Last
updated February, 2002
How
much do you care about your customer?
We keep hearing about how the economy is improving - please
let it be true! Hopefully we've all learned something that
can help us move forward and make us be a better business/partner
for our customers.
It's not about price, although some would
have us believe that. It's about keeping customers happy
and showing them we provide unparalleled service. Value
is the answer more than ever before! It's about letting
them know they can always count on us.
Find out what our customers' needs and
wants are, and over-deliver. Sometimes over-delivering
means taking a phone call when you are busy with something
else. It means showing you care by anticipating their needs.
Take five extra minutes to show someone a little extra
courtesy or ask them how their day is going. It's often
hard to tell what will make a client a loyal customer.
Sometimes it only takes a smile when a customer is having
a bad day.
Being a partner, rather than a vendor,
is the key to success. Remember that the challenges they're
facing are the same problems you commonly face. Try to
put yourself in their place. Work with customers to make
them understand how your product will help their bottom
line.
Salespeople have had to become customer
service people - which is good. It makes us all better
at our jobs and more knowledgeable and helpful for our
customers.
Could your office use a kick-start?
If you feel your office needs some inspiration,
energy and motivation, maybe it's time to try a teambuilding
exercise or two. . .
Why teambuilding?
In a nutshell, the end results of teambuilding include:
Increased self-awareness
Improved interpersonal communication skills
Increased trust and loyalty among coworkers
New-found conflict resolution skills
Development of new management techniques
We know, easier said than done.
How often does your company currently
hold teambuilding sessions?
Your answer may be "never," but having employees work together on non-work-related
topics helps them identify their personal and professional capabilities and
boundaries, allowing them to align their goals accordingly.
What should teambuilding entail?
Find a challenge for your office where everyone involved:
Can act together with confidence and determination
Faces a compelling goal, with all members committed to achieving that goal
Contributes to brainstorming sessions
Speaks openly about their ideas
Listens to others' ideas
What's next?
There are companies that base their business on teaching teambuilding. Some
will come to your office and hold sessions, while others run a weeklong
outdoor adventure course. And would you believe that you and your coworkers
can take a class taught by U.S. men and women fighter pilots? (It's called
Afterburner seminars.)
Chances are the type of bonding experience
you're looking for can be done right under your company's
roof, and you don't even need to hire someone to show you
how to do it! You might want to pick up a book on the topic,
or even surf the web a bit - you'll be surprised by how
much information you can find on teambuilding without even
leaving the office.
Good luck on your teambuilding adventure!
Mapping out your Marketing
We often receive calls from clients
who request only one product.
"We're looking for a brochure."
"Can you design a trade show booth?"
"We want to send out a direct mail piece."
We'll be the first to admit that these
are all great marketing tools. They all help you get your
name out there. They all help you gain some recognition
among a specific audience. They all help you make some
sales. What they don't do is help you get the most out
of your marketing cash. As with any hit-and-miss strategy,
you're always going to get results. But are you going to
get the MAXIMUM results? Probably not. You may be hitting
some of the right people, but there's another audience
out there you may be overlooking.
Whether you're working with a marketing
and public relations firm, or with a marketing team in-house,
effectively putting together cohesive marketing strategies
means starting with the little things, and then mapping
out a path to follow. Look at everything. Do you really
like that logo? Do your business cards show your style?
Is your letterhead pleasing to the eye?
Once you've established the basics, keep
moving forward! Does that brochure really portray what
your company is all about? Is your web site user-friendly?
And then, look at how you're marketing your company. Will
a direct mail piece hit everyone in your target audience?
Is it worth it to place an ad? Will a billboard bring better
results?
Marketing is a like a roadmap. There are
many ways to reach your destination, but there's always
one path that's better than the others. Marketing is a
journey... you know where you are and you know where you
want to be, but you're not going to be able to get there
all on one tank of gas. Make sure you pinpoint your strategies
for refueling so you don't have to worry about running
out along the way.
"Showing
Off" - How to Create a Trade Show Booth that Stands on its Own
It's a creative challenge for even the most savvy marketer
- creating a trade show booth that is creative and different,
bold and exciting, and yet sensible enough not to cost a
fortune. Trade show booths are all about showing off your
company's product to a new crowd, while demonstrating to
them why they need to become your next customer. Want to
attract crowds to your booth at trade shows and conventions
and keep them coming back for more? Follow
these tips:
1. Why are you exhibiting? Trade
show booths with too many themes will leave show-goers
dizzy. Pick and choose the message and theme of your display
carefully, then design the booth to complement it.
