The world of design is, to some, often surrounded in mystery so let’s erase some myths (I have heard all of these first hand) –
Myth – Design is about making marketing look nice
Truth – No, no, no design is not about making things look pretty, design is fundamental to the structure of the marketing, design is actually about making it work, it is about creating mood, attracting attention and initiating an action. We don’t design marketing to make it pretty and colourful, we design to make it work.
Myth – I’ve got some free design software on my PC therefore I don’t need to invest in professional design
Truth – Unless you have design experience or qualifications then I am afraid you should probably invest in some advice. As they say you don’t get a second chance at a first impression, bad design costs but good design pays. By all means come up with some ideas even some layouts but my advice would be to let the final version be done professionally, trust me as I have been asked to print a number of homemade designs!
Myth – I’m only a small company, I don’t need any design.
Truth – All the marketing you put out reflects your company, by not investing in design you risk tarnishing your name before you have even started and it can take an awfully long time to rebuild a business reputation. Remember no matter what your business does you need to reflect a professional image, if your business cards look part-time then people will assume the business is amateur.
Myth - Loads of sites have readily available templates so design is not needed
Truth - Yes there are plenty of template based sites that you can use. however you run the risk of coming across the same design everywhere you go, I have been to an event and 2 book-keepers passed around exactly the same card, the only difference was the details. What kind of image does that portray? I would hope that your business is unique in some way and therefore so should your marketing, how else will people know it’s you?
Myth - I'm getting it professionally printed so the design isn't important
Truth - The assumption that somehow in-between the file being sent to the printer and it actually being printed that it is going to miraculously become 'designed' without paying for the service is unlikely, if you are taking the time and money to have it professionally printed then you should definitely invest in design or you risk throwing the money away with a poor design on good quality paper!
Showing posts with label business cards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business cards. Show all posts
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Top Ten Reasons to Print
In light of my previous blogs I wanted to go back to basics to run through the different benefits that print can bring to a business, often businesses produce business cards because they feel it is the thing to do or they produce a leaflet when they desperately need more business, however print can offer much more than this, here are my top ten reasons –
1) Help to win new business – of course this is the obvious one, print can be used in various guises to help win new clients - flyers, leaflets and brochures are the obvious examples. This is the main reason why most of my clients come to me ‘because they want more business’
2) Help to retain existing business – often a missed opportunity as it costs 7 times as much to win new business as it does to retain an existing client, print can help by keeping you in contact with your customers, why not send them a newsletter to keep the contact or offer them a loyalty card.
3) Help to maximise your existing clients – a combination of the first 2 points, you can use a variety of methods to up sell to your current clients, they are already hot leads so maximise these first with exclusive offers via a flyer or a voucher for another product or service.
4) Help to maintain your brand – by keeping a consistent image throughout your marketing you can increase the awareness of your brand, print plays a big part from your business cards to your letterheads and brochures your image needs to be one of consistency or you will cause confusion
5) Provide information – whether you just want to tell your clients you are moving premises or you have a brand new product to launch print can help in the communication process by updating your contacts either via a letter or by a leaflet.
6) Reduce missed appointments – this is more of an issue in certain sectors such as the medical and beauty industries, by using appointment cards and sending out reminders you can help reduce missed appointments – great for dentists, hair salons and beauty therapists.
7) Promote events – maybe you are having an open day or launching a new product, either way print is a great way of both promoting the initial event through brochures and leaflets and also staying in touch via letterheads.
8) Find out information – create a customer survey to see how you are viewed or maybe produce a market research document to test the market, these are both valid reasons to produce printed literature which can be filled in and returned for data capture.
9) Provide a point of contact – how will people know how to contact you after you have left the meeting? business cards have the primary purpose of providing contact details, if you have nothing to leave then the chances are you’ll be forgotten!
10) Because some people like it – Not everybody likes to receive information via email or to be pointed to websites, print is still popular as some people just like to hold something in their hands. Mmm matt laminated….
So print has a number of uses and they are not limited to the above, if you have a business and have a message to get out or a target to reach then let us know and we will be full of useful ideas.
Have you seen #BeMyGuest on Twitter? It's a great new idea via @EmilyCagle to help develop new relationships and create mutual Blogs, if anybody is interested in mutual blogging then please let me know. Full details are available at http://bit.ly/bemyguest
1) Help to win new business – of course this is the obvious one, print can be used in various guises to help win new clients - flyers, leaflets and brochures are the obvious examples. This is the main reason why most of my clients come to me ‘because they want more business’
2) Help to retain existing business – often a missed opportunity as it costs 7 times as much to win new business as it does to retain an existing client, print can help by keeping you in contact with your customers, why not send them a newsletter to keep the contact or offer them a loyalty card.
3) Help to maximise your existing clients – a combination of the first 2 points, you can use a variety of methods to up sell to your current clients, they are already hot leads so maximise these first with exclusive offers via a flyer or a voucher for another product or service.
