Posts Tagged ‘Design’

Don’t Discount the Power of Print

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Tales of Its Imminent Demise Are Exaggerated

In 1897 a journalist reported the demise of that great man of American letters, Mark Twain. The bemused Twain, still very much alive and kicking, responded with a letter to the paper reading: “The report of my death is an exaggeration.”

In a similar way, many “experts” have been loudly trumpeting the imminent downfall of print media as a significant means of communicating with customers. Surely, with the meteoric rise of the Internet, Web marketing is swiftly rendering obsolete all print media.

We have been told time and again that printed brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, annual reports, fliers and other tangible marketing items (even greeting cards and business letters) are destined for the dustbin of history.
But is this really so? Not by a long shot.

Advantages of Web vs. Print
True, print media has taken a hit in recent years as marketers were quick to realize the efficiencies of Web marketing. This fact, combined with an increase in environmental awareness (deforestation and global warming) and a desire be good corporate citizens, has prompted many businesses to cut back on print media and shift much of their marketing efforts toward electronic platforms.

The biggest appeal, at least initially, is cost. An e-newsletter, for example, is cheaper than a print one. The same goes for annual reports, brochures and direct mail. Why mail an expensive print ad or letter to someone’s home when you can hit an email inbox for a lot less?

No wonder there was so much hype for Web marketing and a general decline in respect for traditional print marketing.

People Like Print
Yet one important fact was overlooked in the race to replace print: Web marketing may be cheaper, but it’s not necessarily better. In some cases, it may not be nearly as effective as a well-conceived print piece.

One essential premise remains true: people like print. They like the touch, texture and even smell of print. They also like the portability of printed materials. Unlike a desktop computer, you can take printed materials with you and read them (bathroom anyone?) where you please. Furthermore printed materials can be more easily displayed and shared at meetings, conventions and tradeshows, keeping your brand in the forefront.

And, though you might be able to slip your Web marketing piece past a customer’s spam filter, you still have to face a delete button that is used mercilessly to eliminate anything that is not catchy enough. A print piece, on the other hand, by its tactile nature is more likely to be looked at, saved or filed away for future reference.

Print’s Longer Shelf Life
Let me offer an example: One nonprofit client I know mails quarterly, printed newsletters to its donors with an enclosed envelope for gifts. It is not uncommon for this charity to receive donations a year or two or even more after the newsletter was issued. That means it’s been sitting on someone’s coffee table or desk until they were ready to take action. An email newsletter simply won’t enjoy as long a shelf life.

Printed material offers your clients and customers a literal “high touch” experience that cannot be satisfied by Web marketing alone. Remember a few years ago when e-cards were all the rage? They were quick, easy and creative. Then people began to realize that e-cards carried far less emotional content and impact than a traditional printed card that they opened and held in their hands. There was something personal and powerful about the fact that people actually took the time to pick out a card (at a bricks and mortar location!), inscribe it in their own hand, lick a stamp and then post it. In the Internet age this process might seem quaint, but it works and that’s what matters.

Balance Your Customer Communications
In summary, the main point is not to put all your eggs in the Web marketing basket. Is it a powerful marketing tool? You bet it is. But Web marketing is still just one piece of the pie when it comes to communicating with your customers. Instead of emphasizing only one type of marketing (no matter how cost efficient) make sure all your messaging campaigns are balanced and fully integrated and that may very well mean including print in the mix.

Print dead? Even Mark Twain would have a chuckle at that idea.

written by Scott Wigton

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How to Beat the “Delete” – 5 Tips to a Better Email Newsletter

Monday, September 14th, 2009

How to Beat the “Delete”
5 Tips to a Better Email Newsletter

Email newsletters can be a good way to maintain and even build a relationship with your customers and supporters. However, you run the risk of alienating them unless you are careful to create a product that is in step with their preferences and habits.

It wasn’t long ago that Detroit ruled the American Road, mass producing heavy trucks and SUVs. When fuel prices skyrocketed, however, many drivers abandoned American brands in favor of foreign models offering better fuel economy.

