Author: piksel_marketing

It was expected that in 2020 I would receive another task at the end of the year – the annual recap, Piksel in 2020.  

And as the year was, so was my completion of this task in the same year – it just wasn’t happening. So here I am in 2021, with a fresh perspective on what happened in the previous 12 months.  

I must admit that it’s still unreal that I’m writing a review for 2020. I’m still in my right mind in March when all the madness started. But let’s not jump too much through the timeline, let’s go back to the beginning.  

As usual, we started the year with a new round of Piksel memes.  

And yes, even in such a year, we enriched the Piksel team with more Piksels. We welcomed to the team Filip – the SEO wizard, Angela – the all-round kick a** account manager, Trajko called Dziki – the copywriter & #hehence master, Ivana – the office manager/organizational guru and two reinforcements from abroad, Kate – the pro account handler & content creator and Nate – the all round design & marketing pro.  

And now, back to work…  

In 2020, we already started the story with Tikvesh and Bohemian’s conversations. Something that came to us naturally as self-proclaimed bohemians and lovers of good tikveska brandy and exceptional wines.  

Before the lockdown happened, we managed to organize an event together with EOS Matrix for the presentation of their “European Payment Habits” survey that EOS has been conducting for 12 years in a row.  

From there, we learned a lot of valuable information, from which our team singled out: 5 steps to learn how to film events!  

On the subject of live events, for well-known reasons, it was the first and last Piksel live event of 2020.  

In the first months of the year, our development and web design team was quite busy. We developed a landing page for Bimilk’s new product, Bitolsko fresh milk with vitamin D3, and a very addictive game for the refreshed and upgraded product portfolio of Bimilk – Bitolsko with 10 vitamins. Months later, we’re still playing it.  🙂

Aaaand, this is where the COVID-19 crisis started. Of course, not knowing how to deal with the new situation, we did what we knew best. A new round of memes, this time Quarantine edition, as the most effective medicine in the battle against the virus.  

After the phase of creating memes and getting used to the new situation, the real challenges for Piksel in 2020 have begun.  

I won’t lie and tell you that we managed easily and that working from home was great for us. At first, it sounded fun, great, we will all work from home… But soon, communication challenges started in the team. To find a way to communicate and be up-to-date with all the new requests from customers, and at the same time learn to function in a world where you can’t see your loved ones, you have to sit at home, and you have to disinfect everything that you order online was not easy.  

There were a lot of meetings, a lot of calls, a lot of nerve-racking… Something that, as a team, took time to overcome, but…

With a Piksel team like this, I think anything can be overcome.  

After strengthening our team’s communication and finding a way of functioning in the “new normal,” the challenge was to do the same with customers. Let’s find a way to be active and not stop with marketing activities but be careful with the social component and keep in mind all aspects of the situation.  

A topic elaborated by Vladimir Ristevski, our CMO, in the interview for Business Info under the title: “If you have a product that responds to the crisis, you must not allow yourself not to advertise.” Take a minute to read it – the information shared in the interview may still be useful to you.  

During the quarantine, our design team decided to present “Piksel Quarantine Cosmetics.” Stranger things were happening during the quarantine, don’t judge.  

The idea was to make up for the things that we missed the most during the quarantine in an interesting way. The smell of linden trees in spring in Skopje, hugs with your best friends, or the smell of your favorite pub… cosmetics intended for maintaining a healthy body and a healthy spirit.  

Check out the entire collection at the link.  

Sometime in May, we became (again, self-proclaimed) work-from-home experts. We even wrote a whole blog post about it. Like any good written word, we had our critics.  

*Part of the Piksel team can relate to this. 🙂  

Contributions of Piksel in 2020

Knowing that many businesses are in a difficult and unpredictable situation, we wanted to contribute to their promotion and survival efforts in a quickly digitized world. For this purpose, we have created an e-book with practical tips for the survival of your business. You can still download the free e-book.  

This was also the right time to look back and ask our customers what they think of us. Like every digital person in 2020, we decided to put those nice words on social networks. Yes, on all social networks!  

We are grateful to have such collaborators and even more satisfied when we receive positive comments on our invested work.  

To keep up with the trends, Piksel in 2020 held the Piksel elections in which the Go-green team emerged victorious.  

Naturally, during the heightened effects of the crisis caused by Covid-19, it was necessary to pay more attention to prevention to protect public health.  

Therefore, with Ohridska Banka, we have encouraged digital habits among the population, such as using contactless payment cards for quick payments, avoiding queues, and using the website, mobile and electronic banking as products that offer complete banking services.  

At the start of the new academic year, we presented something fresh. Complete design and development of Skopje East Gate website – the first project of its kind in the country, which incorporates a shopping mall, residential complex, and business park, to introduce new standards of urban living.  