4) Help to maintain your brand – by keeping a consistent image throughout your marketing you can increase the awareness of your brand, print plays a big part from your business cards to your letterheads and brochures your image needs to be one of consistency or you will cause confusion
5) Provide information – whether you just want to tell your clients you are moving premises or you have a brand new product to launch print can help in the communication process by updating your contacts either via a letter or by a leaflet.
6) Reduce missed appointments – this is more of an issue in certain sectors such as the medical and beauty industries, by using appointment cards and sending out reminders you can help reduce missed appointments – great for dentists, hair salons and beauty therapists.
7) Promote events – maybe you are having an open day or launching a new product, either way print is a great way of both promoting the initial event through brochures and leaflets and also staying in touch via letterheads.
8) Find out information – create a customer survey to see how you are viewed or maybe produce a market research document to test the market, these are both valid reasons to produce printed literature which can be filled in and returned for data capture.
9) Provide a point of contact – how will people know how to contact you after you have left the meeting? business cards have the primary purpose of providing contact details, if you have nothing to leave then the chances are you’ll be forgotten!
10) Because some people like it – Not everybody likes to receive information via email or to be pointed to websites, print is still popular as some people just like to hold something in their hands. Mmm matt laminated….
So print has a number of uses and they are not limited to the above, if you have a business and have a message to get out or a target to reach then let us know and we will be full of useful ideas.
Have you seen #BeMyGuest on Twitter? It's a great new idea via @EmilyCagle to help develop new relationships and create mutual Blogs, if anybody is interested in mutual blogging then please let me know. Full details are available at http://bit.ly/bemyguest
Monday, 7 December 2009
One for all, all for one?
One of the key questions I ask any business that comes to see me is - Who is your target market? (or something along those lines) - Unfortunately too many businesses actually haven't thought this through, sorry I take that back - they have thought it through but just not specifically enough. The common answer is something like 'well everybody really' or 'all businesses'. Now as someone involved in marketing this makes my job rather difficult, you see it is very hard to produce any type of marketing that simply targets everyone, if you see any campaign be it a TV ad or magazine piece, they all appeal specifically in some way (by age, sex, class etc).
The associated hurdle to overcome with clients is the fear that they may exclude someone; this is a common fear for many small businesses as they feel their marketing should encompass everyone. The danger with this is that it becomes unfocussed and untargeted, the result is an unclear, mixed message that attracts very few. By simply addressing a section of your target audience with a specific piece of marketing you will instantly increase your return on investment as, if done correctly, it will focus on their concerns and engage with them.
Each section of any market place differs from the next, small businesses have different buying needs to a corporate, young females buy differently to older males, I could go on, the essence is you need to look at each piece of marketing differently, everything from the colour schemes to fonts to images make a difference.
Some examples of work done to market more specifically (it is not as hard as you may think) are below –
- 2 sets of business cards for an estate agent – 1 for residential and 1 for commercial
- A flyer for a plumber targeting only boiler installs
- A leaflet for a language translator aimed only at schools
- Stationery for a photographer – 1 for weddings and 1 for portraits
Perception is key in all marketing, by having wedding specific stationery the Photographer appears to specialise in that field and so the customer perception will be different to that of someone who does a bit of everything and may indeed make the difference on the sale.
So next time you decide to do some marketing just bear in mind that by trying to be all to everyone you may become very little to very few.
The associated hurdle to overcome with clients is the fear that they may exclude someone; this is a common fear for many small businesses as they feel their marketing should encompass everyone. The danger with this is that it becomes unfocussed and untargeted, the result is an unclear, mixed message that attracts very few. By simply addressing a section of your target audience with a specific piece of marketing you will instantly increase your return on investment as, if done correctly, it will focus on their concerns and engage with them.
Each section of any market place differs from the next, small businesses have different buying needs to a corporate, young females buy differently to older males, I could go on, the essence is you need to look at each piece of marketing differently, everything from the colour schemes to fonts to images make a difference.
Some examples of work done to market more specifically (it is not as hard as you may think) are below –
- 2 sets of business cards for an estate agent – 1 for residential and 1 for commercial
- A flyer for a plumber targeting only boiler installs
- A leaflet for a language translator aimed only at schools
- Stationery for a photographer – 1 for weddings and 1 for portraits
Perception is key in all marketing, by having wedding specific stationery the Photographer appears to specialise in that field and so the customer perception will be different to that of someone who does a bit of everything and may indeed make the difference on the sale.
So next time you decide to do some marketing just bear in mind that by trying to be all to everyone you may become very little to very few.
Friday, 30 October 2009
Business Card Tips
Welcome to my 1st blog, as you can probably imagine I see a number of business cards in my day to day business, some are fantastic, some are ok and some are just not. The business card is one of the most important sales tools that businesses have, it is often the first piece of literature that you will receive as a possible buyer and as they say first impressions count.
I have compiled a list of ideas that businesses should be doing, none of it is rocket science but its surprising how many cards don't work -
1. Back to basics
Remember what the card is for.
