[email protected] | 3F Hanston Bldg., Ortigas Center, Pasig City | +632 8876-1925 |
| | |

Category: iNews

iManila is now a Microsoft Partner!

The year isn’t over for iManila just yet! Recently, we received news that we are now officially a part of the Microsoft Partner Network or (MPN). Being a Microsoft Partner in our industry is important as this gives us more access to tools and information that will help expand our business, the way we engage with customers, and eventually help drive more clients.

This new honor once again only proves that time and time again iManila has stood to withstand the cycle of evolution, by constantly adapting to changing economic situations, market behavior, and consumer preferences. Getting local support from an internationally renowned company such as Microsoft is a huge deal for our company as we consider ourselves a small fish in a big pond in the industry of IT and Digital Marketing.

What are the benefits of being part of the MPN?

First off, as a Microsoft Partner, we’ll now be able to gain instant access to exclusive resources, programs, tools, and connections to foster business growth and possible opportunities. Microsoft offers different business opportunities to help support and evolve the businesses of companies in their Partner Network.

Microsoft is also the best platform to connect with and reach out to other partners through blogs, case studies, stories, and social networks. Being part of the MPN allows our Technical Support team access to different kinds of trainings that will allow us to keep our goals and visions up to date.

There is power in partnership. Moving forward, we know for sure that together, we can accomplish more. We’re looking forward to the resources, programs, and tools that will help train all of us and at the same time build some more innovative solutions, help us connect with customers, and differentiate our company in the marketplace.

We’re excited about what the future brings for us especially now that we’re officially part of the Microsoft Partner community. If you want to learn more about Microsoft’s top-of-the-line and highly secure collaboration tools, business emails and cloud solutions, we would be happy to help! Our dedicated technical support team have the expertise to support your business’ needs. Get help from a Microsoft partner such as iManila. Visit our website at https://imanila.ph/hosting/microsoft-365/ to learn more.

Picture this: you are thinking of all the possible marketing tactics you can employ for your business. The carousel ad you saw on Facebook showcasing different products, the Instagram story Ad while you were browsing your stories, and the Google Display Ad that you saw as you were surfing the web made you wonder the kind of reach your business can get simply by trying out these different digital marketing efforts. But when you sit down with a marketing expert and they ask you about who you are targeting, you realize you haven’t thought about that part yet.

Who is the target? 

Knowing who your target is the first step for any company when it comes to developing an effective marketing strategy. A target market is a set of individuals that share similar needs or characteristics that your company hopes to serve. These people are targeted to be the end users who will be purchasing your product.

How do you determine the target market?

Because you want to get the most sales out of your marketing efforts, perhaps you’re thinking about capturing the interests of as many people as possible. However, in marketing, the opposite holds true: the more defined and clear the target, the more chances your marketing will work.

When you define your product and what it does, it becomes easy to determine who the end users will be and what they will like the most out of your offering. The key is understanding the needs of your customer, their pain points, and how you can meet that need with your product. This is possible through market research such as customer focus groups, industry reviews, or market surveys.

Making specific messages

Once you have successfully narrowed down a target market, then you can begin thinking of messaging that can appeal to them. This is important as it is about how you approach and come off to your possible clients. How you would approach selling coffee to someone who wants the premium coffee experience would be different to selling coffee to a busy worker who needs coffee to stay awake. Each target segment has different and unique needs and the message has to be one that clearly gets across how their needs can be met with the product.

Getting the audience right 

Usually, the target audience is also the intended recipient of your marketing message but sometimes, it isn’t so clear cut. There are some products where the buyer of the product is not the same as the end-user, so in cases such as this, it is important that the messaging is to the person who is making the purchase. In some cases, this does not ring true. An example would be toys for kids because while the parents pay for the toys, the kids get to influence their parents to buy the toys so in this case, it works that the toys are marketed directly to them.

Being more cost-effective 

Knowing who your desired target market is, makes it easier to make decisions when it comes to budget allocations. If you have a much narrower targeting, you will save on money and get a better return on investment. For instance, you would get better results by targeting women aged 20-30 and into cooking rather than targeting just women. Your money is not going to waste on wasted audiences if you have clearly defined your target audience because you are taking out of the equation people who are unlikely to purchase your product.

Now that you know about the first step to an effective marketing campaign, you are ready to move onto the next stage. Here in iManila, we believe in the importance of getting the right message across to the right audiences. We are dedicated to helping you achieve your business goals through the right digital marketing. Learn more about how we can work together. 

The digital world is now officially a huge part of our daily lives with the new normal that we are promptly facing. The pandemic has made everyone realize that we all have to adapt to living online. We are now living at a time wherein e-commerce is beneficial to every business and consumer.

A lot of changes have happened in the past few months, a lot of lives have changed, some businesses have closed, while different people and communities have been struggling financially. This crisis has tested us but one good thing that has come out from it is how we have adapted to living our lives online.

Let’s begin by first defining what is e-commerce marketing. E-commerce marketing is about driving brand awareness and call-to-action for consumers to buy your products and avail of your services. You have to successfully cater to your buyer’s preferences and work your way around it effectively to reach your target market and to effectively make sales conversions through online platforms whether it be through your website or through social media.

Here are some ways to make the most out of e-commerce marketing:

  1. Build a strong bond and loyalty.

One of the most essential tasks that you should focus on is the strong bond and loyalty towards the consumers. The benefits of customer relationship strategies should be well taken care of and be established. Nowadays, consumers develop a relational approach that relates to customer loyalty.

There is a lot to take into account for an effective service type to build on customer bond and loyalty. For your brand to succeed it must have a sustainable competitive advantage that increases customer retention and attraction to your brand. For as loyalty increases, the volume of purchases and customer referrals also increase.

