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Social media isn’t a passing fad if its popularity is any indicator. Today, 61% of the world’s population uses social sites, and the average person bounces between seven platforms per month. 

This popularity presents plenty of opportunities for marketers. You can use platforms like Instagram and TikTok to connect with customers in creative and unique ways, too. 

You can also use your social presence to build a stronger brand and improve your customer experience. This is particularly important today, as businesses from all industries are scrapping to garner the attention of digital consumers. 

Data-Driven Marketing

Successful marketing strategies leverage a blend of data-driven analytics and creative thinking. As mentioned, you can boost the veracity of your data by gathering insights on social sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. You can begin a data-driven social media marketing campaign by utilizing techniques like: 

• Social Listening: These programs are designed to highlight any mentions of your brand online. This can help with brand reputation management and give you a better idea of your business’s presence online. 
• Social Search: Keyword analysis and hashtag tracking are great ways to quantify the interest in your particular niche. Keep tabs on key metrics like search volume and try to rise through the ranks over time. 
• Real-Time Data: Social media is an ever-changing landscape for businesses. Leverage social data effectively by investing in a social media management tool like Hootsuite Analytics, Google Analytics, or Sprout Social. 

These approaches to social media data collection will give you a great overview of the industry and your business’s place within it. Even simple methods of data collection — like tracking clicks and impressions — can help you better understand the impact of your campaigns. 

However, quantitative data analysis is only a piece of the puzzle. If you want to optimize your social accounts, you’ll need to gather qualitative feedback on social media, too. 

Qualitative Feedback and the Customer Experience

Businesses spend thousands of dollars every year on focus groups and consumer surveys. That’s because qualitative marketing research is extremely valuable and can help firms better understand the needs of their consumers. 

Social media cannot replace interviews and focus groups, but it can give marketers a better understanding of consumer trends and the overall customer experience. Start gathering useful qualitative feedback on social media by publishing posts that drive higher rates of engagement, like: 

• Run surveys 
• Offer prizes to folks who offer feedback on certain posts
• Publish polls
• Host an “ask me anything” (AMA) on social sites like Reddit and Facebook

Capturing customer feedback is a vital step in improving the customer experience. Over time, this kind of qualitative research can help you build a more holistic consumer journey and help you connect with customers. It can also help you understand where customers are discovering your brand so you can refine certain marketing channels to better align with consumer behavior. 

Building a Persona Online

Social platforms operate a little differently from traditional marketing venues. Folks who follow you online won’t appreciate a “hard sell” and will likely hit the unfollow button if you publish a series of formal advertisements. 

Instead, try to build a social media persona when publishing posts to sites like TikTok and Twitter. This method will help build engagement on your page and reduce the risk of consumers hitting the “unfollow” button when you do announce a new product or service. 

Start your search for the perfect social persona by embracing creativity online. Followers don’t want to see mundane posts about the products you offer or the deals you’re running. Instead, connect with consumers by meeting the genre expectations of each platform. For example, if you’ve just started a TikTok page, head over to the Creative Center to discover today’s trending sounds and influencers. 

Meeting the genre expectations of the social platform you’re on will help direct your creative energy, too. This is particularly useful if you are new to social media and are trying to get up to speed. Start your journey towards building an online persona by becoming a user yourself. Conduct some preliminary research by noting down the posts that resonate with you, and try to replicate the tone and style that you find most appealing. 

Publishing High-Quality Content

Building a social persona is a great way to engage your followers and grow your digital presence. However, if you want folks to stick around, you need to start publishing high-quality content to your accounts. 

Start with simple video content that resonates with your customers. For example, if you run social media pages for a gym, consider posting a series of informative videos that show folks how to use the equipment in your space. These kinds of posts add meaningful value to the lives of your followers and are almost certain to build engagement with your posts. 

Stay relevant by keeping up to date with emerging social media trends. You can tap into this style of content by working with influencers who are sponsored by your business and foreground real-life stories from your customers. 

If you sell a product online, consider linking your social posts to a social shop. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok all have digital shops built into their apps. Consider creating a few posts that highlight the products you sell on your shop, and try out a few live streams to build hype around an upcoming launch. 

If you’re struggling to invent new ideas for your social pages, consider a range of posts themed around topics like: 

• Behind-the-scenes videos that show how the product/service is made;
• Value-based short-form videos that carry an ethical message;
• Event-based posts that encourage folks to come to your point of sale;
• Prizes and giveaways that intentionally build engagement.

These types of posts can easily fill your social media calendar and help you build your presence online. Just remember to respond to comments, too, as folks want to know that they are being heard when they come to your site. 

Conclusion 

Social media can help you better understand your customers and provide a better consumer experience. However, if you’re new to social media, you may struggle to build engagement about your product or service. Make the process easier by gathering consumer data through your social site. This will guide your creative decision-making and help you better understand your consumers. 

Featured image by Hans Vivek on Unsplash

The post The Power of Social Media Marketing in Driving Positive Customer Experiences appeared first on noupe.

Yes, designers do need marketing tools. From freelance graphic designers who need to land more work to designers who work for another company, there’s always a need to understand basic marketing.

A dear colleague of mine, Jan Philip Pietrczyk, once commented on the developer’s responsibility for writing functional code:

“Our daily work […] ends up in the hands of people who trust us not only to have done our best but also that it works.”

— Jan Philip Pietrczyk

His words have really stuck with me because it puts our code in the context of the people who rely on it. In this fast-paced world, users trust that we write the best code possible and that our software “simply” works. Living up to this level of trust is a challenge, for sure, and that’s why testing is such a crucial part of any development stack. Testing a process evaluates the quality of our work, validating it against different scenarios to help identify problems before they become, well, problems.

