Sometimes your in-house design team have their hands full. When that happens, you may need an extra pair of hands and an extension of your team.
Posts Categorized: Industry hints & tips
Championing local independents…
For most of us it’s a competitive world out there. Many local independents compete against far bigger organisations, with enviable budgets to tell the world about their products and services.
However, they also often lack the invaluable personal touch, that we smaller local businesses pride ourselves upon.
7 Major marketing mistakes to avoid
We market our business to impress and retain our customers, entice new prospects and ultimately make sure new work keeps rolling in. However mistakes in marketing are much more common than you’d think. Here are a few common mistakes, to help you avoid slipping up:
Give your marketing a boost
Promoting your business and engaging with prospects and customers is a must to keep new business rolling in. Yet hiring an all-bells-and-whistles design agency can be expensive and, employing an in-house designer might not be quite what you need.
More than making things “pretty”
Effective graphic design can be critical for the success of a project and compel your audience to respond in the way you want.
Here are some of the top reasons why…
5 tips to avoid a Bland Identity
Bland: (adj) Devoid of any distinctive or stimulating characteristics; uninteresting; dull; insipid; unemotional.
Boring graphic clichés such as swooshes, globes and random shapes will fail to deliver anything meaningful. To catch your customer’s attention, you’ll need something with a bit more substance.
Graphic design becomes a real investment when it engages with and informs your audience.
So make your marketing meaningful by ensuring every piece has something to say. Great design is founded in your company’s history, its vision and, most importantly, why you’re the best option for your valued customers.
How to hook new customers
I recently came across the following quote, which beautifully illustrates the importance of knowing your ideal customer and how best to “hook” them in:
Personally I am very fond of strawberries and cream, but I have found that for some strange reason, fish prefer worms. So when I went fishing, I didn’t think about what I wanted. I thought about what they wanted. I didn’t bait the hook with strawberries and cream. Rather, I dangled a worm or grasshopper in front of the fish and said: “Wouldn’t you like to have that?”
Dale Carnegie
Keep your bait both interesting and relevant to your target audience, appealing to their specific needs and wants. Make it irresistible. Your audience should be left in no doubt as to how or why their life would be so much better if they buy.
Brand Evolution: Consistency vs Fluidity
Developments in modern technology have lead to greater transparency and businesses are now held accountable to a much higher standard than in the past. So brand consistency has never been more crucial when trying to establish a trusted brand that is easily recognisable. Successful corporate identities often feature simplistic, yet comprehensive designs, that are instantly recognisable within their market place.
Five tips to help SMEs grow in 2016
When it comes to attracting new customers, no one really wants to be sold to. So the most effective marketing really engages with new and prospective customers by building up a personal connection with them. By helping customers to become more familiar with our business (and more importantly the people behind the brand), we can build trust and understanding about the amazing benefits we offer, which naturally leads to more sales.
Here are my five top tips to help you better engage with your customers and increase sales for 2016:
How outsourcing can save you money
Design agencies can be very expensive. Yet employing an in-house marketing manager may also be costly. So a popular option for many small businesses is outsourcing their marketing to a small design studio, who really get to know the nuts and bolts of their business and understand how best to connect with their audience.
Could this be the solution for your organisation? Below are four key benefits to help determine whether to farm out for a specific project / regular marketing input: Read more »