Since we are nearing the end of the year, I will summarize it through our work, and it looks like this:  

We started the year properly with a toast to our loved ones with the best Macedonian wines of Tikvesh.  

We strengthened immunity with Bitolsko milk with 10 vitamins, cooled down with Bitolski ice cream with 10 vitamins, and enjoyed moments with the little ones with Bitolosko chocolate milk.  

We educated and raised awareness about COVID-19 and protection measures with Roche Macedonia.  

With InPlayer, we have brought the world of online streaming services to an ever-increasing number of people worldwide.  

With Taskforce, we proved that “Macedonian value” has its own special meaning, brought their team closer to the world, and celebrated all their successes.  

During the quarantine period, we increased our friendship with the wines of Tikvesh. As expected.  

We began to think seriously about the future when we started the partnership with Sava Pension Company and Sava Insurance.  

With Sava Insurance, we ensured your pets are always insured with Pet Vet. With Sava Pension Company, we launched a micro-blog so that you are never alone, and we tried to make you Savers with a Plan!  

We continued to create healthy habits with Balans Plus Immuno and Balans Plus Meals.  

We laughed and played with Oho Productions and their Prespav and 5+ family.  

A strong finish for Piksel in 2020

The end of the year was somehow connected with the beginning of the heating season, so the success story with Aircon led to a great promotion and highlighted why Aircon is #1 on the market in Macedonia and globally.  

As the year was ending the team that worked tirelessly to create a new website for CityFashion finished the final preparations needed to successfully launch a completely new online web shop that brings together some of the world’s most famous brands in one place.  

With the achieved results, in a really short time, it turned out that although we spent a large part of the time at home this past year, we still cannot resist unique pieces of clothing. Especially when they can reach us at our home address. And, of course, style cannot and must not suffer.  

But that’s not all. The very end of 2020 also brought us a socially responsible campaign, developed with the European Business Association, for promoting the Circular Economy, its importance, and the importance of recycling and reusing – something that we as a team try to do in our offices, too.  

Some of the challenges remained in 2020, while some continued in 2021. I am sure it will not be easy, but it is a challenge that I believe our team will overcome.  

And in 2021, I hope we will also leave our #FirstWorldZoomProblems behind us. 

Welcome! This is the survival guide for all of you (and us) focusing on working from home during this emergency.  

Let us start with the morning rituals.  

Every start is easier after you take the first dose of coffee. The only difference from before is that we no longer need to prepare for work or travel to our workplace.  

We just need to put on some comfortable clothes that we usually wear around the house (sweatpants, ahem – pajamas) and then nest in front of our computer screen to start working.  

Completing tasks  

Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to working from home. The question is: How to be productive and complete all (or most) tasks?  

First, you must show enough respect for the work on an individual and team level. Try to improve yourself as a person who works from home and build a team culture (even though you are at home).  

We’re in this together (except for those who decide not to participate and then go watch Netflix instead of getting work done). The team must develop an awareness that everyone plays by the same rules, but also that each member of the team has their own rituals.  

This actually means that each team member is synchronized with the others (like gears in a machine).  

Second, you must develop a flexible schedule. If you don’t get up every day on time and complete the assigned tasks, you will scr*w things up, and everything will collapse.  

For example, I have to set 3 alarms to get up on time. But that’s the way I have adapted to. I also try to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.  

Third, you have to have focus. To achieve that, I drink coffee, and it works for me. Also, whenever I work, I listen to some background instrumental music that doesn’t distract me.  

My point is, without focus, you won’t be able to follow the team directions or the customers needs. This leads me to the following conclusion:  

Communication is key.  

We are fortunate to live in a time when technology is at our disposal. We can use Skype / Zoom / Microsoft Teams to communicate. On the plus side, instead of fumbling through 159318651 million messages in a group chat, we save significantly more time by having a video call with the team, client, etc.  

We can communicate through software like Skype, where everyone can participate in the decision-making. We also report regularly to our superiors to keep them up-to-date.  

What also helps us coordinate is that we use Trello to delegate tasks to all departments.  

And finally (in this part, not in this article), deadlines and the responsibility you have are motivators for your productivity. These are the things that make you more aware and more agile.  

You know you have no room for error because customers are counting on you (especially during the current global crisis), but also because you don’t want to let down your team that trusts your ability to get the job done.  

Time management tips for working from home  

Set boundaries for yourself.  

I’m sure someone thinks: Because I’m at home 24/7, I can work whenever I want. No, no, no. Don’t do that. Don’t allow yourself to mix your work with your private time.  

You are either working or not. There is no third option. Answering emails while working out at home is totally unproductive.  

Take control of your schedule.  

If your day is not structured you will not have a good time. Therefore, take care of your calendar and update it in a way that will optimize your productivity.  