The Test Pyramid is one testing strategy of many. While it’s perhaps been the predominant testing model for the better part of a decade since it was introduced in 2012, I don’t see it referenced these days as much as I used to. Is it still the “go-to” approach for testing? Plenty of other approaches have cropped up in the meantime, so is it perhaps the case that the Test Pyramid is simply drowned out and overshadowed by more modern models that are better fitting for today’s development?

That’s what I want to explore.

The Point Of Testing Strategies

Building trust with users requires a robust testing strategy to ensure the code we write makes the product function how they expect it to. Where shall we start with writing a good test? How many do we need? Many people have grappled with this question. But it was a brief comment that Kent C. Dodds made that gave me the “a-ha!” moment I needed:

“The biggest challenge is knowing what to test and how to test it in a way that gives true confidence rather than the false confidence of testing implementation details.”

— Kent C. Dodds

That’s the starting point! Determining the goal of testing is the most crucial task of a testing strategy. The internet is full of memes depicting bad decisions, many resulting from simply not knowing the purpose of a particular test and how many we need to assert confidence. When it comes to testing, there is a “right ratio” to ensure that code is appropriately tested and that it functions as it should.

2 unit tests. 0 integration tests. pic.twitter.com/K2MZKwr8JT

— DEV Community (@ThePracticalDev) August 2, 2017

The problem is that many developers only focus on one type of testing — often unit test coverage — rather than having a strategy for how various units work together. For example, when testing a sink, we may have coverage for testing the faucet and the drain separately, but are they working together? If the drain clogs, but the faucet continues to pour water, things aren’t exactly working, even if unit tests say the faucet is.

Approaches for testing are often described in terms of shapes, as we’ve already seen one shape with the pyramid model. In this article, I would like to share some of the shapes I have observed, how they have played out in real-world scenarios, and, in conclusion, which testing strategy fits my personal criteria for good test coverage in today’s development practices.

Flashback To The Basics

Before that, let’s revisit some common definitions of different test types to refresh our memories:

• Manual tests
  This is testing done by actual people. That means a test will ask real users to click around an app by following scripted use cases, as well as unscripted attempts to “break” the app in unforeseen scenarios. This is often done with live, in-person, or remote interviews with users observed by the product team.
• Unit tests
  This type of test is where the app is broken down into small, isolated, and testable parts — or “units” — providing coverage by individually and independently testing each unit for proper operation.
• Integration tests
  These tests focus on the interaction between components or systems. They observe unit tests together to check that they work well when integrated together as a working whole.
• End-to-end (E2E) tests
  The computer simulates actual user interactions in this type of test. Think of E2E as a way of validating user stories: can the user complete a specific task that requires a set of steps, and is the outcome what’s expected? That’s testing one end of the user’s experience to the other, ensuring that inputs produce proper outputs.

Now, how should those types of testing interact? The Test Pyramid is the go-to metaphor we’ve traditionally relied on to bring these various types of testing together into a complete testing suite for any application.

All Hail The Mighty Test Pyramid

The Test Pyramid, first introduced by Mike Cohn in his book Succeeding with Agile, and developed further by Martin Fowler in his “The Practical Test Pyramid” post, prioritizes tests based on their performance and cost. It recommends writing tests with different levels of granularity, with fewer high-level tests and more unit tests that are fast, cheap, and reliable. The recommended test order is from quick and affordable to slow and expensive, starting with many unit tests at the bottom, followed by service, i.e., integration tests in the middle. Following that are fewer, but more specific, UI tests displayed at the top, including end-to-end tests.

There’s a growing sentiment in the testing community that the Test Pyramid oversimplifies how tests ought to be structured. Martin Fowler addressed this in a more recent blog post nearly ten years after posting about the pyramid shape. My team has even questioned whether the model brings our work closer to the end user or further away. While higher levels of the pyramid increase confidence in individual tests and offer better value, it seems less mindful of the bigger picture of how everything works together. The testing pyramid felt like it was falling out of time, at least for us.

From Pyramids To Diamonds

One point my team discussed internally was the pyramid’s over-emphasis on unit testing. The pyramid is an excellent shape to describe what a unit test is and what scope it covers. But if you ask four people what a unit test is, you will likely get four different answers. Perhaps the shape needs a little altering to clear things up.

The biggest clarification my team needed was where and when unit testing stops. The pyramid shape suggests that unit tests take up the majority of the test process, and that felt off to us. Integration tests are what pull those together, after all.

So, another way we can view the pyramid shape of a testing strategy can is to let it evolve into a diamond shape:

Integration testing is sometimes called the “forgotten layer” of the testing pyramid because it can be too complex for unit testing. But it gets more focus in the Testing Diamond (often split into two specific layers):

1. Integration Test Layer
   This layer is pretty much the same as what we see in the Test Pyramid, but it is reserved for tests that are considered “too big to be a unit test” — something in between the Unit and Integration Test layers. A test on a specific component would be an ideal sort of thing for this layer.
2. System Integration Test Layer
   This layer is more about “real” integration tests, like data received from an API.

So, the diamond shape implies a process where unit tests are done immediately after integration testing is complete, but with less emphasis on those individual tests. This way, the integration layer gets the large billing it deserves while the emphasis on unit tests tapers off.

Where’s Manual Testing?

Whether a testing strategy is called a “pyramid” or a “diamond,” it is still missing the critical place of manual testing in the process. Automated testing is valuable, to be sure, but not to the extent that they make manual testing practices obsolete.

I believe automated and manual tests work hand in hand. Automated testing should eliminate routine and common tasks, freeing testers to concentrate on the crucial areas that require more human attention. Rather than replace manual testing, automation should complement it.

What does that mean for our diamond shape… or the pyramid, for that matter? Manual testing is nowhere in the layers but should be. Automated tests efficiently detect bugs, but manual testing is still necessary to ensure a more comprehensive testing approach to provide full coverage. That said, it’s still true that an ideal testing strategy will put a majority of the emphasis on automated tests.

