Importance of Platform Specific UI Design for Mobile Applications
I have often heard people saying “Let’s keep the UI same for all the mobile platforms.”, “Is this app already designed for Android? Ok, let’s replicate it on iOS as well.”, “Client is okay compromising on the beautification of the app. It should just be functional.”. In this series of blogs, I will explain as to why – as a customer, a marketing evangelist, and a developer; it is important to follow platform specific guidelines while designing mobile apps and why we need to keep our mobile application designs differentiated for respective platforms. There will be only 8-10% scenarios where we can keep the UI similar (not same still!). I recently downloaded an application on my iPhone which was designed to run on both iOS and Android. Yes, the application is functional. It lets the user navigate, perform kinds of actions on different screens etc. But being an iOS user for the past 5 years, it was neither easy nor pleasing for me to understand the controls in the app. Few screens looked web-like, others looked Android-like. It took me a while to understand the overall flow of the application. The color scheme didn’t match to what my eyes are used to seeing in all other apps built for iPhone. I am assuming that the product team failed to explain to the clients about how important it is to follow UI design paradigms of the specific platform for any mobile app. I am sure they would have loved the approach if they were informed about the importance of design. The overall look and feel, branding could have been kept same following platform-specific guidelines for navigation, animation, actions, colors, shadows, hues etc. Result – I uninstalled the app. In my experience, creating similar looking UI design confuses and isolates the users. It is good to stick to native experience as the application would be predictable and easy to use. End users always expect an experience which is aligned with their platform. Uninstallation & Bad Reviews – In a recent survey it is shown that 60-70% of the people uninstall the app within the first day of installation. This is the last thing a company would want for its product. If the users don’t find an app easy to use in the first go, there is no second thought before they uninstall the app and write a bad review. In such scenarios, users tend to switch to the desktop. This is also valid for an enterprise user. I have seen enterprise users taking the desktop route when they fail to relate to the application. And this voids the very purpose of an enterprise having invested in the app. Here is a survey which shows that around 42% of the uninstallations happen due to bad UI/UX. Having said that, I would like to add that the decision to go with a common design approach for multiple platforms completely depends on the complexity of the app and its requirement. Around 8-10% of the apps are mostly form filling apps or single page apps with ‘read only’ data. In such scenarios, going with a common design approach is considered to be a better solution in terms of ease of development and maintenance. Below is a simple example which showcases this scenario – The app below is a simple form which captures users’ response and communicates them to the server. (A simple form filling application sharing the same design on Android and iOS) But when we talk about other apps which has more user interactions involved with a bigger set of data to deal with, it is better to stick with the platform specific design convention. Whenever we begin to design our apps for any platform, it is very important to know and understand the design principles of that platform. I will explain the differences between iOS and Android screen layout and how minor changes in the design effect user experience and adaptability in my next blog. References – https://www.prlog.org/12254771-top-7-reasons-why-mobile-users-uninstall-apps.html http://iosdesign.ivomynttinen.com/ http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/a-tale-of-two-platforms-designing-for-both-android-and-ios–cms-23616
Innovative Digital Advertising for Higher Revenue through Media Planning
With smart, tech-savvy millennials preferring minimal encroachment by ads, drawing attention becomes a challenge for marketers, but technology is bringing new ways to stay connected. Marketers need to unlearn and re-learn technology, consumer preferences, competitor actions and a host of other variables. Only then can they stay relevant in the dynamic marketplace. It is vital for brands to look out for innovative advertising solutions that entice next-gen consumers. Marketers need to rethink their advertising strategies, decipher the right mix of channels, and implement the optimum amount of investment to survive, sustain, and grow. Innovation is the key 1. Personalized advertising: Programmatic technologies allow marketers to effectively decipher customer profiles and shoot across personalized, targeted messages to prospects. At a time when it is crucial for brands to be succinct and informative at the same time, targeted advertising works wonders in attracting potential revenue generators. 2. Transactional ads: They allow users to purchase just by clicking on digital ads, without even visiting the advertiser’s website. Transactional ads are in vogue and disruptive technology allows the use of a single touchpoint for interaction and purchase. By upselling and cross-selling via these ads, companies can achieve higher ROI from their advertising spend while reducing the time to purchase. 3. In-app advertising: With smartphones emerging as the major chunk of the advertising pie, in-app advertising is gaining its share of eyeballs. In-app advertising works great for sending highly targeted messages to a segmented audience. An ad network pays the ad developer to include its code into the application so that when the app is running, the ad network serves targeted advertisements through the software. In-app advertising is reckoned to be the next big thing. 