CWI Media, LLC
By Donna Cope
Can you imagine getting ready to take a several-day long road trip and not taking along a map or GPS? You may eventually get there, but without direction, the trip is going to take much longer and you may never even reach your destination.
Now imagine you are going to buy a house. You find a real estate agent and tell them you want to buy a three bedroom house, but that’s it. Without giving the agent further direction (i.e. location, lot size, type of home, etc.), the agent is going to have a hard time finding what you are looking for (if they will be able to at all) and it will take much longer. Most people understand this and wouldn’t send an agent out without giving them direction.
The same principle applies when creating marketing materials, graphic design projects and web sites. The project can take several days, even weeks, but without direction from the client; the project will take much longer and may not end up being exactly what the client had envisioned. Just as directions are important when you are traveling, important to give to your real estate agent and important to give to any other person you hire to assist you in your personal life or business, directions are vital when hiring someone to assist you with your marketing projects. Directions save you time and money.
It’s not realistic to tell your graphic or web designer, “I sell cookies, please make me a cookie logo and a web site about cookies.” Then expect to have a fabulous logo and web site three days later. To get exactly what you are looking for, you’ll need to supply some direction. For example, how many pages do you need your web site to be? Will you need hosting? Are you planning to sell your cookies from your web site? Do you want your logo to have a more contemporary look or something more traditional? Are there any colors you want to use or avoid using?
No matter how talented or qualified your marketing professional is, no one can create your perfect marketing materials without a little direction from you. Try to have an idea of what you want to accomplish with your marketing project, what you like or don’t like, what your budget is, etc. prior to hiring someone. It will definitely save you time and money in the long run!
By Donna Cope
So, I’m wearing my marketing hat again. I know what you’re thinking; what does the itsy-bitsy spider have to do with marketing? Glad you asked. I was thinking about this children’s song yesterday when I found a frozen spider on my deck. No kidding, he was frozen solid inside of his web. This spider didn’t make it back up the water spout. I’m sure you all know the song about a very small spider that climbs up the water spout, until the rain comes. The rain washed the spider away, but when the sun came back out, so did the spider. Great, the spider was persistent, but only persistent when it was comfortable for him. He was only persistent when the conditions were perfect.
Let’s pretend the rain is our current economic times and the water spout is your company’s marketing. Don’t wait until the rain (current economic times) ends to start back up that water spout (marketing your company)! Studies have shown that once you cut your marketing budget, it takes an enormous effort to get your marketing back up to snuff and your branding back on track. Branding yourself is like tending to a garden. If you consistently take care of it, it will provide you with sustenance. This sustenance will save you money, since you won’t need to go to they grocery store to buy it. But, if you stop watering your garden (especially during a drought), it won’t produce. Now you are stuck spending more money in the long run and getting produce from the grocery store that may not be as good as if you had continued taking care of the garden, even during the dry spell.
Don’t be the itsy-bitsy spider. Don’t wait until the weather is better to climb back up that water spout. Be consistent with your marketing, even during these economic times so you don’t lose all the hard work you have already put into branding your company.
By Donna Cope
What does your logo say about you? Do you even have one? In order to effectively brand your business and stand out in the market, a logo is a must. A logo also gives your business credibility. People perceive the business or person with a logo to be more established than the business or person that doesn’t.
But not just any logo will do. Your logo needs to stand out and be memorable. When creating a logo, make sure it reflects your business. You want people to see your logo and have some idea as to what you do or what service you provide. For example, if you are a florist, having a boat incorporated into your logo simply because it’s your favorite type of boat, might not be the most effective design.
Make sure your logo is easy to read. If the fonts are too extravagant to read, people won’t. Also, don’t underestimate the effectiveness of a simple design. You don’t want your logo to be too busy. You want to attract the reader and keep them.
Another thing to keep in mind - be careful with color. Too many colors may be overwhelming and difficult to reproduce, so limit it to two, three max. Make sure your colors compliment each other, not compete with each other.
And finally, create a clever tag line to go with your logo. Tag lines should be three to seven words and let the reader know the benefit of working with you.
Effective logo design is best done by professionals who listen to your needs and message and work with you to create the optimum logo for your business. If you would like help creating a unique, effective logo design, contact Donna at donna@cwimedia.com.
By Donna Cope
I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I use sites such as Facebook to network. Does it really work? The simple answer is, yes! If used effectively, these sites can help build customer relationships, which is essential in gaining customer loyalty (we all want repeat business, right?), they put you in more places (the more places you are, the easier it is for someone to find you) and let’s not forget, it’s free advertising.
One thing to remember when marketing yourself is that people like to work with someone they know, or feel like they know. Why? Comfort and trust. You trust someone you know more than someone you don’t know. You feel more comfortable working with a familiar face, rather than a stranger. You are also more likely to be a loyal, returning customer to someone you have a relationship with, be it a personal relationship or a business one.
Having a client on your Facebook page offers them the opportunity to feel like they know you or at least are familiar with you. It offers you the opportunity to be in front of them on a daily basis at no cost. You can post your message or any updates on your company every day if you choose and your clients will be notified as soon as you do it, FREE advertising.
I have created special offers only for my Facebook clients and have made new connections that I may not have without it. As an example (names and occupations have been changed), I have a client named Jane who runs a home health care company. Each of her therapists and nurses are responsible for their own business cards, marketing materials and clientele and Jane provides them with the name recognition of her franchise. When Jane became a friend of mine on Facebook she referred several of her employees to me on the site, employees that I did not yet have as clients.
A simple friend request message to Jane’s employees introducing myself and my connection to Jane and… VOILA! A new potential customer that I may not have reached otherwise is now seeing my name and receiving my updates on a daily basis.
This new customer now has the opportunity to “get to know me” and what I offer. They also get to see all of their colleagues that are clients of mine and on my page as well. If it takes several months of offers and updates on my Facebook account to get that ONE new customer to make a purchase, it was worth it. Why? Because I did not spend one dime, so the rate of return is 100%. I have also had the opportunity to build relationships with current clients improving the likelihood of repeat business, so there is no loss.
Something that people struggle with is separating the personal from the professional. If you don’t want potential clients to know too much about your personal life, the answer is simple. Create a separate Facebook page. I have a few friends that have done this and it works well for them. Have one page that is your personal page where you can feel free to put your personal views and beliefs and share it with your close friends and family. Have your second Facebook page for networking only. On this page keep it strictly professional and have only your clients and networking contacts. It may seem like a lot to keep up with, but there are sites such as Ping.fm that lets you update all of your sites from one place. Another thing to consider is the 5 minutes it takes to post an update on your profile is worth it when you land that big client and receive that repeat business.
If used effectively, Facebook and other social networking sites can be an extremely beneficial and a completely free marketing tool. You may not land that huge client right away, but the more places they can find you, the greater your chances of gaining them as your client. Not to mention the customer loyalty you can build from these sites. It’s free, it can be fun and it’s effective, so why not?
