IMG April 2016 Newsletter

NEWS ISSUE 18/ APRIL 2016

Standard the Standard Setting the Setting

HOTARD Coaches FEATURE IMG COMPANY

FMCSA PROPOSES NATIONAL TRAINING STANDARD FOR ENTRY LEVEL DIRVERS

10 ways to reduce

FMCSA Extends

email unsubscribes

Compliance Date

FMCSA Launches Study

Interchange Final Rule

of High-Risk Truck and Bus Companies

of Bus Leasing and

Until January 1, 2018

3 WAYS YOU’RE KILLING YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENT’S INTEREST IN YOUR PRODUCT AND HOW TO REGAIN IT/ THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TRANSFORMING YOUR DESK INTO A PEACEFUL, PRODUCTIVE PLACE TO WORK/

Some say a messy desk is a sign of creativity. Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and Mark...

CAN A SALARY “BUILD-IN” OVERTIME PAY?/

One approach to the coming changes in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s Section 13(a)(1) exemptions would...

VOLUNTARY BENEFITS EVOLVING TO MEET NEEDS OF DIVERSE WORKFORCE/

Motivated by the need to meet the changing needs and lifestyle of an increasingly...

You’ve created your product, so now it’s time to put it out there and make money, right?...

INTEGRATED MARKETING/

What if I told you that there is a high likelihood that you are getting over 80% of your sales...

FMCSA EXTENDS COMPLIANCE DATE OF BUS LEASING AND INTERCHANGE FINAL RULE UNTIL JANUARY 1, 2018/ On May 27, 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)...

HOW TO MAKE YOUR WORKPLACE CULTURE COLLABORATIVE/

Open spaces, water cooler talk, and allowing employees to update Facebook are often....

FMCSA PROPOSES NATIONAL TRAINING STANDARDS FOR ENTRY-LEVEL TRUCK AND BUS DRIVERS/

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety...

FMCSA LAUNCHES STUDY OF HIGH-RISK TRUCK AND BUS COMPANIES/

The study will assess how well the Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category...

FMCSA SEEKING INPUT ON SLEEP APNEA SCREENING/

The US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will host three public listening...

10 WAYS TO REDUCE EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBES/

A well-oiled email marketing strategy can be unsurpassable in terms of ROI and audience...

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President ’s Message At the writing of this letter, we are in the midst of March Madness, a really busy time in the IMG world for so many of our companies as they transport in safety and style the many college teams and fans for the NCAA tournaments.

For those involved they know how frantic the scheduling and the movements of the teams can be, so that a seamless experience occurs. Well done to everyone for their great work and dedication and of course our drivers who are the continuing face of our companies to our customers.

In February, the IMG Focus 25 Sales team, braved the elements and travelled to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We were welcomed not only by outstanding weather but also by the very warm hospitality of our hosts, IMG’s Ambassatours Grayline. Halifax is an outstanding city and we were fortunate to visit many sites including a visit to Peggy’s Cove.

We welcomed a number of guest speakers to our meeting and we thank them for travelling to Halifax to spend time with us. Thanks to all our sponsors who also contributed to the great success of this meeting.

As we look ahead, the IMG owners are gathering in Chicago for a Strategic meeting, a time when we will focus on the next five years and identify key goals. We continue to work together and enhance our sales reach as a network, share best practices and expand our North American footprint – our meeting will be a time to plan for the organization and to continue our work as a trusted independent network of motorcoach companies.

Remember, if you need transportation, IMG is your partner.

Bronwyn Wilson President, IMG

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IMG Focus 25 Sales Meeting, Halifax.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin has many hidden gems that tour groups will enjoy throughout the state. South Central Wisconsin is no exception with many great attractions such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, the House on the Rock and wonderful local wineries and distilleries.Visitors love the Dane County Farmers’ Market, the largest producer-only farmers’ market in the U.S. that was a winner in USA Today’s 10 Best’s Best Farmers’ Market contest. Foodies appreciate Madison Eats local food tours where tour guides connect people with a taste of the city’s vibrant history and rich local food scene.

The North Central Group has been connecting tour planners with Wisconsin’s hidden gems for the past five years. Established in 1981, the North Central Group owns and operates nine hotels in the Greater Madison, Wisconsin area under multiple franchise brands, specializing in premium select service hotels within the Hilton and Marriott family. We leverage our unparalleled expertise to provide hotel management services and hotel development services as well as hotel renovation and construction management services to exceptional property owners throughout the U.S. The North Central Group is building a brand new AC Marriott hotel in downtown Madison that is set to

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open in early 2017. AC Hotels by Marriott is an upper moderate tier lifestyle hotel brand founded in 1998 by Antonio Catalán. Located one block from the Capitol Square, experience a design-led hotel that effortlessly blends its European soul with a Midwestern mindset.

We work very closely with the Middleton Tourism Commission to meet all of your group’s needs.

Middleton is minutes from Madison and is the ideal overnight stop or home base for tours of the area.

Middleton is located in close proximity to all of the major attractions in the area and has 80 restaurants to choose from along with a number of fantastic chain and local boutiques. Middleton is also home to The National Mustard Museum, a quirky, fun destination for visitors.

All of our properties in the Greater Madison area offer convenient access to Interstates 90/94/39 and are located near great tour stops like the Wisconsin State Capitol, the Wisconsin Veteran’s Museum, Wollersheim Winery, Fireside Dinner Theatre, Circus World, The House on the Rock, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, the Wisconsin Dells and much more!

For more information about the North Central Group please visit ncghotels.com/motorcoach.

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IMG Feature Company

Hotard Coaches The Road We Have Traveled

The Hotard Family entered into the bus business in 1935 with a line run service from the River Parishes to New Orleans. Hotard Bus Line operated as the first Hotard bus company to connect the residents of St. John Parish to New Orleans.

In 1960, Hotard Coaches began as a separate company transporting passengers from the Westbank River Parishes to New Orleans.

Hotard Bus Line remained primarily a line run service until Callen Hotard became involved in the company in the early 80’s. Callen and his wife Coleen began Calco Travel, a full service tour and travelagencywhile Callen was working as a driver for Hotard Bus Line.

As the years progressed, both Hotard Bus companies were servicing the same markets and offering similar services. In 1996Hotard Bus Line decided to change their name to Premier Motorcoach to set themselves apart from the “other bus company” in town.

In 1999, the Hotard family sold Hotard Coaches to Laidlaw. During this time the Hotard brand continued to grow as one of the most recognized names in ground transportation in the New Orleans area.

