BlogmyQuery – BMQ

In recent years, food delivery apps have seen quite a rise: mainly due to the pandemic but also because almost all areas of our lives have moved to mobile. But despite the astonishing demand for such apps, very few actually reach the bar in terms of quality and user satisfaction.

There are still many apps with poor UI, confusing navigation, or limited payment options. So what features does a good food delivery app have and how do you make one as great as Uber Eats?

The state of on-demand food delivery in numbers: an overview

Before dissecting a good food delivery app and understanding what it’s made of, let’s look at some numbers first. According to the Business of Apps report, the most interesting insights on the on-demand food delivery are as follows:

• Top food delivery apps are Uber Eats, Just Eat, Grubhub, and Deliveroo.
• China is the #1 country by food delivery revenue ($27.3 billion), followed by the US ($22.4 billion) and Europe ($9.2 billion).
• The food delivery industry is projected to grow by $320 billion by 2029 while in 2022, it’s approximately $140 billion.

Even though Uber Eats is not the sole leader in the market, it is often called the staple of food delivery apps. There are several reasons for that, such as a great user interface, an option of a scheduled delivery, various deals and promotions, transparent and timely payments for drivers, and many more. No wonder there are already Uber Eats clones out there in the market, trying to outperform Uber by offering almost-the-same functionality. And while there is no universal recipe for success, there are certain features that are considered a must for any food delivery app and are expected by customers.

Note: When talking about the functionality of a food delivery app, the first thing that comes to mind is customer functionality such as a search option or an option to leave a review. However, there are three user groups: customers, drivers, and restaurants, and all three have to be satisfied with the app.

6 do’s of a great delivery app

Below we list down the main features that modern users expect from a good food delivery application. Even though they can be called core features, some apps still miss them which, in turn, impacts their revenue and position in the market.

1. Do implement real-time GPS tracking 

When it comes to food delivery, customers prefer knowing at what approximate time they will receive their order. And while there may be a certain time period stated, an option to track the order via GPS instantly boosts the user experience. In this way, customers will be able to see where exactly the delivery is and how far it is from them.

In addition, GPS tracking is highly helpful for drivers too. Not only does it help determine the precise customer’s location but it can also provide the shortest route from the restaurant to the destination. And the best part of this plan is that you don’t have to develop a solution from scratch since the most popular online maps (i.e. Google Maps) can be easily integrated into your app.

2. Do provide easy filtering and search

Delivery apps usually offer quite a vast number of available restaurants to order from and it’s critical that a user can easily navigate and filter them. While the filtering and search options are available in all delivery apps, sometimes they are poorly executed and bring confusion instead of assistance.

When thinking about the restaurant navigation and search, consider the following practices:

• Make sure that search categories are visible and clear;
• Provide personal recommendations based on the user’s past activity;
• Do not overload the navigation with too many categories;
• Make sure the checkout is user-friendly and users can easily manage it (i.e. remove dishes, instantly see the price).

3. Do integrate a map

In addition to being able to track the order, customers also need to know where a restaurant is located (i.e. to order a takeout near their apartment). Hence, a good delivery app needs an integrated map that shows the locations of restaurants and allows both customers and drivers to see the restaurant location.

The integration of Google Maps or a similar solution significantly reduces the heat when it comes to busy delivery hours. This, in turn, improves customer satisfaction and helps drivers find the stated destination easily.

4. Do provide an option to schedule an order

This feature is among the ones that made Uber Eats so successful since Uber was the one introducing it. An option of order scheduling allows customers to make orders in advance and schedule them for a certain day and time as well as make repetitive orders at one time. As for the restaurants, this feature allows them to do better planning of their workload and prepare orders more efficiently. Needless to say, this is another significant factor that contributes to a great user experience and helps restaurants avoid order overload.

5. Do provide a simple checkout

In any software product, checkout is an area where users stumble the most since it is often poorly designed or not thought out well enough. When it comes to food ordering, the best practices to follow are:

• Provide multiple and simple payment options (credit/debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay);
• Allow guest checkout without the need to create a user profile;
• Allow guests to manage their order (i.e. remove, add, replace items) during the checkout;
• Enable filling in user contacts and delivery addresses by default for faster checkout.

