I’m Back!

I’m back! I’d like to think that I was missed, but I realize that it may take a while to build up my following before the public backlashes at my absence. The last few weeks have been wonderfully busy with new clients and great networking opportunities. That shouldn’t be an excuse, but I have slacked off on my online marketing plan… blogging, tweeting, reading other people’s blogs, etc.

It took a conversation with a potential client to whip me back into shape. We were talking about newsletters versus blogs, and how our minds treat them differently. We were in agreement that we can write a three paragraph blog and finish it in less than fifteen minutes and be completely satisfied. But we can write a three paragraph newsletter article and it can take an hour or more, and the level of anxiety is so much higher. This is one of the reasons that I stopped my newsletter and switched to my blog only.

Maybe it’s because with the newsletter I was emailing it directly to someone, so I had more anxiety around giving them extremely useful information. Where with the blog, I still want to provide useful information, but it feels more freeing.

This reminded me that writing on my blog is relatively easy, it’s good for business, and except for time, it’s free!

If you have experienced this same struggle with blog vs. newsletter, let me know what you think!

Business Card Dos and Don’ts

I was recently interviewed and quoted in the Seattle Times article “You at 3.5″ x 2″: Business cards can say more about you than just your name and number” written by Terry Pile. (You can read the article here http://fb.me/V3CXzArU) The article provided some great information, and I’d like to add a few more “dos and don’ts” that can apply to everyone with a business card, but are especially important for small business owners.

Business Card Dos:

1. Do make a powerful and memorable first impression with a unique card. “Unique” can vary depending on your business type and brand—design, color, shape, size, texture, etc. are all options to creating a memorable card
2. Do tell a story with your business card. Your business card needs to communicate what you do, how well you do it, and why you do it better than anyone else. And it needs to do it all by itself without you providing director’s commentary. Remember, you’re not always there to fill in the blanks.
3. Do think about who is receiving it. Would they be annoyed or excited to receive an odd shaped card that doesn’t fit into a standard card holder?
4. Do consider turning your card into a mini-brochure. This does not mean cram as much information as you can on the standard business card, but instead use the space efficiently or consider having a larger card that folds into the standard size of 3.5″ x 2″.
5. Do consider printing on paper that people can write on. Many people like to make notes on business cards to help them remember where and when they met the person. If your cards are printed on a high-gloss paper you might want to consider handing out permanent markers as well, because they are the only pen that will write on the glossy finish.

Business Card Don’ts:

1. Don’t have outdated information on your card. If you have recently changed your number or address, get your new cards printed as soon as possible. Having the wrong information or crossed out information doesn’t say “professional or credible.”
2. Don’t use Gmail, Hotmail, or AOL for your business email. This is another mark against your professionalism and credibility. Please have an email address with your business URL. Example YourName@YourBusiness.com
3. Don’t have stains or tattered corners. The exception to this rule is if it fits into your brand identity and is done on purpose. For example a mechanic’s business card might have greasy finger prints on it!
4. Don’t have other business advertisements on the back of your card. This might happen if you opt for free printing, sometimes the printer will put their information on the back of the card.
5. Don’t use business card templates. Whether it’s Word, Publisher, or an online printer’s template, just say “no”. They can be spotted a mile away, and they definitely don’t meet the requirements of being unique and memorable. (See dos #1 and #2 above.)

Top 5 tips for Naming Your Business

When starting a new business or re-branding an existing one, the question of what to name it will inevitably come up. If it doesn’t, something went wrong! The name of your business is a very important part to your brand and how your company is perceived and remembered. I have helped a few clients name or re-name their business’s and wanted to share a few tips.

Know thyself & thy client. Your business name needs to reflect who the business is. Think long and hard about the personality and message you want to convey. Is it fun? serious? traditional? tongue-in-cheek? Also keep in mind, this isn’t just what your preference is, it needs to be what your client’s preference is.

Brainstorm, brainstorm, and brainstorm some more. Naming a business is not an easy task. Sometimes it just falls into place, but more often than not it takes many lists and revisions to find the right match. I suggest to begin by writing lists of words—verbs, nouns and adjectives—that all mean something to your business. From that list pick a few to expand on, and start creating word pairs and combinations.

Don’t get too attached… yet. Once you have a few name options, run a google search, URL search and trademark search (www.uspto.gov). You may have a gem that no-one else has thought of, or you may have to go back to your list and brainstorm again. Don’t be afraid to let it rest for a few days. Some of the best ideas come when you’re not trying!

Get feedback. After you’ve done your URL and trademark search send out a quick survey to a select network with two or three name options. It’s important to get both a gut reaction and an educated reaction. Receive the feedback with an open-mind, but sometimes you also need to take it with a grain of salt! Ask a few questions to find out what thoughts, feelings, and images the names evoke.

What not to do. This could be a very long list, but for now I’ll keep it short and sweet. Don’t use a name that is already used in your industry. A cease and desist letter in your future is very high. If at all possible choose a name other than your own. Unless your name is extremely memorable, and conjures up unique mental images shy away from using your name as the business name.

