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  • Nike – Ruling The Sneaker Industry

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Nike.

    Sports is indeed a global medium of communication.  It penetrates through cultures, nations, and divisions. It’s a long-standing consumer desire as well as a stimulus of human aspirations and development.

    Individual effort, collaboration, respect, how to win, how to lose, and how to compete strongly and fairly are all valuable lessons learned via sports. In both good and terrible times, sports inspire, fascinate, and reward us. Sports is a fantastic industry to work in, and an even better one to run.

    Nike has risen from a quiet small town, in Oregon to become the world’s leading sports footwear and clothing corporation. It all began with a shoe and a t-shirt. It is now a diverse and sophisticated multinational corporation. Nike is well recognised for its footwear, clothes, and accessories. It offers products under the Nike and Jordan brands, and also via its Jordan Brand and Converse divisions.

    Nike – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Nike
    Formerly Called Blue Ribbon Sports, Inc.(1964–1971)
    Industry Apparel, Accessories, Sports equipment
    Headquarter Beaverton, Oregon, U.S.
    Founders Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight
    Founded January 25, 1964
    Key People Phil Knight (Chairman Emeritus), Mark Parker (Executive Chairman), and John Donahoe (President and CEO)
    Areas Served Worldwide
    Website www.nike.com

    About Nike, and How it Works?
    Nike – Industry
    Nike – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    Nike – Founders
    Nike – Startup Story
    Nike – Vision, and Mission
    Nike – Business Model, and Revenue Model
    Nike – Investments
    Nike – Acquisitions
    Nike – Competitors
    Nike – Controversies
    Nike – Future Plans

    About Nike, and How it Works?

    Nike is an American multinational athletic brand that designs, manufactures, promotes, and distributes footwear, clothing, training accessories, and service. Many of its merchandise are used for leisure or casual activities while being built for sports purposes.

    The bulk of Nike’s products are made by independent contractors and sold directly to customers through Nike retail shops and online mediums, as well as through independent retailers, franchisees, and sales agents.

    The company’s global headquarters are in the Portland metropolitan region, in Beaverton, Oregon, the United States. It employs about 44,000 people globally, and the company’s brand was valued at $19 billion in 2014, making it the leading name in the sporting world.

    Nike sells its products under Nike Pro, Nike Golf, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Blazers, Air Max, and other brands, as well as subsidiaries including Hurley, Jordan, and Converse. Nike supports many popular professional athletes and sports clubs and teams throughout the globe, and its trademarks “Just Do It” and the Swoosh emblem is very well known.

    Nike – Industry

    The sports sector is becoming the world’s largest as more individuals participate in sports and leisure activities to improve and balance their stress, health and work regulation. It has become popular as an active and passive piece of recreation.

    Customers are actively investing more in sportswear, with sportswear and accessories accounting for a substantial portion of the cost. Sport in the twenty-first century is an industry characterised by extremism. Market research is currently at the forefront of marketing sports products and accessories, as marketplaces throughout the world become highly competitive.

    The worldwide sports equipment and accessories industry is booming, with the rapid acceptance of innovative technology and a willingness to adapt to demographic shifts. The sector is booming because of e-commerce, which is a prominent retail medium these days that allows users to experience all of the available sports equipment manufacturers. It is a one-stop store for all athletics equipment and products, increasing the marketability of worldwide athletic apparel.

    Numerous established market participants in retail, e-commerce, sports shops, and wholesale, as well as many new startups, make the sports equipment and accessories industry extremely competitive. Growing consumer health consciousness is predicted to propel the growth of sports equipment throughout the forthcoming years. In addition, the emerging trend of following famous athletes will fuel the accessories industry.

    The market for sports equipment and apparel was estimated to be $480 billion in 2021, with a CAGR of 7.2 per cent expected to reach $817 billion by 2026.

    Why is Adidas selling Reebok for $2.5 billon and What will its future be?
    After 15 years of ownership, the German footwear giant Adidas sold Reebok to Authentic Brand Group in August 2021. Read to find out why Adidas is selling Reebok.
    StartupTalkyPV Vyshnavi

    Nike – Name, Logo, and Tagline

    The word “Nike” was extracted from Greek mythology where Nike is the Winged Goddess of Victory. The ‘swoosh’ logo is derived from the goddess’s wing, and it represents the sound of movement, speed, drive and, strength.

    Nike Logo
    Nike Logo

    Nike’s very popular slogan says, “Just Do It.”

    Nike – Founders

    Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight founded Nike on January 25, 1964, which was then named “Blue Ribbon Sports”, and then it became “Nike”, Inc. on May 30, 1971.

    Founders of Nike - Bowerman and Knight
    Founders of Nike – Bowerman and Knight

    Phil Knight

    Philip Hampson Knight is a multimillionaire American entrepreneur. He, along with being the co-founder, is the former chairman and Chief executive officer of Nike.  Forbes ranked Knight as the world’s 24th richest person on July 23, 2020, with his net worth being $54.5 billion.

    In addition, he is the co-founder and CEO of Laika, a time-lapse film production company. Knight completed his education at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of Oregon. He competed in track at the University of Oregon under Bill Bowerman, his coach and with him, he eventually co-founded Nike.

    Bill Bowerman

    William Jay Bowerman was a field and track coach in the United States and a co-founder of Nike, Inc. He coached 51 All-Americans, 31 Olympic competitors, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA winners, and 16 sub-4 minute milers in his time.  

    He despised the title of coach, yet during his 24 years at the University of Oregon, the Duck’s track and field team won every season except one, won four NCAA championships, and placed in the top ten in the country 16 times.

    He helped Nike transition from being a supplier of other shoe brands to designing their shoes as a co-founder. He designed several of the company’s popular products, including the Cortez and Waffle Racer.

    Nike – Startup Story

    Nike’s roots may be traced all the way back to the year 1964 when Blue Ribbon Sports (Nike’s former name) was created. Phil Knight had recently finished his bachelor’s education at the University of Oregon, followed by a Master’s degree at Stanford University, giving him two life-changing encounters.

    He ran for the University of Oregon track team, where he met Bill Bowerman, his team’s coach. Aside from his extreme rivalry, Bowerman was preoccupied with upgrading his running shoes and exploring various models on a constant schedule after learning from a local shoemaker.

    Knight became the first runner to put Bowerman’s footwear to the check. Bowerman offered to bring one of his shoes and customise it with his own design, perceiving Phil as a comfortable and modest runner with someone to explore.

    Knight accepted the invitation, and the shoes reputedly functioned so well that his colleague Davis grabbed them and won gold in the 400-meters track race in the year 1960 Olympics. According to him, Bowerman made the shoes for Otis Davis. Knight attended Stanford’s MBA school after graduating from the University of Oregon, where he wrote a thesis recommending that the manufacturing of running shoes be shifted from Germany to Japan, where labour costs were lower.

    Knight put this theory to the test when he went on a trip to Japan shortly after graduation in 1962. He agreed to market the country’s famous Tiger shoes in the United States with a group of Japanese entrepreneurs.

    Coach Bowerman endorsed Knight’s initiative, agreeing to an equal partnership with him for the ownership of their new firm, Blue Ribbon Sports, which was formed on January 25, 1964, in Eugene, Oregon.

    After starting Blue Ribbon Sports, Knight evaluated the market for his foreign shoes by distributing them out of his car when he returned to America. Early on, it was clear that there was a demand for these less priced but still high-quality alternatives to Adidas and Puma, the industry’s heavyweights.

    Nike – Vision, and Mission

    Nike’s vision statement says, “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”

    Nike’s mission statement says, “Our mission is what drives us to do everything possible to expand human potential. We do that by creating groundbreaking sports innovations, by making our products more sustainably, by building a creative and diverse global team and by making a positive impact in communities where we live and work.”

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    Nike – Business Model, and Revenue Model

    Nike’s business model revolves around creating and distributing athletic and sporting goods, such as footwear, apparel, and equipment – as well as certain services. Everything is under one of the world’s most well-known brands.

    Customer Segment

    Nike sells sports or athletic wear, footwear, and types of equipment. Nike’s market is divided into four primary sections, also in order of revenue, geographically:

    • China
    • North America
    • the Asia Pacific and Latin America
    • Europe, Middle East, and Africa

    Customer-Seller Relationship of Nike

    Customers’ interactions are almost entirely limited to self-service. The consumer will examine the brand or product online or offline at the store, purchase it, and put it to use. When necessary, there will be some engagement with a salesman. A FAQs section is also available on the official website, as well as customer service through phone, email, or live chat. Nike also offers Nike ID, a customisation service that tailors Nike items to the preferences of clients.

    Value Proposition

    Nike makes merchandise that encourages people to participate in sports. Their goods are significantly reliant on the brand’s quality, inventiveness, and prominence. This is the brand’s core, and it’s exactly what buyers want when they buy a pair of Nikes.

    Nike has a wide range of products for several sports and hobbies. What counts to the audience, though, is getting a product that has been thoroughly researched and developed using the greatest raw materials and technology available. They also want to maintain the brand’s excellent reputation, which includes superstars like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

    Cost Structure

    Sales costs (mainly inventories and warehouses) account for more than $21 billion in annual expenditures for Nike. A further $3 billion is allocated to marketing, which includes spending for promotion and marketing, sponsor, marketing, brand events, and brand personality display. Over $500 million is spent each year on other general and administrative expenditures.

    Nike is the world’s largest footwear and clothing retailer, with these sales accounting for the majority of their income. Although its sports footwear is developed with a large investment in technology and high products, the majority of its products are utilized regularly for recreation purposes.

    Nike also provides balls, sunglasses, backpacks, gloves, digital gadgets, and other sports equipment and accessories, as well as recreational items for a variety of physical and outdoor activities.

    In order of sales, the corporation targets women, men, young athletes, and children. Nike’s goods are divided into six groups: running, basketball, Jordan Brand, soccer, training, and sportswear (lifestyle products). Running, Jordan Brand and Sportswear are Nike’s most profitable segments.

    Nike – Investments

    Date Organization Name Round Amount
    Dec 2, 2021 AllStar Code Grant $500K
    Oct 14, 2021 SpringHill Entertainment Venture Round –
    Oct 14, 2021 The SpringHill Company Private Equity Round –
    Nov 20, 2019 HandsFree Labs Corporate Round –
    Mar 4, 2014 Reflektion Series A $8M
    Oct 7, 2013 Grabit Inc. Series A $6M
    Jan 4, 2011 Rock Health Grant $500K

    Nike – Acquisitions

    Acquiree Name About Acquiree Date Amount
    RTFKT RTFKT is a developer of custom sneakers designed for video game enthusiasts. Dec 13, 2021 –
    Datalogue Datalogue uses artificial intelligence to automate data preparation. Feb 8, 2021 –
    TraceMe TraceMe is a technology company connecting athletes, influencers, celebrities through new social media platforms. Oct 11, 2019 –
    Celect Celect is a cloud-based, predictive analytics SaaS platform that helps retailers optimize their overall inventory portfolios. Aug 6, 2019 –
    Invertex Invertex leverages 3D scanning to allow a customer specific e-commerce experience and create mass customization product lines. Apr 9, 2018 –
    Zodiac Zodiac is a predictive customer analytics platform that helps marketers predict consumer behavior. Mar 22, 2018 –
    Virgin Mega USA Virgin Mega USA is a virtual community that enables users to purchase and experience music products. Aug 2, 2016 –
    Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier. Oct 23, 2007 –
    Converse We make rad sneakers and apparel. Jul 9, 2003 $309M
    Hurley Hurley is a big brand providing a large chain of Apparel Feb 22, 2002 –

    Nike – Competitors

    Adidas, Skechers USA, Puma, New Balance, Steve Madden, and ASICS America are Nike’s competitors.

