|
|
| Home ::
Articles
|
Articles |
 |
|
|
Building a Corporate Theme
Your assignment is simple. Fire up your desktop publishing software and produce a series of printed pieces that look the same, only different. They may be your corporate identity materials... letterhead, envelopes, business cards, etc. Or there may be several related marketing pieces such as an ad, a brochure and a direct mail package. Whatever the project, you are now in theme-building territory. Try these tools to create a cohesive series and still give each piece some individuality.
Type
Consistent use of type from piece to piece is a powerful theme-builder. Use the same combination of fonts for heads, subheads and body copy. For a little variety, try different versions of fonts for different pieces - Helvetica Condensed Black Oblique for a poster headline, for instance, and Helvetica Condensed Bold for a flyer headline. It is best to use postscript fonts in your desktop publishing program if you intend to send your files to a service bureau or commercial printer.
Graphic Images
Defining exactly how graphic images create a cohesive look in a series can be tough - but you know it when you see it. Sometimes a graphic element like a starburst on each piece will do it. You can vary the size and position of the graphic and still maintain a common element. Or screen back the image and run your text over it. The image will still be there in the background, providing a subtle link from piece to piece.
Another option is to use the same style of illustration or photograph for each piece. Consistent placement and proportion of the images can heighten the connection. For example, a large outline photograph in the lower left corner of each piece may be appropriate. Or a certain weight or style of rule associated with the headings at the top of each piece.
Color
Color is another method for providing continuity that can range from subtle to screaming. Different ink colors that share the same hue, value or intensity can give each piece a family look. Color can help organize information, too, such as subheads printed in the same color on all pieces. Background screens of the same color on each piece provide more subtle continuity. Another possibility is to use paper colors that share a family look - pastel color paper, for example.
In print communication, color can support your message in many ways. It can help organize information. It can help guide the eye through the piece. It can draw attention to specific areas or add variety to otherwise monotonous chunks of text.
But before you get carried away with the 256 million colors available with most desktop publishing programs, here are some tips to ensure the colors you choose enhance your communication message -instead of obscuring it.
A common device that's used to organize colors is a color wheel. Usually divided into 10 segments, the wheel displays colors according to their sequence in the spectrum. Each of the segments represents a family of colors - hundreds or thousands of slight variations that nonetheless share common ancestry. There are four common color schemes you can use to coordinate your color selection.
Monochromatic schemes use hues that lie within one segment - sort of a subtle variation on a theme. The result is a harmonious range of brighter or duller tones in the same color. Easy, effective and elegant.
Analogous schemes include colors that are separated by one segment on the color wheel. These usually go together as well as monochromatics, especially when one color is dominant.
Contrasting schemes are colors separated by three segments. This strategy is trickier because some combinations clash. One trick is to make the duller color dominant and use the brighter one sparingly for accent. This approach yields a lively result.
Complementary schemes use colors that are opposites on the color wheel. Be careful because this strategy can backfire, leaving you with garish combinations that assault the eye. You can back it down by using one color as a dominant and the other as an accent.
One thing to remember is that the printing process can only approximate the colors you select when preparing your desktop publishing files. Regardless of your printer's expertise, some variations will occur due to paper, humidity, inks, the press and other variables. But with a grasp of some underlying theories behind the effective use of color, you'll be better prepared to choose colors that advance your communication objectives.
The two most common desktop publishing programs are Adobe Indesign and QuarkXpress.
Choose GEMPaper for paper for your next desktop publishing project
|
|
|
|
Dealing with Job Stress
Job stress is on the rise. In this new reality, what's needed are skills and knowledge that allow you to cope with job-related stress on a day-to-day basis. Try the following stress reduction techniques:
Gain control of what you can, let go of what you can't. Many stress inducers are the result of feeling helpless and uncertain. And sometimes there is little or nothing you can do about it. So let go. Instead focus on the things you can control, even if they seem small and insignificant.
Nobody's perfect, so stop blaming yourself for not being perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. The stress comes when your job, whether due to management or yourself, does not permit a mistake. Put your mistake into perspective. How big of a mistake is it? Can you do anything to correct it?
Broaden your horizons. Another method for gaining control and confidence is to see beyond your current job situation. Take classes. Attend seminars. Read business and trade journals. By being better informed, you'll broaden your job skills and lower your job stress.
