How to Provide Better Customer Service by Implementing Live Chat

It’s no secret that businesses need to prioritize the customer experience. Ultimately, keeping your customers happy will help your business grow and prosper.

In fact, 80% of consumers say they’re willing to spend more money to have a better customer service experience.

As a business owner, you need to recognize this and adjust your approach accordingly.

Ask yourself if your current customer service strategy is more convenient for you or more convenient for your customers. Here’s what I mean.

If the only way to contact a customer service representative at your company is via telephone during business hours on weekdays, that’s more convenient for you.

But if a customer has the ability to reach you on weekends or after hours, this will provide them with an enhanced customer service experience.

Improving your customer service may cost you more money. I understand this can be discouraging for some of you.

But as discussed, customers are willing to spend more money for this experience. So you can increase your prices accordingly.

Let’s take a look at the most important elements of the customer experience:

If you look through these responses, you’ll see a common theme across the board.

Customers want fast response times. This is especially important if they have an issue, need, or complaint. But you also need to provide fast response times for general inquiries.

Your customers want to speak with knowledgeable staff.

They also want the option to reach customer service representatives, regardless of the time of day or their location. The contact method needs to be fast and easy to use.

Implementing live chat addresses all these factors.

For those of you who aren’t currently using live chat to connect with your customers, that needs to change.

I’ll explain how live chat will improve your customers’ service experience and ultimately help you make more money. Here’s what you need to know.

Customers prefer live chat

Now that we’ve had a chance to look at the elements of good customer experience, it’s time to take those results one step further.

By reviewing those responses, it’s logical to assume that live chat would meet the needs and requests of the consumer. But is that really what your customers are looking for?

Absolutely.

Research shows that live chat has a 92% consumer satisfaction rating. This is the highest rating compared to phone support, social media, and email.

Furthermore, when asked directly, consumers cited live chat as their most preferred method of customer service communication:

Live chat is not a new advancement in technology. It’s been around for decades.

That said, we’re seeing an increase in its availability and popularity in customer service. According to experts, in the next 12 to 18 months, live chat for customer support is to grow by 87%.

It’s in your best interest to implement this now, before your competitors beat you to it.

With the popularity of live chat increasing, consumers will be more likely to favor brands offering this most preferred method of communication.

Failure to jump on board with this trend now could result in you falling behind the competition and losing some customers.

Make your live chat option easily accessible

Let’s say a customer decides they have a question, need help, or have an issue that needs to be addressed. Now what?

They shouldn’t have to spend much time searching and scrolling through your website to find a representative. This is a navigation mistake that you need to avoid.

The live chat feature needs to be readily available, or it won’t be as effective.

The best way to do this is to provide a live chat pop-up in the corner of your page. Check out this example from Warby Parker:

Your live chat option should be easy to find, even when a website visitor isn’t initially looking to speak with a representative.

Just knowing that this option is available will improve their experience. If they don’t want to use this feature right now, they can simply minimize the chat window and continue browsing.

I really like this live chat feature from Warby Parker: it’s big, but not too intrusive.

Website visitors can continue to navigate and use the site, even while the chat box is open.

This makes it easy for customers to tell your live chat representatives exactly what they need if they have an inquiry that’s specific to something on your web pages.

Provide fast response times

Think about the last time you contacted a business that didn’t have a live chat feature. How did you reach out to them?

Chances are you used one of the following methods:

• phone
• email
• social media

Several times, I’ve spent over an hour on the phone waiting to speak to a representative. We’ve all been in this situation before.

You pace around the room listening to terrible hold music or some other automated loop of a voice saying “your call is important to us.”

It’s frustrating, to say the least.

Email communication isn’t much better. This could take days or potentially even longer. I sent an email to an airline a few months ago, and it took them three weeks to respond.

But live chat gives you the opportunity to respond to customer inquiries as fast as possible.

Here’s a look at the top reasons why customers say that live chat is their preferred method of contact:

As you can see, getting their questions answered immediately ranked first on this list.

Just implementing live chat isn’t necessarily effective if it’s taking forever for your representatives to respond. So make sure you properly staff your agents to handle the volume of customer messages.

Even if an agent isn’t ready to respond as soon as a new chat starts, there are still ways to keep the customer happy.

You can use automation to your advantage. Set up instant responses using artificial intelligence software asking the customer what they need help with.

Based on the customer’s answer, you can connect them with the next available and knowledgeable staff member, but we’ll discuss that in greater detail shortly.

You can even gather more information about the customer once the chat is initiated and before an actual person starts responding.

Ask for details such as:

• name
• email
• phone number
• account number
• order number
• shipping number
• product code

This buys you some time, but it also gives your chat agents more information to further assist the customer as fast as possible.

Include typing indicators

Once the chat starts, you want to make it clear to your customers that someone is there to respond.

When they ask a question, it may take your agents some time to read through it and research a solution. Plus, not all of your customers will be sending perfect messages.

There could be some spelling and grammar mistakes. They also don’t know your products and services as well as you do, so they may not even know how to ask the question properly at first. It could take your agents a minute to decipher the question and understand what the customer needs help with.

But with all of this in mind, it’s important to let the customer know that an agent is present. The best way to do this is with a typing indicator.

This shows the customer their question is not being ignored, even though they haven’t seen a response yet.

Train your staff to acknowledge all messages from the customer, even before they provide a response.

For example, let’s say someone asks a question, but the agent needs a minute or two to research and type the resolution. Rather than having a minute or two of downtime, the agent can respond with something like, “Yes I see what you’re talking about.”

Then the customer will see the typing indicator as well while the agent continues writing the solution.

Now the customer knows their question isn’t being ignored and doesn’t think there is a glitch or problem with the live chat platform.

Connect customers with knowledgeable support agents

When a customer has a question or problem, it’s important it gets answered not only fast but also efficiently.

If you can’t come up with a solution for your customers, you aren’t providing them with the best possible customer service. It’s important to connect your customers with support agents who are able to help them with their problems.

So you need to gather more information about the inquiry before connecting the chat to an agent. Here’s a look at how Apple handles this:

Obviously, Apple is a major company with a wide range of products, software, and services.