It was a classic failure of vision – of not giving the customer what they desired or needed in a product. In a similar way, you have to be sensitive to your customers’ desires and expectations when communicating with them via email newsletters.

You may already have an email newsletter to which they have willingly subscribed. And, if so, it’s reasonable to assume they trust your brand, buy your products or believe in your cause.

But is your email newsletter effective, or are you testing their patience and tempting them to look elsewhere because of a failure to recognize what your customer wants in this kind of communication?

A study by useit.com confirmed that people typically have strong emotional reactions to email newsletters. Useit.com’s Jakob Nielsen writes: “The positive emotional aspect of newsletters is that they can create much more of a bond between user and company than a website can.

The following tips can help you shape your email newsletter so that it has the best chance to strengthen, rather than diminish, relationships with your customers.

1. Appreciate Your Audience – Think about who will be receiving your email newsletter.  How did you acquire their email addresses? Are they regular customers? What do they buy? What causes do they support? Answering questions like these will help you identify the kind of content you should provide to them.

2. Content Is King – For many companies, figuring out what to put in their newsletters is the hardest part of publishing one. A good piece of advice is to THINK LIKE A READER/CUSTOMER and make sure every item, as much as possible, is RELEVANT to an end user’s interests. “How-to” articles and those rich with active links to reliable information sources can be especially appealing. In short, what would YOU like to see in a newsletter if the roles were reversed?

3. Brevity Is Best – Nobody wants a rambling newsletter popping up in their inbox. And forget about wordy articles extolling products and lengthy success stories. Say what you’ve got to say in no more than 150 words per item. The truth is most people only scan newsletter articles to get the gist of the content. If you’re lucky, a telling headline will pull a reader in even further. According to the useit.com study, only 23% read a newsletter thoroughly. A strong SUBJECT LINE is vital to getting the email opened and it’s not a bad idea to borrow a line directly from the newsletter content provided it is striking.

4.Timing Is of the Essence – Nothing prompts end-user/customer scorn (and thus more clicks on the “delete” button) than bombing inboxes with overly frequent communications, even in the form of content rich newsletters. Plan a regular communication schedule that delivers current and USEFUL information so that readers will be looking forward to it rather than dreading its arrival.

5. Effective Formatting and Design – Your email newsletter format will have a big impact on readership. To make this decision, you must first identify your audience and determine what is most likely to appeal to them. The most common formats for email newsletters are HTML, Plain Text and PDF, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Generally speaking, HTML will allow you a more or less professional look with pictures and graphics while Plain Text is a “just the facts ma’am” format that frees you from HTML coding but has less style, graphics and perhaps less impact. A PDF format can use a lot of graphics and design elements not available to HTML or Plain Text but has the drawback of requiring users to either download it or have software (Adobe Reader) that can open the document. Some people won’t bother to look at your newsletter because of this inconvenience.

Critically, you should make it very quick and easy for people to either subscribe or unsubscribe to your newsletter. If the process is slow or frustrating, you will almost certainly annoy people and risk losing their business as well.

Remember, a well done email newsletter benefits your customers by providing relevant information while not imposing too much on their time.  It can be a tricky balance to strike, but if you are successful, customer loyalty should thrive.

Need a better way to get the word out? Looking for an easy, systemized and branded and way to send your email newsletters, surveys, and more  . . . without getting labeled as a spammer? Take a look at Xactcast.com. Sign up for your free demo today!

Written by Scott Wigton

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Does Your Logo Measure Up?

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

A Strong Logo Embodies Your Brand and Leads to Sales

You’ll never get a second chance to make a good first impression and for many businesses that all-important first impression comes from a deceptively unassuming source — your business logo.
That’s right. That little item that adorns your letterhead, business correspondence, signage and advertising is absolutely crucial to shaping initial responses to your business. And, for existing customers, your logo symbolizes value and trust and serves as a reaffirmation of a good, ongoing relationship.

But what if your logo isn’t all it could be? Or, worse, what if it’s just plain bad? If so, you run the risk of turning off potential customers and undermining your brand. A poorly designed logo slapped on letterhead, ads, billboards or on the sides of your company vehicles won’t entice anyone to become your customer. Rather, people are more likely to think: “Well, they’re too cheap or careless to come up with a good logo and that probably doesn’t bode well for the product/service they offer, either.”