If you feel threatened, change your perceptions. A common source of stress is the feeling you are being threatened in your job. Ask yourself: is it reality or the work of an overactive mind? It's your choice to perceive something in a certain way. Seeing your situation in a new light can greatly reduce your job stress.
Learn to relax. For centuries, people have relied on techniques like yoga, meditation and biofeedback to reduce the stress of daily living. It should come as no surprise that those very techniques can also do wonders to reduce job stress. For example, try taking deep breaths and slowly letting them out. Or visualize the object of your stress in the past tense.
Don't let job stress get to you. Choose GEMPaper for all your paper needs.
|
|
|
|
Avoid These Typographic Pitfalls of Newsletter Design
There are a few imprtant things to keep in mind during a newsletter design process, whether it is a new design or simply the revamping of an old design. If you're thinking of redesigning your newsletter or creating a new design, make sure to avoid these design and typography mistakes.
Avoid:
- Setting type in irregular shapes. Readers read from left to right. Don't make it difficult for them to find where the next line begins by inflicting irregularly shaped blocks of type, such as a Christmas tree, on them.
- Underlining. Use boldface or italic type instead. The readers' eyes become confused when you underline more than a few words.
- Hyphenating too many words. When you use narrow columns of type and are justifying the right margin, you wind up hyphenating too many words. This slows the reader. Instead, use a wider column or choose a ragged-right margin.
- Using too many typefaces on a single page. This is a strong temptation for desktop publishers because of the sheer number of fonts available. The result, however, can be an amateurish, disorganized appearance. Don't make the page look like a ransom note. Proceed with caution when using more than three typefaces per page.
- Using hard-to-read fonts for body copy. Some typefaces, such as Avante Garde, look great in headlines, but are difficult to read in body copy.
- Using small type and tight leading. Most typefaces work best for body copy when sized between 9 and 11 points. Leave plenty of line space (leading) between each line, too. A good rule of thumb is to set leading two or three points higher than the body text size (e.g., 12-point leading with 10-point type).
Don't waste your great newsletter design on plain white paper. Choose GEMPaper for a huge selection of colors and textures.
|
|
|
|
Great Company Newsletter Ideas
Great newsletter ideas supplement other marketing efforts such as catalogs, print ads and brochures. Regular newsletters sent to your customers and prospects reinforce your marketing messages and reminds them of your company name, products or services on a regular basis.
Newsletters can be relatively easy to put together, too. You can recycle and rewrite existing material such as press releases, speeches, annual reports and presentations for newsletter articles. Other articles may involve a little more work, including interviews or background research.
If you're thinking of starting a promotional newsletter, or need to freshen up your current newsletter - here are some more newsletter ideas you can include:
MILESTONES: "One millionth customer served," "Sales reach $10 million," "Celebrating 25 years of service," etc.
CASE HISTORIES: Real-life vignettes about how a customer solved a problem using your product or service.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: Preview ongoing research and development efforts and what the results may be - new products or technologies, new patents, industry firsts, etc.
SALES & MARKETING: Keep customers up to date on new product or service information that's available, such as brochures, product spec sheets and video or CD-ROM materials. Other related topics could include new ad campaigns or media coverage about your company.
CUSTOMER STORIES: Feature a customer profile or interview in each issue. Include their views on their industry, where it's going, and how your company's product or service meets their needs.
Great newsletter ideas need the best paper. GEMPaper has a wide variety of papers at fantastic prices.
|
|
|
|
Designing flyers to take off
Flyers are often used as handouts at conventions and trade shows, as bulletins posted around the neighborhood, to reach an internal audience at a business or organization, or even as part of a direct mail package. Other uses include product spec sheets or demo sheets.
If there's one in your future, here are a few suggestions to make sure it gives your message the maximum boost.
They are generally printed on one or two sides of an unfolded piece of paper, usually a standard 8.5" x 11" sheet. There's no reason why you can't create a half-page piece, simply by dividing the page the tall way. At 4.25" x 11", this size stands out and demands attention.
Regardless of size, most effective flyers have something in common - large, colorful, eye-catching visuals. Visuals are especially important when designing flyers without much text. A short message adrift in an ocean of space looks lost. What you need to do is anchor the text with art. Make the art as big as possible - go right off the margins if you want. A gradient background also works, as do bars of color. Smaller graphic elements can also break up the white space and help lead readers' eyes to the text.