6. Do offer relevant promotions and loyalty programs

Personalization has become a must and something that users expect by default from any service or product. On-demand food delivery is no exception and if you want to retain users and provide them with the ultimate user experience, you’ll have to incorporate personalization in your app.

In terms of food delivery, personalization comes in the form of relevant offers (based on the user’s activity and most recent orders), discounts, and loyalty programs. Since personalization plays such an important role, many app developers offer restaurants advanced options to set up promotions and discounts to boost revenue and attract customers at the same time.

4 don’ts of a great delivery app

From what we discussed above, it’s clear that a good food delivery app is heavily focused on user experience and ease of use. Now let’s talk about what can be done wrong in terms of its functionality and what bottlenecks can ruin the user experience.

1. Do not 100% limit access to the app

 We get it – in busy hours, your app may get so overloaded that neither restaurants nor drivers are able to take new orders. In such cases some apps (i.e. Glovo) limit access to the app and do not allow users to enter it by putting a “Sorry, we are experiencing a high load right now” message on the screen.

But what if users don’t want delivery but want to order a takeaway or simply scroll through a menu to make an order later? By not allowing to use the app, you are greatly reducing user satisfaction and risking losing customers in favor of your competitors.

Tip: instead of limiting access, you can limit certain options (i.e. delivery) but allow users to still search through restaurants and order takeaway. As well, you can offer them an alternative or an incentive as an excuse for making them wait.

2. Do not overuse push notifications

Push notifications are a great way to notify users about discounts, special offers, or their order status. However, if you use push notifications too much, this may annoy or confuse users – and we don’t need to say how it will negatively impact their perception of your app.

Instead of notifying users about everything, you can offer them to set up notifications to choose what kind of information they want to receive. While such notifications as order status may be set up as default ones, others (i.e. discounts, new menu items, etc.) should be set up by the user according to their preferences.

3. Do not ignore user support

Seems like nothing can go wrong with ordering food but quite often, customers want to inquire something about their order, drivers may have unexpected issues, or restaurants need to clarify certain details. In all these cases, 24/7 customer service is a must.

Unfortunately, not many delivery apps provide efficient user support which is another factor that negatively affects user experience. The simplest thing that one can do is integrate a chatbot or an in-app messenger so users can always reach the representative and get the needed information. And obviously, both drivers and restaurants should have no problem with contacting the delivery service by any preferred method.

4. Do not overload the app with features

This point is applicable to any application but when it comes to food ordering, feature overload becomes an especially critical issue. Considering the number of core functions to interact with, any extra features will become more of a burden than a help. This, in turn, might distract users and discourage them from further interaction with the app.

Tip: if you suspect your app to be complex to understand from the first time but do not want to remove any features, invest some time into designing a user-friendly onboarding process. In this way, you’ll retain the functionality but will also help users navigate it.

Summing up

In the era of digitization, user-centricity has become the gold standard and on-demand delivery apps have to follow it in order to remain competitive. But in addition to intuitive and user-friendly design, do not forget about the app’s performance and its load-handling abilities in particular. After all, nothing is worse than an app freezing right at the moment when a starving user orders his favorite meal – and if such a mistake is made, it will be incredibly hard to fix it. Hence, when designing a delivery application, choose your software provider carefully and make sure their portfolio features similar projects so they know how to handle the most common requests when it comes to enabling a smooth delivery process.

The post How to Make a Great Delivery App in 2022: The Do’s and Don’ts appeared first on noupe.

Finding new ideas for your blog or social media posts is one of the most difficult aspects of content marketing. Sometimes you feel it naturally; it can be difficult to think of new ideas.

Your next article or update might be right in your existing content library. You could even find new ideas by content repurposing.

You can extend the life of your content by reusing it.This also allows you to reach more people. You can reach a wider audience by repurposing existing content. Not everyone likes reading blog posts. Some people prefer to learn new things through audio or video content. A casual viewer of your YouTube channel may be more interested in learning if you provide the same content online.