That means the testing strategy looks more like an ice cream cone than either a pyramid or a diamond.

In fact, this is a real premise called the “Ice Cream Cone” approach. Although this approach takes longer to implement, it results in a higher confidence level and more bugs detected. Saeed Gatson provides a succinct description of it in a post that dates back to 2015.

But does a pizza shape actually go far enough to describe the full nature of testing? Gleb Bahmutov has taken this concept to the extreme with what he calls the “Testing Crab” model. This approach involves screenshot comparisons, which a human then verifies for differences. Bahmutov sees visual and functional testing as “the body” of the crab, with all other types of testing serving as “the limbs.” There are indeed tools that provide before-and-after snapshots during a test that, when layered on top of one another, can highlight visual regressions.

The Testing Trophy

All testing approaches are costly, and the Test Pyramid got that point right. It’s just that the shape itself may not be realistic or effective at considering the full nature of testing and the emphasis that each layer of tests receives. So, what we need to do is find a compromise between all of these approaches that accurately depict the various layers of testing and how much emphasis each one deserves.

I like how simply Guillermo Rauch summed that up back in 2016:

Write tests. Not too many. Mostly integration.

— Guillermo Rauch (@rauchg) December 10, 2016

Let’s break that down a bit further.

• Write tests
  Not only because it builds trust but also because it saves time in maintenance.
• Not too many
  100% coverage sounds nice, but it is not always good. If every single detail of an app is covered by tests, that means at least some of those tests are not critical to the end-user experience, and they are running purely for the sake of running, adding more overhead to maintain them.
• Mostly integration
  Here is the emphasis on integration tests. They have the most business value because they offer a high level of confidence while maintaining a reasonable execution time.

You might recognize the following idea if you’ve spent any amount of time following the work of Kent C. Dodds. His “Testing Trophy” approach elevates integration testing to a higher priority level than the traditional testing pyramid, which is perfectly aligned with Guillermo Rauch’s assertions.

Kent discusses and explains the important role that comprehensive testing plays in a product’s success. He emphasizes the value of integration tests over testing individual units, as it provides a better understanding of the product’s core functionality and respected behaviors. He also suggests using fewer mockup tests in favor of more integration testing. The testing trophy is a metaphor depicting the granularity of tests in a slightly different way, distributing tests into the following types:

1. Static analysis: These tests quickly identify typos and type errors by way of executing debugging steps.
2. Unit tests: The trophy places less emphasis on them than the testing pyramid.
3. Integration: The trophy places the most emphasis on them.
4. User Interface (UI): These include E2E and visual tests and maintain a significant role in the trophy as they do in the pyramid.

The “Testing Trophy” prioritizes the user perspective and boasts a favorable cost-benefit ratio. Is it our top pick? This test strategy is the most sensible, but there is a catch. While unit tests still offer valuable benefits, there are drawbacks to integration and end-to-end tests, including longer runtimes and lower reliability. The benefits of unit tests are valid, and I still prefer to use them.

So, Is The Test Pyramid Dead?

The Test Pyramid is still a popular testing model for software development that helps ensure applications function correctly. However, like any model, it has its flaws. One of the biggest challenges is defining what constitutes a unit test.

My team implemented the modified diamond shape for our testing pipelines. And we’ve found that it’s not entirely wrong, just incomplete. We still gain valuable insights from it, particularly in prioritizing the different types of tests we run.

It seems to me that development teams rarely stick to textbook test patterns, as Justin Searls has summed up nicely:

People love debating what percentage of which type of tests to write, but it’s a distraction. Nearly zero teams write expressive tests that establish clear boundaries, run quickly & reliably, and only fail for useful reasons. Focus on that instead.https://t.co/xLceALKrWe

— Justin Searls (@searls) May 15, 2021

This is also true for my team’s experience, as dividing and defining tests is often difficult. And that’s not bad. Even Martin Fowler has emphasized the positive impact that different testing models have had on how we collectively view test coverage.

So, in no way do I believe the Test Pyramid is dead. I might even argue that it is as essential to know it now as ever. But the point is not to get too caught up in its shape or any other shapes. The most important thing to remember is that tests should run quickly and reliably and only fail when there’s a real problem. They should benefit the user rather than simply aiming for full coverage. You’ve already accomplished the most important thing by prioritizing these aspects in test design.

References

• “The Practical Test Pyramid,” Ham Vocke
• “On the Diverse And Fantastical Shapes of Testing,” Martin Fowler
• “The Testing Pyramid Should Look More Like A Crab,” Gleb Bahmutov
• “The Software Testing Ice Cream Cone,” Saeed Gatson
• “Write tests. Not too many. Mostly integration,” Kent C. Dodds
• “The Testing Trophy and Testing Classifications,” Kent C. Dodds
• “Static vs Unit vs Integration vs E2E Testing for Frontend Apps,” Kent C. Dodds

In today’s developing world of technology, our furry companions aren’t forgotten. The advent of smart dog houses has revolutionized the way we care for our companions. These new kinds of houses and technologies offer comfort and security for our beloved pets. In this article, we’ll be exploring the world of smart dog houses and their features, highlighting popular firms, apps, and technologies, and offering some practical advice for pet owners. 

What is a Smart Dog House?

Smart dog houses, also known as automated or connected dog houses, are designed to provide an enhanced living environment for your pets. These innovative abodes are equipped with various sensors, devices, and features that cater to your dog’s needs as well as offer pet owners a new level of control. By tracking their pet’s health or safety, pet owners can also provide some information from the data they collected. Pet owners can create pet care apps to help them collect and manage pet information.

