Marvellous Monthly Marketing Tips

The trouble with stock photos

I'm a huge fan of stock photography. It's a cost effective way of adding interest to your marketing literature as well powerfully communicating to your customers. But it does have it's downsides...

When we created the Grow Your Business brand back in 2007 we selected an image of a girl on istockphoto to be our 'face' of Grow Your Business. Over time she's come to be a strong representation of Grow Your Business in the local area, and is synonymous with our branding. But the trouble with stock photos, is that they're just that: stock photos. Which means that anyone can use them. Even if you pay a lot of money for exclusive use, you will still see the same model popping up. 

As she did in the Daily Mail franchise section for a care home franchise!

So the only way to protect against this is to have decent, professional photographs taken and use your own model. Or accept that if you use a stock photo, you're going to see it in a few other places!

The power of colour

Colour has a strong effect on people. It can influence mood and behaviour and cause people to have very specific emotive reactions. What many people don't realise is that you can use colour to communicate powerfully with your clients.

When we're creating a new corporate identity for a client we'll always consider colour very carefully. We'll listen to what impression the client wishes to create, and we'll select fonts and colours that send out those signals.

Take a look at the logo we're creating for a client (above). Every time I've spoken to Sarah (the MD) she has exuded energy, impact and inspiration. She's a strong force who can open doors for her clients, and we needed to communicate that energy in her logo. When Sarah left our office after our branding meeting I sensed that this turquoise would be ideal for her as it completely encapsulates her energy. We tempered it with a grey so that it wasn't too full on for her clients!

Interestingly, this was the logo that Sarah has selected for us to refine. Watch this space for the finished artwork!

Do you have a brand people can fall in love with?

Brands generally fall into one of three camps. Downright dreadful, professional but a little safe and bland, or lipsmackingly gorgeously, personality-ful brands that people can really fall in love with.

Seth Godin talks about how people have to decide whether they're going to create a brand that people fall in love with, or one that's just less annoying. Personally, I'd plump for the former.

Brands that people can fall in love with are more resilient. People who are truly in love with a brand will buy more, more often and they'll forgive more easily when you make a mistake. People who are in love with a brand will remain more loyal and become more profitable customers.

Great brands that people can fall in love with are Ikea (annoying, but their loyal clients love them!), Virgin, and (of course!) printing.com. All of these brands have identities that are bigger than their logos. They have strong visual identities, but the brand also comes across in the 'voice' and the service that's on offer.

So how can you create a brand that people can fall in love with?

1. Think carefully about what makes you unique and how that resonates with your target audience
2. Create a compelling brand promise that you know you can deliver  
3. Create a strong visual identity that communicates your brand powerfully 
4. Make sure you deliver outstanding service  

You can download your free 'brand profitably' article which will give you plenty of tips and insights into 

creating a brand people can fall in love with. 

Should you have a separate logo for social media?

Those of you that follow me on twitter will have noticed me getting my knickers in a bit of a twist over the past 24 hours over the issue of inconsistency when it comes to logos.

I've noticed a few twitter backgrounds and ecademy profiles where the logos are similar but not the same as the originals on the website. Some of these are small companies, others are multi-national companies. In two cases it seems that the 'graphic designer' has recreated the logo but with some inconsistencies. Now this is a problem for two reasons:

1. it's inconsistent with your branding
2. it won't send out the desired effect that was so carefully constructed when your logo was created  

When good graphic designers create a logo, they spend a long time thinking about the emotive response fonts and colours will create. They pick a particular font for a reason, and use specific colours, for a reason. If you let someone recreate your logo then they risk damaging that design, not to mention wasting everyone's time.

There is never, ever any need to recreate a logo for a website. No reason whatsoever. If you have a logo that you love, then you **must** protect it. Don't let anyone recreate it, redesign it or mess with it. You're going to be sending out inconsistent and unprofessional signals.

And do you need a separate logo for social media? Well I can't see any good reason. But perhaps you can - I'd love to hear it!

In the studio this week... Flyer design for a swimming pool company

Phew! It's hot.

What could be more refreshing than a dip in your own pool? For Chloe this week that was just a tantalising dream. One of her projects this week has been to design a flyer for Poolman, an Essex based swimming pool installation and maintenance company.

What I think works well on this flyer is that Chloe has managed to organise quite a lot of complex information and a number of offers into a format that's clean, clear and easy to read. It's bold, striking and fresh and spot on for such a boiling summer!

In the studio this week... Website design for Plantpassion in Guildford

It's not often that I get to flex my design muscles for client jobs. I usually leave them in the incredibly capable hands of my design team: Caroline, Rob and Chloe. But this month I fancied a challenge! Claire Brown runs successful gardening company Plantpassion and came to us with an exciting brief:

Create a design for her website that would capture the energy and inspiration that her company delivers. Claire's husband is an IT programmer and he built her current website, so she asked us to create a brand manual for her and mock up a design for a website homepage that he could then construct.

We love a design challenge so I set to work.

Here's Claire's current website: 

It's ok, but to be honest it lacks impact. The photograph isn't great, the white background means that the page just seems to float off and the testimonial looks slightly out of place. The blue font doesn't really fit with the branding - which is strong and inspiring. The blue looks rather insipid and out of place by contrast. Crucially, there are no contact details in the header - an absolute essential when you're creating a website.

Claire and I both agreed that the new design needed to have much more visual punch. Claire had noticed that the number of email enquiries she received through her site had dwindled, despite the number of hits increasing - so we needed to invite people to interact with Claire.

Here's my mockup for Claire's new website.

What do you think? Claire is pretty chuffed and if I'm honest I am rather strutting round like a pigeon at the moment! The images add a lot more punch, visual impact and most importantly, help people work out where they want to go next (something I've been meaning to add to my own site for some time but you know the saying, cobblers shoes...).