While overall their staff may be knowledgeable, they have experts for different departments.

For example, if someone has a question about their Apple Music subscription, they will probably be connected with a different agent than someone who is having issues with their Macbook software.

So if your business has lots of departments, you’ll want to have some type of filtering system like this as well.

Don’t have your agents answer questions they are not qualified to answer. In the event that an agent doesn’t know how to provide help, there should be an option for them to transfer the chat to another representative.

Let’s say you have retail store locations that sell various home improvement products, furnishings, and electronics.

A customer starts a live chat, indicating they need help with outdoor patio furniture, and then gets connected with a proper associate.

Once their question is answered, they may have another question about installing a sound system in their living room. So the agent could say they’ll transfer the chat to someone who specializes in electronics.

Send your customers a chat transcript

Once the chat is over, your customers may want to refer back to the conversation.

This is especially true if they were troubleshooting a problem and the representative offered a step-by-step solution.

The chat transcript also shows you’re being completely transparent. It keeps your staff accountable for what they say as well.

It’s basically the same concept as phone calls being recorded for quality or training purposes. Sending the transcript to your customers proves you’re recording and monitoring the conversations.

This may also reduce the chances of a customer reaching out for help again when they have the same question or forget something that was said.

They can simply refer back to the chat. This is one of the reasons why live chat is more cost-effective than phone support.

Plus, with live chat, your agents will be able to speak with multiple customers at the same time. This can’t happen over the phone. But I’ll discuss this concept in more detail shortly.

Either way, not only will you be improving your customer experience by implementing live chat, but you’ll also be saving money.

This, in conjunction with the consumer willingness to spend more money for better service, is a formula for increased profits.

Build an FAQ database

If you see common questions coming in via live chat, you can use this information to improve your website.

Start an FAQ page.

Write detailed responses to those questions. Customers may search or check this page before connecting with a live chat agent.

If they see their question, they won’t even need to contact your customer support team.

The database will also help you improve your products and services.

For example, let’s say you’re selling a product that requires customer assembly, but you’re seeing a huge number of customers asking questions about the instructions.

You may need to go back and re-evaluate those instructions. Make improvements in areas where customers had questions.

This FAQ database will help both you and your customers.

Train your staff properly

To maximize the efficiency of your live chat, your agents will be dealing with several conversations simultaneously. Make sure they are able to handle this.

Provide proper training so they can navigate between windows and stay organized.

Even if they are knowledgeable about your brand and products, that’s useless if they don’t know how to properly use the live chat software.

You don’t want them to feel overwhelmed, or it will hurt the quality of their responses and ultimately reflect poorly on the customer experience.

Look at how customers respond after they have positive and negative experiences:

They share their feelings on multiple channels of both good and bad encounters. But they are more likely to tell people about bad customer service experiences.

Make sure your staff are friendly. Train them to be both helpful and understanding.

Customers may say things in a wrong way or use incorrect terminology. Don’t make them feel bad about it.

Apologize for any inconvenience your product may have caused them. Thank them for reaching out and supporting the business.

Stay engaged. Ask the right questions in response the customer inquiries.

Even if the customer communicates using slang, shortcuts, or acronyms, your staff should always be responding with proper grammar to stay professional.

Conclusion

Your business needs to implement a live chat feature. Ultimately, this will improve your customer service.

Customers prefer live chat over other methods of communication. They want their inquiries answered as fast as possible.

Add a typing indication feature to show customers that an agent is there and working on a response.

Make sure your staff is knowledgeable. If a support agent can’t answer a question, allow them to transfer the chat to an expert in that particular department.

Send your customers a copy of the chat transcript so they can refer to it if they need any clarification. Use common concerns to build an FAQ database.

Your support agents need to be able to accommodate multiple conversations simultaneously. Make sure they’re trained to be helpful and professional at all times.

All of these factors will keep your customers happy and increase your profits.

How is your brand using live chat to improve the customer service experience?

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How to Turn Your Business Idea Into a Startup Company

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Everyone has them.

Some ideas are great, and others could be  improved.

As an online marketer, I’ve heard countless business pitches from prospective entrepreneurs over the years. While I admire their creativity, just coming up with an idea alone is far from having a viable business concept.

If you are ready to put your idea to the test and launch a startup company, I encourage you to read this guide.

Your idea needs validation.

The last thing you want to do is launch a new business and realize six months down the road that it wasn’t a good idea. By this point, you’ve already sunk too much time and money into the venture.

Don’t skip any steps in the startup process.

Here’s what I’ve done. I’ve outlined how you can take an idea and turn it into an actual business. I’ve tried to keep this guide as general as possible so that it can speak to the widest audience of entrepreneurs.

For example, some businesses will need to buy or lease retail space. Other brands will need production equipment or partnerships with manufacturing facilities.

Some of you may even need permits and have to meet certain legal obligations before your launch. I stayed away from going into depth on these types of details.

That said, this is an excellent reference for anyone with a business idea and no experience launching a startup.

Even if you’ve been part of startup launches before, this guide can help you avoid some mistakes you may have made in the past.

Write a business plan

When you approach your new business venture without a plan, you increase your chances of failure.

The odds are already working against you since such a large percentage of new startup companies fail.

You need to do everything possible to try to give yourself an advantage and increase your chances of success.

Here’s a pretty common conversation I have with entrepreneurs. They pitch me an idea and follow up with something like, “Wouldn’t that be a great business?”

My honest answer is I truly don’t know. And they don’t know either.

Many ideas sound good when they’re verbalized. But when it comes to the logistics, finances, and other important details, the idea may not be as good as you initially thought.

That’s why you need to learn how to write a business plan for your startup company.

Your business plan will help you tremendously and ultimately increase your chances of succeeding.

Startups with a business plan have a 29% greater chance of securing funding, which we’ll discuss in greater detail shortly. Writing a plan also increases the chances of business growth by 50%.

These are the common components of a business plan:

• executive summary
• description of the company
• market analysis
• competitor analysis
• organizational structure
• details about products and services
• marketing plan
• sales approach
• budget and funding
• finances

Your plan will outline everything you need to do, even if your idea is very simple. For example, let’s say you’re planning to sell shirts.