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    StartupTalkyAlan Joseph

    Nike – Controversies

    Child Labour Allegations – Nike was chastised in the 1990s for using child labour in factories it hired to make footballs in Pakistan and Cambodia. Despite taking steps to stop or at least limit the practice, Nike continues to outsource production to firms that operate in locations where child labour is difficult to avoid due to a lack of regulation and oversight. An investigation from 2001 revealed instances of child labour and bad working conditions in a Nike facility in Cambodia. The documentary followed six young women who worked 7 days a week, frequently for 16 hours.

    Paradise Papers – Nike was one of the firms that utilised offshore entities to evade taxes, according to the Paradise Papers, a series of private electronic papers linked to offshore investment, released on November 5, 2017.

    Strikes in China Factory – One of the largest strikes in mainland China occurred in April 2014 at the Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings Dongguan shoe factory, which produces shoes for Nike and other brands. Yue Yuen underpaid a monthly employee by 250 yuan. Yue Yuen’s average monthly wage is 3000 yuan. 70,000 people work at the plant. This practice had been in place for almost two decades.

    Nike – Future Plans

    Nike has not been spared from the covid outbreak. Revenue decreased by 1% in 2020 after falling by 38% the previous quarter. The company’s ability to enhance profit and generate substantial growth in its digital platform, however, has delighted the market.

    Nike’s success has persuaded investors that the company is gaining market share throughout the pandemic and would come back stronger than its rivals. Those aspects, particularly the company’s digital capabilities, reflect well for the firm’s competition in the next 5 years.

    Nike originally set a goal of $50 billion in annual revenue by the year 2020 in 2015. Due to previous setbacks when it lost momentum to Adidas, it was obligated to postpone that until 2022, but despite the pandemic’s setbacks, the business is on the path to meeting that goal. To do so, it would have to increase sales at a compound annual rate of approximately 9% from $39.1 billion in fiscal 2019.

    When the pandemic was already over, the company, like the rest of the apparel industry, seemed to be well-positioned to capitalise on demand. Stores were reopened, and there was undoubtedly a surge in spending on streetwear such as Nike’s classic sneakers. Nike could be able to reach more than $60 billion in revenue by 2025, three years after surpassing its $50 billion objectives in 2022, thanks to its digital momentum and recovery from the pandemic.

    However, the firm’s profit ought to increase as more of its sales shift to online and direct, where it has complete leverage over the selling process and isn’t required to share income with its partner companies. Nike’s Consumer Direct Offense has helped the company gain ground on competitors like Under Armour and Adidas, and this growth is projected to continue in the future years.

    Nike seems to have a bright future ahead of them. The stock should continue to be a winner over the next five years, with profit margins improving, a headwind from the end of the covid-19 virus outbreak, and a strong leader in its sector.

    Nike – FAQs

    What does Nike do?

    Nike is an American multinational athletic brand that designs, manufactures, promotes, and distributes footwear, clothing, training accessories, and service.

    Who founded Nike?

    Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight founded Nike in the year 1964.

    What was the former name of Nike?

    The company was founded with the name, “Blue Ribbon Sports”.

    How does Nike make money?

    Nike’s business model is totally based on manufacturing and selling athletic and sporting goods, such as footwear, apparel, and equipment – as well as certain services.

    Which companies do Nike compete with?

    Adidas, Skechers USA, New Balance, Steve Madden, and ASICS America are among Nike’s competitors.

  • Top 7 Best Strategies to Grow Your D2C Brand in 2022

    Direct to Consumer (D2C) is a great way for brands to penetrate the market without the involvement of a third party. Using this route Brands can directly communicate with their customers and understand their needs. Due to COVID-19, the D2C market has expanded and many brands are using this method.

    Did you know the Indian e-commerce market will grow by 21.5% in 2022? The expected revenue by 2025 can be USD 188 billion. The market size of the online retail industry in India is expected to reach USD 73 Billion in 2022. This shows the potential of the D2C market in India. To stay ahead of the competition we have brought you effective strategies to expand your D2C brand worldwide.

    Effective Strategies to Expand Your D2C Brand Worldwide:

    1. Simplify Your Products
    2. Use Social Media Effectively
    3. Provide Testimonials
    4. Give Freebies to Your Customers
    5. Offer Free Return Policy
    6. Focus on Organic Growth
    7. Use an Effective SEO Strategy
    8. Provide a Memorable Experience to Your Customers

    1. Simplify Your Products

    If your customers are getting confused then it will impact your sales. Providing a large variety of products is a good thing, but you should simplify and categorise all your products properly. Eliminate all the unnecessary choices and focus on providing excellent products to your customers.

    Understand what the majority of your customers want and make your products accordingly. You can also try combining some features of 2 products to deliver all in one product to your customers.

    2. Use Social Media Effectively

    Social media is very important in today’s world. According to research in 2020, 3.96 billion people are actively using social media in the world. This shows that if you use social media effectively, it will positively impact your brand. You should use the following social media strategies to skyrocket your sales:

    Influencer Marketing:

    Collaborating with influencers will increase your customer base. Influencers usually have a huge audience to whom they can convey about your product. If they give positive reviews about your product, people will consider buying it. If you are just starting, you may not have a huge budget for Influencers. In this case, you should collaborate with micro-influencers in your niche. Connect with the people who have a decent amount of followers and create brand awareness.

    Use infographics and memes:

    Memes have become a sensation and many people use Instagram just for scrolling memes. Delivering your brand purpose or your products in a meme format can increase your following. Users tag each other in memes, so if your memes are good, the reach of your brand will automatically increase.

    Why are your products best? What benefits do you offer? Why should people buy only from you? We highly recommend you use infographics to answer these questions.

    3. Provide Testimonials

    You can ask your customers to speak about the brand. Instead of just you speaking, provide opportunities to other users as well. It is seen that people believe more what the other users say about the brand.

    So, if a lot of people on social media and your website speak positive things about your brand, the goodwill of your company will increase. People will trust your brand more and your sales conversions would eventually increase.

    4. Give Freebies to Your Customers

    Would other users or your customers make content for your brand? Making content would only benefit your brand and not the customers. You need to provide incentives to your customers. You can conduct various contests, give shout-outs to your customers and give them prizes. You can follow this sharing strategy:

    • 10 shares: Shout-out
    • 25 shares: Discount Coupon
    • 40 shares: Free Product

    Like this, you can create different ways of rewarding your customers.

    D2C Market in India
    D2C Market in India

    5. Offer Free Return Policy

    Having a free returns policy ensures your customers that your brand is trustable and gives them the confidence to purchase from you. This strategy is adopted by many prominent e-commerce companies like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. If people are not familiar with your brand free and hassle-free returns will ensure that they will buy something from you. Ensure that you provide excellent customer support for exchanging or returning products.

    6. Focus on Organic Growth

    It is good to run paid campaigns but, you should essentially focus on maximising organic traffic. To increase organic traffic you should focus on providing a memorable experience to your customers. Give them a high-quality product. Make a unique website, and an engaging social media account to drive organic traffic.

    You should opt for an omnichannel approach providing customers with a seamless shopping experience whether they are shopping from a desktop, mobile or any other platform.

    7. Use an Effective SEO Strategy

    Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is still one of the most effective ways to generate traffic to a website. An effective SEO strategy will help you to rank higher in Google Search Results. If you rank number 1 on search results you will generate a lot of organic traffic.

    Create an amazing user-friendly website with a good landing page to attract customers. Hire an experienced SEO Team or you can do SEO by yourself. This is one of the cost-effective solutions to expand your brand.

    8. Provide a Memorable Experience to Your Customers

    For any business, it is essential to maintain a good customer relationship. You should connect with your target audience and understand their needs. After understanding, it is important to uniquely fulfil them. Apart from providing them with a high-quality product, you must treat them well from start to end. Your after-sales service should be excellent.

    Make sure that your team answers all the calls, if they miss any they should call them back. Answer all the emails within 24 hours and reply to all their queries politely. Take their feedback positively and work on your mistakes. Try to constantly improve your products or services. If you have made any mistake then apologize or explain to them why that particular thing went wrong. If they make positive memories with your brand then you will stay in this race for a long period.

    Conclusion

    As the D2C Market is growing rapidly you need to be alert and make changes to your business at the right time. The above strategies will surely help you to expand your D2C Brand. Add your creativity and come up with out of the box strategies. The Golden Rule is to connect with your target audience and provide them with a memorable experience.

    FAQs

    How do you market a D2C brand?

    Hire micro-influencers, Leverage social media, try to simplify product choices, and focus on your customer’s pain points.

    How do you build a D2C strategy?

    Leverage technology, be up to date with the ongoing trends in the D2C market and employ different marketing strategies.

  • How to Build an Effective Customer Referral Program?

    Starting a new business venture is always tedious. One has to understand different terminologies before embarking on a new journey. Moreover, you need to understand how the market functions, influences, and affects your business. In addition to all this, one needs to be familiar with the different strategies required to implement a successful business program.

    This is because a successful business is a combination of different tactics and strategies working in absolute sync. And one of the key strategies is a customer referral program. Having an established customer referral program works as a catalyst for your business’ rapid growth. As an aspiring entrepreneur, you cannot afford to stay behind when it comes to customer referrals.

    Therefore, this article will walk you through what a referral program is and show you how you can design a strong customer referral program.

    What Is A Referral Program?
    Why Should Your Company Have A Customer Referral Program?
    Benefits Of Having A Customer Referral Program
    7 Steps To Design A Customer Referral Program

    What Is A Referral Program?

    As per the name, a referral program is a traditional word-of-mouth marketing tactic that gets customers to advertise and advocate your brand on your behalf. This is one of the oldest and most widely used marketing strategies used by brands worldwide to retain customers while simultaneously gaining new ones.

    Instead of relying on customer reviews, online descriptions, or sharing feedback surveys, a referral program has the customers directly talking about how good your brand is with their colleagues, partners, and friends.

    A referral program is designed explicitly for companies and businesses to acquire new customers and generate leads that are fit and valuable for your brand. This makes it easier for your sales and marketing team to develop, nurture, and design a plan to engage with the customers.

    For example, a sporting goods company is more likely to have an athlete as its brand ambassador instead of an entrepreneur. An athlete holds the potential to inspire and encourage like-minded individuals to use the brand, making the brand more trustworthy.

    Why Should Your Company Have A Customer Referral Program?

    A referral program relies on word-of-mouth. This means every new customer has heard about your brand directly from someone who has used your brand and found it amazing.

    With a strong referral program, you know that every new lead/customer has a reliable source that informs them about your company being trustworthy and delivering satisfying results.

    Every business or company has a set of loyal customers that are very dear to the company. A referral program is built to incentivise those customers who largely admire your product and services by getting them to spread the word about your brand. Word-of-mouth from these customers results in increased awareness and sales for your business.

    The clients who are already familiar and in love with your products/services act as an evangelist by indirectly becoming invested in the future of your business. In return, you have to present them with suitable rewards for each referral.

    Benefits Of Having A Customer Referral Program

    • Most marketing surveys suggest that referral leads are 30% more than the leads generated using other marketing channels.
    • All referred signups tend to have a longer lifetime value than non-referrals
    • A strong referral program leads to stronger brand awareness, leading to an increased market share over time.
    • A referral program is one of the most cost-efficient platforms for marketing. It relies solely on word-of-mouth which is generally cheaper than other customer acquisition tactics.
    • Customers acquired via the referral program have a whopping 40% retention rate.
    Companies with referral programs:
    Companies with Referral programs

    7 Steps To Design A Customer Referral Program

    There are sizeable benefits associated with a customer referral program. For starters, it is a highly cost-efficient marketing technique that keeps you from spending valuable bucks on other marketing channels.