There are many possibilities.

What is content repurposing?

Repurposing content is like recycling old work. Instead of creating new ideas and reinventing the wheel, you expand on existing ones or rework them to present them differently.

Your existing content can be adapted to suit another format. This allows you to explore new marketing channels and reach new audiences. You can convert a blog post to a short video, making it more appropriate for social media.

Written content can be repurposed into video, or footage from video content can be reused in more video content. Avoid presenting information in the same way as before.

It will stay fresh by being presented differently every time.

Are you unsure where to start? These are seven easy and creative ways to reuse your content.

1. Micro-content on social media

While social media is growing, it is becoming increasingly difficult to be unique in this space. You must create engaging micro-content to attract new audiences and keep existing ones engaged.

Micro-content is easier to understand, more digestible, and, most importantly, easy to share. You can turn blog posts into Instagram carousels or use quotes from podcasts to create graphic quote cards.

You can make memes from the most popular topics. But you can go further with your micro-content by adding video filters to make your GIFs and videos stand out.

One example is Simar Glossy- Women Designer Suit Manufacture

2. Turn it into a video

Video is one of the most consumed content types. It’s becoming an increasingly important and effective way to spread the word about your company and offer.

Video is a great way to create engaging content, whether creating a video for sales, a storytelling advertisement, an explainer video, or a short social media post.

The latest video marketing statistics show that including video on landing pages can increase your conversion rate to 80%. 64% of consumers purchase after watching branded videos on Facebook.

Video doesn’t have other benefits, like helping customers understand the product. 72% of consumers prefer to learn more about a product or service via video.

You should make your content video. Turning blog posts into explainer videos or making podcast episodes into videos where your guests and hosts speak live, video can make a big difference in your marketing.

In this example, Learnyst repurposes Teach Online and Earn Money video into a blog post:

3. Turn blog posts into podcasts

You can turn a blog post that contains the content you want to expand on into a podcast episode. Podcasts are a great way to share “dry” and “difficult” content in an easy-to-understand format. A podcast episode could feature a complete guide you have written, with many sections.

Podcasts are also easier to access. Podcasts are more accessible than blogs. This could increase the reach of your content.

Podcast episodes (or a series thereof) allow you to expand on information and give examples you gleaned from the post in a conversational style. You can also share any new information you have found. You can also promote the podcast through email and social media.

4. Convert it into an infographic

Can you recall the information you provided in paragraph after paragraph of text? Perhaps this can be used to create a digestible infographic.

Infographics make it easy to present large amounts of information in an easily understood format. Visual cues, design best practices, and simple copy all work together to ensure you give a lot of information in a small space.

Infographics can also be shared widely. Customers and audiences will often share infographics with compelling content via social media. This results in greater reach and more leads, and maybe even sales.

You can settle for smaller, more concise infographics or go all out and create massive infographics that combine more information.

5. Update old blog posts with new information

Blog owners should make it a priority to update blog posts. You don’t need to lose a lot of good content from the past. You can find valuable posts in your blog archives by looking through them.

It is also time-saving to update blog posts. It doesn’t take long to update a blog post. Most of the content is already published. You need to make sure the information is current.

Distribution is as simple as stating in the title that the post was updated with new information. This draws readers looking for updated data, and those who have enjoyed the previous post will be able to refresh their memory. Our complete guide will help you choose the best posts to update if you don’t have one.

6. Create a slide deck

You can make a slide deck or presentation if you have done any longer content, such as a blog article or podcast episode. Because they include interactive elements such as images and GIFs, decks are easier to consume and more creative. Decks can be made into slideshows or videos!

This is an example of a strategy in action.

Let’s say you have a blog that lists 15 trends in digital marketing. You might have many sources and examples of these trends. These trends could also be used to help you understand what they might mean for your business.

To repurpose the content, select the most important pieces of information and arrange them on slides. To make your points more effective, you can create slides with compelling statistics and quotes or animated charts and graphs.