How are you going to sell them? Where will you sell them? Whom will you sell them to? At what price will they be sold?

You’ll explain in detail your costs to produce the shirts. The business plan will even outline when you plan to break even on your investment.

The financial projections section is arguably the most important part of the entire plan.

You need to come up with realistic numbers. In addition to listing all your expenses, you need to project your sales.

This information will help you determine if your new business can generate money. You’ll be able to come up with price points so you can turn a profit.

Again, you must figure all this out before you open the doors of a new business. It starts with proper planning.

Define your target audience

The idea for your new business might sound good, but for whom is it a good idea?

Whether you have a product, service, invention, or modification to an existing product, you need to clearly define whom you’re selling to.

I hear people say all the time:

“Everyone will like this idea.”

This is simply not true. Plus, from a marketing perspective, it’s unreasonable to try to launch a brand intended for everyone.

Imagine trying to come up with promotions that appeal to men, women, and children of all ages from every corner of the world. It’s not a realistic approach.

You need to learn how to identify the target market of your startup.

Start with broad assumptions about your prospective customers, and narrow it down even more.

Begin with factors such as their ages, genders, and physical locations. Then get more specific, and identify their interests and lifestyle habits.

Here are some ways for you to segment your audience based on geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral categories.

For example, let’s say your product is intended for males between the ages of 25 and 40. That’s still a broad audience.

You can make it more specific by saying you’re targeting males between the ages of 25 and 40, who live in the United States, make more than $60,000 per year, and are interested in fitness.

Do you see the difference? That’s much more detailed. You can develop a customer persona to help you with this process.

Also, you need to look at your target audience from different perspectives. Let’s say you’re launching a startup that sells toys for young children.

That’s not necessarily your target market.

Three-year-old kids don’t buy stuff. You need to target their parents instead. Make sense?

Conduct market research

Now that you have an idea of whom you want to target, it’s time to test that theory. Just because you think your idea is great for a specific market doesn’t mean this is true. You can use:

• surveys
• interviews
• focus groups
• beta testers
• product samples

You need to get out there and talk to people. Validate your idea.

It’s also necessary to figure out who else is offering the same thing you are. Today, it isn’t easy to come up with an idea that’s 100% unique.

Don’t get me wrong: it doesn’t mean you can’t make money by having the same idea as someone else. But if the market is oversaturated, it might not be in your best interest to proceed.

I’ll give you a simple example to explain what I mean. Let’s say you want to open a pizza shop in your city.

You’ve scouted out a location that can fit your ovens and tables. You can rent it at a reasonable rate. Your pizza recipe is outstanding. Plus, everyone likes pizza, and more than 100,000 people live in the city.

This idea must be a homerun, right? Not if there are 20 other pizza shops within a few blocks of your prospective location.

It’s going to be too difficult for you to compete with a market that’s so saturated.

This is an example on a small level, but you can scale it to any industry. Look at the ecommerce space. There is a huge competition globally.

In addition to niche brands, you’ll also be competing with giants such as Walmart and Amazon.

The number one reason why startups fail is that there is no market need.

While your idea might be cool, there may not be a need for your product or service.

Or even if the market needs what you’re offering, it could be getting it from someone else already.

Market research will also require you to analyze your competition.

Establish your brand

Your startup company needs to have a differentiation strategy that separates you from your competitors.

What’s your identity?

Your brand may be cool, edgy, and trendy. Or maybe you’re going for a brand identity that is conservative and family-oriented instead.

Some startups launch with a mission to help a greater cause, such as a nonprofit organization.

No matter what your brand identity is, it needs to be clear to your audience. All of your branding campaigns will reflect the image you’re trying to portray.

Your website colors, marketing campaigns, and promotions will speak to your brand identity. This even relates to your logo and the name of your startup.

Come up with a name that doesn’t restrict your growth. Even if you’re focusing on something specific right now, you don’t want the name of your brand to put you in a box, preventing your expansion in the future.

Your brand needs to speak to your target audience, which was already defined. A proper branding strategy will nurture your brand reputation.

In a perfect world, your brand image and brand reputation will be the same. You want people to see your company in a positive light.

So it’s important to get your branding strategy right the first time because your reputation is going to stick with you for years to come.

It’ll be hard to rebrand yourself in the future if you make a mistake during the launch stages, so don’t rush into anything.

Surround yourself with the right people

It’s time to assemble your team.

The size of your team will vary based on the type of business you’re launching.

You want to find people strong in areas where you are weak. For example, if you’re extremely creative but don’t have managerial skills, it doesn’t make sense to bring another creative mind on board without hiring someone who can manage employees.

Or let’s say you’re building a mobile app but don’t have any experience with coding or design. You’ll need to hire a developer and designer.

Surround yourself with people whom you are compatible with. You want to build strong working relationships with your team.

Here’s another problem I see all the time. People launch a startup and just start hiring their friends and family.

Don’t get me wrong — this can work. But you need to think long and hard about this decision. Do you want your personal relationships to be impacted by the business?

Can these people take directions from you? What if you need to fire your best friend?

These are all sticky situations, so tread carefully. You also need to make sure every member of your team can bring something to the table.

Just because you were bouncing ideas off a friend a few months ago doesn’t mean they’re part of the business.

I’m not saying you need to be selfish or stingy, but ultimately, you need to do what’s best for you and your business.

Secure funding

Your startup will need some money to get off the ground. Depending on what you’re doing, this can range anywhere from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars.

Everyone’s situation is different. You’ll need to recognize all your business costs. Here are some examples to consider:

• research and development
• equipment
• cost of property to buy or lease
• website and server
• inventory
• insurance
• legal fees
• payroll
• startup costs
• operating costs

You need to realize you won’t have any income when you first launch, but you’ll still need to cover all your expenses.

Based on this information, you’ll be able to determine how much money you need. Learn how to get your startup funded.

Use your business plan and financial projections when you’re speaking with prospective lenders or investors.

