Marketing Muse from Silver Square

Great expectations

Today I'm sharing a failure with you. I hate to screw up, but I sometimes do. Managing expectations is my latest lesson. I don't mind when I fail as long as I make sure I take that lesson with me to my next day's and future project tasks. One of these days I'm going to royally mess up and I view that as the day I really learn something new. So what did I do? I failed to set expectations.

Of course, once I take a minute to reflect on the whole view of managing expectations, I find other areas where I could have been better in setting expectations... a project here, a phone call there, a task here. Hopefully this new lesson is further sealed inside my head so I'm not repeating this in the future. Take a hit on me and learn from my lesson.

Managing expectations, as I have pretty much always said, if often the hardest part of any project. I would almost say it doesn't matter what you're doing and who you are working with, setting and managing those expectations... constantly... will be tricky. So how do you best set and manage expectations? Here are a few suggestions to begin:

1. In your initial meeting, even if the people you're speaking with are not clients yet, you have to paint a picture of how things will roll. Let's take a marketing plan as example. If I am working with a prospect on creating a marketing plan for their business, I need to set clear guidelines on how the process of the plan will work, how much time we need, what a marketing plan will realistically do for you, etc. Get it all on the table up front.
2. Now you manage all that you said the first time. I would break it in to phases or steps and provide a project plan or update weekly to those steps, or as determined in your initial meeting.
3. When/if something goes wrong, address it immediately with what happened, why, how you'll fix this and what it means to the overall picture.
4. When new ideas or a shift in scope lands on your lap, communicate this as a change immediately. Share how it changes, how the scope of the work shifts and what this means to the greater good of the task. If it's a big change, you may even need to put it all in writing or submit a new contract.
5. At the end of the work, ask for feedback. We truly don't know how well we did when we sit back in our own chair in our own minds and assess the work. You have to ask. Be ready for honest feedback - in fact, insist on it. Hire an outside source to follow up for you at the end of each project completion. This step will help you make sure you're managing your expectations well. Poor feedback is great - it gives you a list in which to improve your process or yourself. Be thankful for honest, constructive feedback.

I'm sure you find ways to exceed expectations while you're going through your project. Work in those ideas and constantly look for ways to improve. It's those little items that can work for your against you.

Please share your comments on managing expectations with our readers. Join the discussion to help us all improve. Here's to all of us setting, managing and exceeding great expectations on our next task.

$80.4 Million Monet

The summer auction season is here and apparently in full swing. Monet's "Le Bassin aux Nymphéas" set a new record at $80.4 million yesterday. Wow. I love art and want it to surround me, but it looks like I'm gonna have to stick to framing posters. :) Actually, I would want more modern items in my office and home, but this classic is still beautiful.... and now valued at $80.4 million...

Advertising on your invoice

Have you ever used your invoice to do a little advertising for you? Three years ago, when Silver Square turned five, I placed a nice, shiny silver sticker in the bottom right corner saying "yeah, we're five years old" (OK, it didn't say that exactly, but something like that) and people DID notice it. I received random comments such as "I didn't know you started the company five years ago" or "congratulations - you're five, statistically you should make it as a business now" and on and on. It was a little nod to my hard work over five years of time.

Other companies, such as the Ford Motor Company, uses their invoices to add in special offers and services to save money on their marketing and postage. Planning your next announcement or service news along with your outgoing invoices may allow extra money to be allocated in another area of promotion.

Combining your mailings (invoices or otherwise) also allows you to take a step in the green direction. Saving on paper and envelopes helps your bottom line and your environment.

You could also print a non-public URL on your invoice with a special offer for your clients. The link would allow you to monitor traffic and gauge interest in your offer.

How could you use your invoice to do a little work for you?

Corporate Identities

by Karli Kujawa, Junior Art Director @ Silver Square

As a graphic designer, I am aware of the importance of design in both my profession as well as my everyday life. Now that I have come to work at Silver Square, I am dedicated to helping small business owners understand how thoughtful identity and branding materials can greatly appreciate the value of their companies. Since most small businesses are focused on their own specialty, it is my job to provide directon and assistance on what design means for their company.

In order to understand the importance of design in business, begin by considering corporate logos like the Nike swoosh. Their clever marketing of the swoosh logo in connection with the Nike name and branding over the years makes it possible for the swoosh to now stand on its own, unaccompanied by the name Nike and still communicate their brand.

Another example of the importance of design in business includes the rebranding of Federal Express to the simpler FedEx and the subtle use of an arrow in the negative space between the E and the X. This imagery reinforces their message of transport to anyone that sees their logo without overshadowing the company name. By taking the time to invest in their corporate identities, these companies are able to visually reinforce the message they want to relay to consumers, sometimes in a way that is not consciously perceived, yet still understood.

Other examples of identities that convey a company’s identity in a clear, yet interesting way includes Volkswagon, Apple, The North Face, NBC, Mother+Child, and Dialog. The logos in these examples are all clear, have an element of visual interest, and subtly convey the company’s message without saying a word.

When you look at the products and services you use on a daily basis you will begin to notice how their logos are attached to the vision you have of that business in your head.  With a little forethought the same thing can be accomplished with your company’s identity as well.

BioTown on Digg

We are excited to share that one of our projects, the BioTown, USA website, made the homepage of Digg yesterday, June 19th.

Check out the article that made it on, and be sure to check out our web work while you're at it too. Visit BioTown, USA website.

Five postcard benefits

Postcards can be a great, inexpensive alternative to reach new prospects, to connect with lost clients or to announce a specific event or service. Here are five postcard benefits for you to think about and incorporate in your next project.

1. As I mentioned above, they are inexpensive. If you stick with the 4 X 6 size, you can still use postcard rate postage... and you already have the lack of envelope buying and printing saving.
2. Postcards typically get read in a greater number than a letter. Think about your own mail that comes to your office or home. Do you at least give it a "once over" before making a decision to keep or toss?
3. Production time on a postcard is typically faster than other marketing collateral pieces. It takes more time to design and produce a brochure or catalog than it does to produce and print a postcard. So if first to market or a time-sensitive event is your concern, definitely work the postcard route.
4. Postcards make an immediate impression. You can personalize the message with variable data and immediately grab their attention while hitting home your message.
5. Postcards work for just about everyone. Whether you are marketing to businesses or consumers, postcards do have a proven track history of helping you generate leads and sales.

Raquel on the radio with Pete the Planner

You'll have to check out one of our client's latest bits - his radio show. Pete the Planner is at it again, this time I joined in the fun along with this co-host Chip Maxwell. Check out his radio spot on WXNT and iTunes and drop us a review.

(image designed for iTunes by Silver Square)

Create your ideal client list

You'll find many, many resources to help you figure out how to determine your target market and maybe even how to build a plan to reach them... but I don't think this goes far enough. I think you also need to take a good hard look at your ideal client first and foremost to determine just who the individual is and what they do for your as a client.

Let's get clear - we all have people we meet and walk away from clearly inspired and excited by the exhange of information and experience. Likewise, we meet people who completely drain us and steal our energy. When you think of the two experiences, which would you rather have on a daily basis? Which would you rather call a client?

Building a list of those characteristics should be easy. Think about the people you like to be around, the topics you like to discuss, the ethical standards on which they live, where they spend their free time, how they live their life, etc. and make a list of all of those things. Then add to this same list situations you know put your at your best (these "things" are probably items one would describe as your strengths but you would describe as easy and fun). Now you have it - a list, if not 100% complete, of the items that make up your ideal client.

Now you can put this list in to action within your target market. In your next prospect meeting, review how the meeting went and note how you felt and thought during your conversation. If you can tick off about 75% of the items on your ideal client list with that prospect, keep them around. If not, they are not a fit and it's better to not even get started. It's not easy to "turn down business" but in the long run you'll find more engaging clients, you'll enjoy what you do more, you'll attract more of the types of clients you want to work with and ultimately you'll see a financial return as well. I've been at this business owner stuff for over eight years now and each time I try to work with someone who isn't hitting my idea client list items, it never works out. Trust me on this one...

More evidence of women's purchasing power

We mentioned the statistics in one of our recent posts, marketing to women, things you should know, and more evidence of the female purchasing power continues to make news. The latest corporation to devote their marketing efforts to women:  Verizon. New technology, new sleek design and less expensive options have created a surge in smart phone purchases by women with BlackBerry's Pearl being one of the most popular.

The phone makers and service providers increasingly see women as the path to the entire household. According to Verizon Wireless, 71 percent of women make the decision about their family’s wireless choices, including phones and service plans. (Smartphones require data plans that can cost $30 or more a month.)

As a result, smartphone makers are beginning to market specifically to women. Research in Motion, based in Waterloo, Ontario, has taken out ads for its BlackBerry phones in Elle, Martha Stewart Living and Ophra's magazine O.

Technology

Smartphones Now Ringing for Women

By LAURA M. HOLSON

Published: June 10, 2008

In a shift for the phone industry, women have emerged as eager buyers of so-called smartphones.

New art and nature park coming to the IMA

I'm fairly excited for the new art and nature park coming to the IMA. We still have to wait until the fall of 2009, but I believe it will be worth the wait.

We (meaning all of us here at Silver Square) recently spent some time on a field trip to the IMA to check out their Breaking The Mold exhibit that is now gone. We looked at it as a time to get inspired and rejuvenated by the art and artists brought to us through the museum's efforts. With over 100 acres in this park, there is sure to be something and some place for your next outing, be it for an individual refuel or a team-building escape.

PS - if you're in to summer outdoor movies without the drive-in ambiance, check out the IMA's Summer Night's series.