After you are done creating your slide deck, upload it onto a website like Slideshare or Google Slides. These apps offer embedded options that allow you to embed your slides onto landing pages and blog posts.

7. Combine your blog posts into an ebook

Are you a prolific blogger with many blog posts on a topic that can be combined to make an incredible ebook? This strategy works well if you have a huge pillar blog post that your audience can download as an ebook.

This strategy is effective because not everyone who reads your blog posts about a particular topic will be interested in every post. You can then compile them all together to create an ebook that can be shared or downloaded.

If you have several blog posts on influencer marketing, gather all these insights and compile them into an influencer market guide. This guide is free to download from your website.

Users who land on any blog that discusses influencer marketing strategies will see a call to action inviting them to download the entire guide. You can promote this ebook to increase its reach via any social media platform or marketing channel.

This makes it a great lead magnet idea. It can nurture your audience, turn them into warm leads, and show your expertise in your niche. You will also need a CMS such as WordPress to manage and plan your content. To find the best WordPress hosting option and successfully implement it, make a quick WordPress Hosting Comparison.

 

Recap

Content creators can save a lot of time by repurposing their content. This great hack can help you increase your SEO and reach. Thinking ahead about your repurposing options may be a good idea before creating a new article or blog post. A single story can lead you to many pieces of content.

Repurposing should not be difficult if you are focused on adding value to the original content.

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When it comes to penetration testing for businesses, many owners feel overwhelmed.

It’s a complex and technical process, and there are so many providers to choose from. How do you know which provider is right for your business? And more importantly, how can you be sure that the pentest will be conducted effectively and provide value? In this article, we will discuss the advantages of independent penetration testing services.

What is penetration testing?

Penetration testing, also known as pentesting or ethical hacking, is the process of simulating attacks on a computer system to find security vulnerabilities. Pentesters use a variety of tools and techniques to identify weaknesses in systems and determine how well they would withstand a real-life attack.

Why is penetration testing important for businesses?

There are many reasons why penetration testing is important for businesses. First and foremost, it helps to identify security vulnerabilities in systems before attackers can exploit them. By finding and fixing these weaknesses, businesses can prevent costly data breaches and other cyber incidents. Additionally, penetration testing can help organizations to improve their overall security posture and better understand their risks.

What is Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS)?

PTaaS is a type of independent penetration testing service that helps businesses to assess their security risks and find vulnerabilities in their systems. PTaaS providers offer a wide range of services, including network assessments, web application tests, wireless security tests, and more.

5 Upsides of hiring an independent penetration testing service

Hiring a penetration testing service to conduct a security testing of your website, network, application or physical devices takes a lot off your plates. Sine independent penetration testing services have specially equipped people with specific security skills, the entire process goes smoothly.

Here are some advantages of independent penetration testing services:

• You can focus on your business: When you hire an independent pentesting service, you can focus on running your business while the pentesters handle the testing. This way, you can be sure that the job will be done correctly and efficiently.
• Independent penetration testers are unbiased: One advantage of independent pentesting services is that the testers are unbiased. They are not affiliated with any particular vendor or product, so they can provide an objective assessment of your security risks.
• Independent penetration testers have experience: Another advantage of independent pentesting services is that the testers have a lot of experience. They know how to find and exploit vulnerabilities in systems, and they can provide valuable insights into your security posture.
• Independent pentesting services are cost-effective: Hiring an independent pentesting service is often more cost-effective than hiring an in-house team or using a managed service. This is because independent pentesters typically have lower overhead costs and can offer discounts for bulk testing services.
• You get what you pay for: When you hire an independent pentesting service, you can be sure that you are getting a quality service. The testers will have the skills and experience needed to conduct a thorough assessment of your system’s security.

What to look for in a Pentest service provider?

Now that you know the advantages of independent pentesting services, you may be wondering how to choose the right provider. There are a few things to keep in mind when selecting a pentest service provider, including:

• The size and scope of your organization: Make sure to choose a provider that is experienced in working with organizations of your size and scope.
• Your budget: Choose a provider that fits within your budget.
• Your needs: Make sure to choose a provider that offers the services you need.
• The provider’s reputation: Make sure to research the provider and read independent reviews to get an idea of their reputation.