2. Pick the right show! You wouldn't
sell lug nuts at a dental convention, would you?! Choose
the show that best targets your primary customers. Doing
a trade show is expensive, so make sure you're getting
the most bang for your buck!
3. If you build it, will they come? Not
if you don't let them know about it! Make sure all potential
and current clients know you're going to a trade show.
Design some pre-show marketing materials and send out invitations
that include your booth number, where your booth is physically
located at the show, and how visitors benefit if they stop
by your booth!
4. Design time. Well, all the preliminary
work is done... now it's time to work on the heart and
soul of the show... your booth. Keep the design clean,
clear and simple... but make sure it's unique enough to
stand out from the crowd. Your booth must dazzle... in
moderation. Be unique... but not weird. Shop around to
find different exhibit ideas, and think about alternative
creators, such as woodworking shops.
5. Turn heads. Your company will
have only a few seconds, sometimes as little as 5 seconds,
to catch the attention of a show attendee. Make sure your
booth has a single focal point and clean simple graphics
so trade show visitors will understand your message immediately...
and be so drawn to it that they stay to chat for a while.
Once in the booth, make sure the environment is comfortable
and inviting. The more relaxed visitors feel, the more
likely they are to stay... and buy.
6. Find out who your visitors really
are. Once you've successfully attracted visitors
to your booth, you need to record their key contact information
and what they were individually interested in so you
can contact them later. Most large shows offer easy ways
to scan in key contact data, but they don't provide a
means to record individual interest.
7. Call me...The excitement and
fun of the trade show is over... but there was a reason
you spent all that money to build an exhibit, wasn't there?!?
By now, you should have several lists full of contact information
from people who visited you during the show. Call them!
The money you spent on the show is wasted unless you generate
some qualified leads.
Maybe you want to refresh the image of your
company, or perhaps you've started a business and it needs
an identity. You'll want marketing, PR, advertising; and of
course,
graphic design to give your company a face.
You never have a second chance to make
a first impression
Graphic design has the ability to tie together a business
and its customers, vendors and staff. It communicates important
messages to the people who have an interest in the company.
Every physical representation of your company
can be skillfully used to shape the consumer opinion. All
those items - stationery, product packaging, brochures,
annual reports, logo, signs, clothing, vehicles, web sites
- offer opportunities for respect, admiration and trust.
A great logo is good for nothing if the
same message it portrays isn't reinforced in the rest of
the marketing materials. Nike's swoosh did not create a
successful company alone - the logo was the iconic part
of a carefully orchestrated communication plan. If Nike
had left it on the side of the shoe and nowhere else, they
would not have taken advantage of the swoosh's reinforcing
power. The designer and client enforce consistency by developing
a standards manual. This is essentially a guide to identity
usage for anyone who is creating a project with the identity.
It ensures that all materials from all areas of the company
reinforce the central message.
Great design is never cheap in quality
and rarely cheap in cost. If a high value is not placed
on what design can achieve for your company, then you are
not thinking in terms of marketing your product or service.
A sales message via design is essential since half of the
world's population is driven by visual stimulation.
When consumers are bombarded by sales messages
for everything, a business must stand out of the clutter,
so your graphic message is the most important work you
can ever do. So work with a knowledgeable designer - this
is money well spent.
Business
resolutions for 2002
How are you at sticking to resolutions for your business?
If it's going the way of the "I will exercise every day" resolution,
we have a few tips to help keep you on track:
Hold weekly planning meetings with
your staff. We all know it's easy to get off-task. By meeting
once a week (maybe even keeping a dry-erase board posted
to track daily progress) you can keep things rolling.
Envision your end goal. Where do
you want your company to be 6 months from now? Figure it
out & work backwards to make it happen.
Delegate. There's no room for "If
you want something done right, do it yourself" here. You
hired each of your employees for a reason, right? Let them
do what they do best so you can focus on building your
business.
Let go of what's not working and
move on. If you're not getting as much as you expected
from a technique or product, move on to something new.
We're creatures of habit, but sometimes habits can do more
harm than good.
Take some time for relaxation & get
your mind off work. You've seen it before: burnout. Don't
let it happen to you! It can be as simple as taking a 2-minute
walk around the office to clear your mind.
Don't let your personal life interfere
with your professional life. If you've ever come
to the office with a sick child on your mind, or perhaps
that late VISA payment, you know your productivity plummets.
Stay focused, and try to leave your home life at home.