    Moreover, leads generated via the customer referral program tend to have a higher lifetime value. As you can see, there are apparent advantages to a strong customer referral program followed by metrics that are ready to be calculated and measured.

    Given everything it brings to the table, you cannot skip out on having a customer referral program. And if you don’t have one already, here is how you can build one using the given steps.

    Set Your Goals

    Everything planned has a few prerequisites that need to be fulfilled. Similarly, before you build a customer referral program, you need to set some goals first that you aim to achieve through the program. This primarily includes asking yourself:

    • What do you aim to achieve through this program?
    • Are you looking to generate more leads?
    • Are you looking to enhance growth?
    • Are you tied between leads and growth?
    • Are you looking to add customer retention to the mix?
    • Is the customer-referral program a trust-building exercise for the industry?

    The answers to all these questions will help you delve in a little further and see all the broader goals that can be accomplished on a much smaller scale. Irrespective of the growth or customer segment, numerous objectives can be established and achieved with the referral program. But all those objectives should be measurable so that you can easily measure your success against the target. The success of every customer referral program involves the engagement rate, participation rate, and conversion rate.

    Define Your Message

    Every referral program needs to have a set message behind it. Moreover, this message needs to be easily understood and perceived as it is by your target audience. If it isn’t, then the audience won’t bother to give your brand a second thought. Make sure you clearly outline what your referral program aims to achieve.

    For this, you will need to state how your program works, what is expected of the customers, how they can do it, and everything they can expect in return (incentives/rewards). In simple words, you will need to make sure your Call To Action (CTA) is clear, crisp, concise, and prominent.

    Assess Where And How Referrals Come To Your Business

    Research is an integral part of every business activity. Every business has referrals coming in one way or the other. Therefore, a critical step in building a customer referral program is research and assessing where and how referrals are coming to know about your business or if they know about your business.

    This process should be a combined effort undertaken by everyone responsible for building customer relationships, such as marketing, sales, and support staff. The research includes assessing how the above three are dealing with referrals. An assessment will show your current position in terms of referrals while simultaneously mapping out the scope for improvement.

    Moreover, this research shows you how much a customer is worth. Once you know where your referrals are coming from, you can spend the time monitoring and managing onboarding programs required to break these referrals even.

    Create A Suitable Landing Page

    A referral program comprises a suitable message. But the message is only important if it reaches the designated target audience. For this to happen, you need to have a place wherein your referral program will be available for the audience to read about. This is where you should create a relevant landing page that will explain every aspect of the referral program. Ensure that this landing page is easy to find and is easily accessible from your home page.

    It is beneficial to include a landing page on the website’s primary navigation tab. Up next, optimise your landing page by using SEO techniques such as targeted keywords which will help with the search results. The better you optimise your landing page for SEO, the higher will be the internet traffic on your page.

    Finally, ensure your landing page covers all aspects of your referral program. In simple words, this landing page should explain how the referral program works, what is expected of the customers, how they can utilise the program, and what rewards they are liable to upon successful referrals. It is helpful to include a separate dedicated referral on either side of the page to make the process easier for the customers.

    Choose Your Incentives

    The loyal customers who genuinely like your product are likely to recommend your brand to others without expecting anything in return. However, to improve your customer retention rate, you will need to incentivise these customers, which is exactly where the referral program shines.

    Merely asking your customers to refer your brand to others won’t cut it at times. Therefore, you will need to sweeten the pot by offering some kinds of incentives. These could either be monetary incentives or early-bird discounts on all your product and services. Your incentives will usually rely on the line of work you are in. For example, Oyo Rooms offer a 30% discount on all their existing services for customers who refer other people to their services.

    Incentives come in different forms and shapes. They can be paid out directly as cash, or you can be creative with it. You can opt to offer discount coupons, a rewards card, gift cards, exciting vouchers, or any other relevant items you deem fit.

    All these can be sent out to your customers as a gesture of appreciation for their referrals. Know that these referral programs brought in the best results when the one sending out the referral and the referred both receive something.

    Spread The Word About Your Program

    Now is the time to let the people know about your program. The more people know about what your referral program has in store for them, the better it will be for your business. If you have a newly devised customer referral program, you will need to spread the word through emails, newsletters, and social media.

    Moreover, all your customer interactions should have mentioned your referral program. Some of the prominent ways of letting people know about your referral program are,

    • CTA on all company banners and websites.
    • Mentions of your referral program are everywhere in your customer emails and company newsletters.
    • Direct your customers to the referral page every time they make a purchase.

    You will need to spend a considerable amount of time at the start to spread the word. But once your program is up and running, you can cut back on the messaging. Note that mentions of your referral programs should always be active on your company’s website and should be included either in the emails or the newsletters.

    Tracking And Monitoring The Program’s Effectiveness

    Once your referral program is up, then it is time to start monitoring from time to time. You must monitor every customer in your customer referral program. Ideally, these are things you need to monitor carefully,

    • Who is being referred?
    • Who is referring?
    • Has the referred customer taken advantage Of the program?
    • Has the referring customer received their respective incentive?
    • How long did it take for the referral to reach the referred person?
    • What more needs to be done to touch base with both the referred and referring customers?

    There could be unexpected circumstances that can, at times, affect your program. Tracking your program from time to time will make you aware of such things. The longer your program runs, the larger data set you will have. All this data will eventually help you better understand your average customer. Moreover, it will also tell you which aspect of your program needs work.

    Conclusion

    You’re more likely to trust a brand that has come in as a recommendation from your friend instead of as an advertisement. All research ultimately hints that people are most likely to trust their friends and family recommendations above all other marketing and advertising channels.

    Every referral program has the potential to create a never-ending cycle of word-of-mouth marketing. Given the dynamics of marketing, the modern-day market demands an efficient marketing system, and this is where a strong customer referral program can lead to maximum lead generation.

    FAQS

    What is the strategy you use to increase customer referrals?

    Provide exceptional customer service, offer incentives, and encourage your customers to share your referral program on social media.

    What is the best referral program?

    GetResponse – $30 account credit per referral, Dropbox – Up to 32 GB per referral, Fiverr – Up to $100 per referral, and Chase Bank – $50 per referral are some of the best referral programs.

    How effective are referral programs?

    The customers acquired through referral programs have a 37% retention rate.

  • What Is the Best Time to Send Newsletters as per Your Audience?

    Everyone must have heard that timing is everything. It’s not everything, but it is critical, specifically when it comes to getting subscribers to notice and open newsletters. Businesses and organizations use newsletters to convey important information to their range of clients, prospects, and subscribers. Newsletters provide direct access to an audience’s inbox that allows sharing of compelling material, promotion of sales, driving traffic to a website, etc.

    Furthermore, newsletters are simple to track and alter, which allows for tracking progress and making meaningful changes for better efficiency. The success of a campaign and its click-through rates are heavily influenced by its timing. To create a huge impact, it’s critical to send newsletters when most individuals check their inboxes. However, because each organization is unique, a fixed timing may not be suitable for all. That’s why it’s crucial to figure out the optimal times to send newsletters for a specific company. This article will provide the optimal timing to send newsletters based on recent market research.

    What is a Newsletter?
    Best Time to Send Newsletters
    Modification of Time As Per Your Audience
    Why is The Time of Sending a Newsletter Influential?
    Essential Tips for Sending Newsletters

    What is a Newsletter?

    A newsletter is an email sent as part of a marketing effort. It includes essential news and updates about a brand and its products and other relevant data. It’s a low-cost method of increasing business. For some, newsletter marketing is a thing of the past. Many companies believe this is due to significant improvements in social media marketing, such as Instagram hashtags, stories, live videos, and voice search. But newsletters are still one of the most effective ways to market and showcase a new product or service to the people.

    What is the one metric that matters for evaluating if a newsletter is successful
    What is the one metric that matters for evaluating if a newsletter is successful

    Best Time to Send Newsletters

    Most people open the newsletters between 10 am and 12 pm (depending on the subscriber’s time zone). Many industry analysts have lauded these times as ideal for sending newsletters because the subscribers have settled into their day and aren’t too preoccupied with their regular duties to ignore their inboxes. According to the statistics, higher open rates are also seen around 5–6 pm. Now, let’s glance at each weekday to see when the most people open their newsletters.

    ● Monday- On a Monday, the peak time for people to check their newsletters is 10 am, with a nice little bump between 5–7 pm, according to the data. Open, and click-through rates decline slightly in the mid-afternoon, maybe when individuals shake off the “Monday blues” and get back to work.

    ● Tuesday- Newsletter openings peak around 10 am, remain relatively stable throughout the afternoon, and decline after 6 pm. This could be because subscribers have developed a weekly ritual of reading their emails and then logging off at the end of the day.

    ● Wednesday- Wednesday’s open and click-through rates follow a trend identical to Tuesday’s, with a sharper drop after 6 pm as individuals turn off their devices, begin their drive home, and spend time with family and friends.

    ● Thursday- Although 10 am remains the best hour for open rates, there is also a slight surge between 1–3 pm on Thursdays. This could be because people spend their lunch hour searching for something to do as the week draws to a close.

    ● Friday- Open rates are typically high from 10–11 am, with another increase around 2 pm. This is a fun day to send a newsletter since it catches the folks right before they leave for the weekend when they’re most likely to buy something new or start something different.

    While open and click-through rates are consistent across all weekdays, research shows that Tuesdays and Thursdays top the pack. Also, 10 am appears to be the best time to send newsletters for optimum open and click-through rates. According to these statistics, the worst time to send a newsletter is on weekends, 9 am or 9 pm when subscribers are hustling to be ready for the new day, shutting off for the evening, or sleeping.

    WIDGET: leadform | CAMPAIGN: undefined

    Modification of Time As Per Your Audience

    Knowing and understanding the audience demographics is one of the most critical steps to achieving newsletter marketing success. Almost every company globally wants the same thing regarding newsletter marketing. It is the ability to send the appropriate message to the appropriate person at the appropriate time.

    Subscribers have a variety of interests, habits, and requirements. Sending out mass communication newsletters simultaneously to everyone can never satisfy those needs. Knowing the demographics of the audience helps to send more relevant campaigns. Open rates and click-throughs will skyrocket if a company’s newsletter marketing efforts become more audience relevant.

    Here are some illustrations of how demographics can overrule typical “best time to send” recommendations:

    ● If a business tries to reach a young, tech-savvy audience, it will undoubtedly disregard the standard rule about avoiding sending emails late at night. Evening emails may be appropriate for younger audiences.

    ● The much-maligned Friday can be a terrific pick for a business in the entertainment industry because people are always looking for entertaining things to do over the weekend.

    ● Weekends don’t have to be off-limits. If a business wants to reach out to tech-savvy audiences, entrepreneurs, or students, weekends can be a good time.

    Understanding the behavior, preferences, and time zones of the target demographics can assist in determining the optimal day and time to send a newsletter. It is also important that a business should tailor newsletter sending times based on the location of the subscribers for best results.

    HubSpot acquired, The Hustle (newsletter producing media company)
    HubSpot acquired, The Hustle (newsletter producing media company)

    Why is The Time of Sending a Newsletter Influential?