When selecting a pentest service provider, it is important to consider the size and scope of your organization, your budget, and your specific needs. You should also research the provider and read independent reviews to get an idea of their reputation.

Final thoughts

Independent penetration testing services can offer a number of advantages for businesses, including unbiased testing, experience, and cost-effectiveness. Most important it takes away the headache of spiraling through a hundred different processes and techniques and having to deal with the recurrent cost of keeping a security team on board.

If you are a small or mid-size business looking for a pentest, getting an independent penetration testing provider is pretty much your only option.

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Approximately 2.2 billion people all over the world suffer from visual impairments of varying severity, 5% of the world’s population experience hearing problems and 15% have disabilities. Therefore, when developing a software product, it is important to consider the accessibility of its design and inclusion. In this article, we’ll tell you how to put these principles into practice. 

The importance of accessible design

A low-floor bus is accessible to users with disabilities. In the digital world, a similar rule applies: if a person with a physical or mental disability can use a service or application, such products are considered accessible. 

Applications must be accessible to users who have hearing, visual or physiological impairments. In practice, this means, for example, providing subtitles to videos for the deaf, sign language translation functionality for the deaf-and-dumb, voice control for people who don’t have one or both hands. Accessible design helps people with disabilities to become full-fledged Internet users. 

In 2006, the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which accelerated the integration of people with disabilities into society. Since then, the principles of accessibility have been extended to the virtual environment. Microsoft is one of the world leaders in accessible design and its promoter. The company has created a guide for designers on how to develop better apps. 

Another example of accessibility is Netflix. The interface of the platform has sufficient contrast so that the visually impaired can use it. Audio description allows the blind not only to listen to the dialogues in videos but also to imagine what is happening on the screen. 

Users of services themselves began to pay attention to accessibility. In 2017-2019, about 3,000 lawsuits were filed against brands without accessible website design, including well-known Apple, Domino’s Pizza, etc. 

Accessibility and inclusion

Design agencies focus on the average person: designers see a general portrait of the user and may not take into account the characteristics and needs of each person. 

Accessible design focuses on a specific group or groups of users. Inclusive design, in its turn, is a broader concept. This approach means that a product solves the problems of different people in different life situations. 

Proponents of inclusive design believe that people with different physiological abilities can, under certain circumstances, be in the same conditions. For example, both an elderly person and a child with a congenital illness can see poorly. Not only those who have lost a limb can use an application with one hand but also people who have been injured. 

Microsoft has a special term for such consumers which is extreme users (brink users / extreme characters). By creating universal products, developers solve the issue of accessibility for a wide range of users. It turns out that subtitles designed for deaf people can also be useful for those with good hearing but in conditions of poor audibility. 

Accessible and inclusive design helps companies to improve customer experience as customer focus is one of the defining factors of brand awareness. 

How do you know that a site meets accessibility requirements?

To create an accessible site, you should refer to the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG). The standard is built on twelve guiding principles for creating content at three levels – A, AA, and AAA. 

• Level A

This is the minimum recommended level that can be implemented without a major redesign of an application. A software product must comply with 30 WCAG requirements: in particular, a text must be given an accessible name, labels are required for form fields, the application can be controlled using the keyboard, etc. 

• Level ??

This is a more advanced level of the standard including 20 additional points. To implement AA requirements, you need to make changes to the product design: change the contrast, focus, adjust the status of messages, and so on. 

• Level ???

This level summarizes the requirements of the previous levels and adds 28 serious conditions. Developers and designers must ensure that complex text has a simplified version, excludes embedded images, etc. 

Let’s compare the levels based on one example. The contrast should be 4.4-3 for Level A, 6.9-4.5 for Level AA, and 21-7 for Level AAA.

The compliance of the site with accessibility parameters can be checked through WebAIM, Colourcontrast, Contrastchecker, Color Oracle, Wave, etc. 