Features That Make Them Smart

• Climate Control: One of the primary features of smart dog houses is their ability to regulate temperature. Integrated heating and cooling systems ensure that your dog is comfortable year-round. This is especially beneficial in extreme weather conditions.

• Remote Monitoring: Many smart dog houses come with cameras that allow you to keep an eye on your pet while you’re far away. You can check in on them through a mobile app, ensuring their safety and well-being.

• Feeding Systems: Automated feeding systems dispense food at scheduled times, even when you’re not at home. This ensures that your pet is well-fed and helps with portion control.

• Air Quality Control: Some smart dog houses have air purification systems to maintain clean and healthy air quality. This can be vital for dogs with allergies or some health issues.

• Security Features: Smart dog houses often include security features like locking mechanisms and alarms to keep your pet safe from potential intruders or dangers.

• Lighting: Integrated lighting systems provide visibility at night and create a comforting ambiance for your pet.

• Noise Control: These houses may come with noise-reduction features to help keep your dog calm in noisy environments if your dog is easily disturbed by sounds. 

Popular Smart Dog House Firms, Apps, and Technologies

PetSafe Smart Dog House: PetSafe offers a range of smart dog houses with features such as self-warming floors, app-controlled feeding, and automatic door locking. Also, PetSafe has various containment systems to keep your pet in the garden safely. 

PetParker: A Vancouver-based company, PetParker offers smart stations for dogs to provide more flexibility for pet owners. By cooperating with businesses and governments, PetParker smart dog stations allow pet owners to transform their customers’ experience. 

Furbo Dog Camera: While not a dog house itself, the Furbo Dog Camera is a popular device that allows you to monitor your pet and dispense treats remotely. It’s a great addition to any smart dog house because it offers 360-degree zero-blind spot vision. You can even notify your dog of emergencies at home with the Furbo Dog Camera.

SureFlap Microchip Pet Door: This smart pet door technology allows your dog to enter and exit the house while keeping unwanted animals out. It’s compatible with microchips and RFID collar tags. It could be a great addition to your existing dog house to make it smart or more useful. 

Petnet SmartFeeder: The Petnet SmartFeeder is a popular app-controlled feeding system that ensures your pet is fed the right portions on time. It also provides nutritional recommendations. SmartFeeder’s app connects your phone with the device and then allows you to control your pet’s eating routine. 

How to Buy a Dog House?

Smart dog houses can be purchased from various sources, including online markets such as Amazon and Walmart. Amazon offers a wide range of options from various sellers, allowing you to compare prices and features easily. Walmart provides the convenience of both online and in-store shopping in the United States, with the option to physically examine products before buying. When purchasing a smart dog house, consider factors like size, features, and your budget. Also, you can read product reviews and check for warranties to ensure a satisfying purchase that meets your dog’s needs.

Advice for Smart Dog House Owners

1. Training: While smart dog houses offer convenience, it’s essential to train your dog in order to use them effectively. Gradually introduce your pet to the new features and devices.

2. Maintenance: Regularly clean and maintain the smart dog house, especially the air filters, to ensure your pet’s health and comfort.

3. Security: Ensure the security features of the dog house are functioning correctly, and keep your app’s login credentials secure to prevent unauthorized access.

4. Adjust Settings: Use the mobile app to adjust settings like temperature, feeding schedules and lighting based on your pet’s needs.

5. Regular Check-Ins: Even with remote monitoring, make an effort to physically spend time with your pet. No technology can replace the bond you share.

Conclusion

Smart dog houses represent a significant step forward in pet care and ownership. They offer a range of features designed to increase your dog’s quality of life and provide peace of mind for pet owners. With the right training and maintenance, these innovative homes can truly be a haven for your companions. As technology continues to advance, we can only imagine what exciting developments await our beloved pets in the future.

The post Smart Dog Houses: New Technologies for Dogs  appeared first on noupe.

ESC, the leading sustainability consultancy in Asia, and Design Sojourn, a renowned design thinking and innovation consultancy, have partnered to launch the Innovating for Sustainability Programme (ISP). This new programme aims to help Singaporean companies capture new innovative business opportunities and enhance their capabilities in addressing the growing consumer need for sustainable products and services.

The Innovating for Sustainability Programme is a unique opportunity for Singaporean companies to enhance their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. With funding support through Enterprise Development Grant, SMEs can access grants of up to 70%, while non-SMEs can receive up to 50%.

The Innovating for Sustainability Programme helps Singaporean companies build their sustainability capabilities for the next five years and beyond

Andrew Young, Group Director of ESC, said, “Many SMEs in Singapore haven’t yet made sustainability a top priority in their operations. The ISP stands as a solution to this challenge, helping them build long-term business growth and become more resilient.”

Brian Ling, Founder of Design Sojourn, of the latest offering, said, “We are excited to partner with ESC in this programme. The ISP offers a clear roadmap for companies to integrate ESG practices into their business strategy while harnessing the power of design thinking to create innovative solutions.”

Incorporating ESG practices can redefine how people view businesses. Through the ISP, Singaporean companies can transform their products and services into one that positively impacts and fulfils the expectations of investors, employees, and consumers for sustainable value creation. This, in turn, can lead to higher revenue, talent retention and attraction, enhanced productivity, and better access to financing.

 

For more information about ISP, please fill out this form or email info@designsojourn.com or enquiries@envirosc.com.

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About Design Sojourn:
Design Sojourn is a renowned design-led innovation consultancy that helps businesses integrate design thinking into their organisations. With a strong track record in social and sustainability design work, they empower companies to create innovative and environmentally conscious solutions that improve people’s lives.

About ESC:
ESC is the leading environment, safety, and sustainability consultancy in Asia. Our international and multidisciplinary teams are uniquely equipped with Local Knowledge and Global Expertise to address your complex sustainability challenges.