Laidlaw operated Hotard Coaches until 2006 when they put the company up for sale following Hurricane Katrina.

In 2001, Callen and Coleen, purchased Premier Motorcoach and changed the name to Calco Travel 10 www.greenazine.com

to join their travel agency with the motorcoach company. Calco was now a leader in the ground transportation industry, providing transportation all over the country.

In 2007, Callen and Coleen purchased Hotard Coaches from Laidlaw and the bus company was once again under local, family ownership. Calco Travel and Hotard Coaches operated as two separate bus companies until 2012, when they were merged into one company. The Hotard name was chosen with the Calco logo to represent both brands and their rich history.

In mid-2012, with a desire to bring Hotard and Calco to the next level, Hotard Coaches and Calco Travel were sold simoutansley with All Aboard! America to a private equity firm forming the present parent company, All Aboard America! Holdings, Inc. (AAAHInc).

Today, Hotard’s charter operation is headquartered in New Orleans and with satellite offices in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Ocean Springs, Mr. Hotard understands that our customers can call any company and charter a bus. We truly believe that what we provide is bigger than a bus. Hotard has a team behind every motorcoach that departs our facility that works very hard to make every trip a success. Every person from, Sales, Cleaners, Dispatchers, Mechanics and Drivers, know that they have a very important part

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in satisfying our customers, a job that is not always easy. Hotard enjoys a very diverse customer base which is both rewarding and presents challenges. We understand how important it is to pair the perfect driver with a particular group or even a perfect sales person with a specific market. It is a true team approach when it comes to the day to day business at Hotard Coaches. Every department realizes how much they depend and need to work with the other departments in order to achieve everyone’s goal of happy, satisfied, returning customers.

Hotard Bus Line has undergone many changes since its inception in 1935 and we continue to work every day to make Hotard Coaches the leading ground Transportation Company in the Gulf Coast.

Headquartered in New Orleans, it is no surprise that hospitality is a main focus at Hotard and will be for many years to come.

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Coach convoys lead to avoidable As the busy season begins, many of you will be organizing multi-coach moves. These trips need to be organized in a coordinated way that combines the reservation process, maintenance, operations and dispatch departments in a cooperative approach. The team approach contributes to a successful outcome, satisfied customers and the opportunity for a profitable trip.

Multi-coach moves present a series of critical challenges which, if not met properly, could result in costly, complicated and potentially serious claims.

There may be nothing worse than two or more of your coaches and their passengers being involved in a convoy crash. These crashes often involve 100 or more passengers all of whom can potentially file an injury claim. These are YOUR customers, and what they will remember about the trip is they were in a multi-coach crash when a passenger in one of your vehicles!

THE RESERVATION PROCESS IS CRITICAL When the trip is being booked, take the time to explain to your customer that multi-coach moves require careful planning, and all involved coaches will operate independently of each other and arrive at the destination usually within five to ten minutes of each other. This is your first opportunity to control the multi-coach trip risk through the process of customer education. The customer may expect the coaches to leave at the same time and follow each other in order to “ keep the group together�. There is a BIG difference however between keeping a group together within a venue and getting them to the venue and back safely.

A reasonable approach may be to use the example that few venues can manage processing 100-200 people arriving at the same time, so coaches arriving five to ten minutes apart may actually save time and provide the group leaders with a better ability to manage their group. This can be followed up with a simple review of why safe driving and providing a comfortable

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trip involves greater following distance between the coaches.

When conducting a multi-coach move, each vehicle should leave five to ten minutes apart and maintain at least a five minute following distance. Each driver should be able to carry out the trip independent of the other coaches in the group. Your drivers should be made aware of specific direction, routes, road construction/congestions areas and possible weather issues. Drivers should prepare in advance and avoid the use of non-commercial GPS devices for directions.

Finally, the trip coordinator or tour guide should be informed that the coaches will not convoy but, for safety reasons, will maintain a safe following distance.

Convoy crashes occur because the trailing driver is simply following too closely. Multi coach moves create hazards but you can still provide good customer service and a safe trip. The easiest approach for your drivers is to review and know the directions to the destination, operate the coach as if it were the only vehicle on the trip and always maintain a safe following distance of at least five minutes from the other coaches and at least a six-second following distance from other vehicles on the road.

While there may be need for communication between the drivers (when the vehicles are parked or during a driving break), no driver should be dependent on the coach ahead of it for either directions or visual contact. Each driver should view their coach as an independent vehicle going to the same destination as other company vehicles on the same road.

AVOID THE CONVOY CRASH NIGHTMARE The hazards of a convoy crash can create a negative experience and be costly in many ways, including: costly law suits, loss of future revenue, negative publicity and reduced number of coaches at your disposal during your busy season.

chain-reaction crashes

Coaches should always maintain a five minute following distance after departing . These coaches are too close together and not operating independent of each other.

Multi-coach moves are good for your business, but only when they are well planned, organized in a cooperative approach among your reservations, maintenance, operations and dispatch teams and conducted by your drivers in a safe and professional manner.

This article was written by Bob Crescenzo, Vice President, Lancer Insurance Company.

For additional information see their website at www.lancerinsurance.com

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Transforming Your Desk

The complete guide to transf into a peaceful, productive p

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forming your desk place to work

Some say a messy desk is a sign of creativity. Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg—all notorious champions of workplace disarray— might agree.

More often than not, however, a messy desk is just messy.

Unless you’re already a creative genius, having a helter-skelter work space is likely to hinder you from feeling productive, happy, or inspired. But working at a desk that’s too impersonally tidy can be just as fruitless. Luckily, Quartz is here to help get things in order and set you off on a path of organizational triumph.

Your desk is a cockpit. You are the pilot Whether you work in an office or at home, treat your desk as the steering center for all your working needs: what you use most often should be within reach, with everything else farther away or stowed out of sight.

So first, establish what you use on a regular basis.

Pen and paper? Fine to keep on the top of your desk. (Maybe a pencil, too.) That clunky tape dispenser that comes in handy once a month? Better to relocate to a nearby shelf, drawer, or supply closet.

Follow Japanese principles

design

Japanese lifestyle chain Muji—whose name translates to “no brand”— is famous for its sparse, efficient designs. The company operates under the idea that there is “richness in the bare minimum.” Similarly, Japanese organization guru Marie Kondo (who’s changed many a life, including one at Quartz, with her bestselling how-to book) says: “You can clear your mind simply by discarding all unnecessary papers.”

