marketing 101
Start with Why (part 1)
Ben Sandberg - PDX Fix It
I started working with a friend of mine that is a local Joomla web developer that was looking to rebrand himself.
I have started this new book by Simon Sinek, "Start with Why". All I can say is that I usually start off the conversation with, "What is your PURPOSE".
WEEK 1
We went through the discovery process and researching his competition and target market. I went through and made four pages of conceptional ideas.
WEEK 2
Looked at mood board printouts with various colors and images (icons). Dug deeper into what was his "purpose". By discussing more he found that he had quite a few different directions he could take his company.
WEEK 3
Presentation of three polished concepts that I liked and completely identified his personality. My challenge was to make his brand memorable and his company's URL to stick in his customer's head. We also talked about what are the descriptive key words that describe him and his business. So if your potential clients are trying to look for you what would they Google search for?
I really thought that makes Ben unforgettable is that he is always wearing those shoes that have the toes sticking out. He loves those and I think that it is one of the funniest things that I will always remember about him.
Ben told me that his wife, Amanda, was really impressed with the brand discovery process and wanted me to do her company's logo. It is really nice to have people that are excited and see the real value of having a purpose.
QR code tips
Better have a Smart Phone!
If you are designed any marketing piece with a QR code I recommend that you test it out before you send it out to the masses.
1. Reversing QR Code
I designed a piece where I vectorized the QR code and reversed it so that it was white on a solid color. I would also check when using on colors that have the same hue/value. Result: It doesn't work!
2. Let the user know where it takes them
Like I have in the sample above, "for more info go to our website". It is better to inform and not frustrate.
Please let me know if you have any other QR tips & tricks.
Favor for Innovative Entrepreneur
Meet Chuck from E-Zee Fence Post Repair.
I got a referral from a friend of mine. I called and I met Chuck at Starbucks. We exchanged business cards and I was trying not to let my jaw hit the ground! I looked at his business card and was frustrated because I didn't know what his logo or product was. He asked me what I thought of it…
There were a couple of problems:
1. I asked him how he picked his company's name "E-Zee Fence Post Repair"
CHUCK'S ANSWER:
It described the ease of using the product. Unfortunately, there is another company with the name EZ Fence and E-Z Fence products.
* This is a big branding problem if you are trying to sell a product that conflicts with competitor names. Most of the time the buyer will go with the first one that he finds.
2. His company card didn't have a logo that makes product memorable to target market.
I took some time to explain how branding works for your business. The card that the designer created had three different icons on it. The recycle bug, the fence and the "President's Club" logo.
He explained that his background was in sales and that the designer that he hired basically created the pieces without any reasoning. And billed him $1500.00 to boot!
3. The designer didn't use any bleeds on the card (which normally has the card cut unevenly). It also tells me that he probably had it printed online to cut his costs.
4. Used all CAPS for the long business name. It is harder to read both for print & web.
5. The designer's "Before" business card didn't stick out. I told Chuck that he needed to have a sticker of his brand on the product (I will show in another post). I presented his card with a blue and red logo (which really popped). Chuck didn't want his logo to have that much attention so we compromised on a brown color.
I told Chuck that I would help him out with his branding and all his marketing. I knew that he didn't have very much more money to spend before he went broke, so I put a little time in this project. My goal is to do the right thing and give Chuck some marketing that would help his business and look professional. He has been very happy with his new campaign. Unfortunately, I met with a public relations specialist, Amber Dennis and she told me that Chuck should rethink his whole business name but he couldn't afford to spend anymore time (or money) with branding his product. I did the best with the cards I was dealt and it was a HUGE STEP for Chuck and his business!
My next post will show the brochure that I created for E-Zee Fence Post Repair.