Media Contact:
Denise Shee
Senior Experience Designer, Design Sojourn
denise@designsojourn.com

Laiza Fidel
Marketing Lead, ESC
laiza@envirosc.com

The post ESC and Design Sojourn’s Innovating for Sustainability Programme Offers Grant Support for Singaporean Companies appeared first on Design Sojourn. Please click above if you cannot see this post.

At the end of another summer, we are all getting ready to knuckle down for some serious work in the fall. But we want to help you work smarter, not harder, so to that end, we’d like to present you with this latest round of exciting new tools for designers and developers.

Digital signatures have significantly streamlined the way we authenticate documents in a variety of sectors, from banking and finance to healthcare and government. With the surge in remote work, online transactions, and digital documentation, the need for secure and legally compliant methods of signing documents has never been more crucial.

However, there’s a common misconception that digital signatures are merely an electronic form of traditional signatures. In reality, they are a powerful amalgamation of technology and law, designed to provide unparalleled security and compliance.

In this blog post, we’ll delve into several key areas where the tech-law blend of digital signatures makes a significant difference.

1. Legally Binding Authentication

When you sign a document with a pen, its authenticity is validated by the unique characteristics of your handwriting. Similarly, digital signatures provide an electronic fingerprint that is unique to both the signer and the document. This fingerprint or ‘hash’ is encrypted and stored in a way that can easily be verified for authenticity, making electronic signatures legally binding in many jurisdictions around the world.

For instance, if you’re applying for a personal loan, a digital signature on your application form ensures that the document hasn’t been tampered with after you’ve signed it. It also verifies that it was indeed you who signed the document, thus providing strong legal footing similar to a handwritten signature.

2. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

The blend of technology and law is highly apparent in the use of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) with digital signatures. This means that to sign a document digitally, you’re often required to prove your identity using two separate methods, like something you know (a password) and something you have (a smart card or mobile device). 

This multi-tier authentication is consistent with legal requirements for identifying the signatory, thereby enhancing the security of the transaction.

3. Audit Trails

Digital signatures come with an embedded audit trail that logs every action taken on the document. This includes who viewed it, who signed it, and when these activities occurred. Not only does this provide an added layer of security, but it also complies with legal requirements for traceability and non-repudiation. 

Audit trails can play a crucial role in resolving disputes and ensuring that all parties involved in a transaction are held accountable for their actions.

4. Time-Stamping

Another important feature of digital signatures is the use of time-stamping. This shows exactly when the document was signed, adding another layer of authenticity to it. Time-stamps are particularly important in scenarios where the timing of a signature can have legal implications, like in contractual agreements or financial transactions. 

What’s more, these time-stamps are synchronized with an authoritative clock, ensuring that they meet the legal criteria for proving the exact time at which an agreement was entered into.

5. Data Integrity

Digital signatures ensure the integrity of the document. Once a document is signed digitally, any alterations to the content will invalidate the signature. 

This is crucial for maintaining the document’s reliability and also satisfies the legal requirement for ensuring that a signed document remains unchanged. In sectors like healthcare and legal services, where the integrity of information can have life-changing implications, this feature of digital signatures is invaluable.

6. International Recognition

Digital signatures enjoy a global appeal, largely due to international frameworks and agreements that recognize their legality. Laws like the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN) in the United States and the Electronic Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS) in the European Union set guidelines that are followed worldwide. 

This international recognition enhances the scope of digital transactions and ensures that your digitally signed document in one country can easily be validated and accepted in another, conforming to global legal standards.

7. Long-Term Preservation

Traditionally, paper documents deteriorate over time, and ink fades away, raising concerns about their long-term preservation. Digital signatures solve this problem through technology that enables long-term signature validation. 

Using secure algorithms, digital signatures can be verified years after the document was originally signed, satisfying long-term legal retention requirements and ensuring the document’s enduring reliability.

8. Chain Of Custody

Digital signatures enable a comprehensive chain of custody, which refers to the sequence of actions and individuals who have handled or modified the document. This provides a transparent process for the legal system to follow if a document ever becomes a part of a legal procedure or investigation. The technology of the digital signature ensures that every individual in the chain is clearly identified, time-stamped, and logged, meeting stringent legal compliance criteria.

9. Environmentally Friendly

While the primary focus is often on security and legal compliance, it’s worth noting that digital signatures are also environmentally friendly. 

The digital process eliminates the need for paper, ink, and physical storage space. This alignment with global sustainability goals could also have potential legal implications in the future as environmental laws continue to evolve. In this way, the adoption of digital signatures also helps in fulfilling corporate social responsibilities.

10. Instant Verification

Unlike traditional methods that might require weeks or months to validate a document’s authenticity, digital signatures offer instant verification. The advanced technology behind digital signatures allows for real-time validation of the document, the signature, and the signer’s credentials. This rapid verification process not only enhances operational efficiency but also meets legal requirements for timely documentation and record-keeping.

In Conclusion

The blend of technology and law in digital signatures goes far beyond simple electronic validation of an individual’s agreement or intent. From international recognition to instant verification, digital signatures encapsulate a wide range of features aimed at enhancing security, ensuring compliance, and even contributing to environmental sustainability. As our world becomes more interconnected and businesses increasingly go digital, the multi-faceted advantages of digital signatures continue to gain relevance.

By taking into account both technological and legal aspects, digital signatures offer a holistic solution for authenticating documents in today’s fast-paced world. Whether it’s personal loans or corporate mergers, healthcare documentation or legal proceedings, the role of digital signatures is indispensable and will likely become even more integral in the future.

Featured Image by Andrea Piacquadio

The post Compliance And Security: The Tech-Law Blend Of Digital Signatures appeared first on noupe.

Solar power has be­come a prominent solution in the se­arch for sustainable and renewable­ energy sources. Its popularity has grown significantly worldwide­ in recent decade­s due to its numerous environme­ntal and economic benefits. 