Once you’ve developed a strong bond with your consumers, a lot of marketing benefits will follow such as, the good ole’ word-of-mouth marketing, good reviews, testimonials, and even case studies. Once successfully done, your e-commerce store will be filled with people that are engaged to your products and services, thereby increasing the level of brand awareness and driving more sales.

  1. Customize and personalize your e-commerce site.

Consumers are more likely to buy from brands that they can remember. The best brands are usually remembered through different promotions and unique offerings. Every consumer is always satisfied when they have a personalized experience thus it makes them feel special, helping improve their shipping experience.

In a traditional retail store, we would always visit stores that make us feel known and special through its store employees. Brick and mortar stores are designed to attract customers while products are laid out to grab attention. The same goes for e-commerce stores, where buyers should be made to feel welcome and should have a positive user experience from the homepage to the inner pages.

Customized and personalized e-commerce sites make the users’ experience and purchases faster and easier. It is all about treating every person who visits your site as an exclusive customer. Tailor fit your site to reflect the unique needs of every buyer in a way that they will feel like they are part of the brand’s journey.

  1. Establish and capitalize on user-generated content (UGC).

To make it big online, you have to cut out and push through ahead of your competitors. Brands should always keep on trying something new and staying in trend to remain and be known as number one. One way to stay influential is through user-generated content. User-generated content allows marketers to let their consumers do the talking for them. It is about allowing people to advertise your product for you based on their own experiences and feedback.

  1. Provide an Add-to-Cart option.

An e-commerce site is not without a shopping cart. It’s almost similar to the traditional shopping cart, but this time around, everything just works with a click Having a well visible shopping cart allows buyers to control what they want to buy and allowing them an easier access to proceed to check-out to purchase the items on their cart.

Most importantly, a visible add-to-cart option on your website lets users know that they can get what they need with no fuss. It is also important that upon checking-out, users are aware of your company’s return policy, delivery procedures and options and that when needed, a customer support representative is available to answer any concerns.

  1. Create a responsive and effective web design.

Having a responsive and modern web design is an important aspect of an e-commerce website. The design should respond to the user’s behavior and environment based on the adjustment to the screen size, platform, and orientation.

Follow the rule that “less is more” but also don’t be afraid to use a different mix of artworks, designs, and images. All of your e-commerce strategies will only work well when your website has a responsive design, is easily viewable, and can be accessed with the use of any gadgets. Finally, always make it a point to organize your content, keep the words simple and make sure that your website can be easily navigated regardless of age or gender.

Not sure where to begin with your e-commerce marketing? Having the right agency partner can help you establish your business goals and thrive in the “new normal”. iManila can develop the best, user-friendly, modern and easy-to-use e-commerce website for your business. Let’s talk or check out our website at www.imanila.ph to learn more.

Debunking the Most Common Website Myths

It is always a milestone for a business to have their own website as it’s a great way to expand their online presence. It can be exciting, but there are also a lot of myths about having your own website. 

We’re here to debunk those common myths and help you get on the right track to having the best business website possible!

Once you have a working website, you’ll attract visitors

Getting the website working and online is only half the work. What happens here is that there is a mismatch in expectations with business owners with how websites can give them the results they want. 

The truth is that it takes time, resources, and skills to attract website visitors. There are many factors to consider such as search engine optimization, paid search ads, video ads — in short, a lot of promotional means to get the right amount of traffic to your site. Once you put in the action then effort, that is the only time you’ll be seeing an increase in your website traffic. 

If your website looks good, you will start getting sales

Closely related to the previous one, while a well-designed website may be grabbing the attention of your visitors, it doesn’t necessarily equate to a sale. 

It is true that to attract new people and to give visitors a good user experience you would need a beautiful website, but at the end of the day, it’s still the quality of your products and services and brand reputation that weighs more. If all you are offering is aesthetic but your products or service fail to follow through on its promises, it will fail because people will be able to see through it. A business first and foremost must focus on its own products before worrying about aesthetics and appearances. If you are focused on delivering the right value to your site visitors, your site would work its magic even without the over-the-top designs. In short, your product should speak for itself, your website is merely a tool in helping your message get across to potential customers. 

Once your website is up, the work is done

This again is a mismatch of expectation as websites need ongoing attention much like any other business that needs to be nurtured and maintained. 

Website maintenance is a thing and part and parcel of this is renewing your domain registration on time, protecting your site from any potential threats such as viruses or cybercrime, keeping your design up to date in line with current trends, and investing in promotion to keep the site visitors coming. 

Your website needs to have all the features the other websites have 

There is a misconception that more features means your website will be better. While you may get a lot of inspiration by viewing websites of other brands, you may start to notice some of them have certain elements such as carousels for their headers. But again, it is always important to know the value of each decision as these can hinder your customers from properly navigating your site and getting them to do what you intend them to do. 

For websites, simplicity is key. The bells and whistles would not matter to your customer if they can get their business done on your website in the most direct and simple manner. It is always about the value that the customers get from your products or services. If you are thinking of having a certain feature, know that if it wouldn’t add anything of value to your customers then it’s better left out. 

What’s next?

For different people you may ask, websites may mean different things for them. However, it is important to know what it is that your business really needs as everyone has different approaches. Each business works differently. It is nice to research more about how you can create the kind of website that suits the purpose you intend it to and helps you achieve your business goals. Starting with debunking these common website myths, we hope to be able to guide you in creating your dream website. 

Getting the right experts on board can help ease any worries you might have about building a website on your own. Rest assured that you can find the right partner in iManila, who has been in the industry for over 24 years. Learn more about how we can help you build your website and how we can make it work for you. 

Let's work together!


Make the first move! Let iManila help you maximize your presence online.

Just fill out your contact details and tell us what you need, then we’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible.