Business « GD Success

Finding The Most Effective Marketing Options for Your Business

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

There are a number of new ‘Web 2.0′ marketing tools that can be utilized along with a good email marketing and banner ad campaign. Print advertising is a fantastic way to market your business, but it is also expensive. Here are some other ways to get your name out to the world.

Dynamic Web Tools

Your website can be a brochure site, one that simply organizes and shares information about products, services, and company information. Or your site and be built to work for you. This makes for a very effective marketing tool. We look at your business process and work toward implementing steps of that process into the function of your website. For instance, if you sell a particular service that requires intake forms to be completed before the service and be executed, we can incorporate those steps into the website and automate those steps so the interface between the customer and your business is streamlined. In fact, through automated systems we can remove you entirely from some of the business processes and instead your website can be a business sales generator, processor, and service provider. This works well to establish residual income with some cash cow products and services so you can focus on new developments.

Content is King

We always try to encourage our clients to build websites that are rich in content. Take this page for example on our website. This information is very valuable to many start-ups. By sharing this data we tend to build trust and loyalty. Many times we create Blog systems, ‘Article Libraries’ and ‘Video Libraries’ on websites we build and encourage our clients and their staffs to commit to writing valuable content each month. Doing so creates a sense of your expertise in an area of business. Over time your site will become a trusted resource for this type of information and will drive new and repeat traffic.

Then, once you have content that is of value, allow your visitors to comment on that content. Someone might have something valuable to add and in doing so, your visitors help you build the content on your site. With enough strategic work your site can take on a life of its own. And, don’t worry. We can design the system so that anything that is submitted goes into a staging area that allows you to approve or deny the content. When you approve it the content automatically goes live to the site.

Opt In Email Newsletters

Though typically click through numbers are not particularly high with email marketing campaigns they are very important mainly because the recipients are opted in and have requested to be included in the mailing. Once your website is created with the sign-up components and tied in with a third party e-newsletter provider (or in some cases we have built custom email marketing mail systems), you are on your way to capturing visitor data. It is important to get these tools embedded into your website early on because the sooner you can start to collect information that can help you promote your business the better.

Banner Ads

Designing a banner ad campaign, purchasing, and distributing them across a strategic network of websites is one of the most effective tools for driving traffic to your business website. A great way for you to promote your business on your own is to create a Facebook® ad. What is nice is that you can set how much money you wish to spend per month on banner ad ‘impressions’ (or views) and click throughs. Once your ad has been viewed (based on page loads) your ad simply disappears off the live website. These can be created by you and filtered by you to the audience you prefer and even according to zip codes.

Other banner ads we can design and help you with insertion. In any case, even if you choose not to spend money on banner ads, you should design them and post them on a page of your website. Doing so allows others who like what you are selling or the content you share on your site to post one of your banner ads on their website. Referrals are a great way to drive new business!

Submitted Press Releases

We like the idea of writing formal press releases and submitting them to a variety of news sources both locally and online. The online resources post the press release with a link to your site. These resources are visited by the Search Engine bots and pull that data into their databases. The more this happens the more your site comes up when particular keywords used in press releases are entered by website surfers.

Facebook® Business Page

Though it may seem strange to utilize a social network to promote your business, and of course there is certain discretion you should use in promoting across your friends network to avoid negative feedback, creating a Facebook® business page is a great way to drive new traffic. You are able to share information about your services on the page and then promote that page. When your friends become fans of your business page they are saying they agree to have you market to them through the updates posted on your business page. Adding a button on your own business website to that Facebook® page, and any other share tools with Delicious®, Twitter®, Dig®, and all the others, can create interactivity with your site and give others the ability to promote your business across their networks effectively.

Twitter®

As mentioned above, adding a link to your site to your business twitter page is certainly an effective tool for word of mouth (so to speak) advertising. People can spread the word of your business for you. Let them do it!

Viral Marketing

It is one thing to send out an email that might get passed around by your friends to help you promote a service. It is totally another thing to create a viral marketing campaign. Actually giving people something fun to view on your site that people want to share with their friends can be a great way to drive thousands to your site. In fact, we have done campaigns before that featured a custom flash presentation on a site that was entertaining to the viewer and because it was entertaining it got shared, a lot! This drives unbelievable traffic. You can post a survey on your site, a YouTube® video, a puzzle or animated question and answer quiz. These things can be designed to tie into your product or service with marketing and advertising on that page. It can be fun! It just takes the right idea and that is where we come in. The right idea can actually generate millions of visits if it is done right.