Optimize your work environment.  

Some people like to work in total chaos, with piles of objects everywhere, next to them, on them and under them (as if a hurricane had passed through the room). On the other hand, some people like to have a desk in front of them, on which only work-related objects will sit.  

The purpose of this is to arrange your workspace in a way that will increase your productivity. It’s a matter of taste so to each their own.  

Mythbusters (Work From Home Edition)  

There are people who “mock” those who work from home. They were like this, like that, they didn’t work hard enough… Let’s prove them it’s not how it is.   

Myth no. 1: Those who work from home don’t work enough  

If you don’t physically see people working from home, then they are 100% useless and totally unproductive. Realistically, any employee can neglect work if management does not delegate tasks well or if there is a communication breakdown, regardless of the employee’s location.  

If I know exactly what my responsibilities are, when my tasks are due, and if I regularly inform my team/superiors, then there is no theoretical chance that I will be labeled a “work slacker” no matter where I work.  

A little intermezzo. Never work from bed. Don’t be a “couch potato” like me. That is, in this case, a “bed potato.”  

Why? Because if you regularly work from bed, you will reduce the mental connection between sleep and the bedroom, which makes falling asleep more difficult. You will start to feel you are constantly at work and will no longer have a place to “recover” from work.  

Also, if you use electronic devices before bed, your melatonin level will decrease, and your sleep quality will be impaired.  

Myth no. 2: Those who work from home constantly have to prove themselves  

Some people working from home constantly need to prove they are actually working. They think they have to answer every possible email within two minutes or that they have to be present at every possible meeting.  

Don’t you think this is too much? Instead of working, these people worry excessively about how their work is perceived, which results in unnecessary anxiety due to the excessive pressure they put on themselves.  

The reality is that people who work from home go to work like any other employee (minus the time it takes to get to work).  

Myth no. 3: Home-based workers are available 24/7  

It’s great to assume that people who work from home can answer work-related questions anytime, but in reality, it’s not great at all. Just because I’m working from home doesn’t mean I’m available and on the hook.   

Because of this, the best practice is to determine which part of the day will be dedicated to work, just as it happens in the office. Don’t turn into a workaholic.  

We all need a break occasionally to get out of the working space. Separating work and private life is possible, even if you work from home.  

As for the end  

Take care of yourself and #StayHome. Not as bad as you think. Now you have time to watch all the movies and binge all the series. You even have time to find your talent for a hobby. You can have fun with your loved ones (if they live with you and if they keep a distance from you).  

We hope this pandemic will end soon, but for that to happen, we must do our part by #StayingAtHome.  

There are many more topics to cover, but let’s leave something for the future. 🙂

If you have a product that responds to the crisis, you must not allow yourself to not advertise. You must be attentive to the social component and show care for the community, believes Vladimir Ristevski, marketing director at Piksel.

Business Info: In the last few weeks, our country and the world have been pulsating in the rhythm dictated by the coronavirus. What lessons does this pandemic teach us?

The first lesson was definitely a lesson in agility and the ability of companies to quickly adapt to new circumstances that I believe no one expected would happen.

The second, and I think much more important lesson, was empathy and humanity. Here, we all had to realize that we are in the same basket. Everyone was either healthily or financially affected by this situation, not to mention the issues with mobility. Therefore, we all had to realize that now, more than ever, communication is the key to continue working.

And the final lesson is remote work, which we all once thought was impossible, has become routine for us. We have learned many things. Most of all the importance of starting the digital transformation of companies. For us at Piksel as a digital software and marketing agency, this is key in our mission and vision.

Business Info: Although it is normal for someone to work remotely (from home), some companies are just now introducing such a way of working. What does it take to successfully manage a cross-functional team?

First, the process has to be set up to suit the work as it would be in the office, or, in other words, the first and most important rule is, if people are at home, it does not mean they are available for work 24/7. If they have a lunch break at work, they would also have it at home. But, at home, they may not have the ideal working conditions, so they cannot be as effective and efficient, even though research shows that people are more efficient when working from home. 

Furthermore, the process must set ground rules for communication – email should be the primary channel so there are no misunderstandings. Then, one of the electronic video conferencing tools (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Skype, etc.) should replace the need for physical meetings. Phone calls and instant chat should be put as a last option.  

This is especially important because the first impulse of everyone in the business community is to call about something every five minutes or “limp” on Skype, Viber, and Messenger, forgetting that if people are constantly micro-communicating, then no one will have time to do anything.

Finally, it is essential to use software for monitoring company processes, delegating tasks, and improving productivity. We saw this a long time ago (fortunately) before the crisis, and we developed internal software for business analysis. It proved to be quite good and gave us new ideas on how to upgrade it in the future.