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Simply, simply, simplify, with the goal of keeping the surface of the desk as clear as possible.

“Whatever you don’t need, use, or love—whatever isn’t functional, let it go,” feng shui consultant Laura Cerrano suggests to Quartz. “Clutter goes beyond the aesthetic visual: it also relates to the mindset, the emotions.”

Drop $10 on a decent lamp As the sun wanes in afternoon hours, the artificial overhead lighting of an office can be overly harsh— or sometimes too dim for comfort. A small lamp (however cheap or extravagant you want it to be) will do the trick.

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Just make sure to fit the lamp with a yellow-toned bulb, rather than a bright white one. The glow will keep you focused, and the warmth will make your desk seem an inviting—and impressive—space to coworkers and bosses. Blue is also a possibility; it mimics sunlight.

Set up a horizontal flow If your desk feels burdened or unbalanced, it helps to have a flow. Try laying out heavier things (computer monitor, books, mugs) on the left and keeping the right side light and airy (pens, sticky notes, open space).

As eyes naturally moves from left to right for English speakers, it’ll follow the slope—leading to a pleasant, weightless feeling. Right-to-left readers, maybe try the other way.

Forbid yourself from ever making piles of anything

more tranquil experience of sitting—provided your posture, chair, and eye alignment are all well-adjusted.

Do keep things strictly horizontal. When papers or folders are heaped on top of one another, they impede the flow of the desk; not to mention, it’s difficult to see what they are.

Use headphones—the right way

Use vertical file stands instead. If there’s not enough room on your immediate desk for all your documents, think beyond it: take advantage of nearby walls, bookshelves, drawers, or other storage options. To stay focused and tidy, never have files for more than two projects at a time on top of your desk, feng shui teacher R.D. Chin tells Quartz.

Lunch time: Put food in its proper place

For compact desks, you might also consider installing an under-the-table keyboard tray to maximize surface space. “Keep the mind focused on a particular task,” Chin advises. “The rest of it? Get it away from your vantage point.”

Use nature to block out chaos and distraction Offices, particular those with open design plans, come with all sorts of noise. While you can’t exactly banish loud/cluttered/intrusive neighbors from the building, you can take steps to greatly reduce their influence on your day.

“Working in offices is kind of artificial, so to speak, so you need to add some natural energy,” Chin explains.

Use leafy, willowy plants—like orchids, peace lilies, and snake plants—as dividers between your desk and others’. Plants subtly establish your desk as your own space, but they’re warm enough to still invite the occasional drop-by from colleagues. Their serenity could also encourage messy neighbors to tidy up their own space.

Forget about those trendy standing desks Yes, you’ve heard all about the standing desk, the latest in flashy office fads. But standing desks come with major downsides: joint pain, for one. Unless you have your own private office, they also tend to make smaller workspaces look clunky, lopsided, and stifling.

There’s a myriad of other ways to stay active at the office, such as taking frequent walking breaks or even just fidgeting often in your seat. If the idea of a standing desk is outside of your comfort zone, better to quit the (literally) stress-inducing trend and embrace the much

Pick the proper tunes for your mindset, and don’t keep the music on all the time.

Food and work, experts say, ideally should not mix.

Work requires focus and diligence; food should be a pleasant indulgence. If you must mingle the two, 1) try to do it as sparingly as possible, and 2) do it right.

Protect your work surface. Keep non-plastic utensils in your drawers to make eating a slightly less frenetic, on-the-go experience. Bring foods that are actually enjoyable—see Quartz’s previous complete guide to packing lunches.

Ditch all things dark and monochrome The easiest, yet most valuable thing you can add to your desk? Color.

Pastel file folders. Nature-toned notebooks. A neon mouse pad. Whatever colors get you excited the most, use them to truly personalize your space. Colors make all the difference between a bland, sterile desk environment and a motivating one. You’ll also be much more enthusiastic about going into the office if you have a vibrant workspace to greet you—rather than a drab white slab.

Seek inspiration on the internet, by subscribing to the quirky Modern Desk newsletter, for example, for ways to bring inventive new gadgets and gizmos into your space if you’re stuck on how to liven it up.

Now, go off and get organized—with our best wishes for an energized, spirit-filled day.

Article by Amy X. Wang seen on www.qz.com

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Can A Salary “Build-In” Overtime Pay?

Can A Salary “Build-In” Ov 20 www.greenazine.com

One approach to the coming changes in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s Section 13(a)(1) exemptions would be to abandon exempt status for at least some employees.

Of course, this will mean (among other things) that affected employees must receive the required FLSA overtime compensation for their hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. Some employers will probably contemplate paying such employees weekly salaries that “build-in” overtime compensation for up to a particular number of overtime hours.

As an illustration, assume that Tom’s employer will no longer treat him as exempt once USDOL’s revisions take effect, but management still wants to pay him a weekly salary. He always works between 40 and 45 hours in a workweek, unless he is sick, is off for a holiday, or takes vacation.

Tom’s employer determines that the hourly equivalent of his current salary is $16 an hour. Management keys his new weekly salary to a 45-hour workweek, setting it at $760 [($16 × 40 ST hrs.) + ($16 × 1.5 × 5 OT hrs.)]. If Tom works up to 45 hours in a workweek, he receives $760. If he works more than 45 hours in a workweek, he receives additional pay at a rate of (1.5 × $16) = $24 an hour for the extra worktime.

While this makes sense in many ways, it does not comply with the FLSA.

Fundamentals Must Be Observed The FLSA does not require that nonexempt employees be paid on an hourly basis. They can instead be paid on a salary-plus-overtime basis.

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But a bedrock FLSA principle is that overtime compensation must ultimately be based upon a rate-per-hour, that is, upon the “regular rate” of pay.

This is usually computed by dividing an employee’s total workweek remuneration by the total number of hours worked in the workweek for which that compensation was paid. See, e.g., 29 C.F.R. § 778.109. In almost every situation, FLSA overtime pay must vary as the number of overtime hours worked varies.

In the hypothetical, Tom’s pay for his hours worked between 40 and 45 in a workweek is exactly the same, whether he works one overtime hour or five.

Consequently, neither the U.S. Labor Department nor a court would be likely to view any of Tom’s $760 salary to be in the nature of overtime premium under the FLSA.

The Limited FLSA Exception The only way to pay a fixed amount that includes overtime premium for varying numbers of overtime hours is to use a so-called “Belo” contract. This term comes from the 1942 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Walling v. A.H. Belo Corporation, which approved such an arrangement. However, Congress later amended the FLSA to restrict the conditions under which this may be done.