Even when you're working with a lot of text, you can make the art the focal point. Enlarge the image, screen it back, and run text right over it, or inside a semi-transparent white box laid over the visual. Another way to handle a lot of text is to break it up with several smaller images sprinkled through the copy.
Borders are also effective design techniques. Whether you choose a ready-made border, build one yourself by placing a full-image in the background, or combine images for a custom look, a graphic border gives you the impact of a large-scale image and leaves room for your message.
If possible, add color to important information to draw readers' attention.
Choose GEMPaper for paper for all your flyers.
|
|
|
|
Managing your Career in a Project-based Environment
Your career success is influenced significantly by the type of organization for which you work. You may or may not have noticed it yourself, but most business experts agree: organizations are becoming more and more project-based. This shift away from functional organizations and toward project-based organizations has created a major change not only in the way work gets done, but also in the way people manage their careers. Moving up the corporate ladder is no longer a goal - or even a possibility for most people.
Since most work today is project work, your success, both throughout your career and within an organization, is dependent on the value of the projects you've worked on. It sounds simple enough, but this new way of doing things raises some interesting questions. Which projects should you work on? How many projects can you handle at once? How can you be a part of the most exciting projects that are going on in the company?
Following are some ideas to help you manage your career in a project-oriented world:
Work on projects that allow you to learn, and projects that allow you to lead
Achieving the right balance is very important. While learning is obviously critical to your growth, you cannot demonstrate your leadership capabilities if you are always in a learning mode on a project team. When participating in projects with very high visibility, it is always best to make sure you have something to contribute.
Build a network so that you can find out about projects before the teams are already in place. Stay in touch with people in different parts of the organization. They can keep you up-to-speed with new and potential project opportunities that may interest you.
Create your own projects
Always be aware of the organization's vision, and how you can contribute. Even if that means initiating your own projects. When you create and implement your own solutions, you receive far greater recognition than when you participate on project teams initiated by others.
Don't over extend yourself
It's always tempting to say yes when asked to join a project team. But being on too many project teams will make it less likely that you will really contribute to any one of them. The number of projects you work on may depend on the roles you are playing on each team. When you are leading a project, for example, you may not really have time to participate on any other projects.
Always keep your eyes open for new project opportunities
While you do want to give your best effort to a project, you don't want to get so immersed that you lose sight of everything else that's going on in the organization - or in the market in general. In some cases, it may even make sense for you to leave one project in the middle to work on a new project. But be careful when making this decision. You don't want to get a reputation for leaving at a critical point.
Document and communicate your success
You don't want to play politics, but you do want to make sure key people in the organization are aware of the contributions you have made. To keep these contributions fresh in your own mind, you should update your resume after each project. Include things like how you've saved the company money, how you've solved problems and the real results you have achieved.
Choose GEMPaper for paper for all your career correspondence materials.
|
|
|
|
YES ........ I want to increase the Effectiveness of my Business
Those post cards flutter to the floor from your favorite magazine. They drop to the kitchen table as you open direct mail packages. They even come stacked in postcard decks. We're talking about business reply postcards, and many organizations rely on them as an effective component of their marketing program.
Business reply postcards give prospects an easy way to contact your company. Whether you're offering more information about your company, a free sample of your products, or even asking for an order, here are some tips to get the best response possible from your business reply post cards.
Easy does it - Don't overwhelm the prospect with details or complex offers on the post card. Don't ask them to enclose a check, add a postage stamp, or use an envelope. Just have prospects fill out their name, address, phone number, etc. And leave enough room!
Use a business reply permit It almost always increases response. After paying a relatively low annual fee at your local post office, you're in business. And since you only pay postage on the pieces that are returned, it's cost-effective in the long run.
Make your offer pop! Put a reader-oriented benefit in the headline. "Find out how to reduce your heating bills by 50%," is better than, "Find out more about the Acme Furnace Company."
If your offer is free, use the word "free" in the headline or subhead. Show a picture of your catalog, booklet or other free information on the post cards. Put a caption under the picture that says "yours FREE."
Give them lots of response options. Don't limit prospects to one response. Some only want more information. Some may want to be contacted personally. Include check boxes prospects can use to indicate their level of interest.
Include your company's phone number and your fax number so hot prospects can fax the post card for faster response. Be ready to follow through. Make sure you can deliver what you've promised on your post card - quickly. Whether prospects requested more information, a call from your company, or a product sample, follow through fast.
