Is your company website boring even to you? People are more and more obsessed with flashy, bright, shiny objects and websites are no different. Yes, you will need to have killer content on your website that is easy to understand and explains your product or services in a way that will make anyone want to buy it, but first – you have to get their attention – and in a positive way.

A Website is an Experience

As you browse through a site, you experience layout, colors, fonts, photographs, and content until you begin to feel a certain way. Of course, when it comes to your customers, you want that ‘certain way’ to be a positive one, one that converts to sales. Creating those positive experiences through design is what our team does best.

Remodelling: Ideas and Considerations

If you were to think about your website as the large billboard that everyone will see as they sit in a movie theatre and wait for their film to start – what would you want them to see?  I use the theatre example because, in this instance, you have a somewhat captive audience and the time frame is relatively lengthy.  Your website IS a marketing piece and it should fit with your branding as well as your vision and mission for the company.

However, you want more than a brochure or a static, unchanging picture as your website – you want to engage the audience and make them feel that you are right there with them.  This can be done with a custom layout that makes finding information for your users simple and almost automatic, it can be done with content that makes them feel instantly at home and trusting, it can be done with colors that evoke the emotional response you ultimately want your customers to have, and it can be done with images, videos, and sharing options where they can find out what their friends think of your product or service, and inform the rest of their friends of their opinions about you as well.

Your Website is the First Touch

Your website is the first touch you have on your customer; it is extremely important for it to be a positive experience and that it entices your target audience to take that next step and contact you.  Ultimately we have websites to initiate a customer relationship and to sell something, whether it is advice or kitchen spoons, we are all in a business to make some kind of money – whether sales or donations for a non-profit to support a meaningful cause, the desired result is the same. As you have probably heard in business, it takes money to make money. Designing your website is not free – but if it is done correctly, it IS worth it.

Think about it – if you wouldn’t stay on your company website for more than 2 minutes, then why would anyone else?  You have a lot of competition in the online world, so make yourself stand out. If you need ideas or a quote, check out our web portfolio or call us at 775.322.3663 or 800.233.0239

Personal Marketing that’s Still Viable After All These Years

E-mail marketing is one of your best, personal marketing tools on the Web. We integrate it with your marketing strategy to reach new customers, build customer connections and to create a one-on-one dialogue. We use it because it works, and when done right, becomes a valuable resource for both you and your customers.

Our Email Marketing Strategies Work to:

• Drive direct sales to your door
• Create a loyal customer base, and develop trust
• Develop relationships for long-term and repeat sales
• Customize your message to the various segments of your audience
• Integrate e-marketing promotions with corresponding landing pages on your Website
• Position yourself and your company as industry experts and leaders
• Support sales, market sales and events and drive traffic to your doors and your Website.
• Track your customers’ needs and desires, with detailed reports of open and click-through rates

No matter how clever we get with Twitter and Facebook and other public media, E-mail marketing remains the most personal tool in your Internet marketing toolbox.

How Do We Know that Email Marketing Works?

The Proof’s in the Documentation. We’d like to share some recent surveys with you.

• The Ad Effectiveness Survey commissioned by Forbes Media in Feb/March 2009 revealed that email and e-newsletter marketing are considered the second-most effective tool for generating conversions, just behind SEO (reference).
• A November 2009 survey of B2B marketers found that email marketing was likely to see more spending increase than any other form of online marketing, second only to Website development (report).

Modern Email Marketing Solutions

Email Marketing is a contemporary and powerful promotional tool that incorporates a ton of nifty technology. Here are just a few of the things you can do with email marketing:

• Database integration
• List segmentation
• Pre-scheduled delivery
• Analysis of open and click-through rates
• A/B testing
• On-the-fly customized email based on individual profiles
• And so much more!

Plus every email campaign you send out generates actionable data you can use to refine your approach to future messages. All in all, a pretty good way of going about your marketing business!

Ready to launch an effective email marketing for your business?

Contact us today at 775.322.3663 or 800.233.0329, or email us, and we’ll get you started.

Tailor your business or brand to the niche that best suits you!

It is a good idea to put attention and thought into reaching your target audience. It’s a GREAT idea  to know WHO your target audience truly is.  In order to do that effectively, you have to have a clear vision of who you are (as a company or brand) and how you are going to use that special something to your customers’ advantage. So, what kinds of people do you want to have as clients?

Choose wisely!

We have all had those situations where you suddenly realize that while you and your customer are in the same book, there are pages between you, yet you were both under the impression you were communicating clearly. Much of this happens because of differing views on expectations. This can be greatly reduced by following the advice in the article mentioned above – make sure you match the needs and expectations of your customers or clients and they fit the client model you need to be successful.

Be True to Your Brand

The moral of the story is that you have to be true to the essence of who you are (as a brand and a person) and how you want to interact with your customers.  As long as you keep your expectations in alignment with those of your customers or clients, you will not only be a choice with integrity, you will also be their number one choice – because they see themselves as ‘one of you’.  And we all know we’d rather spend time and do business with people that are ‘like us’.

OK, so I admit it… I am a little prejudiced.. but when one has been schooled in all things art, taken advanced classes in typography,  art history, all manner of design and communications, both historical and contemporary, plus being indoctrinated into formal graphic design and communications standards, comic sans becomes mostly taboo except for the true intended use, bubble text in cartoons.

So ban Comic Sans? I say a resounding (& qualified) YES!… (We don’t let children play with matches so why should we let adults play with Comic Sans? OK.. so I digress a little).. My wife says no.. (but that’s a different blog post and likely a different blog) and most people say “But I like it! It’s cute and fun”… well I might be outnumbered in this, so all I can say is you better not put it on my gravestone!

That all said, I leave it to you dear reader, to determine whether Ban Comic Sans is really the best approach.

Here’s a great little video that captures some of the reasons why Comic Sans should be only used after careful consideration.

Enjoy!

Comic Sans from Sam and Anita on Vimeo.