The FLSA’s Section 7(f) authorizes paying a constant sum for varying amounts of overtime work if: (1) The employee’s duties “necessitate irregular hours of work”; and (2) The employee is employed under an individual or union contract specifying a regular hourly rate (of at least the FLSA’s minimum wage) for hours worked up to 40 in a workweek, plus 1.5 times that specified rate for hours worked over 40; and (3) The contract provides for a weekly guarantee of straight-time and overtime pay, based upon that specified rate, for not more than 60 hours.

Naturally, the employee must receive additional time-and-one-half overtime compensation for FLSA overtime hours worked beyond the number on which the guarantee is based.

On its face, this exception might seem to be easy to invoke. But the typical hurdle is that many

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employees’ duties do not “necessitate irregular hours of work.” The requirement is generally said to be that the person’s hours worked in a workweek: •

Must vary appreciably below 40 as well as above this threshold and must do so in a significant number of workweeks; and

•

Must vary because of the work requirements themselves, rather than due to vacations, holidays, sickness, personal reasons, scheduled time off, and so on.

USDOL says that “minor” or “insignificant” hours variations are insufficient, and that even fluctuation that is more than “occasional, minor, or insignificant” is deemed to be inadequate if it occurs “exclusively or nearly so” in hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

The circumstances of Tom’s work, which are by no means unusual, do not “necessitate irregular hours of work” within the parameters of these descriptions.

The Bottom Line Adequate variation in hours worked is not the only requirement for, or potential pitfall of, a Belo plan. Suffice it to say that employers should move slowly and carefully in evaluating whether such a compensation method will pass muster under their particular circumstances.

It could also be that the applicable overtime requirements of another jurisdiction will not permit these plans, even in situations in which the FLSA will.

There are many alternative ways to compensate nonexempt employees consistently with the FLSA, but pay plans like these are unlikely to provide a reliable answer for most employers.

Article by John E. Thompson seen on www.wage-hour.net

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Subscribe to MCI’s eZine; scan to learn more about what’s happening at MCI, including what new 2016 models can do for you.

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Evolving Workforce Drives Change

Voluntary benefits evolving to meet needs of diverse workforce Motivated by the need to meet the changing needs and lifestyle of an increasingly diverse workforce, the vast majority of U.S. employers believe voluntary benefits and services will be important to their value proposition over the next three to five years.

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A recent survey from Willis Towers Watson reveals that 92% of study participants view voluntary benefits as an important part of their total rewards as compared to only 73% in 2015. “The growth of VBS is widespread

among employers of all sizes and in all industries,� says Amy Hollis, voluntary benefits leader of Willis Towers Watson. “The appeal is simple. These programs enrich traditional benefits by offering a high level of personalization to employees while leveraging group purchasing

power. Moreover, because these programs are voluntary, they add little or no cost to employers.”

Conventional programs many employers have made available for years include dental and vision care plans, supplemental life, accidental death and dismemberment and disability insurance. Other established voluntary benefits many organizations offer are home, auto, critical illness, hospital indemnity insurance and legal and identity theft protection. However, emerging voluntary benefits incorporate newer features such as purchasing via payroll deduction, student loan consolidation/refinancing and multilife long-term care insurance.

Based on changing interests and priorities, Willis Towers Watson research predicts that the following voluntary options will experience dramatic growth over the next two years: •

Identity theft protection, offered by 35% of employers in 2015, could double to nearly 70% by 2018.

•

Critical illness insurance, offered by 44% of employers in 2015, could grow to 73% by 2018.

•

Student loan repayment programs, offered by just 4% in 2015, could increase to 26% by 2018.

•

Pet insurance, offered by 36% in 2015, could rise to 60% by 2018.

“In the past, employers have focused VBS programs on the needs of baby boomers,” says Mary Tavarozzi, group benefits practice leader of Willis Towers Watson. “Now employers need to attract, retain and engage millennial employees, who have very

different needs and priorities. They also are beginning to recognize that helping employees with financial well-being early in their careers may contribute to a more engaged workforce.”

Core and voluntary benefits used to operate in different silos, but Hollis says more and more employers are presenting them together as complimentary products at open enrollment time. For example, highdeductible health plans, critical illness and hospital indemnity may be offered concurrently. “It’s not just to help offset the HDHP from a psychological standpoint,” Hollis says. “When you are coupling the decision point, something magical happens because employees can see how A can fit with B or C in a way that results in a holistic package.”

While voluntary benefits are cost-effective from an employer perspective, there are also many advantages for employees, not the least of which is the convenience factor. “Payroll deductions mean instead of putting insurance premiums on a credit card, the employee does not incur a credit card fee or a line of credit hit on their FICA score,” she continues.

“Furthermore, guaranteed issue of coverage like critical illness insurance or hospital indemnity insurance without medical examinations or individual underwriting can also be a significant benefit for employees with health problems.”

When it comes to actual dollar savings for employees signing up for voluntary benefits, she says they can range from as low as 5% to as high as 70%. “For example, an ID theft program can cost 70% less than on

the open market and deliver much better value as far as the plan design and the services delivered,” she notes.

Hollis acknowledges employee resources are finite, so after contributing to their basic medical plan and retirement savings there may not be a lot left over to purchase voluntary benefits. That’s why she suggests that an employer’s voluntary strategy be grounded in demographics, reflecting what employee paychecks can actually buy.

One disincentive for employees considering the purchase of “must have” products like home and automobile insurance may be the lack of portability if they leave the company either voluntarily or involuntarily. “The portability provisions will vary by each line of business and each carrier. In some cases employee coverage can continue but discounts may be lost.

In others, policies can be ported on a temporary basis – say up to three years – as opposed to permanently,” she says.

“At the end of the day, the objective of employers is to provide an opportunity for employees to buy plans at a competitive cost that truly help them to protect their paycheck from a retirement or savings standpoint, or stretch their dollars when they are spending money on insuring a house or a car that they would have to pay for anyway,” Hollis says.

Article by Sheryl Smolkin seen on www.benefitnews.com READ THE ORIGINAL

ARTICLE ONLINE www.greenazine.com

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You’re Killing Your Client’s Interest

3 Ways You’re Killing Your Potential Client’s Interest in Your Product and How to Regain It 26 www.greenazine.com

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You’ve created your product, so now it’s time to put it out there and make money, right?