    When a company works hard on a campaign, it comes up with valuable content, a compelling headline, and clear calls to action. Looking at all this, even the biggest companies like Amazon indulge in newsletters for their marketing. However, sometimes the newsletters do not get opened or clicked through. This is when the importance of good timing comes into play. An inbox is crowded, and newsletters at the top of the box tend to receive more attention than those at the bottom. So, posting time is crucial when creating major newsletter marketing campaigns. The timing of sending a newsletter is influential because of the following reasons:

    ● Increase the number of people who open the newsletters: The ultimate aim of newsletter marketing is to have increased open rates. A prospect or a subscriber is more likely to open a newsletter if it is at the top of their inbox; therefore, sending it at the right time is crucial.

    ● Increase the number of people who click on the links: Even if all the subscribers read a newsletter, there is no possibility of having a good return on investment (ROI) if no one clicks on it. If it is sent at the wrong time, the subscribers may not have the time to read the email or respond to the CTAs. Thus, another reason why the timing is influential.

    Amazon Prime weekly newsletter
    Amazon Prime weekly newsletter

    Essential Tips for Sending Newsletters

    The newsletter marketing community generally accepts broad newsletter sending time recommendations. They’re lovely for getting started, and they work most of the time. The following are some of the tips to keep in mind while sending newsletters:

    • Monday’s mess: On Mondays, it’s generally agreed that a business shouldn’t send out newsletters. Why? People are already dreading the weekend’s getting over. Usually, they march into the office, where they are overwhelmed with a deluge of emails accumulated over the previous few days. Inevitably, business emails will take precedence over promotional newsletters. This is why Monday is one of the worst days to send a newsletter.
    • Day vs Night: While this may seem self-evident, sending newsletters during the day is usually preferable. When people are awake, there is a much better chance of people opening the newsletter.
    • Weekends: Weekends are traditionally the days when people go for shopping and indulge in fun activities. Due to this, weekend open rates and click-through rates are notoriously low, and newsletter marketers should avoid it.
    • Early post: Some newsletters are opened within 60 minutes after being sent. Certain lingerers may not open the newsletter for another day or two. If the newsletter contains event-related information, it should be sent 3-5 days before.
    • The favorites: Marketers have usually avoided Monday’s anguish and Friday’s itchy feet by sending email campaigns on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The most popular days for sending email newsletters are Tuesday and Thursday.
    • Traditional Strategy: The tested traditional strategy of sending out newsletters in the middle of the day works effectively. Subscribers are settled into their routines and regularly check their inboxes in the middle of the week. According to the general perspective, emails should be sent between 10 am and 12 pm.

    Top Creative Ways to Reduce Email Newsletter Unsubscribe Rates
    Are people unsubscribing your newsletters?. Here are top tips to retain customers and avoid customers from unsubscribing your newsletter.
    StartupTalkyMuskaan Kapoor

    Conclusion

    Newsletter marketing can be a complex topic to grasp. So many industries are using it and making a difference in their unique ways. The general takeaway is that a business should segment its audience, possibly by job function or seniority, to accommodate diverse behaviors and working styles. It should also consider alternative times that are more suitable for subscribers. Remember that research varies, customer behavior is constantly changing, and performance differs depending on the benchmark of a business.

    A business should experiment with different approaches to see what works best for a particular audience. It should also make sure that readers are already engaged in what it says. They value what it has to offer as a business, and as long as they send them newsletters about it at the right time, there is a decent chance of getting positive results.

    FAQs

    What is newsletter marketing?

    Newsletter marketing is sending informative and valuable content to a member list of future and established consumers through an email letter.

    Is sending newsletters a successful marketing strategy?

    As a marketing strategy, newsletters have endured the test of time. As per McKinsey analysts, newsletter marketing is 40 times more likely to bring in new clients than social media.

    How many words should a newsletter have?

    A maximum of 20 lines should be included in an email newsletter. For most industries, 20 lines of text or around 200 words results in the highest open and click-through rates.

    Which are the best days to send newsletters?

    In general, the best days to send newsletters are Tuesdays and Thursdays.

    What is the best time to send newsletters?

    The best time to send newsletters differs for different businesses and their audiences. For the early birds who check their email first thing in the morning, 8 AM is perfect. Other best times include 10 AM, 1 PM, and 6 PM.

  • Best Salesforce Alternatives | List of Best Alternatives for Salesforce

    Customer is the most important factor of a business, at the end of the day, the motto is to serve them. A business has to always ensure that their customer is getting served properly and this can only be possible through communication and interaction.

    Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is generally used by marketing professionals and sometimes by customer support teams to interact with customers. CRM tools help online enterprises build strong relations with customers and retain them, in turn expanding the business and ensuring customer loyalty. There are many CRM tools in the market and although Salesforce is one of the most popular choice, there are still a number of Salesforce alternatives available out there.

    There are a number of benefits of using a CRM such as optimized contact management for better customer reach and retention, advanced sales management, better team management and efficiency with a centralized data hub, accurate reporting, business insights and growth in business. All these utilities with just one software are hard to put aside, and hence online marketers and sales professionals often use a CRM, and the most common choice is Salesforce. In this article, we will talk about Salesforce and some of its popular alternatives. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.

    What is Salesforce?
    HubSpot CRM
    Pipedrive CRM
    Zoho CRM
    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
    Vendasta

    What is Salesforce?

    Salesforce is without a doubt one of the best Customer Relationship Management software, if not the best out there. With customer information tracking, insightful decision making and real-time data, automated email marketing, and 24/7 customer support team, Salesforce has helped businesses and online enterprises grow exponentially, and much faster.

    Salesforce offers solutions for online businesses, sales, services, and marketing and owing to its excellent services, it has been bestowed several honours including the Number one spot in World’s Best Workplaces. Moreover, customizable CRM offers compatibility and adaptability, which is not often found in CRM software.

    Although there are numerous applications of Salesforce in various domains, sometimes, its services are just way more than you can utilize. This leads to searching for alternatives to Salesforce, which offer specific functionality at lower costs, hence eradicating you of the quandary of spending more for lesser features. Here we share some CRM software which can be used as an alternative for Salesforce.

    HubSpot CRM

    HubSpot is a sales and marketing software that offers an all-around CRM platform with tools and services required to armour your business with best in class marketing tactics. With services in every domain of sales and marketing, HubSpot offers users free courses, eBooks and guides along with services such as Onboarding, Consulting and those of a Service Provider. Tools offered by HubSpot include Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Services Hub, and CMS Hub.

    Features offered by HubSpot

    • Premium marketing features such as automation, SEO tools and video hosting.
    • Offers sales automation, e Signatures and lead scoring along with email sequences.
    • HubSpot comes with an interactive and analytical dashboard, deal pipelines and customizable reports.
    • Its Service Hub offers Customer Service Automation with multiple ticket pipelines and customer feedback.
    • HubSpot also offers tools for blog and content creation with SEO, live chat and security monitoring.

    Pricing for HubSpot

    Software Starter Professional Enterprise
    Marketing Costs $45 per month, and offers tools such as landing pages, email marketing, and ad retargeting Costs $800 per month and offers marketing automation, SEO recommendations, and custom reports with campaign reporting Costs $3200 per month and offers services such as team management and advanced reporting with predictive leads
    CRM and Sales Costs $45 per month and comes with customizable sales properties, meeting scheduling, and other basic features Costs $450 per month and offers sales analytics, custom reporting, eSignature and some personalization features Costs $1200 per month and offers webhooks, custom objects, scalability, and reporting dashboard
    Customer Service Costs $45 per month and comes with live chats, conversational bots, and simple automation Costs $360 per month and comes with ticket status and routing, and offers a better customer service with custom reporting and insight dashboard Costs $1200 per month and helps user manage multiple teams slack integration along with webhooks

    Pipedrive CRM

    As suggested by the name, Pipedrive CRM allows you to manage and store leads from multiple sources in a pipeline view. Its drag and drop interface to manage leads and organized sales process are quite efficient in optimizing the sales process while the email sync allows you to send and receive mails, without switching to the email service. Moreover, customizable reports managed on synergistic dashboards further boost your business while also assuaging your work. Pipedrive also allows you to manage your work on your mobile devices through Android and iOS applications. Tasks ranging from keeping a record of customer interactions to setting and meeting sales targets to organizing your team, Pipedrive provides you all these services and more.

    Features offered by Pipedrive

    • Pipedrive is a customizable service to cater to your specific needs. Be it adding new fields, pipelines, changing dashboard or products, Pipedrive offers you a personalized experience as a CRM tool.
    • Integrations with email, chat and other customer support services, Pipedrive allows you to cohesively work on marketing and sales, as a tech stack.
    • Pipedrive offers courses and workshops to completely understand and learn its applications and working, to extract the most out of the software.
    • Automation of marketing and sales job to eliminate task repetition is a great relief for marketers, and helps in optimizing business.
    • With insights from a plethora of user experiences, Pipedrive helps you decide a plan of action to implement for seamless management of your business.

    Pricing for Pipedrive

    Essential Pipedrive model Advanced Pipedrive model Professional Pipedrive model
    Costs $12.5 per month per user when billed annually, $15 when billed monthly Costs $24.9 per month per user when billed annually, $29 when billed monthly Costs $49.9 per month per user when billed annually, $59 when billed monthly
    Efficient to organize activities and setup pipelines to follow Enables sales and marketing automation for efficient business management Offers utilities encampassing tools for collaboration to advanced automation for revenue and business growth

    Zoho CRM

    Zoho CRM is one of the first names that strikes when we talk about a Salesforce alternative. From connecting to your customers remotely, and across different channels to automating leads and actions required, Zoho has all the features of an effective CRM. It offers an interactive and insightful dashboard that helps you monitor sales and business analytics, and predicts future developments based on real-time trends and statistics while also furnishing you with a conversational AI. The AI offered by Zoho, named Zia, identifies convertible leads, so they can be more focused on, in turn, generating more revenue.

    Features offered by Zoho

    • Zoho offers Sales and workflow automation for better lead and account management, and to avoid repetition.
    • Reports, statistics, funnels and KPIs based on real-time analysis with Target meters to set and achieve milestones.
    • With predictive sales and Zia voice assistant, Zoho points out convertible leads and detects anomalies while also suggesting assignments and workflows.
    • With Zoho, you get to customize your page layout, views and fields, and add components and subforms.
    • Zoho makes project management and team collaboration efficient with tags, chats and groups while also providing data security and compliance.

    Pricing for Zoho CRM

    Standard Zoho Plan Professional Zoho Plan Enterprise Zoho Plan Ultimate Zoho Plan
    Costs Rs 720 per user per month, billed annually Costs Rs 1200 per user per month, billed annually Costs Rs 2100 per user per month, billed annually Costs Rs 2300 per user per month, billed annually
    Offers all the utilities in the free version along with scoring rules and workflow management Offers all the utilities in the standard version along with SalesSignals and business blueprint Offers all the utilities in the professional version along with Zia AI, a command center and a canvas layout Offers all the utilities in the enterprise version along with advanced Business Intelligence and Zoho Analytics
    Offers to build and manage multiple pipelines, send mass emails and customize dashboards Helps build forms to collect user data, frame validation rules, and manage inventory The Enterprise plan comes with advanced customization, portals for multiple users and, mobile SDK Advanced features with Zia recommendations on different niche

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales

    Microsoft Dynamics is an adaptive sales solution built for an unpredictable sales environment, keeping in mind the uncertainty in today’s business world. With AI-powered Dynamics sales, you get to know the right clients to focus on, giving you a better lead conversion, while also cutting costs through sales and marketing alignment. Dynamics 365 Sales offers intelligent sales process automation, so you can focus more on engagement and innovative sales solutions, their integrations, and customization. Moreover, insights in previous deals and customer management also help in decision making for similar cases in the future.