You may consider getting a bank loan and pay interest fees for the funds you borrow. But big banks may not be your best bet. Just look at these approval rates for small business loans:

For your startup company, you may want to consider some alternative options:

• venture capitalists
• angel investors
• personal savings accounts
• friends and family
• crowdfunding

These are all reasonable sources to raise capital to launch your startup. You’ll just have to consider these options and decide which ones are the best for your scenario.

Figure out if it’s worth giving up equity in your company. Will your investors bring anything else to the table besides cash?

While it may be nice to have other opinions, you want to make sure you have the final say in all decisions. There is nothing wrong with giving up some equity, but just don’t lose control of your company.

Build hype before you launch

Everything is falling into place.

Your business plan looks good. The target market is clearly defined. All your market research is complete.

The team you assembled is qualified. All of your funds have been secured.

Now it’s time to put your company branding strategy to work.

Buy a domain name. Launch your website. Create social media profiles.

Start to market your brand. Even if you’re not officially launched or selling anything just yet, you can still take pre-orders.

Create a blog. Try to get featured on press releases or news articles. Send free samples to influencers.

Do anything that will make your presence known. Get creative with guerilla marketing and content marketing strategies.

Be prepared to work

Before you officially launch, you need to ask yourself if you’re ready to work.

Sure, you know your idea is great and it’s been validated through your research. But are you ready to take the plunge into entrepreneurship?

Just look at how many hours the average entrepreneur works per week:

In order to launch your startup, you might be leaving a job with a steady paycheck to work twice as hard on your new business, without being able to pay yourself for years.

Is this something you can handle mentally and financially?

Research shows 41% of entrepreneurs say they feel stressed almost every day. An additional 33% say they feel stressed a couple of times per week.

But only 7% of entrepreneurs say they never feel stressed.

Unlike with a regular job, there’s no quitting on your own business. You can’t call in sick when you don’t feel like working.

You’re the boss. You set the tone for the entire culture of the company.

While being your own boss definitely has lots of benefits, it also comes with added responsibility and plenty of sleepless nights. You need to recognize that your startup can still fail.

I’m not saying all of this to discourage you from following through with your plan, but you need to accept this reality.

But if you’re willing to take these risks and get to work, proceed with your business plan, and make it happen.

Conclusion

There is a big difference between an idea and an established business. You need to take steps to validate that idea before you launch a startup company.

Write a business plan. Identify your target market. Conduct market research.

Then you’ll need to come up with a branding strategy.

Assemble your team. Surround yourself with people who can contribute to the success of your new business.

Recognize your costs and outline your financial projections. This will give you a better idea of how much money you need to launch your company.

Being an entrepreneur can be rewarding, but it’s no walk in the park. You need to ask yourself if you’re capable of being a business owner.

But if you’re ready to work and you’ve taken the steps I’ve described in this guide, you can turn your business idea into a reality.

What steps have you taken to turn your concept into a startup company?

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14 Mobile Trends That Are Dominating 2018

As we pass the midway mark of 2018, it’s clear that mobile technology is prevalent in our world today.

In the past, I’ve told you to keep an eye out for the top marketing trends of 2018. But now I want to take that one step further and narrow that focus specifically to mobile trends.

As a business owner, you need to keep your finger on the pulse of modern marketing trends to be successful.

This guide is beneficial for marketers, app developers, and anyone else who wants to improve their business.

While I’m not saying you need to apply these trends to your own marketing, it’s important you’re aware of the new technology that’s available and surrounding you. Who knows, maybe you’ll decide to change your strategy based on this information.

I used research from previous years as well as some recent technological developments to come up with this list.

These are the top 14 mobile trends dominating the year so far. I expect these to continue trending upward as we close out 2018.

1. Artificial intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence has penetrated our mobile world.

We’re getting one step closer to mobile devices morphing into robots and taking over the planet. Obviously, I’m kidding.

While that day has yet to come, we are seeing advancements in mobile AI. You may be familiar with some of these:

• Alexa
• Siri
• Cortana
• Google Assistant

All of these are examples of AI that may even be installed on your mobile devices right now. In addition to these popular forms of AI, mobile apps are now using software such as voice recognition to encourage hands-free use and ultimately optimize the customer experience.

AI software is used to help developers and marketers learn more about the user.

Businesses are trying to get more revenue by using this information to create relevant advertisements that target specific audiences.

2. Location-based technology

Your smartphones and tablets are tracking your location. That’s not a secret.

Mobile applications are also tracking your location, with your permission. Each time you download a new app, it requests your permission to use your location. Here’s an example of this from Nexonia:

Each time you download a new app, you’ll get a notification similar to the one seen above.

You may not even be able to use some apps to their full potential without giving them access to your location. For example, think about a ride-sharing app such as Uber.

They need your exact location to connect you with a driver.

But have you noticed an increase in apps requesting your location even if you don’t think it’s required to use the primary function of the app? That’s because 7 out of 10 apps on your smartphone share your data with third parties.

They do this to enhance their marketing campaigns.

If a business knows where a user is, it can send them targeted ads based on the location. An example of this is when an app uses geofencing technology. Here’s how it works.

Let’s say you own a restaurant and have a mobile app. If an app user walks within a few blocks of your location, they’ll receive a notification about your lunch special.

So far in 2018, we’ve seen an increase in this strategy, and we’ll continue to see it used in the future.

3. Augmented reality

Augmented reality takes something that’s real and modifies it.

One of the best examples of this is the face filter options on Snapchat. Recently, Instagram implemented this feature as well:

Other mobile apps use this strategy to generate revenue.

Remember when everyone was going crazy about Pokemon Go? The entire premise of that game was based on augmented reality on a mobile device.

I found some mind-blowing statistics about the game and how successful it was:

• over 800 million downloads
• more than 5 million daily active users
• $1.2 billion total revenue

Those numbers speak for themselves. Based on the success of apps such as Pokemon Go, Snapchat, and Instagram, more businesses have been trying to incorporate augmented reality into their mobile technology.

This will help them create brand awareness, app downloads, engagement, and revenue.

4. Syncing wearable technology with mobile devices

Wearable technology has become increasingly popular in 2018.

I’m referring to things such as fitness bracelets, smartwatches, healthcare monitors, and glasses. They all can be paired with mobile apps.