How to improve design accessibility

When implementing accessibility requirements, designers need to pay attention to the following issues:

• Color

The contrast between the text and background is of great importance for visually impaired people and for those whose eyes get tired from working at a computer. 

The color of the text and buttons is significant for those who do not distinguish between colors (colorblindness) or see the world in black and white (monochromacy). For example, red and green warning messages can be misunderstood and should be provided with textual indicators: “Stop”, “Forward”, “Back”, “Resend”, etc. 

Infographic 2:

• Font size and dimensions of elements

These characteristics are important for visually impaired people, the elderly, and users who are trying to read text from small smartphone screens. When choosing a font size, consider the semantic hierarchy of the elements on the page so that it is clear which element is the heading and which is a subheading. The size of the elements affects usability: small buttons are harder to click. 

• Subtitles

Subtitles make it easier for deaf viewers and those in noisy environments to watch videos.

• Alternative text in graphics

By adding alternative text to photos, images, and icons, you will make it easier for blind people to use the app. A screen reader helps them to navigate the virtual world. 

• Simplified text and navigation

Not all users perceive complex text in the same way. By adding a simplified version of the content to your site, you will help people with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and low IQ to perceive information about your company, products, and services. Keyboard navigation is for users with limited mobility. 

How to create products with accessible design

To make software design accessible:

• Let your teams know beforehand

While designers are responsible for this, both developers and testers should be aware of design issues to best implement the project with inclusiveness in mind. 

• Conduct UX/UI research

UX/UI research helps to better understand your users. By conducting it, you will learn how people of different sex, ages, levels of physiological and mental development interact with the product. The study will show how effective your solution is and whether you are limiting your circle of users due to a lack of awareness. 

Use accessibility assessment tools

When creating a custom web design, use the tools to assess the accessibility of the application:

1. Color Oracle shows the site through the eyes of the colorblind and people with color vision deficiencies, 
2. Check My Colours evaluates the contrast of the color and background of pages,  
3. Wave evaluates the site’s HTML structure, contrasts, and compliance with the WCAG standard. 

• Provide the same user experience for everyone

Compliance with the WCAG requirements does not always determine the convenience of a product for customers. For example, if subtitles are set up carelessly, users will not have time to read. An alternative solution is to invite visitors to choose the playback speed and transcript format themselves. 

Accessibility as part of UI/UX design brings benefits in terms of business outcomes. By implementing the principles of inclusion, you will make software products more convenient, expand your audience, and improve your site’s SEO. If you want to create a product with accessible design, you should turn to an experienced software development company.

The post How Accessible Product Design Improves Business appeared first on noupe.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a technically challenging software to use. You need to be a jack of multiple trades to use it to its maximum potential. You need to visualize intricate workflows clearly, accurately score and grade the leads, create effective segmentation and personalization strategies, and keep testing at regular intervals. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. You need to handle so many other things to implement marketing automation using SFMC. 

Here are some of the best practices that will allow you to stay ahead of the curve while using SFMC:

1. Take baby steps

Implementing large, complex processes from the get-go can be overwhelming for an average marketer. So, you must take baby steps and start with the activities that bring the biggest results through the smallest effort. At the outset, automate the repetitive tasks in the workflow. Choose low-effort, low-risk, and high-returns tasks that will not hamper your ongoing operations. 

2. Understand the flow thoroughly

Try to understand the entire process rather than automating any individual point within the process. Document and map the complete workflow. Then, identify the opportunities for automation. This will help ensure that you can build effective solutions that perfectly match the existing processes. It will also help you meet the program goals. 

3. Avoid giving in to the temptation to try out advanced features

Salesforce Marketing Cloud keeps adding new functionalities in the tool every now and then. For example: It is quite likely that Einstein Send Time Optimization will eliminate send times based on anecdotal logic instead of data. 

While it can be tempting to be the early adopters and start using them right away, it is advisable to focus on the current goals and processes you have chalked out. It might also lead to spoiling the entire project and cost you exorbitantly. Therefore, the best bet is to stay focused on the existing features and task at hand. You can always try out the new features after successful completion of that project. 