Shared links

Getting others to add links to your website is likely one of the most valuable assets you can acquire when working to increase ranking in search engine results. Why? Because Google has no idea who you are. Their algorithm relies on the opinion of others to determine the validity of your website. That validity is illustrated by not only the number of individuals who link back to your website but the relevance of the Alt tags and key words used in the links. So, by all means get others to link to you. Ask them to use certain words in the Alternate Tag that relate to your specific key words. This will help a lot. Then, give them banner ads to use so not only are you getting the link but, you are getting the impression (the view) of your brand identity. You want to build brand recognition for being ‘THE’ resource for certain information, products, and services when the viewer eventually needs what it is you sell.

Blog marketing

Writing blogs, submitting your articles to other’s blogs, and asking others who run blogs to write about you are also great ways to share information and drive traffic to your website. And, as stated above under shared links, the more others link to you the better. We’ve worked with start-ups in the past that relied almost entirely on paying bloggers to write about their new business. Though we do not advocate this practice because it can create illegitimate content, we do believe in the concept that blogging, being very much like word of mouth marketing, is very effective.

Search Engine Submission

Once your website is complete we can work with you to get your website submitted to the search engines. However, we refrain from doing this until we feel that your website contains the right message, enough valuable content, and proper page titles that match the content on the pages. These days Meta keywords aren’t as important, but Meta page descriptions are still very important. We make sure these are well installed and work as an asset and not a determent to your progress.

Website page titles and SEO

As mentioned above we work to make sure these components are properly installed and work to your advantage and not a disadvantage (which is actually a possibility). Search Engine Optimization is a difficult process and it isn’t one that has a destination. It is certainly a journey.

When you commit to optimize your site for high search engine ranking performance you enter a whole new ball game. There are companies out there that do nothing but SEO, all the time. We don’t. We do, however, make sure your content makes sense and ties in well with your page titles, page descriptions, page keywords, and Alt tags. Then we make sure that what we submit to the search engines matches what is in your site.

Traffic Statistics

Finally, we install traffic statistics systems into your website such as Google Analytics, which generates a daily report of website traffic, and other stats counters that can track real time. With these tools installed you can gain a good overall picture of the performance of your website. Armed with that knowledge daily will help you tweak your message for optimum performance and real conversions.

©Scott C. Leuthold. All rights reserved.
Facebook®, Twitter®, Dig® Google®, Google® Analytics, YouTube®, Delicious® are trademarks of their respective organizations.

Tags: Advertising, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Start-ups, Web 2.0 Services, Word of Mouth
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Brand Consistency

Monday, May 10th, 2010

I admit it. I’m militant about consistency when it comes to design. Building a brand absolutely REQUIRES it. There is nothing more important than the assurance that those who are viewing your material are learning to recognize certain elements as YOURS. The more the public sees your brand consistently the sooner they will learn to recognize who you are and be able to recall the details without you having to push the message. The message will just be known. Your services will come to mind when the service is needed. This is why major corporations establish brand requirements. Logos, for instance must be proportional whenever used. Certain look and feel elements MUST be incorporated into everything you do. The tagline must be used effectively, ALWAYS. These things, used consistently, will move your new company toward success.

I’ve worked on projects in the past for major motion pictures and major national brands. Any design organization that creates products around the movie or brand is given a Style Guide. According to Wikipedia, a Style Guide is described as: A style guidestyle manual is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field. The implementation of a style guide provides uniformity in style and formatting of a document.

Establishing a uniform style for your brand will ensure that every opportunity to share your message is as effective as possible. There should be NO variation from this uniformity. I’ve developed logos and packaging for product lines in the past. Then, as time went on the client’s in-house design team took over utilizing our uniform styles. Unfortunately, some strayed from the consistency that we had established. Logos wouldn’t be proportionally positioned and instead stretched to fit a space rather than designing for the uniform style. In my opinion this lessened the effectiveness of the presentation.

Just remember, keeping your presentations clean and consistent will help potential customers associate your products or services to you.

Tags: Brand Development, Identity
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Impressing Investors

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

Aside from pure financial due diligence, there are a number of factors that can influence an investor’s opinion and ultimate confidence needed to invest their hard-earned money. Obviously, the financials and business plan need to make sense for a clear path to ROI, but what drives the message home? As we say, “A pictures speaks a thousand words.” However, there’s more to that statement in my opinion. More likely, the statement should read “A picture speaks a thousand words, but graphics tell the story.” An established, professional identity, a finely tuned, expressive brand look and feel, and an organized road show presentation consisting of a themed binder, a visual Powerpoint, Flash, or video presentation, and established marketing collateral are key.