Logo Power!
Let’s be clear. Your logo is NOT your brand. A logo is only a symbol or representation of your brand. Nevertheless, it has the power to reflect positively, or negatively, on your brand. In the minds of many clients and consumers, the mere sight of a well executed logo backed by a strong brand is enough to trigger a buying impulse.

That’s why it’s important your business have a strong logo. Think about all the great brands out there, the companies you buy from — almost without exception, they have strong logos designed to powerfully embody their brands. When you see them, a positive message is conveyed. And, even if you don’t care for that brand, you respect the authority represented by that logo.

Given the power of logos in the digital age when impressions — and business decisions — can be made in a matter of nanoseconds, it may behoove you to re-evaluate your own logo, and if you don’t have one (shame on you!) to get one. So, you might ask, what are some factors that make for a strong logo?

  • Strong logos normally have simple shapes. Shape is one thing that people immediately connect with visually. The more complicated the shape, the less appealing the logo generally. The shape may be dictated by a symbol or defined by letters and words or a combination of both. Whatever the case, simpler is better.
  • Strong logos make effective use of color, without overdoing it. Color can be powerful when used the right way in a logo. When excessive, color becomes cloying, possibly tasteless and proves distracting from the brand message you hope to convey. Colors must be carefully selected because each color, at a subliminal level, suggests feelings that will be associated with your brand. And, keep this in mind. If your logo is well designed, it will also work quite well in black and white.
  • Strong logos use fonts or typefaces that are carefully selected to reflect the brand proposition. If you’re a company that deals in high-tech, you don’t want an “old timey” typeface used in your logo. It sends a conflicting message.
  • Strong logos are the right size. Is your logo too big, or too small, for your letterhead and other applications? You don’t want people straining to see it because it was designed too awkwardly to fit appropriately in all your means of communication.
  • Strong logos are accompanied by style sheets. Do you have a style guide for the use of your logo? Is your logo legally protected? Do you slap it haphazardly on everything without regard to positioning and size, thereby watering down its affect? These are important considerations to make sure you get the most out of your logo.

Finally, before you abandon your logo, be sure to consider its existing value. Over the years, you have probably built up a large cache of credibility in your community with your logo. People recognize it and know what it stands for. Some say changing your logo is tantamount to divorce with your clients and customers. That is probably too extreme, but carefully mull over the heritage of your logo. Unless it has been a disaster or reflects a bygone era or your company and brand are due a total makeover, it may be that your logo needs only a little bit of tweaking to update it. A professional designer can help you with just the right flourishes.

Next month, we’ll explore that process of working with a design firm to create a strong logo for your company.

Written by Scott Wigton

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How To Collaborate Effectively with Your Design Firm (Hint: Communication Is Key)

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

The old real estate adage is: Location! Location! Location!

When it comes to effective collaboration between a design agency and your business, an equally important axiom applies: Communication! Communication! Communication!

Good communication is the bedrock upon which trust is built, allowing creative projects between you and your design agency to flourish.

Remember, when working with a design firm, a successful collaboration requires carefully considered ideas so that a meeting of the minds can be achieved. Anything less will probably result in unwanted surprises, disappointment and a waste of time and resources. Lack of clarity about goals, poor preparation and lack of commitment could fatally undermine any collaboration between you and your design firm.

At the beginning of any collaborative process, it’s helpful to keep in mind the reason you need to work with a design firm. In short, you have a problem – a creative problem, and a design firm can help you solve it because they possess an invaluable skill — the ability to conceptualize. This means, or should mean, they are experts at identifying opportunities for your company and finding ways to fulfill those opportunities. Those opportunities might include things such as Web site design, marketing, company branding or rebranding, events, and various communications to connect you with your key audiences and customers.

Designers can help you navigate from being lost in the business wilderness with no idea how to proceed, to finding the path that will take your company to new levels of success.

When collaborating with a design firm, it’s essential to keep several things in mind. The following few tips will go a long way toward ensuring that you get the most out of your working relationship.

