How to, Marketing
Having your customers and clients leave you positive reviews is a fantastic way to organically grow your business profile on Google. Getting them to engage and leave you a review sometimes may be include a bunch of steps and this short video will show you how to make the whole process super easy and frictionless.
Some unique ways you can use this:
- Add your link to your email signature
- Automate your “Thank You” email to your clients and include a call to action using this link
- On the part of your register that faces your customers during checkout
- As part of a repeat customer plan where after providing a 5 Star Review, your customers get a special discount on their next purchase
- Create a custom QR code with your companies brand colors and even your logo and place it on a sticker or back of your physical marketing materials
If you would like some ideas or ways to create a marketing strategy to customize your review process, be sure to contact us.
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All Posts, Content & Copywriting, Marketing
The keys to persuasive, effective marketing materials are great design and informative, persuasive content. Content is both words and supporting imagery that conveys what benefits a consumer will derive from the product/service you are offering. Think of brochures as either the initial “handshake” of your business with a client or the last impression. Your business cards and brochures are essential parts of your brand and can certainly impact the marketability of your business and attracting potential clientele. This week I’d like to highlight the key components to a stand out & effective brochure.
Content can include charts, images, diagrams, listings and other graphic elements that highlight key benefits of your business services/products. Also use of calls to action can be critical to persuasion and getting the consumer to act on your solicitation. Also know that the caliber of writing of your brochure will certainly determine the effectiveness of your message and brand. If you aren’t the greatest writer, farm it out to a business or colleague that can.
White space is an essential part of every single marketing piece, namely brochures. The lines between text and imagery are white space; which allows your readers’ eyes relax and gives them a momentary break from the content. You never want intake overload but also don’t want your content to look too sparse. White space can also be used to separate important points. For example, the brochure below is an example of too much white space & too little content.
Colors evoke feelings and emotions, and can certainly help to build a customers’ first or last impression of your business. The colors you select for your brochure design should definitely compliment or match the colors in your logo or company name. Use of vibrant colors should be done in selective areas and in moderation.
Font selection be stylistic but be easily readable and the size should be chosen based on the volume of information you are trying to convey. It should not be too large (over 14 pt.) or too small (less than 10 pt.) The font should reflect your brand style and set the tone of your organization – elegant for a bridal shop, powerful for an auto body shop. Lastly, the body copy font should differ from your headlines, but you should not exceed the use of 3 different fonts within your brochure design.
Paper selected should be reflective of the quality of your business…Yeah, I said it. Using flimsy paper or a cheap card stock may give a flimsy impression of your business. Choosing glossy or matte finish is purely subjective.
Imagery plays a critical role just like your written content. Take your time when selecting the right imagery and the placement of them. Also, do not forget to check your resolution on the images you select. The higher the resolution the better your picture will come across in print. The lower the resolution, the more blurry and unprofessional your brochure will look when printed. FYI -300 dpi or higher is best for clear, color printing.
The Design of your brochure should be simple but effective. Feel free to break away from the normal trifold and display your brand & company character. 
Among the sea of typical trifolds, how do you make your brochure stand out?
All Posts
Is it really necessary for a small company to have website?
Can I really make SEO work for me?
Can blogging really benefit my company?
Is this all just a waste of time and is any of this profitable?
In a very Dr. Phil-ish candidness, you bet your butt they do! And here’s why:
1. I’ve said this to potential clients, current clients, on previous blogs and to my friends…YOU NEED A WEBSITE! Whether you live in a big city or small town, the truth is that most of the world doesn’t know you exist. Unless your business has a product or service that is exclusive to your geographical region, you need to expand not only your mind but also your client list and profit margin. How else can a small company in Nebraska acquire a client in Maine?
2. If you have sneakers, you need laces. Since you need a website, you need SEO. It’s the only way to get higher rankings in the major search engines for your company with limitless advertising. Yes, it can be a little time-consuming at first if doing so yourself (or you can just hire someone to do it…see www.jpdesigntheory.com) but it is worth the time and your dimes.
3. Do you see the visual example of a necessary principle? The more you or someone else writes about your company and services/products 
exposure expansion & growth.
4. It’s evident from all the market growth and promotion of social media, it is not only big now but it’s here to stay.Customers are savvy enough now to use it to their advantage and that directly benefits your company if you get on board. Especially since customers are utilizing all the tools the worldwide web offers to discuss product/service experiences and research them prior to purchase.
In the end, I hope these answers to common questions help you to understand the importance and necessity of websites, SEO and blogging. Can’t wait to see YOU on the www!