Yeah, that would work, so long as you can keep your audience’s interest alive. For some that only works the other way round — they unconsciously kill their audience’s interest. That can get really messy when they keep pushing so hard, especially when they think that will make it all work out in the end.

Are you guilty of killing your potential client’s interest? Here 3 ways to find out.

1. You focus too much on sales Focusing too much on sales like strangling your potential client with your bare hands until they can barely breathe.

How would you feel like if some random person comes to you and tries to sell you one of their products?

selling a course on branding for creatives, make sure that the information you give out for free relates to branding.

When you give value consistently, people start to trust you. They start to see you as someone who is an expert in your field. When you give them value, they are drawn to you. You make them want more information. You’ve got them hooked.

At that point, you can tell them that if they’d like more information they can learn more from your product.

2. You don’t build relationships Trying to sell without building relationships is like running your potential client over with an SUV. Who you would feel more comfortable buying from: someone who is familiar to you who you can trust or some stranger you’ve never known before?

Eeeek! Go away! Who are you?

That’s a no brainer! The person who is more familiar, of course!

My thoughts exactly. If you don’t like it when someone randomly starts selling things to you, then what gives you the impression that once you tell people about your product they’d buy it?

Glad you said that. If you prefer to buy from someone who is more familiar then what makes you think that someone who does not know you, even a little bit, would want to buy from you?

No one likes being sold to. Period. It’s annoying!

Building relationships with your target audience is so important. Yes, they may be drawn to you because of the immense value you give them but you need to also get close to your audience and get to know them better. Form a bond with your audience. Make friends with them.

When you tell people about what you’re selling, they get intimated. They freak out. Even if the product you want to sell will be the best thing that will ever happen in their lives if they buy it, they would not want to hear anything about it. This is because their first impression of you is of that of the “annoying salesman”.

If you want to make sales then you need to start off on the right foot. You need to start from the position of giving value.

Begin by giving great tips and tricks that they can apply. Tell them about the tools they can use to make their lives easier. Share the mistakes you made and the lessons you learnt in your journey.

Make sure the things you give are related to what your product is about. For example, if you are

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When you build relationships, you show yourself as someone who is approachable. People will not only be drawn to you but will also be committed to you. Having people buy your product is good but having those same people come back every time to have something up for sale is even better.

That is what makes business sweet.

3. You don’t give what your audience wants Not giving what your audience wants but forcing them to buy what you think they need is like

ramming a spoon down your potential client’s throats.

Ever created a product and all you got was crickets?

Yeah, we all have those days. Don’t worry, it can be avoided.

You may have worked for hours trying to create that EPIC product. The fact that no one buys your product does not mean that your product is crappy or not useful. It just means that your product is not what your audience wants.

But this is what my audience needs!

Here’s a newsflash: people don’t buy what they need. They buy want they want.

Needs are things that are a requirement. Wants are things that you desire and wish for. What you need is not necessarily what you want. What you want is not always what you need. For example, you WANT to have a 6-figure income but you NEED to work hard in order to make that kind of money. No one wants to put in the work. I mean it’s so hard! You’d definitely choose having that money given to you for free on a silver platter than working your ass off any day.

In order to get sales you have to create a product that is centered on what your audience WANTS. Your audience are MORE prone to buying what they want. That is what they go for.

For you to know what your audience wants you have to find out where it itched them the most so that you can go there and give them a good scratch. Okay, maybe that was a bit too graphic.

But you get the idea.

Get to know your audience. Listen to them. Find out their problems, their pain points and their struggles. Find out what they are looking for and what they are asking from your competition that your competition is not giving. Once you’ve got all those facts then create products that will give them what they want.

Get to know your audience.

Listen to them. Find out their problems, their pain points and their struggles. Find out what they are looking for and what they are asking from your competition that your competition is not giving. Once you’ve got all those facts then create products that will give them what they want.

So there you have it!

If you want your potential client to buy your product make sure you don’t strangle them, run them over with your SUV or ram a spoon down their throats. It can get messy.

Article by Vicky Law seen on www.huffingtonpost.com

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Integrated Marketing

Integrated marketing

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What if I told you that there is a high likelihood that you are getting over 80% of your sales from 20% of your marketing budget? Well, if you are like most companies I have worked with over the last 15 years, the chances are pretty good that you are closer to those numbers than you might want to believe.

The problem is not bad spending, bad opportunities, or even bad management; it’s actually a visibility problem. Most advertisers have what I like to call a perpetually growing marketing portfolio, which means that every year there are a handful of things they sign up to do. It may be little things like sponsoring the local high school’s sports programs, or big things like making a significant investment in a television campaign. As an advertiser, you decide what things you’re going to do, put them in the budget, work it out, and start running the ads.

The problem comes when you get to the end of the contract and it is time to renew, because most companies have little more to go on aside from how they “feel” the campaign went. This “feeling,” overlaid with how well the company is doing, are put together and the decision to renew, change or eliminate the item is made.

The big problem is that this can lead to “reduction paralysis” because you just don’t know. The ad salesman will inevitably bang you over the head with statistics of how many people you are reaching by saying things like, “27,000 people drive by your billboard every day,” or, “You have been getting 270,000 impressions a month!”

These are big numbers and it’s easy to see them as a major potential contributor to your success, but these numbers leave out

the most important part of the equation: Did any of these people actually book a coach with you?

This not knowing can lead you to a paralysis that results in a perpetually growing marketing budget that underperforms and does not give you the data you need to really refine the company’s spending.

You work hard for every dollar you spend on marketing and you should require it to work equally as hard for you. Here are a few ways to make that happen.

1: Ask the question. If you donothing

else, do this. Have your booking staff start asking the question, “How did you hear about us?” Contrary to what many believe, this is not an imposition, nor will it jeopardize your ability to book business.

One of the keys to having this be successful is to have them ask this question early.

I prefer the moment that the person on the phone wants more than just casual information. Sure, you don’t want to answer the phone saying, “Thanks for calling ABC stage lines, how did you hear about us?”But. You do want to do it before getting a credit card. This information is the most valuable you can gather. This will tell you what you are doing, usually in broad strokes, that’s driving dollars to the bottom line.

2: Use unique phone numbers. The

only effective way to refine a budget is to start with data that you can use to make informed decisions. No matter what kind of advertising you are doing (web, print, TV, radio, coach wraps), this tool will help you understand how much traffic it is actually generating for your sales team.