  1. Build trust through respectful communication — Often, as a company owner or decision maker, you may not be able to see things as an outsider (i.e. customer) would. That’s why a design firm can be invaluable at the start. They bring an external perspective that will enable you to view things in a fresh light. This in turn can unleash powerful creative opportunities.
  2. Define the problem and define your goals — Try to be as specific as possible when identifying the problem, as well as your goals, and communicate these clearly and concisely to your design agency. Vagueness here could result in disappointment because design solutions might end up being too general or plain. Make your objectives clear and what it is you want to be accomplished. Don’t leave out the details! What do you want your audiences, your customers to feel and what action do you want them to take?
  3. Clarify strategy and the roles of team members — You’ll need a big picture roadmap for you and your design agency to work from. Make sure everyone has this roadmap and, importantly, knows what they are responsible for and when. This should eliminate redundant efforts. Make sure you have the support of key decision makers in the chain of command. You don’t want a project delayed or stopped entirely because someone important was left out of the loop.
  4. Provide a budget range — This will really help define the scope of what your design firm proposes to you. Leaving this up in the air is not a good idea as the design agency may return to you with a dazzling proposal that is way beyond what you can afford, making the effort an expensive time waster. Additionally, if your budget is extremely limited, don’t expect champagne proposals, but rather more modest, though serviceable ones.
  5. Work through problems together — Again, clear, direct and honest communication is key to overcoming the inevitable bumps in the road to the project’s completion. If you have concerns, bring them out into the open rather than working on them without your design agency’s knowledge or input. It may take some time for your design agency to fully grasp your company’s brand proposition, for example, but this is normal. Don’t always expect instant gratification. Be willing to wait until the final product has been refined and unveiled. And, finally…
  6. Perform a project review — Sit down with your design agency representatives and study what worked and what could have gone better with the project. This will help both parties avoid making the same mistakes again and lead to successful future collaborations.

Written by Scott Wigton

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Cultivating Your ‘Green’ Marketing Thumb | Part II

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

Want to Stay in the Black? Try Going Green

Consumer Preferences Steadily Shift To Earth Friendly Businesses

Until recently, most American businesses had just one motive: to make a profit, preferably a big one. If that meant wasteful manufacturing processes, superfluous packaging and other practices that led to deforestation, toxic waste, and excessive greenhouse gas emissions, then so be it. Consumers didn’t seem to care as long as they got the product or service they needed.

That business paradigm, however, is changing quickly. And if you haven’t felt its effects yet, you soon will.

That’s because as concern for the environment and sustainable living continues to grow, consumers are showing significant changes in attitudes and buying preferences. Businesses would be well advised to adapt their practices swiftly or risk being left behind.

The Right Thing to Do?
In other words, GOING GREEN, is going to become central to a business’s profitability in the coming years. Why? Customers are starting to demand it. Recent polling shows 80% of American adults expect that businesses should be mindful of their environmental impact in the products and services they offer.

Forty-four percent surveyed believe damage to the environment caused by business practices is a very important issue and 18% think it’s extremely important. In all likelihood, for a growing number of your customers, living green and buying green is now the RIGHT thing to do.

Obviously, simply offering your product or service isn’t going to be good enough anymore, especially if you’re perceived as being indifferent to, or worse, as harming the environment and collective societal health in the process.  If your business isn’t as green as it could or should be in just a few years time, then even the most vigorous “only profit matters” mentality isn’t going to save you.

Rewards Growing for Greenies
On the other hand, the rewards for making your business greener and more sustainable will be increasing. The market for green products and services is estimated now at $209 billion. That figure will only continue to grow as environmentally astute consumers seek out businesses that share their values. By gradually becoming a greener business, you eventually will sell more products, add more value and enhance your reputation over competitors who reject a more sustainable approach to doing business.

Surveys indicate that many consumers already are willing to pay a premium for greener products. Yet even large discounters such as Wal-Mart are getting on board with green practices. In its relentless efforts to cut costs, Wal-Mart has insisted on a more efficient, sustainable supply chain, thus reducing energy and transportation costs. Aveda, which makes a range of hair and skin care products, has gone to greener packaging (using recyclables) and biodegradable materials, and incorporates organic ingredients into its product lines.

