V5 Digital celebrates V5 Africa success and invites you to "Leadership at the Speed of Light"

The V5 Africa Webinar series is quickly becoming the premier platform for gaining and sharing business and digital insights in Africa.

Since our launch of the Webinar earlier this year, we've hosted a number of guests covering topics from storytelling with Hermien Elago to augmented reality with Dale Imerman.

Each of our Keynote Speakers are stand-out figures in their respective fields. And by sharing their stories, knowledge and expertise with the rest of Africa, more African entrepreneurs and businesses are reimagining their futures through the power of digital technology.

Why do you need to empower your business with digital technology? Because everyone is online. And every other business is fighting to stay ahead of their competitors by staying technologically relevant in the digital sphere.

In order to stay ahead, your business needs to be adaptable. You need to be able to react to changes and lead your business with speed. The speed of light, that is. But in order to lead at light-speed, you'll need to know the ropes. And there's no one better at getting you there than Musa Kalenga.

Episode 7: Leadership at the Speed of Light with Musa Kalenga

Musa is a stand-out figure in the African digital business space. He's an entrepreneur and digital marketing expert that knows a thing or two about leading at light speed. From being a client partner with Facebook for Africa, to creating technological and digital solutions for emerging African markets; he's pretty much done it all.

Musa is a lauded speaker with a deep passion for the African continent, and the potential it holds. And while he has many titles; leader, is the one that fits Musa best. If you're an entrepreneur, or business leader that's looking for ways to inject new life into your business, this is the webinar for you.

In it, you'll gain priceless knowledge on how to use data insights and intelligence to improve your decision making process and ensure that your organization can consistently create business value long term.

Strapped in and ready to engage light speed? Click here to register for the live webinar with Musa Kalenga:

Make sure you watch our previous V5 Africa Webinar episodes.

What is Net Zero and what can you do to reach this ambitious goal faster?

The COP26 summit is currently underway in Glasgow, Scotland.

The COP26 summit is currently underway in Glasgow, Scotland.

It's mission is to bring parties together in order to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

This year, countries will be submitting their 5-year plans for climate action called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to meet the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.

The hopes for COP26 are: to achieve global Net Zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach; adapt to protect communities and natural habitats; mobilize finance; and work together to deliver.

Since becoming a Salesforce Partner in 2020, we've been working side-by-side with Salesforce towards achieving the Net Zero imperative.

By integrating modern software in business operations, we're able to influence change and make every member of a business part of the solution.

Let's take a little more detailed look at what is Net Zero and what can Africa do to achieve it.

Net Zero is a goal to reduce carbon emissions to Net Zero by 2030. In order to reach this goal, countries need to take aggressive phasing-out measures with things like coal power, gas powered vehicles and deforestation. It also will require more countries, businesses and governments to start investing in renewable energy.

But governments, businesses and corporations can't do it alone. If countries and continents want to hit their Net Zero targets, they'll need help from their citizens. Because it's ordinary people working together that create extraordinary change.

Change is hard, and to detest change is to be human. We all like staying in our comfort bubbles for as long as possible. And you shouldn't feel guilty. (Because it is normal.) But you should realize that, while comfort feels nice, it's not always the right state to be in. It's not a good environment for long-term growth. And it's not how improvements are made.

Thankfully, there is good news. Because, according to the Afrobarometer SDG scorecard for Namibia, we've seen an increase in climate action over the last few years among private citizens. And we're seeing similar trends across the African continent.

When it comes to our climate, our environment and our future, we can't afford not to change. Because the climate will keep changing for the worse if we refuse to change for the better.

And while some aspects of the COP26 goals simply can't be met in Africa (like electric cars for the masses in the foreseeable future). There are still plenty of changes we can start implementing in order to achieve the Net Zero goal.

Here are some examples of simple changes you can make for a big environmental impact (in a good way):

1. Save Water This change gets the number one spot because of the one-two combo it punches. Water is a rare commodity in Africa. By saving water you're contributing to saving the physical resource, and you're reducing energy costs (and waste) on the water system as a whole. Saving water can look like letting your washing machine drain water into buckets, instead of the drain. Or boiling water, instead of running the tap waiting for the water to heat up. Every drop counts.

2. Eliminate Single Use Plastics Plastic is harmful to the environment. Full stop. Reducing the amount of plastic you use on a day-to-day basis makes a massive difference in the long run. Some ways you can minimize plastic consumption are: using reusable bags instead of plastic and opting for brands that use recycled materials for their packaging. It takes a little getting used to at first, and the change won't come easily. But if you can hold yourself accountable, you'll help the environment and you might learn a thing or two about self-development.

3. Switch to Solar Coal power is an environmental killer. In Namibia, for example, most of our power is imported from South Africa. And, unfortunately, that power is created using coal. Importing 'dirty energy' is a major hindrance in the pursuit of Net Zero. Solar power is a modern solution to coal energy that's perfect for sun-drenched African climates. Over recent years' solar power systems have become more affordable and accessible to the average home-owner and not only larger businesses. When more homes move to solar solutions, we'll eliminate the need for coal power, making a massive shift towards the Net Zero goal.

4. Minimize driving While most African countries don't have access to electric cars as yet, we can work to minimize the impact of our gas powered vehicle. Besides saving you money from additional gas costs, driving less means your car emits less CO2 into the atmosphere. Less people driving means less money spent, less emissions in the atmosphere, and less impact on the environment. So have a Zoom meeting or call, rather walk or e-bike to the store that’s 5 minutes away, or synchronize your travels so there's less back-and-forth trips.

Changing your habits and routines isn't ideal, but when it comes to an issue as pressing as the environment, we have to be on our A-Game. Sometimes you'll forget to catch the drain water or you'll be in too much of a hurry to bring your tote bag to the shop. And that's okay. Change takes time and resilience. But as long as enough of us are doing what we can, when we can, it'll be enough to make a continental impact and global change.