4. Use journey settings as business requirements

Always consult the business stakeholders and get them to review the settings before activation. For instance: Discuss with the decision makers how they want to configure contact entry mode — No re-entry, re-entry anytime, or re-entry only after exiting. 

5. Employ watertight customer segmentation strategies

Define a powerful customer segmentation strategy by finding answers to questions like:

1. Most significant actions to identify how a customer engages with your brand
2. Actions or behavior that qualify someone as an engaged customer
3. Opportunities to upsell to “somewhat” engaged customer or get them excited about a new feature or product launch

After identifying the segments, you must find the data within your organization or get together with an analytics team to plan the data architecture strategy by defining the customer aggregations. 

Take into consideration whether you will be able to find a resource with SQL skills while defining the data strategy. Such resources can create custom segments inside the Marketing Cloud with the data. It is advisable to have access to this skill set. However, there are drag and drop tools such as DESelect using which users without SQL skills can also execute complex segmentations. 

6. Carry out IP warming

If you are a new user looking forward to sending more than 100k emails per month, carry out IP warming to establish a favorable sender reputation. 

Here’s how to carry out IP warming correctly:

7. Authenticate your email domain (DNS records)

Email authentication protects your account and prevents your emails from being marked as spam and actually reaching your recipient’s inbox. Learn more about Email Hygiene Best Practices here.

8. Utilize the power of Content Detective

Content Detective is a tool within SFMC Email Studio that allows you to keep the messages out of the subscriber’s spam folders. They recognize phrases that can trigger the spam filters and help in curbing deliverability issues. 

9. Take help of Subscriber Preview 

Subscriber Preview allows you to steer clear of any personalization blunders in email. Imagine someone receiving an email saying “Hey {Fname}”. With the help of the Subscriber Preview feature, you can check how an email will look like for a particular subscriber. As a best practice, identify the testing personas to make sure that your personalization is on point. You can do this through live or real subscriber data or with the help of ‘dummy’ test data that cover all the scenarios. 

10. Use Journey Builder’s test feature

The test mode along with a data extension enables you to view the simulated paths through the customer’s journey without the need to send messages to them or affecting tracking or reporting. It emulates random and decision split activities while ignoring wait times and contact entry settings. You will be able to get an exact view of the entire journey workflow without waiting. Once the test is complete, you will see the contact’s expected path on the journey canvas. This feature goes a long way in saving time. You no longer need to wait for 2-3 weeks to figure out whether it is configured correctly. 

11. Invest in a deliverability monitoring tool

A deliverability monitoring tool like Inbox Monster allows you to carry out unlimited inbox placement tests and elaborate deliverability analytics. It can be easily integrated with SFMC and you will get a complete suite of professional services and collaboration tools. It will also help you avoid getting blacklisted. Such tools make sure that you abide by the email sending best practices and stay away from spam traps.

12. Take the minimalistic approach

The key is to keep even the most advanced campaigns simple. With the help of Journey Builder, you can create elaborate multi-step campaigns that have several activities on the canvas. However, it is recommended that you keep it simple for the best functionality. Just because a feature exists does not mean you have to use it. When you create a complex campaign, you will find it tough to manage, maintain, and debug it. So, the bottom line is to create it as minimalistic as possible. Follow the “crawl, walk, run” approach and gradually advance to marketing automation maturity. 

13. Always follow the generic best practices

Just because you are using a powerful and advanced tool like SFMC, you cannot do away with the best practices. You have to create engaging content, keep it brief and specific, and create actionable CTAs that immediately draw attention. Also, keep the image to text ratio at 20:80 to avoid any deliverability issues. 

Wrapping Up

SFMC is a robust marketing automation tool that can open up new conversion opportunities and drive faster business growth, if used correctly. Through these tips, you will surely be able to propel sales and achieve unmatched results from your campaigns. 

For more insights, visit the insightful infographic created by the folks at Email Uplers: Salesforce Marketing Automation best practices from 11 global SFMC experts

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