Bonus! A few other things to keep in mind. Your business name should be easy to remember, easy to spell, hint at what you do, inspire a response, and conjure up positive mental images. The process may be difficult but it will be well worth it in the end.

Happy Branding!

Designers Aren’t Monkeys with Cool Software!

As a business owner and especially as a designer, I’m always on the look out for new ideas, and seeing how other business owners build their brands. I also love watching some of the reality shows that are entrepreneurial in nature, such as Celebrity Apprentice on NBC, and Shark Tank on ABC (new season starting next week!). Of course we all have to watch these shows with a grain of salt, but there are still some great lessons to be learned.

With my passion for business, branding, and food, I was excited to watch the new NBC reality show, America’s Next Great Restaurant. The premiss is 10 entrepreneurs are pitching their “fast-casual” restaurant to 4 investors. They compete on a weekly basis in different business, marketing, and cooking challenges. The show started two weeks ago and the winner will be announced in May with three restaurants opening in three cities across America.

I was thrilled when I found out that this week’s episode was going to include a branding component — so important in the process of building a strong business. Each contestant was paired with a designer to create their restaurant’s logo. I initially thought, “this is awesome they are bring in designers to create a professional brand identity to start these restaurants off on the right foot.”

Then I watched the episode and I was extremely disappointed in how the show portrayed the design and branding process — the “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am” model. Most of the logos were little more than clip-art added to the company name.

The designers had less than a day to create the logo, and many of the designers were just told what to do by their “client” rather than guiding them through the process and using their expertise to create a unique logo. Professional designers are experts in our field. We ARE NOT monkeys with cool computer software.

Rome was not built in a day, and a unique, memorable, and effective brand can not be either. It takes in-depth research on the market, the competitors, and having a solid understanding of who the company is, and who the ideal clients are.

This episode was a total disservice to the success of the brands of these businesses and to the design industry. I hope that over the next few weeks they redeem themselves and they spend more time using the professionals to create a memorable brand for this new restaurant chain.

Design Rant: B&B Websites, What are they thinking!

A few days ago I was researching a bed & breakfast weekend get-away for me and my husband, and was once again reminded how awful the majority of B&B websites are! You know the ones… teal or mauve backgrounds with Victorian or beach themed clip-art everywhere. Not to mention the really bad photos of the guest rooms.

I won’t name any names, but out of about 15 to 20 B&B sites I visited, only 1 looked professionally designed. Only ONE! While I still compared location, price, amenities, and customer reviews, I booked at the ONE place that had a professionally designed site.

Why? The site was inviting, easy to navigate, not cluttered, and had a very relaxing feel to it—all things I’m looking for in a weekend away. They took the time and effort to care about their business to hire a professional for the website, so I feel that the same effort, if not more, will be given in how they treat their guests.

The Bed & Breakfast industry take note: You are missing a huge opportunity. The web is the main avenue that your customers find you. Stop thinking that you can do it all yourself and hire a professional designer and programmer that can help you live up to your full potential!

Sometimes in business you have to spend money to make money. It’s the nature of the beast.

New Brand Identity: Women Business Owners

I am thrilled to announce the new brand identity for the Seattle organization Women Business Owners (WBO). I have been an active member of the WBO since spring of 2007, and the organization has been a vibrant part of the Seattle business community for over 25 years. While the membership and events have always stayed fresh and current, the brand identity was stuck in the 80′s & 90′s.

Starting in January 2009, I worked closely with a re-brand committee and the board of directors to re-define the brand and graphic identity. My goal for the project was to bring WBO into the 21st century and visually communicate the enthusiasm and energy that members and guests feel while at a Women Business Owners meeting.

POSITIONING STATEMENT:
For modern women entrepreneurs who are focused on growth, WBO is the experienced Seattle networking organization that provides inspiration, community, and leadership development. That’s because WBO maintains a high-standard forum for diverse voices, topics, and perspectives.

BRAND VALUES:

• Inviting
• Strong
• Supportive
• Established
• Forward Thinking
• Evolving
• Sophisticated
• Energetic

THE LOGO BEFORE & AFTER:

THE NEW IDENTITY COLORS:
BERRY—Deep reds and dark pinks are thought of as elegant, cultivated, and refined, but definitely not boring! Rich, elegant, refined, mature, mixed with excitement and high-energy.

CHOCOLATE—There is also a sophisticated and luxurious warmth that come from the deep chocolate tones that remind people of a warm cup of coffee or a rich chocolate truffle. Rich, warm, wholesome, robust, natural, and traditional

KIWI—The majority of people see green as symbolic of “new beginnings.” It refreshes, restores, and feels reassuring. The brightness of green adds a fresh feeling to the berry and chocolate. Fresh, youthful and refreshing.

THE NEW PRINT IDENTITY:

The new print identity is complete, and the new website is just beginning, however I invite you to learn more about the WBO at their website www.WomenBusinessOwners.org and I hope to see you at a future event!

Twitter: Why a Custom Background?

I am currently running a design special for a custom designed Twitter background, and I want to share it with you. However, you may be asking why do I need one? or there isn’t very much space that can be seen why bother?

