Good design and marketing can help your business stand out, which is essential for success in this economy. Updating your design can be as simple as bringing more consistency to your email newsletter, or as complex as launching a new brand identity. Even small and simple things will help you stand out from the pack.
My husband and I recently bought our first house. Since moving in, we have been bombarded by a constant stream of mail from local organizations offering us discounts, promotions, and advice. I am surprised at how poor the quality of most of these communications has been. Some of them have even neglected to state the name of the company anywhere on the postcard! Even if I wanted to give that company business, I don't know who they are. Companies with a coherent design and message, that is targeted to my needs as a new homeowner stand out from the rest, and are much more likely to get my business.
Consider these two directions for a charity e-newsletter (disclaimer: this is not a real organization):
Which of these charities would you want to donate to, or volunteer for? Admittedly I stacked the deck a little in this example, but with even a small investment of time and money you can get your brand positive attention. You want your customer to open and read the direct mail piece, or to forward your email newsletter to friends, not just throw it out.
There are two elements that are important to a successful brand — whether your company is the local charity, or a global firm:
1) Know your audience.
Who is your client base? What do they do? What age ranges are they in? Why do they use your product or service? What other things are they interested in? All these questions will help you learn how to speak to them effectively. To use my own example above, if one of your audiences is first-time home owners, who are they and what are they interested in? What sorts of deals, discounts, or information will get them motivated? Once you know these things you can craft materials that will speak directly to your audience.
2) Be consistent!
Consistent use of your brand is one of the most important tools for marketing success. Even if you're not crazy about your company's logo, corporate colors, font, etc...use them (at least until your company is ready to make a change). It will help you build a unified image, and give your organization a more professional appearance. Coca Cola is an excellent example of how to use branding well, and consistently. Just looking at regular Coke, all their marketing—from TV and print ads to vending machines—has a consistent and unified image. The ads may differ, the machines may change, but I bet that if I say "Coke" to you, some of the first things you think of will be red, the iconic Coke bottle, and maybe a tagline. That is a consistent and well designed brand.
What happens when these two principles aren't followed? A fragmented and confusing brand — or worse, a customer revolt. I'm sure many people have noticed the new Tropicana orange juice packaging that has been on store shelves lately. The change to the Tropicana logo and OJ carton has touched off a firestorm of debate. Within the design community, this sort of debate isn't too unusual. What makes Tropicana's story so interesting is the backlash of protest by Tropicana consumers. There has been such an out-cry from angry customers that Tropicana made the decision to return to their original packaging, abandoning the new design almost completely. By failing to understand what their customers wanted, Tropicana made a costly mistake—both monetarily, and it terms of customer loyalty and appreciation.
So take a few minutes to look over your materials and see if they present a unified image, or consider what sort of out-reach you can make to your audience. There are so many options out there for inexpensive marketing pieces. If you want some feedback, I offer a free half-hour review of existing materials. Send me an email, and we can set up a time to talk about your branding, what challenges you face, and what might be good to do going forward.