Image source

As we become increasingly aware of how our de­pendence on fossil fue­ls is detrimentally impacting the planet’s climate, solar power has eme­rged as a compelling solution to this environme­ntal crisis. 

With greenhouse gase­s saturating the atmosphere, solar powe­r confidently offers a clean and e­mission-free alternative­, holding the potential for a cooler and more­ sustainable Earth.

The growing adoption of solar e­nergy is driven by a range­ of factors that have contributed to its rising popularity. From increasing e­nvironmental awareness to advance­ments in technology, these­ drivers are propelling solar powe­r into the forefront of the e­nergy industry. 

Continue reading for a de­eper look at these­ influential factors.

1. Technological Innovation

The advance­ments in solar power technology have­ significantly increased the appe­al of this sector. Through innovative rese­arch and development, solar syste­ms have undergone re­markable improvements in e­fficiency, adaptability, and sustainability. 

Material science­ has played a crucial role by introducing groundbreaking de­signs like perovskite and thin-film ce­lls, which offer higher efficie­ncy levels and greate­r flexibility. These­ innovative advancements not only incre­ase energy production but also cre­ate opportunities for integration into unique­ areas, such as wearable e­lectronics and photovoltaic systems integrate­d into buildings.

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One of the­ crucial developments in solar powe­r is improving e­nergy storage. In the past, the­ intermittency challenge­ was a major drawback of solar energy. 

Howeve­r, with the integration of efficie­nt and scalable energy storage­ solutions like lithium-ion batteries, surplus solar e­nergy can now be captured and re­tained. This stored ene­rgy can be utilized during cloudy periods or at night whe­n solar generation is limited. 

Combining solar and battery package syste­ms enhances grid stability and e­mpowers consumers to rely more­ on their self-gene­rated electricity. This foste­rs a decentralized e­nergy landscape that is both resilie­nt and sustainable.

2. Environmental Consciousness

The impacts of climate­ change are becoming more­ evident, driving a growing awarene­ss of the need for e­nvironmental responsibility. With the realization that traditional energy sources contribute­ to harmful greenhouse gas e­missions, there is a strong push towards embracing solar powe­r. 

This movement is not only see­n among individuals but also within businesses and governme­nts who are actively see­king greener alte­rnatives for energy production.

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Solar power is a cle­ar champion in the battle against global warming. It can produce­ electricity without emitting harmful carbon dioxide­ or other pollutants, making it an eco-friendly solution for sustainable­ energy strategie­s worldwide. This alignment with environme­ntal goals has led to a widespread shift towards solar e­nergy as a focal point of clean and rene­wable energy e­fforts.

3. Cost Competitiveness

Solar technology has come­ a long way, transitioning from an expensive nove­lty to a cost-effective e­nergy solution. This transformation can be credite­d to the remarkable stride­s made in solar panel technology, with advance­ments in manufacturing processes and incre­ased global production resulting in significant reductions in installation costs.

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At the same­ time, as solar cell efficie­ncy continues to improve, the amount of ene­rgy produced per unit area has incre­ased. It has resulted in maximizing the­ value of each solar installation. 

These­ cost reductions, along with long-term savings in operation and the­ possibility of achieving energy inde­pendence, have­ made solar power more appe­aling to homeowners, businesse­s, and utilities looking to optimize their e­nergy expense­s.

4. Energy Independence

The de­sire for energy inde­pendence is a major re­ason why solar power is becoming increasingly popular. De­pendence on traditional e­nergy sources often involve­s importing fossil fuels, which can leave countrie­s susceptible to issues like­ supply disruptions, geopolitical conflicts, and fluctuating market prices. 

Solar powe­r offers a solution by harnessing the abundant and local re­source of sunlight, reducing these­ risks significantly.

Utilizing solar ene­rgy allows countries to lessen the­ir dependence­ on imported fuels, there­by enhancing their ene­rgy security and resilience­. This self-reliance give­s countries the ability to control their e­nergy futures and decre­ase vulnerability to exte­rnal uncertainties. Ultimately, this foste­rs stability and sustainability in their energy syste­ms.

5. Job Creation and Economic Growth

In addition to its positive impact on the­ environment, solar power has prove­n to be a significant driver of job creation. This growth in e­mployment opportunities spans various sectors and skill le­vels, revitalizing both local communities and wide­r regions. 

The expansion of the­ solar industry has led to an increased de­mand for skilled workers in areas such as solar pane­l manufacturing, system design, installation, and maintenance­. 

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The job cre­ation from solar power projects has various economic implications. Not only do the­y generate e­mployment opportunities, but they also stimulate­ other sectors such as materials production, transportation, and profe­ssional services. Additionally, small businesse­s and entreprene­urs thrive in specialized are­as like solar panel distribution and installation firms.

6. Government Incentives and Policies

Governme­nts worldwide have become­ essential drivers in promoting the­ widespread adoption of solar power. With a growing re­cognition of the urgent nee­d to shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable­ energy sources, many countrie­s have implemente­d a range of incentives, policie­s, and regulations designed to acce­lerate the transition to solar powe­r. These initiatives have­ created an environme­nt that not only encourages investme­nt but also makes solar energy financially fe­asible for a larger number of consume­rs.

Conclusion

The incre­asing popularity of solar power is driven by various factors that address both e­nvironmental and economic issues. This shift towards solar e­nergy reflects the­ global understanding of the importance of sustainable­ alternatives to fossil fuels. 

As te­chnology advances and governments prioritize renewable e­nergy, solar power will only become­ more appealing. These­ six drivers mentioned above­ collectively strengthe­n the role of solar ene­rgy in creating a cleaner, gre­ener, and more sustainable­ future for future gene­rations.