Take Fitbit as an example. All the movements of a person wearing it can be tracked through an app. Users can check their heart rates and how many miles they walked in a day, among other things.

By syncing with mobile devices, these apps can be used socially as well. People can compare their progress with their friends and make it a competition.

As a result, it encourages the usage of the technology and increases engagement.

By the end of 2019, experts estimate that more than 125 million units of wearable technology will be shipped. That compares to just 50 million units shipped in 2015.

The reason for the popularity of this technology is its ability to pair with mobile devices.

5. Revenue from mobile applications

Mobile apps are making a killing. Just look at the jump from 2016 to 2017 in terms of global app revenue:

There was a substantial increase in revenue through both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

This trend isn’t slowing down. Mobile apps will continue to thrive. Experts believe that by 2020 the global revenue from mobile apps will be $190 billion.

That’s triple the numbers we saw last year (2017).

6. Mobile devices syncing with homes

Mobile apps are being developed to help improve consumers’ experiences within their own homes.

You can find businesses that sync your home air conditioning and heating with an app. That way, you can control temperatures whether you’re home or not.

Instead of going to a central thermostat in the house, you can reach into your pocket and set everything on your phone.

Home security has been integrated with mobile technology as well. There are apps that have a video camera synced with your doorbell so you can see who is at your front door when the bell rings.

Home security cameras on the inside and outside of your home can all be controlled and monitored from mobile devices.

There are even smart refrigerators that connect with mobile devices. This technology gives you the ability to see inside your refrigerator while you’re at the grocery store so you can see what you need to buy.

7. Enhanced mobile security

Saying that security is important would be an understatement.

With big companies having security breaches, consumers have become increasingly aware of the potential dangers of giving away their personal information.

Many people don’t like the risks of providing sensitive information to businesses, especially through mobile apps. In fact, security and distrust are two of the top reasons why mobile users don’t feel comfortable using mobile payment applications.

Furthermore, 56% of American consumers say they believe mobile payments will increase their chances of becoming a fraud or theft victim. Only 5% of people think these types of payment methods reduce those chances.

But as previously discussed, mobile app revenue is on the rise. While some consumers are reluctant to pay via mobile, others are not.

Businesses are recognizing these perceptions and improving their mobile security. They want their customers to feel as comfortable as possible when paying using mobile devices.

8. Small business mobile apps

Not long ago, mobile applications were just for the big players. But now everyone is developing them.

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business or how small your company may be, you can probably benefit from mobile app development.

Last year, more than half of small business owners in the United States said they had plans to develop a mobile app. Midway through 2018, those apps should be in development and launching soon, if they haven’t already.

Why are they building apps? Fifty-five percent of small business owners are using mobile apps to increase sales revenue.

Apps also improve the user experience and help businesses stay competitive in a market that’s always changing. You can’t afford to fall behind, so you need to stay up to date with the latest technology.

9. Increased mobile payments

As mobile security improves and global app revenue rises, we’ll see an increase in mobile payments as well. Among them are:

• bank apps
• PayPal
• Venmo
• Google Pay
• Samsung Pay
• Apple Pay

Just look at the jump in the number of payment apps users we’ve seen over the last three years:

These numbers are continuing to rise in 2018.

Again, this relates to mobile security. There is a direct correlation between how comfortable people feel making mobile payments and the increase in mobile payment popularity.

10. Transportation apps

For quite some time, we’ve seen apps for train tickets, local bus schedules, etc.

Ride-sharing apps, such as Lyft and Uber, have been dominating for years now as well. Even car sharing apps, such as Zipcar or Turo, are nothing new.

But new apps are bringing transportation to a whole new level. I’m talking about Bird and Lime Bike. Users can locate a scooter or bicycle from their mobile devices.

When they approach the transport, they can unlock it using cameras on their smartphones. Users get charged for the length of time they used the bike or scooter. When they’re done, they can leave it anywhere.

Note that it’s relevant to our discussion about location-based services and mobile payments.

These new types of transportation are also integrated with mobile technology.

Bird raised $15 million earlier this year from investors. They are seeking an additional $100 million. It’s safe to say they predict this will be a major part of the future in this industry.

11. Virtual reality

Virtual reality is not quite the same as augmented reality. You’ll need more than just a smartphone to experience virtual reality.

Typically, a helmet or some type of goggles get used simultaneously with your mobile device. This technology may even come with a joystick or controller.

It’s estimated that the global valuation for the virtual reality market will exceed $26 billion by the year 2022.

This won’t happen overnight. We’re already seeing virtual reality advancements in 2018, and I expect those trends to continue as we move forward.

12. Hybrid apps

Mobile app development can be expensive. Business owners have weighed the pros and cons of native and hybrid app development.

While both have their upsides, native development is more expensive. Furthermore, native apps can be built only for one platform at a time.

This is a problem for smaller businesses with smaller budgets for app development.

If you want to have your app available on both iOS and Android devices, you’d need to go through development twice, which is no easy task. Some businesses can’t afford that.

But hybrid apps make this possible. It gives people the opportunity to launch their apps on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store simultaneously for a fraction of the cost.

That’s another reason why more mobile apps are available for download, which contributes to the rising global app revenue as well.

13. Personal mobile devices in the workplace

Research indicates 87% of businesses depend on their employees to access work resources from their personal mobile devices. This is a big change from what we’ve seen in the past when businesses were trying to prevent this.

The concept is known as BYOD, or bring your own device.

In 2016, 78% of companies that disallowed BYOD said it was due to security concerns. But as I’ve already discussed, mobile security is improving, so now businesses are adapting and changing their policies.

Research shows there is a 34% increase in productivity when employees are allowed to use their personal mobile devices for work, which makes sense.

They are used to handling these devices on a daily basis. It’s easier for them to navigate and stay organized.

This also helps businesses cut back on costs since they don’t need to pay for new hardware.

14. Biometrics advancements

Biometrics are used to enhance security for mobile devices. Examples of biometrics include:

• voice recognition
• facial recognition
• signature recognition
• fingerprint recognition

Your current device may have some of these features installed. We’ll see a lot more of this moving forward.

For example, let’s say you’ve got an iPhone that was released in the last couple of years. You’re used to the fingerprint feature to unlock the device.