This technique allows you to place different phone numbers on every ad or avenue you use and then track who called, how long www.greenazine.com

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they stayed on the line, and more. Now you can know if that post card you sent generated any calls. This can be done with the phone company, but I prefer third party vendors like Kall8 or CallRail. These companies provide great insights and clear concise reporting.

3: Use Unique URLs (web addresses). Many

operators undervalue the use of unique URLs in their companies. These can be powerful tools to not only brand individual aspects of one’s business (e.g. using chicagoweddingbus.com to direct traffic to your wedding page), but also provide incredible insights into the effectiveness of campaigns. Imagine looking at a report that showed you that 250 people went to your website from the URL that they saw on the side of your coach this year. Too often, when we focus exclusively on promoting our main web address, all of our visitors end up in the same bucket and we don’t know if one came from our TV ads and another from our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts. For less than a couple cups of coffee a year you can buy a domain, point it at a specific page on your site, and start tracking if people used it to get to you.

4: Landing pages. This is probably more like number

3.5 than 4, but we will cover it here as a separate item because I don’t want people to let it stand in the way of getting started with unique URLs. Unique landing pages are good not only from a tracking standpoint, but also from a sales standpoint. There has been a great deal of research done around the idea of how modern consumers want to experience the web when it comes to purchasing a product, and the consensus is clear. People want the data they want quickly, easily, and neatly presented, and very little else. So what does that mean to a motorcoach operator? It means that if you go to a bridal show and meet 150 brides, they don’t want to go to your home page and have to wade through a list of 50 other things you do and find bridal services on a list somewhere on a services page. They want to open a page that speaks uniquely to their needs and nothing else. They want to book business with a company that cares about what they need. Period. Landing pages are a great way to do this. Simply have a page on your site that speaks to the top services you offer, or want to offer. Purchase

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unique URLs and send buyers that are interested in those services directly to those corresponding pages.

Then, as you look to refine your budget, you can see how many people are coming to that page and how long they are staying. Additionally, if you put a unique phone number on it, you’ll also be able to track how many are calling your sales team as a result. Then, if your team is asking the question from #1 (above), you can tell how many of those people are actually booking business.

This data gives you the power to refine your budget and have a truly integrated marketing campaign. This power is very important for companies who want to spend less to generate more buzz, or for those companies who want to spend the same amount but want it to work better for them. It is inevitable that those who sell advertising will always have numbers to woo or wow you when it comes time to sign or renew. These simple tools, however, will give you the ability to know, without a doubt, if you should renew.

Imagine telling the billboard salesman: “I agree that having 27,000 people drive by my billboard is nice.

But over the last quarter, we have only seen 50 calls from that effort and booked just $2000 worth of business, which simply doesn’t pay for that effort. I need to cancel my contract.”

With knowledge comes power, the power to make every single dollar work harder for the future of your business! Good luck!

Article seen on www.motorcoachmarketing.org

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33

Extends Compliance Date

FMCSA Extends Compliance Date of Bus Leasing and Interchange Final Rule Until January 1, 2018 On May 27, 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published in the Federal Register a Final Rule to identify motor carriers transporting passengers in interstate commerce and correctly assign responsibility to these entities for regulatory violations during inspections, compliance investigations, and crash investigations.

The original compliance date as set forth in the Final Rule was January 1, 2017.

This Final Rule will also provide the general public with the means to identify the responsible motor carrier at the time transportation services are provided.

Article seen on www.fmcsa.dot.gov

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) had recommended that FMCSA regulate the leasing of passenger carriers in much the same way as it regulates the leasing of for-hire property carriers.

ARTICLE ONLINE

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The one-year extension of the compliance date announced today will allow FMCSA a sufficient opportunity to review and, where appropriate, make adjustments due to a number of petitions for reconsideration.

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In regards to the Motorcoach Marketing program, we love it. So far, we have made the 1000 postcards, and we did some full page handouts. We just got a stand up banner.

When I get some time, I’ll be making new rack cards for both offices. We made 500 church theme postcards and 500 in the safety theme.

We sent out the church cards through a local mailing company to every church within 50 miles. So far, we have had a great response and 4-5 people booked trips from it. I plan on using the safety ones soon by sending them to our new customers. All of our staff and drivers love the modern design and the finished products. Only one of my staff has watched the videos so far, but we will be working on that next month. So far I’m very happy with the service. It works well and looks great!

Chris Knittel

Owner/General Manager New Mexico Texas Coaches, LLC

We Help Operators Sell More Charters To More People.

Easier. Faster. Far More Effective.

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Make Your Workplace Culture Collaborative

How To Make Your Workp Open spaces, water cooler talk, and allowing employees to update Facebook are often more effective in creating a collaborative workplace than all the team-building exercises your consultants can dream up. Here’s a look at what works in the real world.

Pay is only one component in building a motivated and contented workforce. Employees need to feel like they can talk freely with one another and their bosses. So the question becomes: How can a CIO create such an environment? Forget about bringing in hired consultants and running team-building exercises, and instead let employees collaborate informally during the day.

Collaboration is squarely at the top of the management priority list nowadays. “Companies recognize that all problems ultimately stem from communication shortfalls,” said Ryan Sanders, COO at BambooHR, a human resources software supplier.

As a result, CIOs are constantly trying to improve employee communication. Team-building exercises have long been used to open up communication channels, but they have grown as stale as week-old bread. “Team building exercises are often a waste of time,” said Dianne Crampton, founder of TIGERS Success Service, a management consulting firm.

Management will look at a team-building event as a silver bullet, but at best it produces a temporary surge in morale. After employees return to the office, they see that their work has piled up and no substantive changes are made. They then ask, “What was the point of the exercise?”

Idle Chatter: The Key to Collaboration Success Rather than hold one-time, staged, team-building events, managers need to create a collaborative mood in their departments on an ongoing basis. What works? While it may seem counterintuitive, CIOs should encourage idle chitchat. Having individuals stand around a water cooler and discuss the previous

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night’s big game or a child’s upcoming dance recital builds up trust among employees, which lowers barriers once they get back to “real” work.

The natural inclination of many CIOs is to stamp out these distractions in the name of greater productivity, but doing so actually has the opposite effect. When people are physically fatigued and their muscles hurt, they rest. The same principle applies to mental exhaustion. Standing up, moving away from the desk, grabbing a snack, or having a quick conversation all help get a person’s blood flowing and give the brain a needed a break. When employees return to their desks, they often feel rejuvenated and attack outstanding issues with renewed vigor.