So what can you do to begin the process of greening up your business?

  1. Commit your business to sustainability
    Get educated on the issues and opportunities. If you’re starting a business, design it from the beginning with sustainable elements and products in mind. When it’s time for a renovation, introduce sustainable elements and practices. Use recycled materials, increase natural and low energy lighting as well as low VOC paints and carpets and solar power if possible. Reduce your waste, water consumption and overall energy use. If you operate vehicles, introduce hybrids or alternative energy units (compressed natural gas) to your fleet. All these things will increase your credibility with customers. Not only that, you may actually cut costs by adopting greener practices.
  2. Offer greener products and services
    Look for a “green need” in the marketplace and fill it. Make sure your offerings are truly green, made with environmentally friendly materials and packaged in like manner. But make sure your products work and are competitive with alternatives. You may have to educate your customers about the value of your sustainable products and services. If you’re charging a higher price, the customer must feel that it’s worth it. Also, do some local market research and see who’s on board and who’s missing the boat when it comes to sustainability.
  3. Get the word out
    Once you’ve introduced greener products, services and business practices, tell your customers and your community about it. Highlight your sustainability on a WEBSITE, create a blog, issue press releases, get involved with or even sponsor “green” community events. It’s important to show that you are not only offering quality products and services that customers value, but that you are being environmentally responsible and helping solve a problem that affects us all.

Written by Scott Wigton

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Cultivating Your ‘Green’ Marketing Thumb

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

As the Globe Goes ‘Green’ Opportunities Grow Bigger

More and more, we’re told, our future will be a green one, replete with green cars, green homes, green manufacturing, green products and green jobs.


Why? Our livelihoods — not to mention our survival — may depend upon it. With alarm bells ringing on about melting ice caps, homeless polar bears, rising temperatures, rising seas, droughts and disasters unless we change our wasteful ways, it’s clear there’s plenty of momentum for the creation of a wide range of green products.

The question then becomes: How do you market them?

Expanding today’s $209 billion “green” market, represents a tremendous opportunity, yet also a frustrating conundrum. Experts are still debating the most effective marketing strategies for green products. How, exactly, do you turn growing environmental concern and awareness among consumers into sales, especially given that many green products carry inherent price premiums?

The obvious assumption is that green products are seen by many as a benefit, but in what way? Do people purchase green products strictly for altruistic reasons or for more self-interested reasons because “buying green” aligns with their values, saves them money (at least over the long term) or confers upon them an “elite” status.

Self Interest and Environmental Vanity

It’s instructive to look at some examples. In the early 1990s when the green movement first got going, manufacturers brought the now famous compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to market, touting them as “earth friendly.” Consumers, however, snubbed the expensive products until they were repackaged and re-launched as a longer life bulb that would save money over the long term versus compared to standard incandescent bulbs.
The outcome for the first chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) free refrigerator, marketed by Whirlpool, also challenged assumptions that consumers would choose an environmentally friendly product on this merit alone. As it turned out, this award winning, first-in-class refrigerator fizzled because people didn’t feel like paying the extra $150 premium in spite of its environmental benefit.

But some marketers have learned that vanity often is a bigger motivator than altruism (or even long-term savings) when it comes to green products. Say what you will about the Toyota Prius — its, um, distinctive styling, and premium price for a midsize car, but one thing is certain. It’s been a mean, super-selling “green” machine. Since its introduction in North America in late 2000, nearly one million have been sold. Hundreds of thousands more have been sold on the worldwide market.

And while that amounts to a drop in the bucket of overall auto sales, it’s one very significant drop, making the Prius the world’s first green vehicle to achieve real marketplace success. Designed to be environmentally friendly and get excellent fuel economy, this gas-electric hybrid demonstrates a key green marketing concept: It has identified its core audience and delivered on its promises. Perhaps most importantly, it has empowered its market — people who feel so deeply about “living green” and being seen as “green” that they are willing to pony up the extra cash to do so. In fact, a July 2007 New York Times article using data from CNW Marketing Research found that 57% of Prius purchasers bought their vehicles because it “makes a statement about me.” Interestingly, just 36% cited improved fuel economy as the reason for their purchase.