I’ve been on road shows and have presented before international investment bankers, manufacturers, and private investors. The right presentation makes all the difference in relationship to the effort needed to sell your opportunity. I am hear to tell you that if the message isn’t straight forward your venture isn’t going to see the success it could without a significant sales pitch. The fewer the questions the fewer barriers to entry.

Consider this. Your potential investor may need to review your materials with a partner that was not present for your face-to-face presentation. They will need to be able to relay what you shared with the materials you’ve given them. Assume that they will fail to present the materials as effectively as you have prepared. Give them the tools they need to succeed!

Tags: Investors, Presentations, Road Shows, Start-ups
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About Taglines

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

What are taglines? These highly effective little snippets of content are a key element in brand recognition. In just a few short words they can be a remarkably effective tool for helping your audience not only understand what you are all about, but remembering what really matters about your business.

Taglines are SHORT and sweet. They make the most important textual statement of your identity. The tagline is often times remembered and recalled when a potential customer visualizes your name. For instance, the tagline ‘Just Do It.’ has become synonymous with Nike. In fact, one hardly even needs to mention the name of the company to know whom it is. Now, of course, Nike has deep pockets to drive that tagline home, but it doesn’t make establishing one any less important. Yes, ‘Just Do It.’ doesn’t necessarily make a clear statement as to what Nike sells, but through proper advertising and marketing measures, they have made it their own. It expresses their personality. It defines their mission. It suggests that we each get out there, get active and accomplish something… and to do so wearing a great pair of shoes designed specifically for what it is you intend to do.

For small business start-ups, I recommend finding a tagline that is catchy and memorable as to the nature of your business. Think of it as your 5 second elevator pitch. If the elevator you were riding stopped at a floor and a golden opportunity stepped on what would you say if you only had 5 seconds to express who you are and what you do?

A friend of mine is a facilitator of sorts. Utilizing her proprietary process, she helps individuals release themselves from limitations that hold them back in life. In her eyes, she believes that most limitations are self-imposed and holding onto them is simply ridiculous. Recently, she stood before an audience of some 1500 individuals who were partaking in a three day event. This was the first day of the event and individuals were being given a preview of the public speakers whom they could sign up to hear speak. The speakers were given only 5 seconds to make their statements. She stood on stage and spoke her pitch. “I help you pull your head out of your ass.” It may be a bit straight forward, but it was effective in a number of ways. The statement was surely memorable because it generated an emotional response. It was straight to the point and it generated intrigue.

Without establishing something that some may find offensive, find your 5 second pitch. Create something that establishes the ‘personality’ of your company or maybe a philosophy behind your business acumen. Why? Because Creative Solutions Encourage Creative Success.

Tags: Brand Development, Business Names, Identity, Start-ups, Trademarks
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The Value of an Identity

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Getting by will do just that. You MUST establish a business identity to build confidence in the potential client that you are there to not only fill their need, but do so in an effective, professional way. Buyers want to know that you are going to be there. When they feel they can trust your business to provide the services now and in the future you will begin to build brand loyalty. And, frankly, a returning customer is as valuable if not more valuable than a first time customer. Why? First, you have already established the trust and confidence. A repeat customer is a satisfied customer. Repeat customers talk to their friends and word of mouth advertising saves you time and money.

So, to start that process you must build confidence in your potential customer and to do that you MUST establish an identity that convinces them even if you are not there to give them the sales pitch.

Tags: Identity, Start-ups, Trademarks
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Know Your Target Audience

Friday, March 12th, 2010

All too often the message new business owners create hasn’t been thought out enough to appeal to their target audience. In fact, sometimes we find that the target audience hasn’t even been precisely researched. You’ve got to know who you are talking to. Once you know WHO you are talking to, the real work begins to determine what it is you want to tell them and how you need to tell it to achieve your intended goals, which more than likely are conversions from potential clients to actual clients.

That includes, by the way, the style of the brand. The right designer can help you establish that message through the graphic elements that make up your identity.

Tags: Brand Development, Creative Process, Identity, Start-ups
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First Impression is Everything

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

Don’t jump the gun. Get all of your ducks in a row before you take any step to promote your new business. First impression is of paramount importance. Most designers understand finances can limit what you can get created at times, but at least have your message hammered out, your identity established, your domain name reserved, and at least some sort of presentation available. That presentation might be a one or two page website, a PDF you can email, or something simple like that.