The handwriting font adds a touch of Claire's personality and encourages people to engage with her. The pink is an unexpected touch for a gardener, but one that works well with her logo and marks her out from all the other Surrey gardeners! Personally I love the envelope which just adds another visual reminder to connect with Claire. And if you look very closely, you might spot a pregnant gardener in amongst her vegetables who designed the website. ;-)

What do you think?

Disappointing moments of truth in dentistry

I went to the dentist today. Now I don't mind going to the dentist, but we've just moved to a new practice and I walked in to the surgery in a foul mood. Why? Because the last time I went the dentist was 25 minutes late, failed to apologise for this and was, frankly, rude.

On top of this the paint was peeling in the waiting room, the chairs were filthy and there was a damp 

patch on the ceiling above the dentists chair. 

I left with a bitter taste in my mouth and a very poor impression of the practice.

Going back in today my hackles were up. I hadn't had a great experience last time and the practice's lack of a brand identity didn't reassure me that this was a surgery that took pride in itself or it's services. I was very tempted to walk out.

And then I met the hygeinist. Slowly, her communication, confidence and professionalism shone through. She managed to effectively communicate with me and I left feeling much warmer about the place. I'm still absolutely not a raving fan, but her professionalism has certainly made me look at them in a different light.

But why did the practice make this hygeinist's life so difficult? Why the shabby paint, the dated waiting room and the lack of a logo and brand identity? I would have been much more reassured, on time and in a better mood had they created the right first impression.

Many people think they don't need to think about branding because if their services are good enough their professionalism will shine through. Well newsflash! You are damaging your business and missing opportunities if you think that you don't need to worry about how your business looks to the outside world.

There is a serious branding opportunity with this dental practice: they need to get together as a team and work out exactly what impression they want to create to their target audience. They need to think about how they communicate that visually, but also in terms of the service they deliver. They absolutely need to sort out the waiting rooms and treatment rooms and they need a strong brand identity.

Will it cost them money? Absolutely. But once it's done, they'll win a lot more business, they'll instill confidence in their clients and they'll have a more profitable practice. What do you think?

Do you have a lovely logo or a strong brand identity?

If you're serious about your business you'll agree that having a logo that sends out the right signals is an essential part of attracting, engaging and retaining the right sort of clients. But many business owners make the mistake of thinking that once they've ordered their lovely logo they can put a tick in the box thinking that their rebranding is 'done'!

Strong brands carefully manage their communications. They make sure that they not only put their lovely new logos on everything, but that they also use a 'house style': the right fonts, the right colours and a design style that is clearly 'them'. 

This brochure we created for Surrey based wine merchant Imbibros forms a part of a strong, cohesive brand identity that encapsulates the business owner's style and communicates powerfully with their clients.

Your logo is just one part of your brand identity. It's an important part, but it is just one element. To maximise on the potential of your business brand you need to think like your customers. What is it that they're going to see when they come into contact with your business? Your website? Your twitter background? A powerpoint presentation? An email from you? Perhaps it's your company van or business premises?

All of these elements provide Moments of Truth for your customers and potential customers. Moments of truth is a phrase coined by Jan Carlzon based on the idea that any time someone comes into contact with your organisation they're going to form an impression, positive or negative, based on what they see. So don't make the mistake of 'rebranding' your business with a lovely new logo and then failing to implement it!

To discover more about how to create a powerful brand download your complimentary copy of our Brand Profitably guide today.

Is it a coincidence that since I redesigned our blog I've won more business through it?

I redesigned our blog a few weeks ago. Originally it was calming pastel greens which fitted with our old branding, but as we moved our brand forwards (evolved rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water) I knew I needed to update the colours and style.

So I've used much more punchy pinks, more feminine fonts (Baskerville, Georgia and Trebuchet) and a very lovely new photograph of me looking directly at the reader. I have to say, I'm really chuffed with the outcome. I feel it represents our passion and fire much more powerfully, and I think it's more engaging and arresting too.

Now anecdotal evidence is all well and good, but what does that mean in real terms? Does it actually filter down to the bottom line? 

Yes. In a word. Over the past couple of weeks, two of our clients have asked us to redesign their blogs for them. 

Secondly, I've received more comments on my posts in the past six weeks, than I did in the previous twelve months. Why? I think because the colours and imagery has woken people up. The photograph engages people and the pink grabs attention and engages them.

But what do you think?

Most small business owners are amateur graphic designers

Do you write letters to your customers? Do you ever create case studies, feedback forms or documentation for your business? How about newsletters? Do you write or design those? Downloadable reports, checklists or articles for your website?

If you've answered yes to any of those questions, then like it or not, you're an amateur graphic designer. Every single business, large and small, creates pieces of design for their business.

Now you might create every piece of marketing literature. Or you might do the bare minimum yourself and leave the rest to the pros. The point is that if you create anything that your clients might see, you need to have an understanding of the basic principles of design. 

Most businesses leak their professionalism because they don't realise the effect that bad design is having on their business. Are you using Verdana or Arial in your printed literature because it's "easy to read"? Stop! There are better fonts that you can use that will give a better impression.

Do you use the standard bright blue and bright red because they're in the Word pallete of colours? Stop! Try using your 'house colours'. They will give a MUCH better impression and aren't that difficult to find (click on the colours and go to > More Colours).

Do you stick a stock photo underneath text in an attempt to 'liven things up'? No! Images and text need to be used with caution.

Take a look at my post on how to create a leaflet in 7 simple steps, or join us on the Design Rules workshop on 18th June for practical advice and inspiration.

I look forward to seeing you there!