Office layout plays a role in how easily employees interact. Increasingly, enterprises are replacing the traditional tight cubicles with open space and fewer barriers. The idea is to let employees step away from the grind of their desks, take regular breaks, and engage in quick, casual conversations.

Zappos has taken that idea to the extreme. It’s deliberately designed its offices so employees have little to no privacy. “A lot of the stuff we do from the Zappos perspective, in terms of employees within the office, is really thinking about how do you get people to collide more often,” said Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO, in a company blog post. “We prioritized collisions over convenience.” The rationale is that a casual conversation can quickly turn into a formal exchange in which outstanding problems get solved.

The Need to Eliminate Distractions Like everything in life, the casual conversations have potential downsides. The constant chatter can distract other employees, who have their own work to complete. In response, a growing number of startups and forward-thinking companies are incorporating small, often two- to three-person, private rooms in each work area. If a conversation blossoms, employees hop into the room, brainstorm, problem-solve, and return to their desks without disturbing coworkers.

place Culture Collaborative

Social media is another potential distraction.

Surprisingly, its appeal is less than traditional diversions, ranking seventh on a list of eight potential distractions (watching TV was last), according to a BambooHR study.

So, to build a team-oriented culture, think antithetically. Rather than shooing employees back into their cubicles and banishing social media, try gathering everyone around the water cooler for a discussion about what is trending on Twitter.

Yet, many CIOs struggle when crafting social media usage policies. “Managers should not spend a lot of time trying to monitor or ban employees from using social media,� said Karen Williams, chief product officer at Halogen Software, a talent management software vendor. The workers may become resentful, and often they find ways around any technical barriers.

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39

National Training Standards

FMCSA Proposes Nation Entry-Level Truck and Bu

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nal Training Standards for us Drivers The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today proposed a set of comprehensive national prerequisite training standards for entry-level commercial truck and bus operators seeking to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) reflects consensus recommendations of a negotiated rulemaking committee comprised of FMCSA representatives and 25 stakeholders and responds to a Congressional mandate imposed under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. Public comment is sought as the next phase of the rulemaking.

“Well-trained drivers are safer drivers, which leads to greater safety for our families and friends on our highways and roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “With the help of our partners, today’s proposal serves as a major step towards ensuring that commercial vehicle drivers receive the necessary training required to safely operate a large truck or motorcoach.”

Under the proposal announced today, applicants seeking a “Class A” CDL – necessary for operating a combination tractor-trailer type vehicle weighing 26,001 lbs. or more – would be required to obtain a minimum of 30 hours of behind-the-wheel training from an instructional program that meets FMCSA standards, including a minimum of 10 hours of operating the vehicle on a practice driving range.

Applicants seeking a “Class B” CDL – necessary for operating a heavy straight truck (such as a dump truck or box truck) or a school bus, city transit bus, or motorcoach – would be required to obtain a minimum of 15 hours of behind-the-wheel training, including a minimum of seven hours of practice range training.

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of any of the individual curricula.

“A diverse group of commercial motor vehicle stakeholders completed a tremendous amount of work, and that effort resulted in an unprecedented consensus,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. “We’ve designated 2016 as our ‘Year of Partnerships’ and these comprehensive entry-level driver training standards exemplify our commitment to working closely with our safety partners, including state and local law enforcement, the safety advocacy community, and all other stakeholders to reduce crashes and to save lives.”

Mandatory, comprehensive training in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories would apply to the following individuals under the proposal: First-time CDL applicants; Current CDL holders seeking a license upgrade (e.g., a Class B CDL holder seeking a Class A CDL) or an additional endorsement (necessary, e.g., to transport hazardous materials, operate a tank truck, school bus, or motorcoach, or pull double and/or triple trailers); and A previously disqualified CDL holder seeking to reacquire a license.

These individuals would be subject to the proposed entry-level driver training requirements and must complete a course of instruction provided by an entity that:

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Meets the minimum qualifications for training providers; Covers the curriculum; Is listed on FMCSA’s proposed Training Provider Registry; and Submits electronically to FMCSA the training certificate for each individual who completes the training.

Under the proposal, military drivers, farmers, and firefighters would continue to remain generally exempt from the federal CDL requirements.

FMCSA’s Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee (ELDTAC) met for six two-day negotiating sessions starting in February 2015 until reaching consensus in May 2015. The ELDTAC included FMCSA representatives and a crosssection of 25 representatives from motor carrier transportation, highway safety, driver training, state licensing, law enforcement, labor union, and insurance organizations.

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Study Of Truck And Bus Companies

FMCSA Launches Study of High-Risk Truck and Bus Companies

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The study will assess how well the Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) safety measures used by the Compliance, Safety, Accountability Safety Management System identify high-risk carriers and predict future crash risk, crash severity, or other safety indicators for motor carriers, including the highest-risk carriers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, through its Committee on National Statistics and Transportation Research Board, to perform a study of high-risk truck and bus companies. This study will assess how well the Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) safety measures used by the Compliance, Safety, Accountability Safety Management System identify high-risk carriers and predict future crash risk, crash severity, or other safety indicators for motor carriers, including the highest-risk carriers.

FMCSA is undertaking this at the direction of Section 5221 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) of 2015.

A panel of experts will examine the methodology used to calculate BASIC percentiles and identify carriers for enforcement, including the weights assigned to particular violations, and the link between crash risk and specific regulatory violations. Also under study are: The relative value of inspection information and roadside enforcement data Any data collection gaps or data sufficiency problems that may exist and the impact of those gaps and problems on the efficacy of the CSA program The accuracy of safety data, including the use of data from crashes in which a motor carrier was not at fault Whether BASIC percentiles for motor carriers of passengers should be calculated separately than for freight motor carriers The differences in the rates at which safety violations are reported to FMCSA for inclusion in the safety management system by various enforcement authorities, including states, territories, and federal inspectors

A panel of experts will examine the methodology used to calculate BASIC percentiles and identify carriers for enforcement, including the weights assigned to particular violations, and the link between crash risk and specific regulatory violations.

How members of the public use the system and what effect making its information public has had on reducing crashes and eliminating unsafe motor carriers from the industry The panel will issue a report with findings and recommendations at the end of the study; the study committee for the project will be posted for public comment within two months at http://www8. nationalacademies.org/cp/.

The project is a collaboration between the Committee on National Statistics of the Division on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education and the Transportation Research Board.

