Lancôme boosts mobile speed, sales with Google's progressive web app

Dive Brief:

• Lancôme’s mobile site experienced a significant boost in traffic and conversions following the October 2016 launch of its progressive web app (PWA), according to a case study showcased on Google's developers blog. Traffic rose by over 50% and conversions by 17%. Page load times dropped by 84%, and the redesigned interface simplified mobile purchasing.
• The beauty giant began using push notifications to reengage consumers, which has driven an 8% rise in conversion rates on recovered carts. As of last week, more than 18,000 people had signed up for the alerts.
• PWA is a fast, app-like platform that works across all devices without needing to download an app, according to Business Insider. Lancôme said its new technology gave users a better mobile experience, which led to a 15% drop in bounce rate.

Dive Insight:

The main driver of Lancôme’s move was data that showed mobile traffic eclipsing that of desktop for the first time in 2016, yet the number of purchases made on smartphones didn’t quite match that surge. While 38% of shopping carts led to orders on desktop, that number was just 15% for mobile, the case study said. This disparity told the company that its customers browsed products just fine on a smartphone, but faced obstacles when they tried to make a purchase.

A natural inclination would be to then develop an app specifically to streamline mobile purchasing and solve this problem. But in Lancôme’s case, ditching the app was a smart move. Because apps require users to download and keep the app on their phone for regular use, it didn’t make sense for a beauty product company whose customers likely won’t visit every day or week.

Lancôme eliminated that barrier of entry and opted for a PWA, a sort of silver bullet solution that uses a single version of a site that works like an app seamlessly across all devices but without the hassle of needing to download via an app store. In the same vein as accelerated mobile pages (AMP), a PWA lets digital marketers rethink the way they can deliver their site in a mobile-first world. Though the adoption of PWA is still in its infancy, companies like Lyft, The Washington Post and several travel sites have already launched beta sites.

In this effort, Lancôme is taking advantage of reengagement technology like opt-in push notifications to promote discounts and product releases and encourage customers to return to the site. Early results suggest the strategy is working. More than 18,000 customers get alerts, which have driven an 8% rise in mobile conversion rates on previously abandoned carts, a higher rate than for the desktop site, the case study said.

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“Don’t watch the clock, Do What it does. Keep Going!”

Warby Parker develops eye tests via mobile app

Dive Brief:

• Warby Parker has developed a new Prescription Check app that allows consumers to self-administer an eye test through their smartphone and computer. The results can then be reviewed remotely by an eye doctor who can provide a prescription, the company announced in a video on its web site.
• The retailer currently is testing the app in four states — California, Florida, New York and Virginia — where at this stage it is available only to existing Warby Parker customers between the ages of 18 and 40, according to TechCrunch. For now, those users are only able to confirm that a previous subscription is still correct. The app is not yet able to issue new prescriptions.
• To administer the tests, a user stands back several feet from their computer screen and uses their smartphone camera dialed into the app to help them measure the correct distance from the screen. Then, the user follows instructions from the app to take the 20-minute test.

Dive Insight:

Warby Parker is emphasizing upfront that its Prescription Check app is not meant to replace or stand in for customers' regular eye doctor check-ups. That's an important admission for the retailer to make. While sales of prescription eye glasses are its core business, optometry and ophthalmology aren't — not yet anyway.

The idea with this app is to make the process involved in buying a new pair of glasses online more efficient. It's a process traditionally fraught with friction, as customers may shop styles they are interested in, but then have to consult with their own eye doctor offline to actually get the prescription for Warby Parker to use to make the glasses.

The retailer does have several dozen physical retail stores where customers can go in and have their prescriptions checked, and it's rapidly expanding its brick-and-mortar presence, but its existing stores can serve only a very small portion of the addressable market for a retailer primarily focused on online sales. For now, most of its customers likely still attend brick-and-mortar stores with an in-house optometrist to get their eyes checked there, and then return to Warby Parker to buy glasses. But that leaves a lot of room for the customer to buy glasses elsewhere.

Warby Parker's new feature, to some extent, is an attempt to streamline its own purchasing process for its customers, but it is also trying to keep them from ending up in another venue where they might end up by glasses. If the retailer releases this app on a wider basis and allows customer to start using it to obtain new or updated prescriptions, the retailer could be on to a new source of growth.