    Features offered by Dynamics 365 Sales

    • Single workspace, integrated multichannel tools, and AI predictive scoring help enterprises save time and have better customer interactions.
    • Dynamics 365 Sales offers a LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration to manage professional relations at scale and envisages customers’ perspectives with the help of surveys and customer data.
    • Dynamics 365 Sales finds you relevant content with an intuitive interface while saving you time for selling.
    • Features such as cross-team visibility, scanning business cards for avoiding manual entry, and streamlined workflow through Outlook and Excel enable coordination between sales and marketing, further boosting productivity.
    • Deal flow visualization, insights, and relationship analysis also helps accelerate sales performance.

    Pricing for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Professional Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Premium
    Comes with a core sales force automation at Rs 4295 per user per month Comes with industry-level sales force automation at Rs 6280 per user per month Comes with features of enterprise version with Sales Insights Add-ins at Rs 8925 per user per month
    Offers all Microsoft Integrations without conversational intelligence such as pipeline analysis and coaching tools Offers all Microsoft Integrations with conversational intelligence tools which require separate add-in licence Offers all Microsoft Integrations with conversational intelligence tools including product and brand analysis and personalised dashboards
    Does not offer any contextual insights Offers contextual insights including pipeline intelligence and predictive scoring requiring separate add-in licence Offers contextual insights including relationship and note analytics

    Vendasta

    Vendasta CRM is a unified sales and marketing solution, specially built for B2B sellers for SMEs. It offers great customer satisfaction with free products and upgrades paths while furnishing the users with management, social media, marketing and listing tools. Vendasta allows you to brand and sell your products the way you deem convenient while also providing detailed reports and analytics to your customers, to display your value. Moreover, even your clients can switch to online business with the free eCommerce tool given by Vendasta.

    Features Offered by Vendasta

    • Continuous and real-time data analysis lets you know the requirements of customers. The AI based pipeline helps you manage those leads and to reach out to your prospect.
    • Meet scheduling, email marketing and all other tools required in a sales CRM are offered by Vendasta. With all these tools in one place, you can proceed with your sales team without any complicated integrations.
    • Client research with snapshot report helps you determine the right prospects to deal with.
    • Vendasta also offers real-time analysis of client engagement with the product; this helps you finding any flaws in your product and improving customer satisfaction.
    • Track all sales activities with real-time insights with leaderboards and pipeline management tools, while also recording all communications.

    Pricing for Vendasta

    Vendasta CRM Startup Model Vendasta CRM Essential Model Vendasta CRM Growth Model Vendasta CRM Scale Model
    Costs $42 per month and billed at $500 annually Costs $299 per month and billed at $3588 annually Costs $499 per month and billed at $5988 annually Costs $999 per month and billed at $11988 annually
    Designed for startups and fresh enterprises looking for client retention Free onboarding and designed for business that have a base and are looking to establish themselves With free onboarding, this model is designed for growing businesses and brands With free onboarding, this model is designed as a commerce platform with team management tools
    Offers 1 team member seat and up to 15% discount on resellable apps and services Offers 5 team member seats and up to 30% discount on resellable apps and services Offers 10 team member seats and up to 45% discount on resellable apps and services Offers 15 team member seats and up to 65% discount on resellable apps and services
    Offers 5 free snapshot reports and business toolkits, and 2500 emails sends per month Offers 25 free snapshot reports and business toolkits, and 10,000 email sends per month Offers 75 free snapshot reports and business toolkits, and 50,000 email sends per month Offers 125 free snapshot reports and business toolkits, and 100,000 email sends per month

    Conclusion

    Managing customers and communicating with them is one of the main focuses of a business. Interacting with customers can be done through the help of CRMs. Salesforce has always been one of the best and most popular software for Customer Relationship Management but these alternatives also work quite fine.

    FAQs

    What is Salesforce?

    Salesforce is one of the most popular CRM tools for support, sales, and for marketing teams.

    What are the best alternatives to Salesforce?

    Some of the best alternatives for Salesforce are:

    • HubSpot CRM
    • Pipedrive CRM
    • Zoho CRM
    • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
    • Vendasta

    What is CRM?

    Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technology through which you can make your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers.

  • How to Start Ecommerce as a Side Hustle? | Steps and Tips to Get Started Today

    44 million Americans have a side hustle, and why shouldn’t they? A side hustle is a popular approach to make an extra profit while maintaining the safety net, that is your full-time job. Despite popular belief, the extra credits you work for can be both highly fulfilling and financially rewarding. You can be your boss and extract profits out of projects you are genuinely passionate about.

    On that note, starting an eCommerce business is the most sought way as a side hustle. Ecommerce is the buying or selling of goods and services via the internet. In today’s digital world, it has become pretty convenient and easy to set up an eCommerce store and kickstart your business.

    WIDGET: leadform | CAMPAIGN: undefined

    Steps to Start Ecommerce as a Side Hustle
    Decide The Product or Service To Sell and Your Target Audience
    Research About Related Ecommerce Businesses
    Set Up Your Online Store
    Promote Your Ecommerce Business
    Tips To Make Your Ecommerce Side Hustle Successful

    Number of digital buyers worldwide from 2016 to 2021
    Number of digital buyers worldwide from 2016 to 2021

    Steps to Start Ecommerce as a Side Hustle

    Setting up an online business might seem overwhelming at first, but it gets better with time, as said by Nelson Mandela, “It always seems impossible until it is done.”

    The following are four easy steps that will help you to start eCommerce as your side hustle:

    Decide The Product or Service To Sell and Your Target Audience

    You must be wondering what exactly you should sell. There are tons of business structures, be it service-based businesses, physical products, digital products, or software. It is common for people to get stuck on this.

    Here are a few things that you must bear in mind while selecting your product:

    • You must be genuinely passionate about it so that if it pays off well, you can continue to pursue it full-time in the future.
    • Consider the practical necessities of the product or service such as the competition and its demand in the market.

    You can start this step by making a list of possible products that you would want to sell as inspiration is present everywhere. Think of the products or services your close ones or your target audience might want to buy. There are numerous product lists suggestions available on the internet that might help you with this. Lastly, search for your product on Google trends and verify whether a demand exists for the product. As this will help you to find your target audience.

    A few more things that you should take into consideration at this step include:

    • Who is your target audience?
    • What are the pain points of your target audience?
    • How can your product help them?

    All this will help you set a definite goal in advance, which ultimately makes the rest of the steps easy.

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    Once an idea about selling something pops in your head, you would be tempted to start your business right away. But at this point, it is important to control your impulse and rather take a calculative decision.

    So, after you have decided on the product or service that you want to sell, you must conduct proper market research, watch out for your competitors, and, observe what they are doing, what is working, and what is not working for them. Here are a few things that you must consider while researching other businesses:

    • What is their business model?
    • Who is their target audience?
    • What are the social media platforms they are active on?
    • How do they generate leads (SEO, PPC, email)?

    All this will help you create distinguished characteristics for your business and you will also get to know what to do and what not to. Thus, conducting research and analyzing your competitors will give you a better understanding of how you should start eCommerce as your side hustle.

    Set Up Your Online Store

    Set up your online store - Shopify, eBay
    Set up your online store – Shopify, eBay

    The next step is to set up your online store from where your customers would be able to buy the products or services you are offering. You can choose eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Woocommerce, eBay, and more. They provide ready-to-use templates and easy-to-use store-building tools. With so many options available, it might be confusing to choose one platform from where you want to sell. Here are a few points that you should consider before selecting a platform:

    • Loading speed
    • Features and tools
    • Compatibility with payment getaways
    • SEO-friendly features  

    Make sure your store’s theme matches the theme of your business. Give your business a memorable name and be as creative yet clear with the logo. That’s what differentiates other businesses from yours. Also, try to make the buying process as smooth as possible, remove any additional steps and only ask for the information that is necessary to make the checkout process convenient for the customers.

    Also, nowadays, a platform that is gaining huge popularity for eCommerce setups and marketing is Instagram. It is easy to use as all you have to do is open an account, post pictures, think of a payment mode and start selling. Since people are getting more comfortable with Instagram shopping, it is definitely an option worth exploring.

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    Promote Your Ecommerce Business

    Deciding on what to sell and where to sell is not the end of the process for starting an eCommerce side hustle.  No business becomes successful without great sales. Lead generation and sales are the most important part of any business. So, it is important that you spend your heart and soul on promoting it.

    The secret to a successful eCommerce business is to perfect your marketing strategy and channel it to the right platforms. Closely follow your competitors, and look for how they are generating leads, or which platforms they are investing in. Focusing on your marketing and making sure that you have a regular inflow of clients should be your priority.

    Tips To Make Your Ecommerce Side Hustle Successful

    Tips to make your eCommerce successful
    Tips to make your eCommerce successful

    If you are establishing a full-fledged eCommerce business or just starting with your side hustle, certain tips will help you make your business successful:

    Provide an Exceptional Customer Service

    A survey conducted by Greenwich states that “India loses around ₹11,640 Crore every year in revenue due to poor customer service.” Great customer service is essential for your business’s long-term growth.

    You should go the extra mile to meet the expectations of your customers and keep them satisfied. This will ensure that such customers keep coming back to you.

    Work on Store Optimization

    Once you’ve laid the foundation of your business, the next step is to work on your store optimization. Here are some things that you can do to optimize your store:

    1. Make your store mobile-friendly
    2. Increase the loading speed
    3. Improve your navigation bar
    4. Improvise your search button
    5. Create impressive product pages
    6. Add a section of related items

    Keep Updating Your Inventory

    It won’t take a long time before your existing products start losing their thunder in the market. You need to keep on improvising and adding new products or services to your business to keep it relevant. Offering new and improved products and services from time to time will help you to retain your customers and also attract new ones.

    Conclusion

    A side hustle is a new trend that everyone seems to like, be it young children from school, college students, or even working professionals. It might seem tough in the beginning but with time, it pays off well both in terms of money and experience. So, it is indeed possible to handle a side hustle alongside your full-time job, college, and social life. All you need is strategic planning and a bit of patience. Thus, deciding to start an eCommerce side hustle is a great first step in itself and once you have set the foundation of your business, it will be ready to fly to newer heights.

    FAQs

    Is starting eCommerce as a side hustle profitable?

    The eCommerce industry is full of competition, but if you know what the market wants and have a plan in hand, it can be very profitable. However, the profit will depend upon the type of products or services you are selling and also your business model.

    • Amazon
    • Flipkart
    • Myntra
    • Shopify
    • eBay

    What can I do as a side hustle?

    • Sell products or services online
    • Teach a subject online
    • Rent out your vehicle
    • Start creating videos on Youtube and Instagram
    • Start a blog

  • Linktree – Solving Social Media’s Most Annoying Problem

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Linktree.

    For the advertising strategies, some organisations use many social identities and platforms, which may make social media management significantly more difficult. There are several reasons why a firm might have various social media profiles (multiple product lines, locations, teams and so on), but it would be extremely difficult to manage them if you had to log in and out of each separate profile and site to check all of your messages.

    Saving users ample time and effort of juggling multiple accounts regularly, social media tools may consolidate pieces of information sent to all of their profiles and networks into a single location.

    The adoption of tools to manage social media accounts has increased in the time being with the relevance of customer service operations and social media for marketing.  People are turning to Google presently more than ever to select the optimal “social media management solutions” to keep them going up.

    Linktree is a social media firm that provides a solution for influencers and e-commerce companies to improve their online visibility across social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch.