4. Native ads: As a response to users being somewhat blind to traditional banners, native advertising has been a solution to rely on. Advertisements are cohesively delivered and integrated into the page design. This way, the user feels that the ad is actually a part of the content, at least at first glimpse. And native advertising is proving to be a great way to create brand awareness. The future is here Innovative technologies do bring challenges and marketers need to think creatively to overcome technological and operational barriers. The future of digital advertising is all about programmatic technology because it is designed for targeting the right people with what they might need. Identifying that correctly is impossible by manual methods, and that is why programmatic can set brands apart and help them sustain profits.
Creating Opportunities: Mortgage Loan Originators Morph into Sales Personnel
The loan origination phase is a confluence of many opportunities. But bank personnel are found limiting themselves to application checks for compliance. The high number of regulations swamps too many people with paperwork and processing, and leaves few free for marketing operations, which are essential to productive loan origination. Prospecting and referrals entail marketing campaigns, attending industry events, running a social profile, and making sales calls. Post-sales services are also necessary to maintain bank reputation. Personnel who specialized in marketing have to concentrate on processing applications and checking for compliance in the face of new regulations. Although software can automate loan origination, some banks have virtually no workforce left to deal with marketing. They are feeling the need for specialized marketing teams, especially with the advent of social media. The focus has shifted to centralized digital marketing. Referral-partner phone calls, follow-up meetings, coordination with underwriters, and settlements with real-estate agents also require a special expertise. Digital specialists and data analysts have been able to mine through huge databases and send targeted messages to customers. It works better than generic email blasts and frees mortgage loan originators to do the necessary mortgage activities. Compliance with the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures Act (TRID) is a major necessity. Every message from the lender should be consistent and controlled across multiple channels. Centralized marketing campaigns help to deliver targeted messages to customers, at different stages of buying, while complying with current credit policies of US. Digital marketing campaigns are of high value for originators, as many are undertaken on behalf of the MLO (mortgage loan originator). The module uses the mortgage loan originators’ sales distribution lists and segments the business completely. Social media helps utilize the expertise of a marketing team and compliant messages with consistent brand information can be posted at regular intervals to reach out to customers. Modern technology has customers finding social interactive pages more trustworthy compared to a website. Banks cannot depend just on originators to run coordinated digital marketing campaigns. The institutions need to support them with point-of-sale and retail marketing by integrating them with loan origination systems. It gives mortgage lenders better tools to multiply sales.
From Good to Great: Top 6 Innovative Advertising Strategies
Consumers have a host of devices to stay connected: mobiles, tablets, laptops, desktops, you name it and they have it. With the power of technology, it takes only a few clicks to know what is happening on the other side of the world. From checking out social feeds on smartphones to downloading the latest editions of newsletters, consumers make the most of all the devices at their disposal. Being connected 24/7 is something that has emerged as a trend in the digital era. The changing times pose a huge challenge for marketers engaging customers across multiple locations and devices. So the industry is using programmatic solutions that don’t just create engaging, personalized content, but track customers across multiple devices, study their behavior, and target the right ones for the right objectives. That is what converts prospects into customers and fetches higher ROI. Programmatic advertising is the holy grail of digital marketing and the latest ad platforms have been truly revolutionary. They automate the ad buying process and help in effective targeting, segmentation, profiling, and tracking. The platforms also help analyze the results they bring. People recognize a good ad when they see one. So finding the right bucket of prospects at the right time and presenting them with that perfect combination of copy and visual is a mission that advertisers must consider. Innovative advertising should lead to deeper engagement and more conversions through campaign management solutions. Here are 6 strategies to advertise innovatively at minimal cost: Ensure a sizeable proportion of budget for mobile advertising Invest in cross-device tracking and targeting Use native marketing for today’s information-hungry audience Prioritize behavioral data such as past purchasing and online browsing patterns Think hyper-personalization, as ads can never be ‘too personalized’ Focus on exciting creatives to entice people and discourage them from blocking ads It is of utmost importance for brands to understand that consumers today want to drive conversations. Just promoting doesn’t work anymore, content does. So if your brand hasn’t started talking programmatic solutions or donned the creative hat, it’s time.