Basic Principles of Green Marketing

While “Green Marketing” continues to be defined, there is little doubt it offers tremendous potential in coming years. Purveyors of green products would be wise to apply the following three marketing principles.

  1. First, a business offering or manufacturing green products ought to be as “green” as possible, founding its credentials upon its own commitment to actual green practices. Are you selling recyclable materials and you don’t recycle?
  2. Second, a company must educate its customers about why their product matters and position it so that customers understand that it performs as well or better than non-green alternatives.
  3. Finally, customers must be empowered by green products, giving them the clear feeling that they are affirming their principles and participating in an action that helps to “save” the environment.

Green products may be good in and of themselves, but unless they’re marketed properly, they’re not going to make a far reaching impact. And that’s not good news for polar bears, or people or the bottom line.

Written by Scott Wigton

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Are You Blind to Good Design?

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

For too long, the power of good design has been relegated to a secondary role when it comes to developing a marketing strategy. But with more clients and customers basing their purchasing decisions on design, businesses must look at ways to incorporate design from the beginning.

Remember when the Apple Inc. iPhone debuted a couple of years ago? Within 30 hours, stores sold 270,000 units and some opportunistic entrepreneurs even began hawking the devices on Ebay for thousands of dollars above the retail price of $599.

And they had buyers.

Since then, Apple has sold more than 13 million of the touchscreen multimedia devices and Time Magazine named it the invention of the year in 2007. Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs was named Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Businessman of the year.

Most companies would kill for that kind of response to a new product or service. Talk about buzz and brand loyalty. What people forget is that the iPhone was introduced into a very competitive, crowded marketplace, and it still blew away the competition.

Why? In a word: Design.

The value of design is something Apple has capitalized on since its inception over 30 years ago. That’s because Apple, under CEO Steve Jobs, has understood that design is much more than snazzy looks and slick packaging. Rather, Apple and a few other visionary companies, have realized that design, properly incorporated into strategic planning, is what drives innovation which in turn drives brand and builds customer loyalty.

Here’s what Jobs said about design (related to the iMac computer) in a Fortune Magazine article a few years ago:

“We don’t have good language to talk about this kind of thing. In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains and the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a man-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service. The iMac is not just the color or translucence or the shape of the shell. The essence of the iMac is to be the finest possible consumer computer in which each element plays together.”

What is Jobs suggesting? Clearly he means that if any product, service or, for that matter, company, is to succeed, good design (and designers) must be brought into the strategic marketing process from the beginning.

In far too many businesses, however, design remains a secondary consideration. It is left until the latter stages of the marketing process, its only purpose to furnish products and services with a glossy company veneer. The hope, of course, is that this veneer, as Jobs puts it, will make a favorable impression on customers.

But as the Oracle of Apple hints, this veneer is too superficial to connect with customers. Why? Because it isn’t rooted in the core essence or value proposition of the company itself and the design ends up being weak. Sure, it may look pretty or be exciting in some way, at least initially, but it’s simply window dressing that fails to deliver on your company’s key promises.

How important is design? According to a 2007 “Design for Living” survey conducted by Kelton Research, 7 in 10 Americans said design is the most important factor when it comes to influencing them to desire a product. For people under 30, the power of design is even more persuasive. For many companies, the role that design plays in their strategic processes will have to be rethought. No longer should only left-brain, number crunching analysts dominate throughout planning processes. To remain competitive, companies will have to make room at the table for the right-brain creative types, the ones with the innate talent for distilling a company’s core values to their purest essence and then designing processes, systems, services and products that end users desire.

Great design, above all, connects with clients and customers on an emotional level, causing them to yearn for a product because of a desirable feeling it gives them. By incorporating design into strategic marketing processes from the start, a business can be assured that its value proposition will affect customers where it counts the most – in their hearts. And once you’ve got a customer’s heart, you’ve got a customer’s loyalty. So, does good design matter? Just ask 13 million iPhone users.

Written by Scott Wigton

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