    Linktree – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Linktree
    Headquarters Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
    Industry E-commerce, Social Media
    Founders Alex Zaccaria, Anthony Zaccaria, Nick Humphreys
    Founded 2016
    Areas Served Worldwide
    Current CEO Alex Zaccaria
    Website www.linktr.ee

    About Linktree and How it Works?
    Linktree – Latest News
    Linktree – Industry
    Linktree – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    Linktree – Founders
    Linktree – Startup Story
    Linktree – Vision and Mission Statement
    Linktree – Business Model, and Revenue Model
    Linktree – Employees
    Linktree – Funding, and Investors
    Linktree – Acquisitions
    Linktree – Competitors
    Linktree – Future Plans

    About Linktree and How it Works?

    “Link-in-bio” is a popular online idiom that may be used as both a phrase and a whole statement. It’s a short but powerful set of instructions that may bring you to a plethora of information. Linktree is, without a doubt, one of the most well-known link-in-bio services.

    Linktree is a social media marketing tool that allows influencers, producers, publications, and companies to distribute their offerings to their audience across social media networks. It enables users to create a website that houses reference links to their online environment and provides audiences with a single link to all of the information.

    Big businesses, daily content producers, celebrities and any other person, may all utilise the platform to create a webpage that holds their digital environment, making it simpler to engage with their followers. It streamlines the online economy for eCommerce, allowing social media influencers, entrepreneurs, and enterprises to share, sell, curate, and build their businesses.

    Garnier, Shopify, HBO, Wix, Zapier, and YSL are among Linktree’s noteworthy users, as are sports clubs like the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Clippers,  and Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as celebrities like Selena Gomez and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    A Linktree not only directs followers to the places you want them to go — your other social profiles, your eCommerce store, or the material you want to share — but it also retains them in your online social ecosystem for more time.

    Linktree – Latest News

    Linktree was valued at $1.3 billion after a $110 million investment round headed by Index Ventures and Coatue. Linktree has raised $55.7 million in two investment rounds over the previous year and a half.

    Linktree has many vacancies in its engineering and marketing divisions as it prepares to grow its LA workforce and expand further. For what is effectively a lightweight mini-website builder, that’s a lot.

    “Linktree is definitely in a hyper-growth phase, and these fundraise really focus on growing the team. We were seven people in March 2020, we’re now over 230 people globally, and we expect to be hiring another 200 to 300 roles this year between the States and Australia,” said Alex Zaccaria, the CEO of Linktree.

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    Linktree – Industry

    The increase in the number of COVID-19 cases has produced a significant boom in the social media management sector. The massive amounts of data generated by social media sites, the widespread acceptance of social media management solutions, and the development in cloud usage habits among small and medium-sized organisations, bring considerable opportunities for social media, management services providers.

    Legal and regulatory limits, issues in administrative workflow, legislation, and a lack of universal standards, on the other hand, impede market expansion. The absence of appropriate statistics for social media management tools, as well as a single solution to deal with the expanding unstructured data concerns, could inhibit the market growth.

    This market is anticipated to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 23.6 per cent, from USD 14.4 billion in 2021 to USD 41.6 billion in 2026. Some of the factors driving the growth of the Social Media Management Market include increased focus on the market and competitive intelligence, enhanced customer experience, increasing customer involvement in social media using smartphones and increased need for search ROI for social media strategy.

    Linktree – Name, Logo, and Tagline

    Linktree is a tool that lets you broadcast multiple links on social media in a tree-like structure that organises all of your links as branches. So, there’s one link for all your links. This is where its name comes from.

    Linktree’s tagline says. “You only get one chance to link on Instagram. Make it do more.”

    Linktree – Founders

    Alex Zaccaria, Nick Humphreys and Anthony Zaccaria founded Linktree, a freemium social media reference landing page based in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.

    Co-founders of Linktree and brothers - Alex Zaccaria and Anthony Zaccaria
    Co-founders of Linktree and brothers – Alex Zaccaria and Anthony Zaccaria

    Alex Zaccaria

    Alex Zaccaria is the Co-Founder and CEO of Linktree, as well as a co-founder of Bolster. He went to RMIT University to complete his education.

    Nick Humphreys

    Linktree’s Co-Founder and Creative Director is Nick Humphreys.

    Anthony Zaccaria

    Anthony Zaccaria is a Co-Founder of Linktree and a Director at Bolster.

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    Linktree – Startup Story

    Linktree was founded in 2016 as a result of frustration with social media platforms that do not allow numerous URLs in the bio of profiles. The website was built in only six hours. Overnight, the server was claimed to have 3,000 users, causing it to fail due to overcrowding.

    Linktree, a Melbourne firm that began as a side venture to answer a basic problem, has surpassed its humble beginnings.

    Currently, it receives 10,000 new signups every day, with 90% of those coming from outside of Australia. The Linktree narrative begins in 2016 when co-founder Nick Humphreys and brothers Alex and Anthony Zaccaria were running a music and entertainment digital business.

    They were managing artists and making announcements on Instagram. They were fed up with having to update their Instagram bio link regularly. The company’s co-founders had newly recruited a developer, but they didn’t have any task for him yet, so they assigned him a task, to come up with a solution that would enable them to add several links. The design was completed in six hours.

    According to Zaccaria, Linktree was created to tackle an issue for the agency. However, it turned out that a lot more folks experienced the same issue. This happened to be at the same time that Instagram transitioned from a chronological to an algorithm-based feed, which meant that individuals may be viewing posts from three or four days ago. That bio might have been updated by the time people saw the phrase ‘link in bio.’

    Initially, the firm only promoted the solution to its clients, but news spread quickly, and they soon had roughly ten sign-ups each day. The team intended to launch the redesigned Linktree a little more officially.  But, before they could, a grateful user took care of it for them.

    On a particular day, Linktree received between 3,000 and 4,000 additional signups. Since then, the number hasn’t dropped below 800 each day. Naturally, it is now substantially higher. And thus, Linktree has gradually grown from being a side-hustle to a full-fledged company.

    Linktree – Vision and Mission Statement

    Linktree’s mission is to, “democratize the internet and to democratize people’s digital presence.”

    Linktree – Business Model, and Revenue Model

    Linktree’s business plan is based on a freemium concept. In today’s world, many firms employ this concept. A freemium approach entails providing all users with a free, but restricted, profile. This will suffice for the great majority of people.  Some people, on the other hand, will crave more. Anyone who wants the premium features will have to pay for them.

    Linktree can afford to deliver a basic experience for free as long as a tiny percentage of customers pay for the premium option. To put things into perspective, Linktree has a free plan. This free plan allows users to connect to as many venues as they want, receive payments, and view basic user statistics and analytics. However, Linktree’s “PRO” service provides the user with comprehensive details. They’ll be able to monitor where their views come from, as well as how people act while they’re on the website, and they’ll have access to more comprehensive statistics.

    The PRO service also comes with a slew of extra features, such as sophisticated customising. The PRO subscription is $6 per month. An “Enterprise” plan is also available. This is for larger firms, who will receive a custom price based on their requirements. This is also a paid service, with the cost varying depending on the services needed. As you can see, Linktree is a low-cost platform to maintain, but it generates a lot of income because of its large user base.

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    Linktree – Employees

    • Co-Founder and CEO – Alex Zaccaria
    • Co-Founder – Anthony Zaccaria
    • Co-Founder and Creative Director – Nick Humphreys
    • Head of Strategy and Operations – Michael Stocks
    • Head of Growth – Jessica Box
    • Talent Acquisition Manager – Mitch King
    • Partnerships Lead – Albert Smith
    • Engineering Manager – Kurt Weiberth

    Linktree – Funding, and Investors

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Mar 16, 2022 Series B $110M Coatue, Index Ventures
    Mar 24, 2021 Series B $45M Coatue, Index Ventures
    Oct 26, 2020 Series A $10.7M AirTree Ventures, Insight Partners

    Linktree – Acquisitions

    Acquiree Name About Acquiree Date Amount
    Songlink Songlink is a fully customizable, on demand smart link solution for music, podcasts and more. Aug 19, 2021 –

    Linktree – Competitors

    Top competitors of Linktree are :

    • Jotform Apps
    • ContactInBio
    • Shorby
    • bio.fm
    • Lnk.Bio
    • Tap Bio
    • EverLinks
    • Campsite

    Linktree – Future Plans

    Shoppers are spending more time and making more purchases online than it has ever been, highlighting the need for companies and artists to develop consistent profiles throughout all the social media platforms and make them conveniently searchable.

    Linktree keeps up with the times by delivering a trustworthy network that streamlines the information that matters most to consumers while also making commerce and interaction easier for the companies and creators who reach them.

    Linktree will make significant investments in making social commerce simpler with the new round of investment, enabling more transactions to be accomplished with minimal taps.

    Ever since the Series-A round of financing, Linktree has launched additional customization tools, streaming embeds and video link possibilities, and, allowing customers to broaden their business to offer more, promote more, develop more, and engage more profoundly, all for free.

    Aside from product development, Linktree intends to create multi-location creator hubs that will also serve as offices for its expanding rapidly remote teams, beginning in Los Angeles and moving to other cities.

    Linktree – FAQs

    What does Linktree do?

    Linktree is a social media firm that provides a solution for influencers and e-commerce companies to improve their online visibility across social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch.

    Who founded Linktree?

    Alex Zaccaria, Nick Humphreys and Anthony Zaccaria founded Linktree, a freemium social media reference landing page based in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.

    How does Linktree make money?

    Linktree’s business plan is based on a freemium concept. However, Linktree’s “PRO” service provides the user with comprehensive details. The PRO subscription is $6 per month.

    Which companies do Linktree compete with?

    Top competitors of Linktree are Jotform Apps, ContactInBio, Shorby, bio.fm, Lnk.Bio, Tap Bio, EverLinks, and Campsite.

  • Top 7 Transactional Emails That Every E-commerce Business Can Make Use Of

    At a time when there are a plethora of eCommerce platforms for the customers, it is all the way more important to keep your existing customers abreast and gain more of them. At a time of oversupply of options like this, every firm has to find ways to keep their memory fresh in the minds of their customers. Not only that, but it is also necessary to inform them why they have to purchase from a particular platform and not from their competitors.

    Marketing emails is one of the best ways in which all of these requirements can be achieved. Each mail becomes a golden opportunity for the firms to connect with their customers or even know about their needs through their email responses.

    This article will look at certain kinds of emails that can be used to enhance customer engagement and retention.

    WIDGET: leadform | CAMPAIGN: undefined

    Welcome Email
    Promotional Email
    Customised Email
    Re-engagement Email
    Reference Email
    Review Email
    Stock Update Email

    Welcome Email

    It is a fact that everybody likes to be acknowledged for their efforts and actions. Being an e-commerce platform, a newsletter that is circulated through a common mailing list is usual.

    Whenever there is a new subscription, be sure to send them a welcome email. The content and creativity that will brim in this email will help the consumer gain a first impression of the firm and its quality.

    In this email, you can start by thanking them and then highlighting one aspect of the firm. It can be about an upcoming sale, a special discount or a cue towards when all to checkout for the newsletter.

    Since this email will go immediately after they subscribe, it is more likely to be seen and read by the customers than any other email later. Hence, make sure that the welcome email is the best that it could be.

    Promotional Email

    The prime intention of these emails is to keep customers up-to-date with the events of the firm. These emails can be used to drive sales for your business. To increase the impact of these promotional emails, they can be curated based on the recent purchases of the customer.

    Upselling can be done by offering the customer something of higher value depending on their engagement with the platform. Alternatively, through the promotional emails, customers can be introduced to complementary products to cross-sell. It will help in increasing the overall sales of the organisation.  