But now the new iPhone X has facial recognition software.

Other apps are using biometrics as well. For example, you may be required to use your fingerprint to make a mobile payment through some platforms.

Conclusion

Technology is constantly evolving. Just compare your current smartphone to the phone you had five or ten years ago.

As we continue through 2018, we’ll see several different trends. Older mobile technology will be improved, and newer technology will be introduced.

The idea is to understand how consumers react to these changes. They are the ones who shape these trends.

Identify the upward trends, and adapt accordingly to meet the needs of your mobile customers.

How is your company using the latest mobile trends to make improvements and target mobile consumers?

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My Favorite 11 Platforms for Finding Free Fonts

How important is a font?

Surprisingly, fonts can be more valuable than you might believe. Visualize all the places where you see written words on a daily basis.

You may not think twice about a font when you see one, but you can always spot a bad font.

Choosing the proper font can be tough. You need to make sure it’s clear and legible as well as unique.

The fonts you use on the homepage of your website could be different from the font in your blog posts. Your Instagram story’s font will differ from the font of your email marketing campaigns.

What do you look for in a font? There are various elements of typography you need to consider besides the font itself.

A typeface—font family—is a set of fonts that share similar design elements:

• width
• slant
• italicization
• weight
• style
• ornamentation
• condensation

You’ll also need to consider elements such as leading, tracking, kerning, and line length. These typography components deal with the spacing between lines, letters, and characters.

With thousands of fonts available online, it can be overwhelming to choose the best one for your company.

While I can’t tell you which font to choose, I can show you where to find unique fonts.

These are my top 11 places to find free fonts.

1. The Northern Block

The Northern Block is a reasonable place to start your search.

I like it because the website has a simple design. The navigation is easy to follow, and you won’t have any trouble finding a font suited to your needs.

This platform is based in the UK.

If you want a chance to work with designers from another country, this platform has what you’re looking for.

It specializes in fonts that have a modern feel and design.

While the Northern Block offers free fonts, it also has licensing agreements and paid fonts if you want to be unique.

2. Jeff Schreiber

Some font platforms focus on quantity. Their main selling point is the number of different fonts their users have to choose from.

Don’t get me wrong—it’s great to have options. But sometimes too many choices can be overwhelming.

That’s why I love Jeff Schreiber’s website.

This graphic designer from the Netherlands focuses on quality over quantity.

One of his specialties is fonts specifically optimized for mobile apps.

Jeff also excels at graphic design, lettering, web design, logo design, illustration, and type design. He even deals with information design, iconography, and user interface design.

There are lots of different options to choose from on Jeff’s site. Some of these fonts are free, and others will require a payment.

3. Creative Market

Creative Market is much more than just a place to find fonts.

It offers design elements related to:

• photos
• templates
• themes
• graphics
• add-ons

You can also get 3D models from this platform as well.

There are roughly 23,000 designers sharing their work on the Creative Market platform.

The majority of the products need to be purchased, but you can also get some free goods. Here’s how it works.

Each week, the site offers six packages as free downloads. After that week, you’d have to pay if you want those fonts and other design elements.

If you visit this site every week, you’ll be able to get free fonts normally available for purchase.

While you’re on the Creative Market website, it’s worth checking out its blog. The topics covered are related to graphic design. You can get some inspiration and ideas from these posts.

4. Fontfabric

If you’re looking for fonts geared toward logo design, I recommend exploring the options available on Fontfabric.

It’s really easy to navigate through the platform and download fonts for your business.

As you’ll quickly see when you visit the website, it has tons of free choices.

If you are looking to redesign your company logo or even build a new logo for your startup company, you can use the fonts on Fontfabric as a guide.

The reason why these fonts are great for logos is they are big, bold, and easy to read. Legibility is extremely important when it comes to your logo design. Otherwise, people won’t know who you are.

5. Google Fonts

When most people think of Google, they think of a search engine.

As a business owner, you are probably familiar with some of the other tools Google has available, such as Google Drive or Google Analytics.

But most people don’t realize it also has a tool called Google Fonts.

This platform is great because you can change the example words for each font so you can see what it looks like directly on the platform. It gives you a chance to see what the font will look like with your own content.

You can also change the size of the font, as well as the pixel size, and customize the display options.

Set up your font for paragraphs, numerals, sentences, and different alphabets.

Google provides complete customization for your font. Next, all you need to do is copy the provided link, and you’ll be able to embed the font into your website.

You can set it up as one font for the entire site, or you can use different fonts in different sections. The platform allows you to change the color schemes of the fonts as well.

Google is known for its superior products. Its font tool fits this description as well. It’s worth trying out.

6. Font Freak

If you are looking for a platform with thousands of options to choose from, Font Freak has you covered.

There are more than 9,000 free fonts available for download on this website.

Furthermore, it has an additional 125,000 fonts that can be purchased.

Roughly 400 designers have contributed to the Font Freak library, and that number continues to grow. With so many designers, the site has unique fonts for nearly every scenario.

Font Freak has software that allows you to create your own fonts as well.

The fonts on this platform have different versions depending on which operating system you use. Mac and PC users will download different files, which ensures the fonts are optimized for each type of OS.

If you see several fonts you like, you don’t have to download each one separately. This can be extremely time-consuming.

Instead, you can download full libraries of fonts directly from the site and have access to these different options directly from your device.

7. Fontspace

Fontspace is another platform with a massive library of fonts.

It offers roughly 33,000 free fonts.

I like this platform because you can browse for fonts based on a category. Some of these styles include:

• fun
• famous
• trendy
• extreme
• decorative
• foreign
• holidays

You have the opportunity to find something based specifically on what you plan to use it for.

Fontspace has over 2,000 designers actively contributing to the platform. The best part is all these fonts are free.

If you see a font you like, you can click on the designer’s name and have access to their portfolio. Now, you’ll be able to see all the other fonts designed by that user if you like their style and want to check out more.

You just need to make sure you can see the difference between fonts for commercial use and fonts for personal use only.

Fontspace gives you additional information about each font as well. You’ll be able to see the rating for each font based on how users score it after a download. They also show the number of times the font has been downloaded.

