Adding to the Downloads Page

 
I confess, I had expectations of turning my downloads into design exercises, but that just isn’t going to happen. The time constraints are too great. Since the information is more important than how nice they look, I’ve decided to cut back and make them a lot simpler. Consequently, I’m completing them much more quickly.

I’ve updated the one on Advertising and have added a new one on Branding. There are several more in the original series I’d planned and I should have everything up within the next week or two.

An additional plus is that I’ve been compiling material on other subjects which – since I’ve modified my design standards – should be coming along quickly as well.

Finally, I’ve decided that the material ought to be available to anyone who wants it, so if you want to pass the files along, please feel free to share them with anyone you want.

A Quick Note on Branding

 
As I was working on my post about social networking, I ran across a great illustration in support of branding. I cited a white paper from Vocus (www.vocus.com) and when checking the link, it occurred to me that there might be more than one Vocus. Unlikely, I know, but still possible. My fears were assuaged when I saw – in the upper left corner of their web site – the distinctive Vocus logo. I knew immediately I was in the right place.

Please, even if you only do a very basic job, brand your company and use that branding EVERYWHERE!

Integrating Your Brand Image into Your Website Design

 
If you’re building your website from scratch, integrating your company’s brand into the design is pretty straightforward. However, if you – like me – are relying on templates provided by your website host, it’s a little more challenging.

Of course, this assumes that you’ve created a brand image for your company. For those of you that haven’t, here’s a brief branding tutorial.

Essentially, your brand identity is the physical representation of “who you are” as a company, as communicated by every facet of your business, especially those that are “customer facing.”

The primary purposes of branding are to differentiate your business from the competition and to make it memorable in the minds of your customers.

Your brand should be consistent with the image you have of your company – whatever that may be – and it should be integrated into all areas of  the company from stationery and business cards to email blasts. Whether you’re conservative and old-fashioned or high-tech and trendy, the type styles, colors, and images you choose should reflect and reinforce that image.

The most obvious application of branding is in the graphics your business uses. For example, Wells Fargo has specific colors for its logo and promotional materials. It has specific type fonts and rules on when and how they are to be used. It has an image bank of photos and line art along with guidelines on what to use and how to use it. It even provides training for employees and vendors on how to support the corporate brand.

While you may never reach the level of brand awareness of Wells Fargo, Nike, or McDonalds, employing proven branding techniques consistently and over time will help your company stand out from the competition and be memorable in the minds of your customers.

So, if you’re looking at website templates – as I am now - be sure to pick one that either: (1) already reflects your corporate brand through color and image selection, or (2) can be modified to do so.

This may sound a little silly if you’re just starting out and aren’t really sure if your company will even survive, but careful planning – your business plan and marketing plan – and effective implementation – branding, advertising, public relations, and promotions – will go a long way towards helping you succeed.

Determining Product Positioning and Pricing

 
One of the biggest challenges facing a business is how to position and price its products and services.

Of course, if you’ve developed solid business and marketing plans, and have created a workable brand image for your company, establishing positioning and pricing may almost be automatic. However, if you’re still struggling with the development phase of your plans, determining the right mix can be a real headache.

I know, I’m in the midst of it now.

My initial idea as I began the plans for my online art gallery was to promote my own work at a low price and to have as broad a “product line” as possible. Good as far as it goes, but requiring a lot of work to create the site, load the images, track the inventory, handle a large number of orders, etc. – all the boring business stuff that I don’t like to do.

Then, in the course of my web hosting research, I discovered another roadblock to that plan: the e-commerce capabilities offered by some sites are limited in the number of products they can manage, as well as several other things. This from the review of a disgruntled user.

The work-around is to use a third-party vendor for the e-commerce software, but the hosting services don’t provide support for that software, so unless you know what you’re doing, you could have serious problems. After all, we’re talking about money here – yours and your customers – and there’s nothing that upsets customers more than paying for something and not getting what they expect.

So, I went back to the mental drawing board to try and find a solution.

In the meantime – somewhat serendipitously – I visited a couple art galleries – doing market research, you know.

If you’re ever in Carpinteria, CA, I can highly recommend the Chalk Gallery. It’s a tiny place, but has an excellent selection of first-rate work – really nice people, too – and can also be visited online at:

www.chalkgalleryart.com

But I digress, somewhat….

As a result of my gallery visits, I realized that galleries have to show new work all the time to keep prospects and customers coming back. I know, that’s a great big “DUH, of course!” But for some reason, I had it in my head that I had to push as much art onto my website as possible; something for everyone’s taste, and then just keep there.

Obviously, I’ve changed my mind or I wouldn’t be writing about it now. Instead, at least to start, I’ll be providing a much more limited selection, at higher prices to create a sense of value and exclusivity, and will be rotating the work more frequently. Pieces that don’t sell go out of circulation for awhile and return periodically, along with new work, to keep the site fresh.

Also, to keep the site high on search engine lists, I’ll also be writing frequently about art in general and mine in particular, something I hadn’t planned to do. After all, you’d think this marketing blog would be enough to keep me busy!

The point of this rambling is that, within certain parameters, you may have a lot of flexibility in how you price, position, and even promote your products and services. Increasing the price and reducing the availability may generate the same revenue from fewer sales, resulting in less work for you.

When I first started as an ad agency account executive – moving over from the creative side – I spent a lot of time going on calls with senior execs.

Two concepts became very clear to me, which I intend to incorporate into my online gallery. First, it takes about as much effort to sell a small account as it does a large one. And, second, the large one will not only generate more revenue for you, but will also be more likely to hire you because your cost to them is a much smaller percentage of their operating budget than it is for the small client.

Hopefully, this approach will attract more affluent customers. At any rate, it should enhance the brand image I’m developing of upscale sophistication. Of course, I can’t compete with top galleries and artists, but the Internet is a great equalizer, allowing me to present an image of the gallery and my work that rivals businesses with much larger budgets.

Creating, implementing and consistently adhering to your brand is worth the effort

 
One of the things that can be very difficult to fully grasp is how profoundly the brand you create can permeate every area of your practice. Ideally you want to create a total experience for your clients and prospects, where everything that happens to them reinforces your brand, your firm’s values and expertise.

Disney theme parks are an exceptional example of how this can work. From the moment you enter the park, everything is managed to create the ultimate experience. There’s a very good reason Disneyland is called the “Magic Kingdom.”

When you view branding as the vehicle to manage the total experience of your clients, you will become aware of how you – and each member of your firm – can act consistently with your core values to find, acquire and retain satisfied clients.