will help to deflect inquiries and give consumers peace of mind before they purchase your product. Also, businesses should update product descriptions, and visual designs of the graphics on their e-commerce websites to help their target market understand what they are buying and prevent surprises that results in returns. It is also important to test the process of refunding payments and handling return shipments before the holiday rush.

Shoppers will look for sales

Majority of consumers wait for holiday sales before they purchase their gifts in advance. As early as October, there are many online sales for shoppers. Consumers prefer online sales as an effect of the pandemic. If you have a business online it is recommended to join holiday sales to attract more consumers to purchase your products.

Online shopping will increase this holiday season

85% of businesses believe that online sales will definitely increase this holiday season compared to previous years. Consumers these days prefer online shopping than going to the physical store. Online will be the best platform for the buyers to shop, compare prices, and read reviews of their fellow customers. According to Bazaar Voice Network, 61% of businesses expect higher purchasing through social media platforms because of the COVID-19.

Users will use UGC for gift research

According to a Bazaar Voice Network survey, July, August and September so far have a high rate of UGC interaction. UGC highlights that shoppers are engaged with customer reviews, photos, questions and answers as they search for their gift online. Businesses should consider their UGC strategy for the holiday season since purchasers look to this content prior to buying the product.

These are the e-commerce holiday trends for 2020 that businesses should keep in mind in order to stand out this coming holiday season. If you’ve never had the chance to upgrade your website, take this chance to boost your sales and marketing during the holidays in the time of Covid 19,  because many consumers prefer to purchase their needs and wants online. If you want your website to stand out this coming holiday season, iManila is equipped to help you make your website more appealing to your potential consumers. Visit us at www.imanila.ph to learn more.

We’re all in the midst of planning our marketing campaigns for this coming holiday season. This means having to update our websites with promotions and even writing more content geared towards the coming season. Though we’re still in the midst of the global pandemic – the truth is, business owners and consumers alike have stood up to these challenges with resiliency and adaptation to change.

But one thing’s for sure – that one of the most successful strategies that many businesses have adapted this year is a strong online presence through their website and through various digital marketing strategies. Companies who have adapted early even before the pandemic are now reaping the benefits of not having to stop operations despite the pandemic.

For those who are only starting to think about their Christmas strategies, this blog is for you! Here, we’ll share some tips on how to get your website holiday ready for this coming season!

Tip 1: Create a Calendar for Marketing Plan and Execution

Creating a cohesive calendar for your digital marketing plan should be implemented – this will track both you and your customers’ progress and to guarantee that you are ready for the holiday season.

In plotting the calendar, highlight important dates then work your way backward to leave enough room for other execution. Along with plotting comes planning your creatives in advance. What creative direction will you use for your ad visuals? For your email marketing? What about other promotions? Then provide a specific amount on how much marketing Dollars you would want to spend and which channels you want to spend it on. Doing this will give you a clear goal that will help you to stay focused and deliver the best campaigns targeting different consumers.

Tip 2: Be in the know for the Latest eCommerce Trends

In the past years, eCommerce websites have emerged at the top with many consumers preferring to purchase online directly on a company’s website. In the recent months (and we’re predicting in the years to come) many small businesses would venture to eCommerce to increase their reach and to virtually make it easier for consumers to purchase their products.

For a few tactical ideas that you can try to boost more traffic to and engagement to your online store, look for trending products to add to your store using Google trends and also look for “most popular” search in the biggest eCommerce platform. Another is opting for using hashtags to your products and tapping influencers to get social love and maximum online presence.

Tip 3: Plan Your SEO Strategy

SEO may be a slower burn than paid advertising when it comes to generating traffic for a website, but trust us, it helps to maintain strong digital presence in the long run. It takes time to build presence with SEO through keyword-rich web pages and well-written content. That’s why integrating a blog page with written articles can help customers search on google on specific topics they want.

Create blogs that will increase internal linking within your pages. This will be able to let your customers explore your website fully.

Tip 4: Design & Implement an Engaging Website Experience

Visualize yourself as a customer, what would you like to see, receive or check when looking at your website for information, products or services? Have a clear goal of what your website looks like for easier navigation – from design elements to site layout, to call-to-action and more. Remember that poor web design can cost your business.

For more design tips and better customer experience, have a personalized approach website message with top bar notification messages, pop-ups and more according to time, location, number of previous visits and more. ay also consider writing dedicated messages for new and returning customers. Remember that

Tip 5: Ensure the Website & Online Store ar­e Optimized for Fast-Loading

This is quite critical yet needs to be run in a smooth and no-glitch process. Always make sure that your homepage loads quickly as it affects the bottom line of your business. Keep your homepage clean from any widgets, like photo or product galleries, Facebook Messenger, Google Maps, YouTube iframes, etc. You can place them anywhere else on the website – but just don’t bombard your website with unnecessary widgets.

In this day and age, having a fast-loading website is a PLUS. Slow website loading not only increases your website’s bounce rate but it digresses consumers away from having a great shopping experience on your website.

Tip 6: Create a Loyalty Plan

This technique works wonders all the time: give someone something like loyalty points, which makes them more likely to do something for you in return — like share a commodity or service with their friends. A loyalty plan can be in any form as everyone will follow the same basic principle.

Tip 7: Budget, Create & Optimize Digital Ads & Social Campaigns

The holiday season is truly a time for preparing a budget only for this season. Be ready to optimize your digital ads and social campaigns. Don’t get left behind and make use of the effective seasonal marketing strategies. In order to successfully implement a campaign, track both impressions and clicks of ads, email blasts and social media campaigns results from different user groups to adjust effectively in the coming months.

Tip 8: Let Customers Contact You Easily

It is very important to be alert to your customer’s needs and issues and be ready to address every website or marketing conversation with your customers. Even though we miss the face-to-face experience of going to a store and speaking with an actual person, it’s always good practice to communicate via online messaging.

To have clear and smooth transactions with customers, suggest personalized rules that show contact forms during off-hours or an alternative off-hours phone number.

Tip 9: Turn Curious Shoppers into Repeat Customers

All retailers love new customers who are curious to know what your product is all about. But the key here is to turning them into repeat buyers who love and who will endorse your product. In order to generate more repeat customers into your website, let your customers experience being important when they visit by giving them gift vouchers. This will encourage them to shop more and return as frequent as they want.

Just as well, target your digital campaigns towards customers who have purchased from or visited your website before. This will remind them of your product and naturally if they were happy with their first visit or purchase – most likely they will make a repeat purchase!

Tip 10: Persistently Create Valuable Content

Managing a website is truly a challenge, but with proper navigation and original content, you’re keeping your website unique and fresh to everyone who visits.

Keep in mind that your audience should be excited to hear from and engage with your business. It’s also vital to be interactive whenever possible — create competitions, hold special promos, etc. One other tip is to create content that is always up-to-date and in line with current events and holidays. This keeps readers on their toes knowing that content is made with the right circumstances in mind and that each content is new and fresh!

The holiday season is fast approaching. Don’t let your business get left behind during this Christmas season. A website with a great design is crucial especially in this day and age. iManila can create an exceptional yet easy to navigate website that will convert curious customers into repeat buyers. Learn more by contacting us now!