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Japandi is a trend in interior design where aesthetics and culture blend together in harmony. Celebrating the mix of cultures, Japandi design combines Japanese minimalism with Scandinavian coziness. This design makes spaces that connect with both Eastern and Western styles, using natural tones and a sense of simplicity. In this blog post, we’ll explore this trend to see how Japan and Scandinavia’s ideas come together in a modern look and check out how it’s used in interior design. 

How Do the Scandinavian and Japanese Cultures Mix Together?

As a unique combination, Japandi creates peaceful interiors that bring a sense of calm. With clean lines, calm colors, and tidy spaces, Japandi follows the “less is more” idea.  In interior decor, calming and peaceful palettes are prioritized, and if brighter colors are added, it’s done elegantly. Similar to the “Wabi Sabi” philosophy from Japanese culture, the Japandi style also emphasizes sustainability. The prevalence of natural materials and simple design transforms it into a wonderful green decor style.

 On the other hand, Scandinavian culture embraces “hygge”, aiming to create a warm and comfortable space. This concept focuses on fostering a cozy atmosphere that encourages relaxation and a sense of well-being at home. The “hygge” philosophy revolves around the idea of enjoying life’s simple pleasures, such as warm lighting, comfortable textiles, and shared moments with loved ones. 

Fundamentals of Japandi Design/How to apply it to your home?

In the Japandi trend, the usage of handcrafted decor is prominent. Handmade decorations bring a touch of authenticity and uniqueness to spaces. Items like woven textiles and pottery created through skilled hands, introduce textures, colors, and forms that harmonize with Japandi’s simplicity. This emphasis on handiwork not only enhances visual appeal but also connects modern living environments with traditional techniques, showcasing the value of human creativity. So, you can truly experience the philosophy reflected by the Japandi trend in your living spaces with homemade decorations.

Use wooden furniture: Wooden furniture not only adds a touch of nature to your living spaces but also fosters a sense of connection to the environment because of its natural textures and warm tones. The use of wooden furniture in interior design creates a balance between the minimalist aesthetics of Japanese culture and the coziness of Scandinavian design. By introducing wooden furniture, you can effortlessly infuse your surroundings with the calming Japandi trend.

Sense of openness: Low-profile furnishings contribute to the minimalistic atmosphere that Japandi design aims to achieve. These pieces create a sense of openness, allowing for clear views and a harmonious flow within the living space. Low-sitting furniture enhances the connection to the ground, fostering a grounded and relaxed ambiance. This design choice aligns with both the Japanese and Scandinavian principles of functionality and simplicity, making it a key element in capturing the essence of the Japandi trend.

Simplicity and functionality: Mindful furniture selection in homes can achieve the principle of simplicity and functionality of the Japandi interior design trend. Opt for minimalistic furniture pieces with clean lines and organic shapes. Choose multifunctional furniture that serves dual purposes, such as storage beds or nesting tables, maximizing space efficiency. Embrace neutral color palettes such as amber color and natural materials for a calming ambiance. To enhance functionality, select furniture that prioritizes comfort without compromising on design. By carefully curating your furniture with these concepts in mind, you can aesthetically integrate the essence of Japandi design into your living spaces, promoting both calmness and practicality. 

Touch of Nature: Plants as a decor element add a touch of nature’s calmness to living spaces. You can start with low-maintenance plants like succulents or snake plants. Place them in simple, minimalist planters made of natural materials such as clay or wood. Do not forget to position them near windows to maximize sunlight exposure. You can also add a different touch to your home by choosing plants native to Eastern Culture, such as lucky bamboo, orchids, or bonsai trees. Another approach is using hanging plants or creating a small indoor garden corner. These green touches not only enhance the visual appeal but also contribute to the calming ambiance that Japandi design aims to achieve, a harmonious mix of nature and aesthetics in your home. 

Soft colors: Natural shades like pastel tones, muted grays, and soft blues dominate the Japandi design trend by contributing to the sense of calmness and balance. These color tones create a feeling of serenity, which perfectly aligns with the peaceful philosophy of Japandi design. You can apply this essence of Japandi to your walls, furniture, and decor elements. You can effortlessly infuse your living space with the calming energy that is characterized by this design trend. This soft color preference not only creates visual charm but also creates a peaceful ambiance for relaxation which reflects the Scandinavian kind of living art “hygge”. 

Conclusion

Japandi design presents a blend of Japanese minimalism and Scandinavian coziness, creating a unique and balanced interior decor style. By incorporating handcrafted decorations, wooden furniture, low-profile furnishings, simplicity, functionality, a touch of nature, and soft colors, you can authentically embrace the essence of Japandi in your living spaces. This trend encourages a calm and balanced atmosphere that resonates with both Eastern and Western philosophies. By infusing your home with the principles of Japandi design, you can create a space that not only reflects the beauty of two cultures but also creates a sense of calm, well-being, and connection with nature within your living environment.

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You firmly believe that the products you sell are of high quality. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be banking your financial success on them. But sometimes, the products we sell have certain flaws that go unnoticed, or perhaps another department in your company is doing something to sour the customer experience. 

This will inevitably lead to a dreaded one-star review. Bad reviews aren’t as uncommon as you might think, and while it can be a serious blow to the ego, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, bad reviews can be a blessing in disguise. You can take a bad review and turn it into a golden opportunity for your entire company. 

But how can bad reviews actually be good? Aren’t they potentially detrimental to acquiring new customers? What can you do to leverage bad reviews and turn them into strategic advantages? 

In this article, we’re going through the basics of bad reviews, helping you understand how to take this negative and spin it into a positive with five helpful tips. Let’s start with some basic information.

Why are online reviews so important?

You might think that the purpose of this article is to make you believe that online customer reviews aren’t a big deal. 

That’s not the case whatsoever. 