How to Plug GSA (Google Search Appliance) with AEM or Any CMS
This article discusses the best way to leverage enterprise search platform Google Search Appliance (GSA) in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) and any other CMS. AEM is a comprehensive content management platform for building websites, mobile apps, and forms. It helps deliver content consistently across devices and provides responsive, relevant, and social experiences, placing customers at the center of every interaction. GSA helps employees and customers garner accurate, relevant information to make smart decisions and stay productive. It can read more than 220 file types and find information from databases, file systems, and common repositories like SharePoint, Livelink, Lotus Notes, Filenet, and Documentum. Why is GSA required? GSA provides an extensive level of search features to an individual entity, with specific enterprise enhancements that make searching easier, intuitive, and customizable. GSA is required when the customer wants to implement features like: Scalable enterprise search solution Federated search across domain Partial search, exact search, advanced search, autocomplete, synonyms, autosuggestion and much more Reduced search result execution time Improved throughput performance Faceted search (can be in sync with AEM tags) Search in entire content pages and all types of digital assets Implementation approach Install and configure GSA appliance Create custom connector: Custom connector can help listen to calls from AEM and pass information to GSA. GSA API is based on Java. So other CMSs can leverage GSA Java API for creating custom connector. But another CMS has to write its own event handler. Sample code: AEM Event Handler for GSA Read data (thrown by AEM) at GSA in the form of feed Sample GSA Feed Start indexing and crawling The automated index process will start once the feed is pushed to the GSA. After completion of indexing, the admin can see the status of crawled data. GSA will deliver the best search results Search results will be served by GSA based on keyword or filtering criteria. GSA can deliver the search content in the form of JSON, XML, or XSLT. Below is the sample JSON output. Such integration of AEM with GSA yields the following benefits: Scalable enterprise search solution Minimum development and maintenance activities Improved accuracy of search results Reports on search activities like most searchable keyword, promoted content view, etc. Tavant has successfully implemented AEM-GSA integration for a leading digital media organization and a leading online examination service.
Attention Mortgage Servicers: Are You Aware of The New TCPA Rules?
Following TRID, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) continues to caution mortgage CxOs. Process, finance, and technology heads felt they already did their bit by investing in loan origination technology to comply with TRID, but TCPA rules are mandating expensive CRM operations. While the penalty for an unsolicited debt-collection call can be as much as $1,500, process and technology changes can save the lenders from new debt-collection rules. Litigation should be avoided as far as possible. According to the new Act, debt-collection calls require prior written or oral consent before consumers receive them on their wireless devices. The calls can be made only to landlines or telephones if the borrower prefers it that way. It severely restricts the ability of debt collection agencies. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has expanded the definition of “Autodialer” and it includes any phone that automatically dials random or sequential numbers from the lender’s end. Every smartphone at the collection agency’s end will be considered an autodialer and require expressed consent from the consumers. More needs to be implemented upon the arrival of TCPA rules: Pre-recorded telemarketing messages must include an automated interactive opt-out mechanism, and it should be available throughout the duration of the call. Thus, consumers should have the option of dropping the call at any stage of the conversation. If consumers invoke the option to unsubscribe, then they should be delegated to the do-not-call list and not called henceforth. The recorded telemarketing messages should include a toll-free number to opt out of marketing calls. The burden of proof of consent falls squarely on debt collectors with the new FCC rules. Mortgage servicers should amend their policies and technologies to mitigate debt-collection calls. There are several means of ensuring consent, like written consent on the 1003 at the loan origination stage or web-based consent when uploading borrower information. Mortgage servicers should be careful in future, especially about how the new TCPA rules apply. Noncompliance can result in litigation and cause a loss of millions, as autodialers might end up reaching thousands of borrowers without consent.