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“Collect Moments, Not Things!”

Report: Snapchat offers discounts on ad placements

Dive Brief:

• Snapchat, the camera and messaging application with about 166 million users worldwide, is offering discounts, bonuses and credits as incentives to ad buyers, according to a report in Digiday that cites unnamed sources.
• The offers include a 10% bonus media coupon and discounts on Snapchat’s self-serve platform, according to media buyers who requested anonymity. The deals are being offered through the middle of next month as parent company Snap Inc. starts to wrap up its second quarter. 
• The promotions are intended to get more advertisers on the platform so that the company can show investors that sales are growing, Brian Cristiano, chief executive at Bold Worldwide, told Digiday.

Dive Insight:

Snapchat's parent company Snap Inc. is making the transition from Silicon Valley unicorn to a public company with investors who keep score by the stock price. Shareholders can be forgiving of monetary losses if they see a longer-term future in audience growth and loyalty that will appeal to advertisers down the road. Snapchat has attracted some big brands like Wal-Mart and Pepsi for one-off campaigns as they look to target millennials, but the platform's niche positioning — and sluggish user growth — could hurt efforts to try to build ongoing programs with advertisers. 

For its Q1 earning report, the company disappointed Wall Street on almost every metric, with much of its Q1 loss attributable to compensation expenses after its $24 billion initial public offering, the biggest tech IPO since Alibaba's in 2014. Shares plummeted more than 20% after its first-quarter report.

While offering advertisers discounts reeks of desperation to fill unsold inventory, the stock hasn’t moved on those reports. Tech stocks are still hot this year, and Snap can continue to ride the wave of enthusiasm of its March 2017 IPO. But ultimately, the company needs to grow sales and its audience base to avoid Twitter’s fate of seeking a deep-pocketed buyer. After all, Facebook was said to have offered $3 billion for Snapchat four years ago, per The Wall Street Journal.

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“But take the Step!”

VUI: How to design for an invisible interface

To those in the know, VUI is pronounced “vooey,” and it stands for voice user interface. It even has its own bad joke. Because voice control lacks a screen, there’s nothing to touch or look at. It’s an interface without a “face.”

If you think it’s a gimmick, however, think again. The promise of VUI is huge. If we create intelligent auditory interfaces that understand speech and context, we’ll be able to deliver what people ask for, hands-free, and with almost no effort.

Of course, we aren’t there yet, but we also aren’t as far away as you might think. Wolfram, Siri, Watson, Alexa and Google Assistant all have VUIs that are starting to make conversational computing possible. But much like people, they are not the same, and we should know the differences between them if we want to understand the best practices for them as a whole.

For a quick breakdown, Siri and Wolfram are step-siblings with a shared lineage. Both are glorified search bars that serve users by supplying answers to queries. Siri can take on extra tasks by accessing other apps and software development kits (SDKs), but everything else becomes a web search.

Next, we have the conversationalists — Alexa and Google Home — both of which power numerous devices and applications. These two can, to a limited degree, talk to you and provide functionality. They both adeptly handle search, play audio and answer questions in a conversational way. That said, there are several differences between them. Alexa currently has an SDK and is open to third-party developers, while Google plans to do the same soon. Google Home can use its understanding of data to be personalized and predictive. Alexa is not as user-centric and doesn't rely on that type of personalization.

Moving forward, we should expect VUIs to become both more conversational and widespread. This brings up the inevitable question: How can brands get into the act? How do we make experiences that are useful and wanted, rather than annoying?

Here we have an emerging set of guidelines requiring that any assistant be conversational, natural, simple and habitual.

Conversational

Human beings do not usually dictate, they converse. As a result, brands should work toward making the tone of their interactions informal and conversational while not straying too far from the personality of the assistant itself. The more you make users deviate from their normal conversational patterns, the more clunky the interaction will be.

In addition, you have to remember the limits of conversational interaction. “Seven, plus or minus two” is how renowned psychologist George Miller put it in his classic research paper. We only have a limited number of things we can keep in mind, so individual answers to queries or interactions shouldn't be too long.