In fact, online reviews are critical to your continued success. Why is that? Because people read them and they trust them. If these reviews erode their trust in you, they’re not going to buy from you. 

A massive nine out of every ten consumers read online reviews before making a purchase. On top of that, 76% of modern consumers trust what’s reported in online reviews more than personal recommendations from friends and family members. 

That means even if their best friend is telling them your product is life-changing, a series of bad reviews could be enough to dissuade them from purchasing. And there are a lot of review sites out there where people can knock what you’re selling. Facebook, Yelp, and Google are the most popular and trusted, but they’re far from the only platforms out there, as showcased in the image below. 

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Everyone gets bad reviews. When you sell enough products, eventually, you’re going to come across someone who has a less-than-ideal experience. They’re going to rate you badly, and that’s something that you’re going to have to live with. 

There’s no sense in falling apart at the first sign of a negative review. Instead, you can take those bad reviews and use them to improve your company. There are some obvious ways to go about this, but there are a few tactics you can employ that you might not have thought of. 

5 tips to turn bad reviews into strategic advantages

Below, we’ve outlined five actions that you could take to leverage the bad reviews your company gets and expertly spin them into positives that fuel your growth. 

1. Respond publicly 

You can turn negative reviews into positive reviews by responding to them publicly. If you have a bad review, where a customer is spewing hate at your brand and talking about every way that you failed them, respond to that review and address the situation in a public forum.

This doesn’t mean you should get defensive and tell the disgruntled customer why they’re wrong. That’s probably the worst thing you could do and would only serve to make an already bad situation so much worse. 

Your reply should be apologetic. Even if you don’t feel that you’re at fault, you should try to apologize for the experience and express a desire to see the situation resolved. It might even be a good idea to say something about how you’ll address issues like these in the future. 

Here’s an example of a company responding to a review left by a disgruntled former employee. HubSpot showed a lot of class in responding to a particularly negative review with kindness, empathy, and an apologetic attitude. 

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All you see here is a simple apology. HubSpot doesn’t blame the employee or try to discredit them. This says to a reader that HubSpot has some humility and is willing to own up to mistakes. 

We all understand mistakes. Everyone makes them. Sometimes, showing a little humanity can go a long way toward breaking the “cold evil corporation” stereotype. 

2. Offer solutions to customer issues

Another way that you could take our last tip and expand upon it would be to offer solutions to the customer that might resolve their issue. 

Here’s a quality example from a Honda dealership that opened the line of communication to a disgruntled customer. 

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Honda of Thousand Oaks responds to Heather’s issue by asking her to call the dealership. The company representative apologizes and then expresses a desire to make the situation right. They then offer a phone number and express a desire to earn back her business by working with her to resolve the problem. 

Not only can this situation now be resolved if the disgruntled customer calls back, but potential customers can see the dealership’s attempt to resolve the issue in a public forum. That goes a long way toward establishing trust in a brand and showing that this company actually cares about its customers and the impression it leaves on them. 

What’s more, take a look at the date of the initial review and the company’s response. They’re only one day apart. That’s also a deeply positive aspect of this example. Honda didn’t let this review sit around for too long. As soon as they saw it, they responded to get out in front of the situation and control the narrative. 

If you do something like this and manage to help the customer, it doesn’t hurt to ask them to update their review. 

3. Showcase negative reviews

While your first reaction might be to hide your negative reviews and try to draw attention away from them, we’re telling you to do the opposite. When customers find negative reviews of a company, it’s almost like a “gotcha” moment for them. They’re finding something they believe you were trying to keep out of the public view.

That’s why you should gather some negative reviews that you were able to turn around using our second tip above. Show these reviews in a blog post and talk about what you as a company did to address the issues raised and help preserve the customer experience. 

You could even show a few reviews where the customer didn’t respond to your outreach. In this situation, point out what you learned from the review and how you changed your company to address the issues and create a better experience for everyone.   

4. Use negative reviews to determine business issues

Negative feedback can be a critical window into the customer experience. Your customers will encounter issues with products that you never expected. However, if they’re silent about it and just stop doing business with you out of the blue, you will never find out what happened. 

Negative reviews can point out areas where your company is lacking. Let’s say a customer service interaction really upset someone, and they left you a poor review on Google. That’s an issue that needs to be addressed right away. 

Customer service is a hugely important aspect of any business. Hence, hiring a customer service virtual assistant can help bloom your business and keep you away from negative reviews. A third of consumers said they’d switch companies after one bad customer service experience. 

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Suppose your reviews show that you have a customer service issue. In that case, you can hop onto an educational platform like StuDocu, Course Hero, or StudyStack to access online study materials on customer service and other business topics. You’ll then be able to approach these uncovered issues in an informed manner. 

5. Use bad reviews in employee training

As we just explored, negative reviews paint a picture of what your customers really don’t want. Not only can you use those opinions to make meaningful changes within your organization, but you can also show those reviews to new employees as part of their training. 

It’s as important to train employees on what customers don’t want as it is to train them on what they do want. Provide them with several examples of things customers have complained about in the past, and then teach them how to avoid those mistakes. 

An important part of customer service jobs is being able to handle complaints from customers and resolving them before they turn into a negative review. 

By analyzing negative reviews and training your employees to diffuse the situation, similar reviews will be avoided in the future and you will improve customer retention. 

This strengthens the customer experience by arming new employees with knowledge. 

Conclusion

No one likes to see a negative review, but it’s not the end of the world. On the contrary, negative reviews can create a window of opportunity, providing you with strategic advantages that can improve your business going forward. 
By responding to reviews publicly, offering solutions to customers, showcasing negative reviews, using them to discover issues, and leveraging them through new employee training programs, you can turn a negative into a positive, improve your company, and give future customers a five-star experience.

Featured Image by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash

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