Like Vincent Van Gogh said: "Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."

Now get out there and make a positive change!

5 Email Signature Solutions for Terrifying Business Challenges

Every business faces in-house challenges; regardless of the industry sector. That’s right... even yours.

From the gruesome amount of admin work your IT team has to endure, to staff tampering with their signatures (trying to dress them up as their own), to HR keeping staff informed and engaged with the brand. These everyday challenges all add up, and spending time trying to solve them means they each put a small dent in your marketing efforts.

What's a quick solution to tackle these problems?

Behold the supernatural power of email signature software. From IT, sales and marketing to human resources and customer service; the right email signature software can efficiently tackle all these problems so you don't have to.

Let’s dig in with some helpful solutions from our Partners at Rocketseed.

1. Transform IT frights into automated delights

The Challenge:

IT teams are only human. Updating and managing employee signatures can be a nightmare task for a company, regardless of the size. There is so much that could go wrong. And the time spent creating and managing signatures can be daunting.

Manual updates are a recipe for disaster. Errors can easily happen and signatures might not be 100% aligned with your brand - we are only human after all. Did we mention that it's also time consuming?

The Solution:

For company-wide brand consistency, you need complete central control. You need an email signature manager that easily manages all email signatures from one central point—whether on-site or in the cloud.

AD sync allows you to update all employee contact details, sender information and group structures automatically and with ease.

That's one less monster for your IT team to figure out, 4 more to go.

2. Missing a Marketing trick? Here's a treat...

The Challenge:

Marketing efforts are expensive. And still, despite all the hard work and money you put into it, your marketing message might not be seen by the right person at the right time or get the engagement and results you want.

The Solution:

With a 99% open rate and the average employee sending 1,000 emails a month – your everyday email is a must-have marketing channel for any business.

Impactful and interactive email signature marketing banners (either at the top or bottom of your email signatures) see an average click-through rate of 9%, but can reach above 20%.

Stay ahead of the game by scheduling banner campaigns in advance with your desired start and end dates (especially when running seasonal promotions). To get the most out of your email marketing campaigns, be sure to segment and target your campaigns so the right message always reaches the right recipient—all the time.

Whether you want to build brand awareness, promote products and/or services, drive sales or want people to read your latest blog or case study, your marketing campaign possibilities are endless. Need some inspiration? See 33 great email marketing banner examples.

But avoid boring/overused marketing messages. They won't help the click-through rate.

3. Improve HR & Internal Communication for spellbinding results

The Challenge

Staff are (also) only human. Keeping them happy, motivated and engaged can be a dreadful undertaking. But, happy and motivated employees are your best brand ambassadors. So if they don’t believe in your brand, neither will your customers.

The Solution:

Implementing internal marketing and HR email banner campaigns will help you upskill, align and inspire your workforce.

Recruitment efforts such as promoting new vacancies and on-boarding new employees will be a breeze for HR with internal marketing banners. And any new company policies or new branded templates can easily be linked through to read or download from email banners.

Relay timely news announcements, events and training sessions to various departments or gain insight to employee thoughts through 1-click surveys.

Keep employees aligned, motivated and empowered with bewitchingly effective internal email banner communications!

4. Reanimate Customer Service for 5-star success

The Challenge:

Valuable customer feedback can be overlooked (or difficult to get). Not knowing your customers and how they perceive your business can be an absolute killer! Don’t be left in the dark with uncertainty when it comes to customer satisfaction. Undesirable customer experiences can easily lead to devastating results for your business.

The Solution:

Optimize your customer service performance by running simple 1-click survey email banner campaigns. This gives customers the opportunity to rate the service they received from staff members, using a 1-to-5-star grading – in one simple click! No lengthy form completions are necessary so there's no major turn-offs for customers.

However, you do have the option to link your survey banner to a customized form, if you wish to gain more insight from the recipient. With real-time click alerts notifying line managers instantly of any reviews, immediate action can be taken for any unfavourable feedback (or give employee recognition where it’s due).

Optimize your customer service performance so you don’t scare prospects and existing customers away.

5. Sink your teeth into a conversation-driven sales journey

The Challenge:

You’ve reached out to a new potential lead. With your eye on the clock, you wait in anticipation for a response. Are they too busy to get back to you? Or just not interested in what you’re offering? Perhaps they haven’t seen your email yet? There was a time when using read receipts was all the rage, but if you’re still using this outdated method you’re in for a surprise.

The Solution:

Automate and target your sales messages to ensure potential leads receive the most relevant message at any given time. A silent read alert is triggered every time a recipient engages with your email signature or banner, notifying you of their interest in your offering, so you can take charge immediately.

All the valuable data derived from prospect (and customer) interactions on your emails can be pulled into CRM platforms such as Salesforce, ensuring you have a complete picture of their interests and needs.

For a highly personalized experience (based on previous conversions with your prospects) override any banners assigned to you by using a specific banner’s unique subject line keyword in your subject line.

You’ll be amazed at your sales results when you add a little dash of magic to every email.

And there you have it. Meeting daily business challenges doesn’t have to be watchful thinking when you have the right email signature manager.

If you’re in the market for new email signature software be sure to check out our ultimate email signature software checklist; highlighting 15 things you need to know before buying an email signature software.

And, if you've done your homework and are ready to raise your business email signature from the dead, you can reach out to us for a tailored email signature solution.

P.S. we do a lot of other cool digital stuff too!

This article was obtained from Rocketseed.

If you are interested in an email signature solution, V5 Digital is a proud Rocketseed Partner for Namibia and beyond, please do get in touch here.