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Sleep Apnea Screening

FMCSA seeking input on sleep 46 www.greenazine.com

The US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will host three public listening sessions to solicit input on the impacts of screening, evaluating and treating commercial truck drivers for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended the US DoT take action to address OSA screening and treatment for transportation workers, including rail operators. A joint Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) is the first step towards proposing requirements specifically on sleep apnea.

“It is imperative for everyone’s safety that commercial motor vehicle drivers and train operators be fully focused and immediately responsive at all times,” said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “DoT strongly encourages comment from the public on how to best respond to this national health and transportation safety issue.”

Estimates suggest as many as 22 million men and women could be suffering from sleep apnea without realizing it. The condition can cause unintended sleep episodes and deficits in attention, concentration, situational awareness, memory and the capacity to safely respond to hazards when performing safety-sensitive service, FMCSA indicates. For those with OSA, eight hours of sleep can be less productive than four hours of ordinary, uninterrupted sleep, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

“The collection and analysis of sound data on the impact of OSA must be our immediate first step,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. “We call upon the public to help us better understand the prevalence of OSA among commercial truck and bus drivers, as well as the safety and economic impacts on the truck and bus industries.”

Article seen on www.trucknews.com

apnea screening

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47

Reduce Email Unsubscribes

10 ways to reduce email un A well-oiled email marketing strategy can be unsurpassable in terms of ROI and audience engagement.

So, what are the myriad ways companies can keep their database plump and receptive and reduce unsubscribes?

Here are 10 ways.

1. Make it clear what the user is signing up for There’s a balance to be had between maximising ease of email sign-up and offering the user options for subscription.

Giving the user tick boxes to choose from, for example, male or female fashion updates, newsletters or sale alerts, weekly or monthly updates, could potentially decrease conversion of your signup field, even if it stands to increase subsequent engagement of subscribers.

What is paramount is that users know they are indeed signing up to receive emails, and understand what these emails will include.

The example below is from Next and shows a muddled mix of opt-out and opt-in experiences during account registration.

All such confusion does is increases the number of people who subscribe in error and then swiftly unsubscribe, unnecessarily blurring engagement rates in your data.

Next mixes opt-out (not advised) with opt-in.

2. Send fewer emails. Send more emails. (i.e. conduct frequency testing) Testing email frequency is important, and indeed it will be one of the main factors influencing unsubscribe rate.

However, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to frequency - implications of engagement levels can be difficult to tease out.

For example, users sporadically interact with some services and companies (e.g. we may buy a holiday on average once a year), but that doesn’t mean these companies won’t benefit from a branding perspective by emailing every week. Customers, too, may be happy to keep these companies front-of-mind, in preparation for a 48 www.greenazine.com

big annual purchase, or simply on the off chance that an enticing promotion is offered.

In one of Parry Malm’s fantastic email articles for Econsultancy, he discloses positive results for the socalled re-send method, used by MusicRadar.

Re-sending a newsletter daily for seven days to non-

nsubscribes re-sending its newsletter to non-openers.

3. Get feedback from unsubscribers A rather obvious one, this, but there are different ways in which you can do it. It’s common practice to offer users a list of reasons for unsubscribe and necessitate that one is chosen in order to complete.

However, I quite like the approach taken by Kogan.com. As the screenshot below shows, I was allowed to unsubscribe before being presented with an open text field where I was asked to provide feedback.

This appealed to my vanity (my opinion matters!) and I’m sure it will garner some instructive feedback.

4. Allow for a change of heart Kogan.com again. Immediately after I’ve hit unsubscribe, I’m allowed to recant.

I’d love to see data showing how often the ‘no’ option is chosen. My hunch is not very often, but it’s an interesting tactic, making sure that no recipients unsubscribe in error.

5. Take a break or promise to take it easy Okay, this is my last use of Kogan.com, though it’s a technique used by many, including Zalando.

Unsubscribers may not want a complete cessation of messaging. If they’re unsure whether a regular email is of use to them, they make take the opportunity to enjoy a break for a week or two.

There’s also the option of changing email frequency here, which is best practice for email preferences.

6. Automate openers was shown to be advantageous, giving a 255% uplift against control, with greater than 99.9% confidence.

Re-sends in this experiment were also more successful than re-activations (using different creative to encourage a recipient to re-engage) in this experiment.

MusicRadar’s reactivation email was less successful than

Tying email timing and content to the customer lifecycle / sales cycle allows brands to deliver more relevant messaging that can help to increase engagement and reduce unsubscribes.

This can include: •

A programme of welcome emails

•

Notification of products back in stock

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•

New stores opening near you

•

Incentivising product reviews

•

Basket abandonment emails

•

‘Recently browsed’ emails

•

Loyalty rewards

For more automated email types, see 20 Automated emails your customers won’t delete.

7. Recognise unsubscribe trends and re-engage Set criteria for what an inactive subscriber is and move these recipients to a re-engagement segment.

The soon-to-unsubscribe might be characterised by a drop-off in opens and clicks at certain points in the customer lifecycle.

Looking at hurdle rates can help e.g. 30% of purchasers have clicked or opened within the last six months.

8. Segment Segmentation may be considered by some to be the oldfashioned cousin of automation, but designing content for different audience demographics is obviously still a valuable strategy.

For example, if an estate agent wanted to send out some content/research about UK house prices, it would get more engagement if it tailored and targeted this content to specific regions in the UK. A B2B company may want to segment an audience into purchasers, decision makers, CEOs etc. knowing that each audience desires different information.

Ultimately, a marketing department should be able to use knowledge of its products, content and audience to ramp up customer interest.

9. Test subject lines Optimising open rates by testing subject lines doesn’t mean unsubscribes will dwindle. Just because more recipients are opening your messages, doesn’t mean they’re any more relevant.

However, it’s clear that the more intriguing subject lines are, the more an impression of value is conveyed. This may be enough to placate some users.

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Communicating with a customer offline or through other online channels can add context to email comms.

Partly, this is rationale for automation, but it’s also a reminder that a phone call or direct mail can be your most powerful engagement tactic.

People are attracted to ‘sale’, ‘save’, ‘% off ’ and ‘free delivery’ in subject lines. It’s often this FOMO attached to unsubscribing that keeps recipients engaged.

10. Establish comms elsewhere Lastly, it’s important to note that relevance doesn’t have to be created solely within the email channel itself.

Communicating with a customer offline or through other online channels can add context to email comms.

Partly, this is rationale for automation, but it’s also a reminder that a phone call or direct mail can be your most powerful engagement tactic.

Article by Ben Davis seen on www.econsultancy.com READ THE ORIGINAL

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