- It’s there to say ‘contact me’
- Make sure it’s consistent with your brand
- Make it grab the attention of your target market
- Have the correct details on - name, title, business name, logo and phone numbers, plus address, email and website.
2. Touchy touchy
The feel of your card is the first thing someone notices when they receive it. A flimsy and uninteresting card says that you haven’t put any effort in and if you can't be bothered producing a quality business card then you may not bother providing a decent product or service. Some options -
- Silk
- Uncoated (natural feeling)
- Matt (luxury – gives of a feeling of high class)
- Gloss (great to make photos stand out)
- Starmarque – (known as Spot UV or gloss highlight)
3. Colours
The colour of your card should relate to your personality, your type of business and your most importantly your target market.
- Medical related businesses often use a lot of white space for cleanliness
- Greens give off a feeling of environmental influences
- Bold / bright colours for younger audience
4. Fonts
Remove all barriers to contact
- avoid using fonts smaller than 10 point.
- avoid using fancy or decorative fonts that may be difficult to read or capable of being misread.
5. Images
Images Can help lift the card and make what you do / who you are obvious but make sure it does not clutter or detract from the actual purpose of the card.
- Logo should always be on
- Image related to industry – flowers if a florist / phones if a phone retailer
- Photo of products or premises
- Your own photo (personal touch)
6. Make use of the space
It is important to make your business card as effective as possible, so it is important to use all of the available space, including the back.
- product or service information (bullet points)
- appointment information (great for hair and beauty / health professionals)
- calendars (tax dates if an accountant)
- special offers (10% off with this card)
- customer testimonials
- Map (great if you’re a retailer or invite businesses to come and see you)
- Tag line
7. Cut out the opposition
Although size is important there is no reason that you can’t be a bit different, why not add rounded corners for a ‘credit card’ effect or even round just 1 corner for an impact.
Another option if you really have a lot to say is to have a folded card, this gives you double the space but be careful not to over do it.
8. 1 for all, all for 1 – not always the case
If you market to different groups or offer several types or ranges of products and services consider having different cards for each. You can be much more specific and focus much more on the benefits to the individual market
- An electrician could have 1 card for commercial and 1 for domestic
- An IT consultant could have 1 for hardware / software and 1 for repairs
- A cake designer could have 1 specifically for weddings and 1 for birthdays
So there we have it, hopefully my first blog was of interest and has given everyone some thoughts.
I have compiled a list of ideas that businesses should be doing, none of it is rocket science but its surprising how many cards don't work -
1. Back to basics
Remember what the card is for.
- It’s there to say ‘contact me’
- Make sure it’s consistent with your brand
- Make it grab the attention of your target market
- Have the correct details on - name, title, business name, logo and phone numbers, plus address, email and website.
2. Touchy touchy
The feel of your card is the first thing someone notices when they receive it. A flimsy and uninteresting card says that you haven’t put any effort in and if you can't be bothered producing a quality business card then you may not bother providing a decent product or service. Some options -
- Silk
- Uncoated (natural feeling)
- Matt (luxury – gives of a feeling of high class)
- Gloss (great to make photos stand out)
- Starmarque – (known as Spot UV or gloss highlight)
3. Colours
The colour of your card should relate to your personality, your type of business and your most importantly your target market.
- Medical related businesses often use a lot of white space for cleanliness
- Greens give off a feeling of environmental influences
- Bold / bright colours for younger audience
4. Fonts
Remove all barriers to contact
- avoid using fonts smaller than 10 point.
- avoid using fancy or decorative fonts that may be difficult to read or capable of being misread.
5. Images
Images Can help lift the card and make what you do / who you are obvious but make sure it does not clutter or detract from the actual purpose of the card.
- Logo should always be on
- Image related to industry – flowers if a florist / phones if a phone retailer
- Photo of products or premises
- Your own photo (personal touch)
6. Make use of the space
It is important to make your business card as effective as possible, so it is important to use all of the available space, including the back.
- product or service information (bullet points)
- appointment information (great for hair and beauty / health professionals)
- calendars (tax dates if an accountant)
- special offers (10% off with this card)
- customer testimonials
- Map (great if you’re a retailer or invite businesses to come and see you)
- Tag line
7. Cut out the opposition
Although size is important there is no reason that you can’t be a bit different, why not add rounded corners for a ‘credit card’ effect or even round just 1 corner for an impact.
Another option if you really have a lot to say is to have a folded card, this gives you double the space but be careful not to over do it.
8. 1 for all, all for 1 – not always the case
If you market to different groups or offer several types or ranges of products and services consider having different cards for each. You can be much more specific and focus much more on the benefits to the individual market
- An electrician could have 1 card for commercial and 1 for domestic
- An IT consultant could have 1 for hardware / software and 1 for repairs
- A cake designer could have 1 specifically for weddings and 1 for birthdays
So there we have it, hopefully my first blog was of interest and has given everyone some thoughts.
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