If you want something that’s popular, you’ll navigate toward fonts with a high download rate.

But those of you who want to be unique can find fonts not many others have used yet.

8. FontStruct

FontStruct is unique because the platform allows you to build and customize your own fonts directly on the site.

This tool is 100% free to use.

In addition to creating fonts, you can also create custom geometric shapes through FontStruct as well.

After you create your own design, you can easily download your fonts and shapes. Use them for nearly any application.

I like this tool because it gives you a chance to be unique. You know that if you create a font from scratch, nobody else will have the same one.

If you’re not that creative and don’t think you can create a font out of thin air, you’re not out of options.

Just alter and customize fonts previously made by other users on the platform.

9. Font Squirrel

The reason why Font Squirrel should be one of the top options you consider is that all its fonts are licensed for commercial use.

You know that anything you download from the site can be used for purposes related to your business.

In addition, Font Squirrel has a unique feature, setting the site apart from the other platforms we’ve seen so far.

It offers a tool allowing you to identify fonts.

I’m sure you’ve come across a font before on the web and wondered what it was called.

From this platform, you can scan that font, and Font Squirrel will identify the name of it. The software will also show you other fonts with a similar design.

You can learn more about graphic design topics by checking out the platform’s blog.

To those of you who want to take full advantage of everything Font Squirrel has to offer, I recommend creating an account on the platform.

Now you’ll have a chance to communicate with designers, subscribers, and other business owners to discuss related topics through forums.

10. Abstract Fonts

There are nearly 14,000 fonts available for download from Abstract Fonts.

This platform allows you to search by category so you can limit your choices instead of feeling overwhelmed by the great number of options it offers.

Another reason why I like abstract fonts is you can search for fonts created by specific designers.

If you downloaded a font from a certain designer in the past, you can easily find other fonts they’ve created since the last time you visited the website.

If you’re a designer, Abstract Fonts is a great place for you to share your work with prospective businesses looking for something trendy and unique.

Abstract Fonts is a great resource for people who want something different from the typical fonts seen on popular websites.

The platform gives you a chance to download a font that will make your text stand out from the crowd.

11. MyFonts

There are more than 130,000 fonts available for download on the MyFonts platform.

When you visit the site, you’ll notice that some of these fonts are available for purchase. These are the premium options, and the prices vary from a few bucks to hundreds of dollars.

But the site has an entire section dedicated to free fonts.

If you want to find a unique font without spending any money, you’ll benefit from this site.

Conclusion

Finding a font may not be your top priority.

That said, don’t overlook the importance of a great font.

You want to make sure the fonts you’re using for all aspects of your business serve a purpose. Titles should stand out. Blogs should be easy to read. Logos must be unique.

If you take the time to search through fonts, you can even set up your site to have an overall feeling, mood, or theme related to what you’re trying to convey.

There is seemingly an endless number of fonts available online. Tons of various sources offer fonts for download.

I’ve narrowed down my favorite platforms for finding free fonts. Refer to the list above to give you some guidance.

But I know there are many other font resources.

What’s your favorite platform for downloading free fonts on the Internet?

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The Top 15 Ways to Come up with New Content Ideas

I write a ton of blog posts for my websites.

Writing has become a major part of my life throughout the years.

People recognize this and often ask me the same question: How do you come up with these new ideas?

Truthfully, writer’s block happens to all of us. Just ask any writer, and they’ll tell you the same thing.

Sometimes you sit down, and the words don’t spill onto the page as easy as you’d like them to. I can relate and empathize with you there.

That said, I don’t have much trouble coming up with new ideas. I came up with a system a while ago that made it easy for me to constantly source new topics to write about.

These strategies aren’t limited to blog posts.

They can be used to come up with content for research articles, podcasts, and ebooks. You can even use them to come up with ideas for your new video blog or whatever else you’re working on.

Here are the top 15 ways to source new content ideas.

1. Create topic lists in bunches

When you’re ready to write new content, you shouldn’t be sitting down to decide what you’ll write about.

This wastes time, and it’s inefficient.

I like to create long lists of potential topics all at once. Spend a few hours researching subjects for new ideas.

Give yourself enough topics for at least a month or two. If you’re publishing three posts per week, you’ll want to aim for at least 12 to 24 new ideas.

Sometimes, I come up with 50 topics at a time.

When your mind is focused on one task, it’s much easier to brainstorm. Come up with the ideas first. You can perfect the titles when you start writing.

This strategy will make it easier for you to pump out content. You’ll be able to pick a topic from your list and start writing.

2. Social media followers

Start with people who follow you on social media. Click on their profiles and see what they’re talking about.

Read through tweets. Check out photos. See what brands they are interacting with.

Some of these may lead to a dead end, but others can be extremely beneficial to your brainstorming process.

Plus, if you have tons of social media followers, you’ll always have a huge source of ideas.

You could even ask your followers directly. Post a question on your Instagram story, and ask for replies.

For example, let’s say you have a brand related to the fitness industry. Ask your followers a question about their favorite unconventional workouts or what meals help them lose weight.

The answers will help you come up with new content ideas.

3. Blog comments

Review the comments on all your posts. You should do that even when you’re not trying to come up with new ideas.

It gives you a chance to communicate with your audience. Always respond to their comments.

These comments can be a great source of inspiration. For example, here’s one of the comments from a recent post I wrote on the Neil Patel blog:

The reader makes some interesting points here. I could pull a few different concepts from this message to write about in the future.

As you can see, I responded to his comment as well.

If people ask questions in the comments section, those questions could be used as titles for a new topic. Just tweak a few words or so to make it SEO friendly.

Regardless of what your audience comments about, I’m confident you can generate at least one or two ideas from this section of each post you publish.

The great thing about this source is it’s nearly never-ending. As long as you keep publishing new posts, there will always be new ideas hidden in the comments.

4. Conduct interviews

How do you know what type of content your audience wants to see? Ask them directly to tell you.

Conduct interviews. Ask them about their habits.

The great thing about an interview is it doesn’t have to be direct. You don’t have to have a clear black and white question with a definitive yes or no answer.

Just find ways to get people talking.