How Being Social Helps Brands In Spite of the Congestion
Today, it’s not merely about providing quality products. It’s more about innovative marketing. Companies are diving deep into creative ways to promote their brands and reaching out to prospects. With 3 million people on the internet and 2.1 billion active on social media, this particular channel is indeed creating quite a buzz. The impact of social media on business performance cannot be ignored. In today’s dynamic environment, for businesses to sustain, relationship building is of paramount importance. Social media provides an incredible opportunity for businesses to build, sustain, and engage with customers 24*7. How do social media help businesses become profitable? By effectively using a mix of social platforms, brands can send across the right messages at the right time to the right group of people, thus creating brand awareness. By building relationships and communities, social media helps in forming loyal customers. Its presence gives brands a human touch. Here, brands behave as humans do and that gives them an opportunity to engage better with customers, that too on a real-time basis, and mostly without manual action. Here we look at some strategies to get the best out of your social media: What is the objective? Companies need to set the goals of social media campaigns. They must identify the variables they seek to achieve—be it advertising, creating brand awareness, brand loyalty, higher conversions, etc. Declare your presence After setting the objective, companies need to start creating awareness. By creating social pages, posting blogs, starting communities, forums and webinars, companies can tap into potential leads, help disseminate information regarding their products, share their thought leadership, and build a network. All these go a long way in creating and maintaining brand awareness. Choosing the best social medium platform Companies need to devote time and effort to researching the best social platforms suited for them. For example, Facebook can be used for reaching out to a large number of people and building a community presence. LinkedIn, with its focus on jobs and industries, becomes useful for business deals. Similarly, Twitter works great for driving conversations. Let’s talk metrics Organizations need to invest in social media analytics to measure metrics such as likes, followers, mentions, traffic, CTR, etc. Today, sentiment analysis is also gaining ground. With the help of analytical tools, organizations can filter out useless data and use important metrics to take business-relevant decisions. The focus should be on creating business value. Have something to say about this blog post? Share it with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Critics Proved Wrong! Automation Has Made Underwriting More Customer-Friendly and Transparent
Automated underwriting systems have brought in significant cost savings and streamlined mortgage business processes. The elimination of inefficiencies has worked well for lenders and borrowers. Automated underwriting is thus being increasingly adapted to make the loan origination process better, simpler, and faster. A recent study by Washington University has found that 60-70% of residential mortgage origination has been facilitated by automated underwriting and the numbers are steadily moving north. Loan origination is rife with documentation and every application requires a lot of supporting data to minimize risk for the lender. Lenders submit applications to underwriters who review borrowers’ financial viability, the veracity of supporting documents and check for compliance. Personal and financial data like credit score, loan-to-value ratios, property values, borrower-debt ratios and credit histories are taken into account to consider your loan application. Statistical models based on credit and mortgage data have allowed artificial intelligence, which reduces risk to the lender. Automated valuation models, scorecards, and review tools are excellent sources of data, but many companies are transitioning into new tools which can be integrated with analytics. This would help in minimizing the risks by co-relating data information with the external environment. The new RESPA-TILA guidelines have shortened the timelines considerably and therefore it is important that appraisers or underwriters efficiently complete their tasks to make loan origination faster. Critics have always upheld the view that automated underwriting would become extremely insensitive by keeping out minorities and credit-challenged applications. The human touch cannot be completely removed but the use of technology has become imperative. Automation coupled with professional expertise would be the way forward. Mortgage software has been enabling lenders and organizations to stay ahead of the compliance curve. With new guidelines and shortened timelines, speedy processing and efficient communication can be enabled only with automation. Automation has made underwriting faster, accurate and better. Lenders and borrowers