All Posts, Marketing, Web Design
When it comes to designing a website, there can be a lot of opinions thrown into the hat from all parties. Opinions from the designer, who usually is considered the authority figure. From a company’s marketing team. My favorite are the opinions from the executive team. Now all of these opinions can be good and valid, yet all could be irrelevant when it comes to what opinion matters most; your potential client’s.
Website redesigns are touchy to me. When a client calls our office and asks about how much it will be to overhaul their entire website for a more modern look, our first thought is “great, let’s do it!” Especially if their existing site hasn’t been touched in over 3 years. We explain the importance of having social plugins, e-commerce, responsive web forms, and more. However it almost always is in the perspective of that site/business owner.
I’ve been doing some reading on effective landing pages and site designs, and I have to admit that I don’t always design or develop in the mindset of the online visitor. They’re the ones that spend the 7 seconds deciding whether or not a website has what they’re looking for before continuing on or bouncing off the website to another search result. This is a really important aspect to put into perspective. We’ve all heard the lines “a brilliant website means nothing if no one sees it,” or “content is king,” and so on. However if a potential customer or client doesn’t understand your website, or doesn’t feel comfortable enough to stay on and contact you or buy something your website is pointless.
Here are some points you should consider about your website; whether current or in development:
Lead Generation: Having a compelling call to action will not only help your sales team, but if tracked on a regular basis it will tell you what content people are hungry for.
Readability: Aside from complex wording, slang, or simplistic; your content needs to hit home with your target audience. It needs to resonate to their exact need for your product or service and they should understand that (hopefully) in the first few words or sentence on whatever page they landed on in your website.
Visual Candy: Not all customers and clients are into a wordy website. Some prefer rich and high quality images, graphics, and logos. Things that make them imagine themselves in or with your product or service. Lets face it, a good TV commercial for a piece of clothing will stay in your head until you visit the mall and feel compelled to buy it, or it will immediately turn you off.
Problem Solving: We’re all in business to solve a need right? If your homepage or landing page can effectively address your reader’s issue, you’ll draw in more leads than your biggest competition. Simply because of how you addressed the problem, you’ll win a clients vote of confidence – at least enough for them to give you a call or email you.
Market Research: This may sound like a big R&D project, but it really isn’t. There are many ways to poll people to get their opinions on things as a consumer. The data is out there, and we all know data doesn’t lie. So take the time to do some questioning and research to put into your website. You’ll not only have a greater confidence in your work, but be backed by hard evidence from doing your homework.
Really think about these things the next time you plan on redesigning your website or before you start a new one. One of the things we are proud of doing is sitting with our clients and really trying to get inside of their minds and really get to know what makes their business strategies so unique.
Have something to add? Please do so in the comments below. Your suggestions are always welcome!
Web Design
If you pick up a newspaper or read articles online you’ll easily find articles of companies and industries talking about fiscal performance from last quarter, or last year, or last month to now. One of the main things that big companies keep their eyes on is their money. Money that they take a lot of time forecasting how much they’ll make from day-to-day, week to week, and so on. I even believe that this is their number one priority and what they spend most of their waking business hours contemplating. This is because they are rated or graded by their track history or performance. Now what about you? Let me explain.
I don’t need to go over why every business needs a website. Been there done that. I also don’t need to explain how more and more people are losing their jobs and careers and NOT sitting around waiting for a new one – but instead becoming entrepreneurs and small business start-ups. I’m even not going to ask you if you think we’re in another dot-com era, or how mobile apps will be even more vital to a business in the next few years. What I am going to tell you is that as a designer (albeit web, graphic, programming, whatever) your market is only going to continue to grow. All of these people are entering your market in droves all across the country. They need business cards, logos, web sites, letter heads, and corporate identities, and they need all of that yesterday. Sure there are numbers about there that suggest most start-ups don’t last more than 5 years before they fail, but I think even that’s going to change due to there being not many other options past “plan b.”
All of these new businesses have something collectively that major businesses forgot. Customer service. I’m sure you don’t have to think back too long when you last had to call an 800 number and got someone who could less about you, hung up on you after you explained what help you needed, or couldn’t understand what you were saying past the script they need to read you. As a small business, all of these “corporate” gripes are remedied when consumers look towards their local providers. They get:
- Immediate customer support
- Local phone number to someone they probably already met in person
- A physical location to get products or services
- A pleasant customer experience that will be praised to all of their friends
As a designer, you can provide all of that and more with almost little effort than a good attitude and work ethic. Good work is good, but great customer care goes so much further. Especially in a world where a customer’s bad experience can be Tweeted or Facebook’d online for all the world to see. Don’t forget that those posts never come down. As long as you have a solid business plan, have a good work-flow, and know how to treat each of your clients like they’re your only one, you’ll survive this recession and plenty years after.