You’d be surprised how interesting some of these statements can be. The responders may start feeding you new content ideas without even realizing it.

It’s in your best interest to record your interviews. That way, you can review them later instead of frantically trying to write things down while someone is speaking.

5. Competitor websites

If you’re not sure what to write about, check out your competitor’s blog. This is one of the best ways to come up with long lists of topics in bunches.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to steal or plagiarize. But there is nothing wrong with using their titles and concepts for idea generation.

Look through their posts and start writing down topics you haven’t covered yet.

You have a huge advantage here because you can try to make your post about the same topic even better than theirs. For example, let’s say you’re using a top 10 list from a competitor’s blog as an inspiration for a new content idea. Well, you can try to one up them by creating a top 15 list on the same topic.

In addition to your competitor’s titles for new content ideas, you can also look at other aspects of their website.

Read through their comments section. You already did this with the comments on your website, so it makes sense there will be ideas buried in other sites as well.

See if they have an FAQ page on their site. These questions could all be ideas for the topics you can write about.

6. Google search suggestions

If you’ve got a general topic in mind, start searching for it on Google:

Look at all the suggested topics that come up when I type in “email marketing.”

These suggestions could all be topics to cover.

In addition to the search suggestions, you can also check out the related searches at the bottom of the page:

If you’re not sure what to search for to generate these suggestions, start with content titles you’ve already posted.

The reason why this is such a good strategy is because you know the topics will be relevant to your audience.

Plus, you can assume these new titles will be SEO friendly since you sourced them through Google.

7. Recent events

Depending on your brand, you may not want to be reporting breaking news.

It won’t speak to your audience, and it doesn’t fit with your company image.

But you can definitely come up with ways to get creative. When you’re watching the news or reading updates from an online source, try to figure out how you can make these topics relevant to your brand.

Look up local events or  national trade shows related to your industry.

Give your audience information about the event. Tell them what they need to know if they want to attend or register.

8. Product reviews

Think about recent products you’ve used related to your brand or industry.

You can review these topics in a blog post or video demonstration.

For example, let’s say you run a website related to camping and other outdoor adventures. If you go on a fishing trip and use a new pole, you could write about your experience with the new gear.

If your company is releasing a new product, use this method to build hype for a new product launch.

You could even write reviews for products you don’t own and never used. Just look up products online, and base your discussion around online customer reviews.

9. Topic generator platforms

If you’re still stuck and can’t think of anything to write about or research, use online sources to help you generate topics.

One of my favorites is the HubSpot blog ideas generator.

As you can see, it’s pretty simple.

Just add some keywords you want to include, and the tool will come up with a list of potential ideas.

In addition to the HubSpot tool, you can check out Portent’s content idea generator.

10. Personal stories

When in doubt, tell a story about something that happened to you.

It could be a success story. Or maybe tell your audience a story about a mistake you made.

How did you learn from it? How did you get to be where you are today?

It could be a recent story or one from the past. Master the art of storytelling.

Personal stories are great because they make your content unique. While people may have similar stories, the details of yours won’t be the same as anyone else’s.

11. Sign up for newsletters

Get content ideas delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up for industry newsletters. They’ll keep you up to date with trending topics, news, and events.

You can even sign up for competitor newsletters. See what they are discussing with their customers.

Use the topics covered in these emails to generate new content ideas.

12. YouTube videos

All businesses should have a YouTube profile. Use it to upload videos, and then share those videos on all your marketing channels.

But YouTube can also be a resource for coming up with new ideas.

Treat it the same way as a Google search, which I previously discussed. As you start to type in a subject, you’ll see suggestions.

When you watch a video, there will be related videos on the sidebar for you to consider as well.

Let’s say your brand is in the automotive industry. Here’s an example from the ChrisFix YouTube channel:

This video is about how to change the oil in a car. But look at the videos on the sidebar I’ve highlighted.

These related topics are about how to replace brake pads and how to repair rust on a car. Both of these are suitable new content ideas related to this industry.

In addition to finding topics based on the titles of videos, you can also watch some of them to find some inspiration within their content.

Just as you did with your website and the websites of your competitors, you’ll also want to read through the comments section of YouTube videos. Check out the comments on your videos as well as the videos you’re watching to help generate new ideas.

13. New products and technology

If your company sells something, writing content about a new product release is a win-win scenario.

I briefly mentioned this earlier when I talked about product reviews.

First, you’ll be able to generate a buzz for the release, which will ultimately help you drive sales. But it also gives you something to write about.

Furthermore, staying up to date with the latest technology trends can help you come up with new topics to cover.

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or what type of business you have, new technology is evolving everywhere.

There could be new software directly related to your business or just a general advancement in your industry. These are all scenarios to consider sharing with your audience.

14. Use data and analytics

Have you seen a recent study related to your brand or industry?

Write about it.

You don’t have to be the one conducting the research, although that would make the content even better. But to save time, you can use new data to write about a subject.

For example, let’s say you’re in the fashion industry. This new study may be something worth writing about:

Use this study to talk about fashion trends that don’t require wearing a tie. Or maybe share ideas about how to wear a loose tie with the top shirt button unfastened.

You could even share a video demonstration about how to properly tie a tie so that it’s not too tight around the neck.

All these ideas came from new facts in your industry.

15. Revisit previously published content

Your old content shouldn’t be dead and forgotten. Use those topics for ideas too.

Just re-work the titles, and write a newer post from a different angle.

For example, let’s say your company is in the field of mobile app marketing. If you had written a post about how to get ranked on the app store, a new topic could be how to boost your ranking to get more downloads.

Although the topics are similar, they are not quite the same.

Or let’s say you’re in the personal finance space. An old topic might have been about how to save for retirement. But you can take some of the content from that piece and write a new article about the best retirement accounts to invest in.

If an old post has outdated research, you can write a new one that includes the updated information.

Conclusion

While you may suffer from writer’s block from time to time, you should never be struggling to come up with new content ideas.

There are many resources at your disposal. Learn how to take advantage of them.

Come up with a long list of new ideas at once.

Go through this guide of tips and tricks, and you won’t have any problems.

What resources are you using to generate new content ideas?

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