have been immensely benefitted through: Reduction in documentation wherein automated underwriting only asks for recent pay stubs compared to earlier submissions of the previous 2 years of W-2s. Loan origination risks are minimized as the software red-flags problem areas for the appraiser before the reports are submitted to the lender. Frequent returns to the appraiser for modifications are thus averted. Much faster processes as reports are generated within minutes. Consumers save on their closing costs The loan application can be submitted before the property is identified and the customers have an upper hand while bargaining with the seller. Technology has become an integral part of the mortgage process with loan origination reduced as per the new compliance guidelines. It has immensely benefitted underwriters by delivering tools that have streamlined and expedited the appraisal process without compromising on the quality. Have something to say about this blog post? Share it with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. FAQs – Tavant Solutions How has Tavant demonstrated that automation makes underwriting more customer-friendly?Tavant has proven automation benefits through faster decision times, consistent evaluation criteria, transparent decision explanations, and improved customer communication. Their automated underwriting systems provide clear reasoning for decisions, eliminate human bias, and offer borrowers real-time updates throughout the process. What evidence does Tavant provide that automated underwriting improves transparency?Tavant provides detailed decision audit trails, explainable AI models, standardized evaluation criteria, and comprehensive borrower communication systems. Their platforms generate clear explanations for loan decisions, provide consistent feedback, and maintain complete documentation of the underwriting process for borrower review. How has automated underwriting improved customer experience?Automated underwriting has improved customer experience through faster processing times, consistent decisions, reduced errors, 24/7 availability, transparent criteria, and clear communication. Borrowers receive quicker feedback, understand decision factors, and experience more predictable outcomes. Is automated underwriting more transparent than manual underwriting?Yes, automated underwriting is typically more transparent because it uses consistent, documented criteria, provides detailed decision explanations, maintains complete audit trails, and eliminates subjective human judgment variations. Borrowers can better understand how decisions are made. What were the main criticisms of automated underwriting?Main criticisms included concerns about algorithmic bias, loss of human judgment for complex cases, lack of flexibility for unique situations, potential for discriminatory outcomes, and reduced personal relationships between lenders and borrowers. However, proper implementation has addressed many of these concerns.
Measuring Only Metrics? Think Twice Sentiments Matter!
Consumers today have innumerable channels to express themselves. Social media has empowered them with powerful platforms, where they can extol brands that serve them well and thrash the ones that fail to meet expectations. This is not necessarily bad for brands. An analysis of consumers’ opinion of brands and their standing in the marketplace — in other words, sentiment analysis, a much bandied about term making the rounds in the digital marketing space — can help brands in better implementing their marketing campaigns to address issues. Sentiment analysis is the process of determining the emotional tone behind a series of words, to gain an understanding of the emotions, opinions and attitudes expressed online by consumers of goods and services or brands. Quality matters Playing with numbers such as shares, like, tweets, re-tweets is a good way to start, but is it good enough? Numbers can’t determine whether or not consumers are on the same page as the brands would want them to be. With sentiment analysis, marketers can have a holistic view of customer engagement by measuring qualitative aspects such as opinions, feelings and satisfaction ratings among others. Benefits Sentiment analysis is extremely useful in digital marketing as it allows companies to gain an understanding of the wider public opinion behind campaigns. It can uncover attitudes that consumers hold with respect to brands. A powerful marketing tool, sentiment analysis provides deep insight into consumer perception and, additionally helps in driving strategies for brand improvement. The applications of such analysis are broad and powerful. Consumers rely on peers when making their purchasing decisions. They take decisions based on comments and opinions expressed on social media channels. Even one negative comment can spell doom for brands. That’s why and how sentiment analysis comes into the picture. Brands can track all that’s being felt and said about them and thereby take steps to redeem themselves. A word of caution Inbuilt algorithms recognize