    While making these promotional emails, note that they should be engaging with the audience without pressurising them. While it is a good idea to give them a deadline for the discount or a sale, it should not come out as a compulsion. Rather, the email should elicit a curiosity that will make the customers search and make the purchase.

    Customised Email

    The best way to retain customer loyalty is to make them feel special. A mail wishing them a birthday or letting them know that the organisation appreciates them can go a long way.  

    Emails that pose as a first-hand reminder of an upcoming sale are a good example of a mail that would make the customer feel valued. Along with these mails, the firms can offer small discounts that will ensure better engagement.

    A lot of companies make use of these emails to ensure that their customers come back to them without fail. Cultfit through their efficient notification management can be an excellent example in this regard although they are only notifications and not emails.

    Re-engagement Email

    Considering the options that customers have in this digital age, it is very likely that they might remain dormant after one or two purchases. In these situations, eCommerce platforms can make use of re-engagement emails that invite customers back to their fold.

    It will not only generate a connection with the customer but also ensure better chances for their come back. During these emails, it will be ideal to offer the customers certain benefits or discounts that can boost their interest.

    Reference Email

    The key idea that drives any eCommerce venture forward is the expanding consumer base. There is no better way than word of mouth to increase the reach of any product.

    emails encouraging the customers to refer more people into their fold is an excellent idea. These emails have to be curated in such a way that a reason why the customer should refer someone else has to be clearly stated. The idea of offering a freebie or extra points in return for a reference never gets old.

    Review Email

    Customer engagement is a two-way process. While commerce platforms constantly try to earn the trust and loyalty of the customer, it is equally important to learn and evolve according to the customer’s suggestion as well. Apart from the growth prospect that this process offers, it will also help to create an impression that the customers are heard and valued.

    emails that contain feedback and review links can be circulated periodically. Depending on the availability of data and the nature of business, eCommerce platforms can circulate these emails with every order or from time to time inquiring about the overall experience of the user.

    Stock Update Email

    Every customer has unique needs that they want to be met by the eCommerce businesses every time they use these platforms. It can happen that they cannot deliver what the customer needs at a particular point in time due to the unavailability of stocks. It is a very important and impactful gesture when the company reverts back to the customer when the restocking happens.

    While chances are high that the customer would have gone for some other options, such a mail can prove extremely useful to the firm’s commitment to the customers. If the company has its standards maintained when it comes to the quality of the products, then there is absolutely no doubt that such a mailing practice will make the customer wait until the product is restocked.

    Conclusion

    Keeping up with customers through emails is a great way of ensuring and expanding a good customer base. While the contents of these emails have to be reworked depending on the needs and visions of the respective commerce businesses, the purpose of these emails remains as the ones mentioned above.

    There are still more different kinds of email templates that can be used to send to the customers. However, too much of it can be tiring for both parties. A respectable number of emails say two or three every week are largely appreciated. Making use of this great opportunity through emails can be a great way of building commerce businesses.

    FAQs

    What is a transactional email?

    A transactional email is an email sent to an individual when the user performs an action, for example subscribing to a newsletter.

    What is transactional email? Give detailed examples.

    Some examples of transactional emails are sending an email when a new user signs up, confirmation of purchase or forgotten password email.

  • Top 10 Paid Stock Image Websites

    A picture is worth a thousand words. Whether for creating advertisements, making your content more expressive, or simply creating a beautiful social media post, we need images for various purposes. While there are stock images available for free over the internet, content creators often realize that the options available for free are limited. So, here we have listed the top websites for paid stock photos that offer a wide range of images for all your creative needs. Some of these stock photography sites also contain vector images, illustrations, video clips, graphics, and even music.

    Now let’s also talk a bit about the CopyRights. The paid images that you purchase from these stock photo sites are royalty-free images, i.e you are purchasing a license that lets you use the images purchased for a lifetime for purposes like social media posts, presentations, blog posts, sales brochures, or for in-store displays. However, in case you intend to use the bought images for purposes like mass printing in coffee mugs or other items for selling, you may need an extended license. Hence it is always advisable to go through the terms and conditions of the site from where you are purchasing images, to avoid any copyright infringement issues.  

    So here goes the list of the top paid stock photo sites that you can consider. The pricing plan of these sites is also included so that you can choose the best that suits you.

    123rf
    Canva Pro
    Dreamstime
    Shutterstock
    iStock
    Pond5
    Media Bakery
    BigStock
    Purestock
    Alamy

    Let’s explore more about these paid stock image websites, what they have to offer, and how much they cost.

    123rf

    123rF Website
    123rF Website

    123rF is known as one of the most distinguished budget stock image websites that contain a wide category of photographs, music, video clips, and vectors. You can find any photographs by searching through the categories. Also, you’d find the most trending and new photographs.

    123rF provides different subscription plans along with on-demand credit purchasing plans.

    123rf Pricing
    123rf Pricing

    Canva Pro

    Canva Pro Website
    Canva Pro Website

    Canva Pro is known for its incredible drag-and-drop image editing feature and tools. While Canva has much to offer for free as well, like free templates, photos, graphics, free cloud storage, and features that lets you collaborate with your team, the pro version comes with much more. For an annual or monthly subscription fee users get access to a  huge collection of images, graphics, video, and audio. Besides, there are many other features that allow you to customize your design, schedule your social media posts, and do instant animation.

    Canva Pro also comes with the advantage of the unlimited download of stock media which makes it a great choice.

    Below is the pricing plan for Canva Pro. Canva Enterprise plan is most suited for businesses.                    

    Canva Pro Pricing
    Canva Pro Pricing

    Dreamstime

    dreamstime Website
    dreamstime Website

    Dreamstime offers a great variety of royalty-free stock photographs with a minimum price of Rs. 16.27INR/download. The interface is simple and you can easily search for and find the photos, videos, illustrations, etc you need by typing in the search box. However, if you want to download free media from Dreamstime, the images, illustrations, etc are available only with a watermark. To access images, videos, and illustrations without a watermark, users need to upgrade to a paid plan.

    Dreamstime comes with a free trial of one week where you can download any 10 images for free. Afterward, it costs different subscription and credit plans.

    Have a look at Dreamstime’s subscription plans-

    Dreamstime Pricing
    Dreamstime Pricing

    Shutterstock

    Shutterstock Website
    Shutterstock Website

    Shutterstock is one of the pioneer stock photo websites. The platform consists of a wide variety of stock images, besides illustrations, videos, vector images, and music.

    Shutterstock has much more to offer. You can create custom content for your business with Shutterstock Custom. Shutterstock also offers online editing tools that let you edit the media as per your requirements. Besides the website, Shutterstock is available via an app and a Chrome Extension.

    Shutterstock offers a range of subscription plans that you can choose from as per your requirements. For single users, it offers an on-demand plan that lets users download the images whenever they need them, within a year. Besides, there are subscription plans that let users access everything including images, illustrations, music, and videos. Interesting subscription plans are also available for teams and enterprises.

    Here is the pricing plan for Shutterstock Images-

    Shutterstock Pricing
    Shutterstock Pricing

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    iStock

    iStock Website
    iStock Website

    iStock is widely famous for the collection of the most incredible and creative imagery that could be perfect for any commercial or personal purpose. It offers the facility of downloading high-resolution stock images. There are numerous categories such as landscape, holiday, seasonal, careers, technology, and many more.

    iStock is counted among the most preferred paid stock image websites. iStock also partnered with Craft Stock Plugin which helps users access the iStock images right within Sketch & Photoshop. iStock comes with a free video editor.

    iStock Pricing
    iStock Pricing

    Pond5

    Pond5 Website
    Pond5 Website

    Pond5 is known for the collection of a great variety of videos. Although it does have photographs, the video collection is just astonishing. It is one of the platforms having the largest stock video collection online. Pond5 works by building a media marketplace that could be easily accessible for video creating and editing purposes.

    Pond5 has around 25 million high-resolution videos with the most incredible features like video editing, patented visual search, and more. All in all, Pond5 has all that it takes to make your videos the best. With SFX, 3D models, and after-effects you can consider using Pond5 if you are into video content creation.

    The pricing plans include Pay per Item, where you can pay per image, per video, or per music basis. Besides one can opt for credit packs ( where one can purchase credit and use these credits to buy any media from Pond5 when required) and memberships.

    Pond5 Pricing
    Pond5 Pricing

    Media Bakery

    Media Bakery Website
    Media Bakery Website

    Media Bakery is an image aggregator site that curates hand-picked photographs from different sites. The site has a wide collection of Royalty-Free Images, videos, audio and flash content. Media Bakery’s clients include big corporate houses as its collection is very diverse. It has some very amazing features such as scrutinizing the photographs before outlying them for the custom of the users. This facilitates the license of the images as well as the well-developed content for purchasing. Media Bakery also allows users to follow photographers and like images.  As per the company site, Media Bakery does not offer subscriptions but does offer credit accounts as of now.

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    BigStock

    BigStock Website
    BigStock Website

    Bigstock is counted among the top paid stock image websites, started in 2004. It has grown with great graphs and now has more than 83 million content for various purposes and events. It comes with great purchasing plans with a 7-day free trial session. It has many outstanding categories of illustrations and photographs.

    Bigstock offers distinguished search images and high-resolution of videos with the appropriate keyword selection.

    Below is the Big Stock Pricing plan for images:

    Bigstock Pricing
    Bigstock Pricing

    Purestock

    Purestock Website
    Purestock Website

    Purestock is one of the most standardized paid stock image websites that offer the best quality of images and services. It does not have any trial session or service, but once the premium plan has been purchased, it guarantees the most incredible and licensed protected image with the best resolution. Purestock also offers the search by image option.

    Purestock guides you with blog posts and featured artists to let you know how to use the images and other materials.

    Below are Purstock’s yearly pricing plans-

    Pure stock Pricing
    Pure stock Pricing

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    Alamy

    Alamy Website
    Alamy Website

    Alamy is known for its real-life-based images with great special effects. It offers a huge collection of images that you can use and relate to for the society-based works and handles. It always keeps up with the trends and provides great image content. It offers some absolute subscription plans at reasonable pricing.

    Alamy provides great effective and convenient customer service along with news feeds and distinct forums. It holds a collection of over 165 million images, vectors, video clips, and more.  Checkout Alamy’s pricing plans-

    Alamy Pricing
    Alamy Pricing

    Conclusion

    There might be some great unpaid image websites but the services and offers that come with the paid one are non-comparable. The paid stock image websites offer a huge breathtaking collection of images, illustrations, video clips, vectors and many others. This works best with any of your content or blog posts. It makes it more vibrant and encompassing for the viewers. These websites come at very reasonable and affordable prices.

    FAQs

    What’s the best stock photo site?

    Shutterstock, Alamy, iStock, Getty Images, and Canva Pro are some of the best stock photo websites you should consider.

    What is a stock photo website?

    Stock image websites contain an extensive library of high-quality images, graphics, and often videos, which you’re free to use or different websites also have affordable subscription options.

    Where can I get high-quality images for free?

    Pixabay, Unsplash, StockSnap, Flickr, and Pexels are some of the sites to get high-quality images for free.

  • Rivigo – Fastest and Safest Tech-enabled Logistics Company

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    Only when we thought that logistics can no longer get more interesting and is at the top of its game, Rivigo was set up in 2014 by former Mckinsey consultants Deepak Garg and Gazal Kalra to change the game. With the sole idea of creating a relay truck model, where no vehicle driver would drive for more than four-to-five hours at a stretch and also would return home the same day, Rivigo was born.

    In September 2019, Rivigo entered Unicorn club with a valuation of $1.05 billion.