My top 5 reasons you should have a custom Twitter Background.

Brand Consistency. One of the key ingredients to any good brand is consistency, and your Twitter background is no exception. Consistency builds memorability and credibility.

First impressions. First impressions make lasting impressions, and details matter. When a prospective follower, and possible client finds themselves on your Twitter profile the first impression that they get can make or break their decision to move forward. You should do everything you can to create the experience that you want them to have. Is that experience custom? or is it generic?

New Twitter layout. The Twitter layout changed recently. If you had a custom layout before, it most likely won’t work with the new page layout, and you’ll need to update your background to accommodate for the new layout.

Differentiation. One question… why would you want to look like everyone else? If you have put any thought or effort into building your business and brand, you shouldn’t ruin that by using a generic or stock background, and risk being confused for someone else.

Never miss an opportunity. You should never miss an opportunity to market your business. And like I said in #1 and #2, consistency and details matter when staying one step ahead of your competitors. A Custom Twitter background is a simple, fun and easy way to expand your brand identity, and create a complete experience for your loyal fans!

If you want to take part in my Design Special for a $99 custom Twitter background please call or send me an email to get the details.

Here are a couple examples!

What is a Brand?

You may ask yourself, “To brand or not to brand?” but it’s a mute point because not to brand isn’t an option. Every business, and person for that matter, has a brand whether it’s intentional or not. So what is a brand?

• Your brand is your bond to your customers.
• Your brand is what people feel, think, and expect from you or your business.
• It’s your purpose, personality and promise.
• Your brand can help you gain the love and loyalty of your customers.
• It’s not easy, but it can be simple.

Being intentional about your brand will create stability, consistency, memorability and credibility. If left to its own devices your brand could turn customers away by sending the wrong message. One example of what customers might interpret is — you don’t take care of your business so why would you take care of me as your customer.

The other thing to keep in mind is that you don’t own your brand, your customers do — especially since the dawn of web2.0 and social media. This can be difficult to understand, but a good example is how the customer base can have enough power to make a company withdraw its new logo design… a.k.a. The 2010 Gap logo debacle. So now it’s more important than ever to pay attention to the promise you’re making to your customers.

I urge you to be intentional about your brand. Create a brand strategy, have a plan, implement with a professionally designed brand identity, and be consistent! And if you have employees make sure that they understand the brand and uphold the company’s promise and values as well.

Happy branding!

Top 5 Ingredients to a Successful Logo

I’m thrilled to announce that four logos I designed were chosen to be published in the upcoming book, TrademarksUSA by David E. Carter. (The 4 chosen logos are shown above.) I’ll post an update when more information is available, but in the meantime, I want to share my top five ingredients to a successful logo.

1. Tells a story. A logo needs to be more than just a pretty picture… it needs to tell a story about your business. Some logo stories are up-front, while others provide a deeper meaning that you may not understand at first glance. A logo can even include both, and that’s where the magic really happens!

2. Differentiates. You don’t want a potential client getting you confused with someone else and wind up being their client instead! A one-of-a-kind logo, that tells your unique story, along with a stand-out name and color combination all help create differentiation.

3. Scalable. A successful logo design works both in large and small scale… think billboards and promotional pens. One of the main attributes that allows for this scalability is keeping the design elements simple. Here is an example.

4. Must work in 1-color. Often times, especially with the internet being a huge marketing focus, this is overlooked. People are too quick to think that since the number of colors you can have on the web doesn’t matter as much as it does with print, you can go crazy with gradients, and colors. While this may work in some situations, you still need to have a 1-color version that tells your unique story. Here is an example.

5. Has the back-up to support it. If you think that the logo is the end-all-be-all to your business success, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s not. In order for your logo to be successful it needs to have a solid support system including a strong brand and marketing strategy, consistent messaging, and well-designed identity materials. These along with your unique logo will create a solid foundation for a creating a memorable business.

Happy branding!

Marketing Resolution 2011

What’s your Marketing Resolution for 2011?

Can you believe that the end of January is here already? I want to get you thinking about implementing your marketing plan for 2011, and if you haven’t started planning yet… get cracking!

My marketing resolution for 2011 is to consistently stay in touch with my connections, and build awareness about the variety of services that I offer at Eye 2 Eye Graphics. I will do this by posting weekly on the Eye On Your Business blog, being active on Twitter, and creating a quarterly postcard mailer.

So far, so good, but we’re not even to February yet! I have started implementation with setting a schedule and strategy for blogging, and I also have my first quarterly mailer designed with the mailing list ready to go.

Having a plan is half the battle, but implementation and follow through seem to be the more difficult half for most business owners. I know the story, because it happens to me too… things come up… clients take precedent… etc. However, for small business owners and solo-entrepreneurs implementing your marketing plan throughout the entire year is key to building a strong memorable brand, and getting the customers you want. You can’t be everywhere at once, but having a solid marketing plan can give the impression that you are!

I’ll check back in a few months to let you know how I’ve been doing with my marketing resolution and find out how you’re doing as well.

Until next week… happy branding!