Often, construction companies and builders main focus in uniforms and clothing is functionality.  However, in an increasingly fashion-conscious world, looks can also be an important way to attract employees.

Employee Concerns

Clothes impact how people feel about themselves and their work.  A smarter dress sense can increase self-confidence and lead to better work results.

While dressing for success is typically reserved for the corporate world, this does not mean that those in more manual labour positions do not feel the effect of confidence and clothing.  A drab, dirty uniform can impact the employee and make them feel of less worth to the company or project.

Protection and safety are clearly top concerns, and always should be, but this does not mean that cleanliness and appearance have to be sacrificed.  Many companies offer fashionable and functional work outfits.

Keeping the body warm and employee visible are key components of dress when a construction worker is on the side of the road filling a pothole.  But, higher quality workwear can greatly influence employee’s psyche.  If they are provided with more comfortable and better-looking uniforms then they will feel more comfortable at work and derive more satisfaction from their job.

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Furthermore, a sharp crew can increase a business’s profile and attract new clients.  Professionalism is often undervalued in many manual labour industries, and outfitting employees with a professional style can put a business ahead of their competition.

This effect can be seen across businesses and perhaps on the largest scale in the sporting world.  Football clubs pump a massive amount of funding into uniform development as they are aware it impacts their bottom line.  A popular uniform can bring in new revenue and fans and increase their club’s global brand.

In the case of smaller businesses, the same principles apply but on a smaller scale.  A cleaner and more professional uniform can result in new clients and profit, so proper uniforms can be seen as an investment rather than purely an expense.

Image and brand considerations are even important for small business, and uniform choices can have a long-term impact on success.

Work fashion for the individual

Work clothing has seen a resurgence in popularity in both high and popular fashion.  More people can be seen sporting workman brands and dressing like a traditional manual labourer.

Clothing items such as overalls, work jackets, are now sported by a young and hip crowd.  This can be seen as a co-opting of labourer culture or in a brighter light, an appreciation for hard work and a strong work ethic.

Either way, it is clear this trend can is seeping into the fashion world, and both business and individuals can benefit from the new-found appreciation for work clothing.

Some businesses are marketing specifically toward individuals wearing this attire outside of the work context.  This type of clothing will focus less on functionality and look to appeal more to the fashion aspect of consumer culture.

Workmen will not be caught in the purely fashionable clothing, but work clothing brands will increasingly appeal to the individual, so it is important to make sure you buy the right type of clothing for your specific need.

Trading requires much thought and attention. But did you know that our brain processes wins and losses differently and responds strongly to certain situations? Powerful reactions take place within certain areas of the brain – so let’s find out more about what happens during an unsuccessful trading session.

Loss Aversion and Chemical Transmitters

In 1979, psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman developed the Prospect Theory to help explain how people react to risks and uncertainties. This behavioral economic theory was based on the principles of loss aversion, which states that human beings are generally risk-averse. Losses have a more significant psychological impact on us than gains. This is because reward centers in the brain get silenced when losses are expected and are activated when gains are on the horizon.

Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers of the brain. One neurotransmitter, nor-epinephrine, is critical in shaping our responses. People with low nor-epinephrine levels tend to be less sensitive to the pain of losing money. Similarly, those who have higher levels of these transmitters, show greater loss aversion. They are more sensitive to losses.

Interestingly, people who react strongly to gains in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex of the brain, pay more attention to monetary amounts. Those who have shown sensitivity to losses in the ventral striatum region, on the other hand, pay more attention to probabilities or risk processing.

Another theory suggests that losses may trigger more significant activity in the brain regions associated with registering emotions and decision makings, such as the insula and amygdala. These regions are also associated with pain processing. So, there is a biological justification for human beings being loss averse in general. After all, no one wants to lose money, or experience pain, for that matter.

The Brain – A Trader’s Friend or Foe?

The brain can be divided into two parts – the reflective system and the reflexive system. The reflexive part is associated with emotional responses, while the reflective part is analytical and logical. For traders, it is a constant struggle to strike a balance between these two systems. Being too analytical is also not helpful, given how quickly market conditions change.

It is also important to consider that our brain is a muscle. The more we use a particular brain pathway, by learning a trading strategy or using a specific indicator, the stronger it becomes. Strong neural pathways are great for constructive activities but can be a hindrance if you repeat a mistake again and again. So, if you continue to pick the top of an uptrend or get stuck in “overtrading” activities, your brain will not let you escape unless you make a conscious effort to do so and this can be challenging. As all seasoned traders know, adapting your strategy with the view of limiting your losses is an essential part of the trading process and should not be ignored.

By remaining aware of our responses to certain situations, we can not only identify patterns but can also work consciously on changing unhelpful responses.

Customers wander away from shopping carts for any of a number of reasons. Sometimes it’s your fault, sometimes it isn’t. Whatever the cause, writing an effective abandoned cart email has proven to be quite successful at bringing shoppers back for another look and often a conversion as well.

The Stats

According to a survey conducted by the marketing automations and email marketing firm Moosend:

• Nearly 45 percent of cart abandonment emails are opened.
• Click-throughs result from half of those opens.
• Conversions are derived from half of those click-throughs.

This comes to a five percent conversion rate, which makes abandoned cart emails one of the most successful forms of email marketing. However, these results are only achieved when the messages are crafted well and executed strategically. Here’s what you need to know.

Timing is Important

In most cases, you’ll need to get a message in front of the customer within 24 hours from the time they wandered away from the cart to have a shot at converting them. What’s more, the sooner the abandoned cart message is sent, the more likely it is to be effective. A study conducted by the real-time behavioral and conversion marketing specialist firm SeeWhy found:

• Emails sent within 20 minutes increased conversion rates up to 5.2 percent.
• Messages sent within an hour managed a 4.5 percent increase.
• If 24 hours elapsed the rate fell to an average of 2.6 percent.

Clearly, expedience is one of the keys to success here.

So is Personalization

Let’s say you’re reviewing this article to learn how to sell ebooks on your own website. You have a customer who looked a series of books, put one in their shopping cart, but then didn’t download it. The first thing you’ll need to include is a strong, personalized subject line. Keep it short, simple and to the point. It’s too long if it goes over 30 characters. Include their first name and remind them the item is still in the cart.

“SoHo’s Last Samba is waiting, Larry”

Spam triggers should be avoided, so leave phrases such as “Last Chance”, “Buy Now” and Click To…” on the drawing board. Your goal is to remind, intrigue and ultimately sell.

Effectual Body Copy

Include an offer that triggers a fear of missing out. This can be a limited time discount, a special offer of another book at a discount related to the title in which they expressed an interest, or some other perk they can only get with an immediate purchase.

In addition to introducing scarcity, this can also be a nice surprise for them. People love surprises. These can come in the form of unexpected extra discounts, special offers, loyalty benefits and free shipping. All are proven motivators. However, if you always lead with discounts, you could train customers to hold out to see if you’ll drop the price.

Include Testimonials

Peer validation is another strong motivator. Getting back to our book scenario, the message could include reviews by other readers who liked the book. Professional reviews are good too, although real person reviews tend to carry more weight with shoppers when it comes to building trust.

The Bottom Line

Writing an effective abandoned cart email includes optimizing the subject line and the body of the message to inspire immediate action. Include elements of personalization and add trust elements to reassure them they’re making solid decisions. You also have to make sure you get the message to the shopper in a timely fashion. Bring all of these elements together in a successful fashion; you’ll see a definite uptick in your sales.