    Interesting isn’t it? This is why StartupTalky has brought this Rivigo success story for you to know all about Rivigo app, its Founders, Valuation, Funding and Investors, Growth, Challenges, Competitors, and more.

    Rivigo – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Rivigo
    Headquarters Gurgaon, Haryana, India
    Sector Logistics
    Founder Deepak Garg, Gazal Kalra
    Founded 2014
    Website rivigo.com

    Rivigo – About and How it Works
    Rivigo – Industry
    Rivigo – Founders and Team
    Rivigo – Startup Story
    Rivigo – Logo and Tagline
    Rivigo – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Rivigo – Startup Challenges
    Rivigo – Funding and Investors
    Rivigo – ESOPs
    Rivigo – Growth and Revenue
    Rivigo – Competitors
    Rivigo – Future Plans

    How does Rivigo works?

    Rivigo – About and How it Works

    With the launch of its relay model of trucking and utilization of cutting edge technology, Rivigo is transforming the nation’s logistics sector. This innovative method not only improves travel routes but also puts truck drivers’ welfare first, guaranteeing that they may sleep soundly in their own beds every night instead of having to endure the long, 20–30 day trips that were previously the norm.

    A truck relay! Sounds interesting right? Let’s see how this platform caters to its target audience.

    The mobile application of Rivigo is built for the drivers to make their life simpler by providing a one-stop solution for all their needs. This application is more image-based than text and is available in 11 different languages. Also, it tracks everything a driver needs to do, from notification of duties to surveys.

    The pilot gets the duty alert on the phone and he reaches the pit stop. There, he scans his unique QR code which is a testament that he has reached the required destination. This way the incoming pilot gets the alert on his application to the subsequent pilot that he needs to hand over.

    The interesting part is that there is a technological handshake through QR codes on the two pilots’ apps. The pilot who is taking over has a checklist regarding the truck’s condition and shipments, which he needs to verify through the Rivigo application. All this takes less than five minutes following which the pilot can drive off to his next pit stop.

    This whole magnanimous process of routing and the assigning of pilots is taken care of by Rivigo algorithms. Rivigo’s trucks are all IoT-enabled with the feature that tracks the vehicle in real-time. This ensures reliability and avoids breakdowns.

    This smart and real-time monitoring took off to another level when Rivigo launched refrigerated trucks for the fresh eatables producing sector of the economy. Here, the clients can check the thermostat and regulate it through the mobile application.

    Rivigo Pilot Story

    Rivigo – Industry

    According to a recent survey of the economy, the Indian road freight market is estimated to be worth around $150 billion. However, Rivigo believes that they are operating in a monopoly market with no other company that is in direct competition with the company. The model of Rivigo is one of a kind in a large enough market with room for multiple players and there are multiple different problems to solve in the sector.

    Rivigo – Founders and Team

    Deepak Garg and Gazal Kalra were the Founders of Rivigo. Gazal left the company in 2018 but Deepak is still there, aligned with Rivigo.

    Deepak Garg

    Deepak Garg | Rivigo Founder
    Deepak Garg – Rivigo Founder

    Deepak Garg graduated from IIT Kanpur and then obtained his MBA degree from IIM, Lucknow. Deepak started as a software developer at Geometric Ltd. and by the time he launched Rivigo. Deepak had spent close to a decade at McKinsey & Company as an Associate Partner and was deeply involved in the logistics and automotive sector. After this, Deepak founded Rivigo, where he is serving as the pilot.

    Gazal Kalra

    Gazal Kalra | Rivigo Founder
    Gazal Kalra – Rivigo Founder

    Gazal has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business after completing her Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. Before launching Rivigo, Gazal was a Consultant at the World Bank Group. Interestingly, she was also a parliamentary associate of Lok Sabha for close to two years. Gazal was a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company and eventually became the Co-founder of Rivigo. Gazal resigned from Rivigo in October 2018 and is currently the Founder & CEO of a company that is in stealth mode, as of May 2022.

    The Rivigo employee strength is listed as somewhere between 1000-5000 employees, as far as its Linkedin profile is concerned

    Rivigo – Startup Story

    All of this started when McKinsey and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) happened to conduct a joint study to identify where are India’s most needed skilled jobs. And to everybody’s surprise Logistics and construction emerged as the top sectors. That’s exactly when Deepak Garg decided to take some time off from work, and flea on a road trip to interact and connect directly with the truck drivers to understand the reasons behind the shortage of drivers.

    “It all started with a road trip, listening to the truck drivers and realizing that they have been marginalized and looked at as outcasts, which needed to change,” says the founder of one a kind Truck Relay.

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    While Deepak was just getting acquainted with the idea of the startup, he met with the future co-founder of Rivigo, Ghazal Kalra over coffee. That time, she had just gotten back from the US after finishing her joint program and was looking to put together a startup. Deepak and Gazal had not worked together yet, but Deepak knew Gazal through her husband who happened to be his colleague at McKinsey. To get a primary idea of what was happening on-ground, Gazal decided to hit the road herself. She was looking to understand the underlying reason behind Indians not taking up paid jobs like truck drivers. And the most surprising fact was this was the condition despite the massive unemployment ratios in the country.

    Reminiscing, she said, “At a village in Rajasthan some three-four unemployed men were sitting around playing cards. I asked them, “Why don’t you consider the option of becoming a truck driver?” They took great offense to the question. One guy said no one would marry him if he took that option, while another said he had studied till Class 8, not for such a job.”

    Analyzing this stigma on the mindsets of the people, this duo realized that there were several reasons why the “truck driving” profession has traditionally been frowned upon. Among these reasons, the biggest one was owing to drivers staying on the road for a stretch of days. So this meant that truck drivers go home three-four times a year. Also, this profession was perceived to be a high-risk job mainly because of factors like poor living conditions, vulnerability to contracting HIV, drug, and alcohol addiction, and pressure from truck owners to drive more often and faster. Somehow both these co-founders knew that if they work out an arrangement where they could send the driver home the very same day, the whole scenario could be reversed.

    Rivigo – Logo and Tagline

    Rivigo’s Tagline is ‘Making Logistics Human’

    Rivigo Logo
    Rivigo Logo

    Rivigo – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Rivigo to date has always declined to reveal the pricing modules that it charges to its app users. Rivigo’s net worth is unknown but the company made it a point by saying that its clients see a saving of 12% to 20% in overall logistics costs when they use the Rivigo application. However, Rivigo has not been able to pass on the entire cost-benefit to clients.

    Rivigo – Startup Challenges

    Theoretically, this system sounds simple enough. But in reality, this process is very cumbersome. Rivigo has created a network of over 70 pit stops across the country, which translates to a driving distance of around 250 km or around five hours for a driver between pit stops. However, to make this as effortless as imagined, the team has to ensure full control and monitoring of the mechanism.

    This is not it. The pilot who is handing over the truck again needs to board another truck that is coming in the opposite direction. So, essentially the trip planning and routing are required to be done optimally so that trucks are traveling in both directions at about a similar time.

    Also, one of the major challenges faced by Rivigo is finding the right set of drivers and, therefore, requires huge investments to build an effective HR process. Both the co-founders have tried to create a hiring process for drivers that is as stringent as the management hires involving checks for behavior, attitude, and technical skills. All drivers go through strict and regulated training programs at Rivigo.

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    Rivigo – Funding and Investors

    In September 2019, Rivigo entered the Unicorn club of Indian startups with a valuation of $1.05 billion. Rivigo has raised a total of $268.7 mn in funding to date via 11 funding rounds. The valuation of Rivigo is currently over $1 bn. Rivigo now aims to raise between $50-$100 mn in a Pre-IPO round before conducting an IPO in the next 18-24 months, as of May 2022.

    Rivigo Funding Details are as follows:

    Date Amount Series Investors
    December 1, 2015 – Debt Financing Trifecta Capital
    December 17, 2015 $30 Million Series B Elevation Capital
    October 6, 2016 $75 Million Series C Warburg Pincus
    March 8, 2017 $12.84 Million Debt Financing –
    January 12, 2018 $41.11 Million Series D Elevation Capital
    July 10, 2019 $65 Million Series E SAIF Partners, Warburg Pincus
    September 25, 2019 $4.97 Million KB Global Platform Fund
    December 2019 $20 Million Series F SAIF Partners, Spring Canter Investment Ltd.
    January 6, 2020 $3.46 Million Debt Trifecta Capital
    January 7, 2020 $3.21 Million Series G Elevation Capital (Formerly SAIF Partners
    November 2, 2020 $10 Million Series G Elevation Capital

    Rivigo – ESOPs

    Rivigo adopted a new stock option compensation plan for its employees on May 16, 2022. This has been done under Rivigo Stock Option Plan 2022, for which the Rivigo board has already passed a resolution. This new plan of Rivigo will have 22,730 options each convertible into one equity share and is estimated to be valued at around $15 mn.

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    Rivigo – Growth and Revenue

    Hailed as the fastest-growing surface transport services company in India, Rivigo has seen many ups since its establishment in 2014. Some of the major growth highlights of Rivigo are:

    • Owns a fleet of 5,000+ high-tech trucks
    • Reached over 4000 cities
    • Driven over 1 billion kilometers
    • More than half a mile trips are confirmed
    • Covers over 29,000 pin codes across the country
    • Boasts of having more than 200,000 fleet owners
    • Curated an undisturbed network of over 70 pit stops and 200 branches.
    • Recently launched National Freight Index (NFI) to provide live freight rates for different lanes and vehicles across the country.

    Rivigo’s revenue rose to INR 1,028 crore in FY19. It had a loss of INR 600 crore for the fiscal year 2019, compared to a loss of INR 270 crore in 2018. The revenue of the Deepak Garg-headed company has increased by 5% in FY20, rising to INR 1,080 crore.

    The expenditure of Rivigo also witnessed an increase of 5%, which was previously recorded at INR 1,532 cr in FY19 and became INR 1,622 cr in FY20. This made the losses of Rivigo increase by 6%. Rivigo’s losses were recorded at INR 511 crore (FY19) and surged to become INR 541 crore during FY20.

    Rivigo Financials FY18-FY20

    Rivigo – Competitors

    Although Rivigo believes they do not have any direct competition in the industry with their relay logistics, in recent years we could see truck marketplaces such as Blackbuck, Lobb, and Trukky entering the market. Not just that, there are ventures like Delhivery and Ecom Express, operating in the same segment, who offers a holistic combination of warehousing, line haul, and last-mile delivery services. Some of the top competitors of Rivigo include:

    • Blackbuck
    • Lobb
    • Trukky
    • Delhivery
    • Ecom Express

    Rivigo – Future Plans

    Gazal said: “Rivigo is only getting started: Our philosophy from day one has been that this is a large sector to solve for. We want to build Rivigo into an institution that will last beyond our lifetime. Our aspiration keeps growing every year. But the main aspiration is quite simple – make India number one in logistics in the world.” Rivigo is currently planning to launch an IPO within the next 18-24 months after seeing a Pre-IPO round.

    FAQs

    What is Rivigo?

    Rivigo is a technology-enabled logistics platform provider that offers transport services. The company’s full-stack logistics offering includes relay-led trucking and freight marketplace.

    Who are Rivigo Founders?

    Deepak Garg and Gazal Kalra are the Founders of Rivigo.

    Who are the Top Competitors of Rivigo?

    Rivigo faces competition from:

    • Blackbuck
    • Lobb
    • Trukky
    • Delhivery
    • Ecom Express

    What is Rivigo valuation?

    Rivigo has a valuation of over $1 bn.

    How can you book a Rivigo truck?

    A Rivigo truck can be booked by simply going to their website