Natural

Most VUIs require some unnatural communication, like a wake word, so that they know they’re being spoken to. However, you should make sure that your application allows users to make requests that are as natural as possible. You shouldn't only account for the most common way people ask for something, but also as many variations and word combinations as you can find. If you ask an app to show you a recipe for chicken à la king, it should show you one. But if you say, “Tell me how to make chicken à la king,” or “Find me Chef John’s chicken à la king,” both of those should work too.

Simple

We all take a mental leap when we talk to a computer, undergoing a training phase in which we learn how to use an app. That’s why great voice apps always start out simple, doing one thing well. Then, with every iteration or upgrade, you can add a new function. It’s a "crawl walk run" mentality. And remember: Even as an app grows increasingly complex, information hierarchies should remain shallow, as users can easily get lost.

Habitual

Because your app is "invisible," it can easily be forgotten. Instead, make it something people want to use every day. The list skill on Alexa works well because it is something you might constantly use.

Creating an interface without a face may seem a complex undertaking, but with good experience design and a willingness to take baby steps, we’ll be well on our way to reaching the full potential of VUI. We'll one day be able to give orders, receive information and get things done effortlessly. For now, let’s work together and work smart, one app at a time.

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“Destroy What Destroys You!”

We are Hiring !

GOOD NEWS! WE ARE HIRING!
-Attractive Salary and Allowances.
-High Commission Payouts
-Trips and Transport Allowances provided
-Flexible Working hours
-Work from 10am to 6pm and avoid the hussle and bussel on the road.

We are seeking highly motivated and responsible individuals who believe they can make a DIFFERENCE.

WHO ARE WE?

EZYFX BERHAD is a foreign exchange brokerage established in Malaysia to help investors Learn to Earn the legal and right way of investing. We also provide education, guidance, fund management and trading platform for investors to trade stocks, commodities, futures, debentures, currencies and other options.

Furthermore we help enhance the lifestyle of investors in Malaysia and all over the world by connecting them through the worlds most trusted platform. We also educate investors the difference between legitimate investment and ponzy investments.

The openings available in our company are as follow:-

1. Secretary

- Assist Directors and Managers
- Attend phone calls
- Compose official letters
- Manage meeting schedules
- Manage business related documents and files
- Manage office cleanliness
- Manage monthly rental and utility bills
- Manage staff attendance
Diploma in Secretarial or higher

2. Super Admin/ Personal Administrator

- Assist and facilitate marketing agents
- Compile prospects, clients and agent’s feedbacks
- Prepare latest marketing materials
- Update latest product and new product promotions to agents
- Propose or customize the best product and marketing strategy for agents
Diploma/Degree in management or experienced

3. Compliance & Accounts

- Manage staffs pay cheque
- Manage special assignments related to business licensing and authorities
 - Prepare all company, partner and client related agreements
- Prepare legal letters, documents or proposals
- Liaise with appointed lawyers on legalising documents
- In-charge of company’s control documents and licenses
Diploma in Business Accounting/ Law

4. Manager – Sales & Marketing

- Oversee the overall marketing for the company
- Lead the in-house marketing officers (MO) appointed by MM
a) Set monthly goal/KPI for the team
b) Prepare necessary material and guide lines to facilitate the marketing team
c) Assist MOs to close sales
d) Weekly team meeting

- Lead the marketing team
a) Set monthly goal/KPI for the team
b) Produce leads
c) Prepare scripts for cold call and follow ups
d) Keep the team up to date with latest information and updates
e) Weekly team meeting

- Propose and conduct special events to establish company’s branding
- Explore the best strategy for online marketing to establish company’s branding
- Assist in opening franchise outlet for local and international market
Diploma/Degree in Marketing/ Management/ Mass-comm

5. Tele-Marketing
- Make cold calls with the prospect lead given by the company
- To ensure signing up prospects with the best package
- To compile more leads from the initial leads given
- To handle queries; general, new investor sign-ups and deposits/withdrawal
- To facilitate/ update investor with latest information/ technology and help investor to upgrade their packages
- Introduce training classes as per scheduled Diploma in Marketing/ Management/ Mass-comm

6. Online marketing jobs also available

For those who are interested to know more and attend an interview.

Kindly send your resume and photo to ezyfxla@gmail.com or call Dr Hari 012 299 0776.
37A Jalan Raya Barat
41000 Pelabohan Klang, Selangor, Malaysia

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“Life Goes On…!”