Ultimately, though, the ideal first impression is to have a name, logo, corporate identity, the first phase of a website with your message and branded, recognizable graphics, a downloadable PDF sales collateral piece and a color handout, and an investor presentation that is perfected and matches your brand identity for your road show presentations.

Beyond that the sky is the limit. A good designer can create everything from effective interactive flash presentations to full-length movies, email marketing, web banner ad campaigns, print ad campaigns, billboards, CD ROM presentations, and everything in between.

Just be sure to take the right first steps forward.

Tags: Brand Development, Identity, Start-ups
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Selecting A Domain Name

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

When selecting a name, aside from the importance of the name in association with your initiatives, there are two key factors that every business owner must consider. Trademark availability and domain name availability.

I’m sorry to have to say this, but if it isn’t available as a ‘dot com’ it isn’t worth reserving unless you have deep pockets to market the name. Unless, of course, if you are setting up a non-profit in which case you may reserve a ‘dot org’. In other words avoid .net, .tv, .me, .us, and the like if at all possible. It is what it is. The general public just doesn’t, at the present time, recognize these names as primary domain names and therefore they simply aren’t remembered and even more importantly, conflict with competitors that own the .com. They will get your traffic.

Try to select a domain that is short. Avoid hyphens and other characters. Remember that the domain name you select will also be your new business email address. You want to be sure that individuals can easily remember your email address. And, as far as design, most designers would rather not have to incorporate a long email or website address when designing business cards.

I recommend that you reserve your domain names through GoDaddy. They offer a very inexpensive option, fast service, and if you already have a few domain names and you transfer them, you typically get a second year free! Visit GoDaddy >

Tags: Business Names, Domain Names, Identity, Internet, Start-ups
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Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

One of the first things we always recommend to our clients is to research name availability at the United States Patent and Trademark office website. An initial self-guided search can help you make surface level decisions about names. To do so, visit the website USPTO.gov. Conduct a TESS search under the Trademark section.

Search USPTO.gov

Note that ‘Live’ means if the trademark is currently active and ‘Dead’ means that the mark is no longer active. Typically the most effective first step is to acquire a ‘Word Mark’. This protects the trademark holder for the words as opposed to a design. As time goes on and finances allow, a more effective trademark will be with the stylized logo design.

Once your search reveals what is out there and you feel at least somewhat safe that the name is not going to cause issues, you can reserve the name by completing the Intent to Use application.

Frankly, I strongly suggest you consult an attorney. We have seen in more than one occasion individuals reserving a name on their own and finding that there was still a conflict even though they felt they were in the clear. A good trademark attorney can do their magic to protect a name, even if there might be possible conflicts. So, just because you see a name being used doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can do to still use it and be protected. And, your personal search on TESS might not turn up any results, but an effective attorney can do a comprehensive search from more than one legal angle to find possible conflicts you might not find on your own.

We have worked with attorneys for years in this process and our designs are always created with trademark protection in mind. If you need a good attorney we can certainly refer you to one of our trusted resources.

Tags: Business Names, Identity, Start-ups, Trademarks
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Selecting a Business Name

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

What is in a name? Think long and hard about your company name. It will be with you for a very long time. Does it represent what you envision for your new company for the foreseeable future? What are your goals and dreams? Where do you see your business in 10 years? Will that name sufficiently represent what those goals and initiatives are that far down the road?

Oftentimes people select names that can’t grow with their initiatives long term. For instance, you wouldn’t want to select 92nd Street Cafe if you envision your concept being franchised nationwide. Is the name short and easy to remember? Can you create a short name that might be an acronym of something longer? Can your name be nicknamed by the public? For instance, The Coca Cola Company is often referred to as simply Coke.

Remember that long names, unless you can come up with an acronym, also mean long logos. A long logo is hard to use consistently on all materials. Size does matter! When it comes to providing your logo to others in the case of sponsorships, advertising, and such, you want the individual designing it to be able to implement your logo easily. For instance, long logos tend to be pushed to the bottom of a grouping of sponsor logos so your logo will always be last. Keeping your name short and your logo a compact package makes for a friendly logo to designers.

Is the name even available? What setbacks could you face if the name is too similar to another recognized name? Regardless of how large or small you intend for your company to become, is the trademark for the name available and is the domain name available? These things are extremely important as first steps.

Tags: Business Names, Identity, Start-ups, Trademarks
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