Business Info: How to raise motivation, encourage creativity, and maintain the condition of employees in crises?

As I mentioned earlier, a key moment in this situation is empathy. A good owner/manager/team leader must put employees first and show that he really cares about them. Hence, the most important element is communication with the entire company (via video call, of course), but also individually with each employee, as often as possible, on a more personal level to provide them with support in dealing with the consequences of the pandemic and restrictive measures.

As much as we may think that the situation is not terrible, fear, uncertainty, and restrictions have taken a toll. So, the role of the leader must be to listen to colleagues. Ask them how they cope with everything that happens to them. Check if he/she can help and inform them about everything that happens in the company.

Transparency in these difficult times is key, and everyone must be updated with everything happening in the company. This can only help to strengthen the team and the mutual trust when the company comes out of the crisis.

Business Info: Will the coronavirus remind us of some crucial things we have forgotten? And what should we do to remember them for life?

It definitely reminded us to take care of each other more.

It reminded us how nice it was when we were all at home, together.

It emphasized the importance of family lunches and dinners, cooking together, taking more care of personal health, and physical activities. And also, the fact that material things are not as important as mobility and freedom of movement.

It will remind us in the future how much we should value healthcare workers. How much we should further develop some skills that may have been considered traditional and unimportant before, but now we realize that they are necessary in a given situation (such as cooking, “housekeeping” and so on).

We need to further develop the collective awareness for protecting the environment and creating a better world for all of us. But, I will emphasize again: empathy is the one that should raise us to a completely different level and make us better people.

Business Info: In such crisis situations, we realize the importance of technology. How much can we “turn” it in our favor and let it “work” for us?

The sooner the digital transformation process starts, the better. If this was the rule before the pandemic, today it has become mandatory for every company. The beauty of digitization is the automation of certain processes and the ease of getting everything in one place.

In addition, process automation can be closely related to the automation of marketing activities. Here is the ideal combination that every company should strive for. Debunking the myth that digital transformation leads to job cuts is a much-needed discussion. I believe that if a company goes digital, it may just free up more time for employees to focus on the more challenging part of maintaining and growing the business rather than on tasks that can be performed automatically.

Segmenting and nurturing consumers and bringing in new quality customers requires a human touch. Тhese are processes that technology can only facilitate. We still need people who will have time to grow and develop professionally to be even better at doing their job.

Business Info: How can digital marketing “shine” when everyone is afraid to take a bold step and keep their brand in front of an online audience?

Several things come to the fore in this situation. As previously mentioned, transparency is the key here as well. You must communicate with your customers and followers on social networks and other digital channels. If you have a product that responds to the crisis, you can’t afford not to advertise.

However, you must be attentive to the social component and show concern for the community. Those who can donate in times of crisis, to show that despite the difficult time humanity comes first, will have a chance to survive in the coming months. Therefore, those with extra resources should reach out to the community. To offer their services to anyone who can’t afford them and needs them. The easiest way to do this is by posting on social media.

The rest should find a way to lift the spirits of their followers with positive posts, posts related to their employees, and entertaining content and thus raise awareness of their brand. Quarantine must not stop the world. We must keep the hope that we will come out of this stronger and more prepared than before.

Business Info: What do you expect to change drastically after this crisis is over?

People’s inertia regarding communication will change, that’s for sure. Being in different locations will no longer be an excuse to find time to physically see each other. Video calls will already become quite normal and easy. Some industries will never be the same again, but the opportunity will open up for new potential businesses that will explode in the future.

Online stores will finally come to the fore in Macedonia. Delivery companies will be forced to invest in human resources, software, and a system of bonuses so that everything can run flawlessly. Restaurants will devote more time to conceptualizing the way of food delivery.

Online education will certainly be here as a primary industry that will further explode in the future, which will entail diversification of knowledge and skills among all those who want to invest in themselves and in greater agility in the workforce, and thus greater competitiveness of the labor market.

Business Info: Do you have a motto that motivates you?

If you put enough effort into what you love and become an expert at it, you will always find others who need that talent and skill, and there will always be work for you. Is there anything better than loving what you do? It’s definitely something that guides me in life, that’s why I always try to upgrade myself.

That’s how, over the years, I’ve developed new skills and changed professions based on what was my passion at the given moment. So, I went from being a translator and interpreter to a writer. Then I retrained in the world of digital marketing and entrepreneurship.

Business Info: What would you say to our readers?

Always be hungry for knowledge. It’s something that is at the core of how I function as a human being, and it’s something that everyone should consider.

You cannot allow yourself to stand still in life. This way you will only cement yourself in your comfort zone and be afraid to live life to the fullest. New knowledge provides new opportunities. And a new way to be happier in your career, earn more, and be more successful.