and track a gamut of words, and categorize them as ‘negatives’ and ‘positives’. However, teaching machines to analyze the complexities of human language is not possible. For example, a sarcastic statement containing a positive word may be taken at face value and be categorized as ‘positive’. The way ahead Sentiment analysis is surely not a perfect science. It needs to move beyond the one-dimensional positive-negative scale. Today, companies can choose from a variety of tools for sentiment or opinion mining. With the right software and an expert, companies can gather, analyze and manage conversations about their brands. Remember, both quality and quantity are important for brands looking to maximize their business. Have something to say about this blog post? Share it with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
CRM Essentials for Compliance and Efficiency
In the pre-Dodd Frank days, loan origination and marketing were prerogatives of mortgage loan officers. Banks and lenders encouraged self-developed marketing techniques to canvass borrowers and referrals. But with TRID regulations implemented recently, lenders have become extremely cautious about their messages reaching the markets. Compliance with Real Estate Settlement Procedures and Truth in Lending acts (RESPA and TILA) mandate strict control over marketing communications. There is zero tolerance for misguided communication. Controlling messages can get increasingly complex with mobile and social media sites becoming prominent vehicles of customer reach. Marketing needs to be meticulous and well managed. If not, it will be easy to circumvent the RESPA-TILA rules. Such difficulties can be curtailed by integrating customer relationship management (CRM) tools with loan origination software, point of sales systems, databases, and product & pricing systems. The integrated technology, along with sales automation, makes it possible to control and co-ordinate messages so that they are posted on social media and other channels with perfect compliance. A well-balanced marketing strategy helps reach out to customers and improve referral management. Loan origination is a tough task with regulations driving up costs. Lenders require their loan officers to close more loans at low costs and enable marketing campaigns with professional ethics and effectiveness. This is possible with a completely integrated CRM system, which ensures seamless communication with customers and effective presentations. Mobile functionality also needs to be integrated with loan origination systems. A large majority of lenders do make their websites mobile-friendly and ensure real-time customer reach. But to roll out a complete mobile-compliant marketing campaign is different from a simple online chat. A coordinated campaign across multiple channels will be a good way to test the CRM systems. It should be able to reach out to customers effectively. It is important to note that customized integration of CRM and loan origination will help meet specific objectives smoothly. That way, it will help loan officers choose the required marketing campaigns and deploy them immediately for specific borrowers and widen their customer reach smoothly. FAQs – Tavant Solutions How does Tavant integrate CRM functionality with compliance and efficiency requirements?Tavant provides CRM systems with built-in compliance tracking, automated audit trails, regulatory reporting capabilities, and workflow optimization tools. Their integrated approach ensures customer relationship management activities maintain compliance while improving operational efficiency and customer service quality. What compliance features does Tavant include in their CRM systems? Tavant includes automated compliance monitoring, regulatory reporting, audit trail generation, data privacy controls, consent management, and risk assessment integration within their CRM platforms. These features ensure customer interactions meet regulatory requirements while maintaining detailed documentation. Why is compliance important in CRM for financial services?Compliance in CRM for financial services is essential to meet regulatory requirements, protect customer data, maintain audit trails, avoid penalties, and ensure fair treatment of customers. Financial services CRM systems must comply with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and various banking regulations. How can CRM systems improve operational efficiency?CRM systems improve operational efficiency through automated workflows, centralized customer data, streamlined communication, task management, performance analytics, and integration with other business systems. This reduces manual work, eliminates duplicate efforts, and improves customer service speed. What are essential CRM features for financial services?Essential CRM features for financial services include contact management, interaction tracking, automated workflows, compliance monitoring, document management, reporting and analytics, integration capabilities, mobile access, and security features that meet industry standards.