If you're sending more information, put the words, "Here is the information you requested" on the envelope or package. Don't treat the fulfillment stage as an afterthought - it's a golden sales opportunity. Prepare your response carefully and include enough in formation to move prospects to the next stage in the sales process.
Use the best papers for printing your post cards. GEMPaper has a wide variety of papers for all your laser post cards, inkjet post cards and evry type of paper to meet your business needs.
|
|
|
|
Crop Images to Increase Impact
We've all heard that images are worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, some brochures, advertisements and newsletters feature graphics and photos that are worth considerably less. What drags down the value of some images? Distracting backgrounds, dead areas in the middle of a shot, posed or boring subjects - you know it when you see it.
Here are some cropping techniques you can use to get the most out of your graphics.
 | Keep headlines in mind
Some photos, especially those with a blank wall or dark area in the background, can be cropped to leave a perfect spot to drop in a reverse headline. This can be a strong visual combination that really focuses attention on the person or object in the photo. As a general rule, keep the type size smaller than the person or object. |
|
|
|
|
6 Steps Towards Dynamic Direct Mail
It's easy to create dynamic direct mail pieces. Just follow these six steps.
- Be realistic. Don't get carried away with the numbers game and ignore the realities of the marketplace. You may project a market of 40 million customers for your product or service and figure you will mail to all of them with a 10 percent response. But are you new to the market? Is the market already dominated by one or two giants? Sometimes it is better to narrow your focus and conduct a phased roll-out of your direct mail piece that provides you with a series of small successes to build on.
- There's no better way to sink a mail campaign than by using a mediocre mailing list. How do you find the best list? One place to start is with list brokers. But the key is to shop around and really do some leg-work. Talk with several brokers, and study the list descriptions they provide. The more you can nail down a list's age, gender, geographic location, buying habits, etc., the more likely your direct mail piece will be effective.
- Develop an offer they cannot refuse. Spend time formulating an offer that is unique to stand apart from offers made by your competitors. Make it easy for readers to pick your product or service over that of your rivals.
- Prepare for success. Be sure you're ready to handle the leads or orders that your mailing generates. Otherwise, the only results you'll get from the money spent are angered prospects and customers.
- Figure out the math up front. Common sense tells you that unless your mail campaign generates enough leads and sales to recoup your investment, you may be wasting your time. So sharpen your pencil early on and look at how much your mailing will cost versus what your realistic response rate may be. With the majority of direct mail campaigns these days garnering between .02 and 2 percent response rates, counting on a 6 percent response for your campaign means you're probably being unrealistic.
- Be clear. It's easy to get lost in nuances and subtleties when you're developing direct mail copy and design. Step back and remember your target audience has a million other things on their minds besides your company. Does your copy clearly communicate the basics of your offer? What about the unique characteristics of your product or service? Consider testing your piece with a focus group to ensure your approach isn't more complicated than it needs to be.
There's a wide variety of papers available for your next direct mail piece. Choose GEMPaper for a huge selection at fantastic prices.
|
|
|
|
Effective Selling Tips
It goes without saying that businesses cannot survive without effective selling technique.
But intense competition and ultra-demanding customers have made the job of the salesperson tougher and more important than ever. Not only do the old rules no longer apply, but can be damaging to your business if you are still following them.
What can you do to bring your sales approach up-to-speed with the new economy? The following are a few tips that can really make a difference in your bottom line.
Sell to the highest levels of the organization. In the 21st century, organizations are flatter. Fewer layers means greater access to executives. Cultivating relationships at the executive level will open more doors in the long run than selling to a particular department. While the prospect of selling to a president or CEO may seem daunting, it's not impossible. One way is to include your own CEO in the sales process. A CEO is not only more likely than a sales person to gain access to another CEO, but he or she also may be better than anyone else at conveying the mission of the company.
Use technology. Laptop computers, the Internet and e-mail are all powerful tools that can help you win business. Technology makes it possible for you to make last-minute changes to a sales presentation, get answers to a customer's questions in a matter of minutes, and find out the latest news in the business world at the touch of a button. Don't let technology get in the way of the relationship; there is no substitute for old-fashioned person-to-person communication. But if you don't take advantage of technology, your competition will, and you'll be left in the dust.
Be patient. In the old days, a salesperson might actually have tried to close a sale during a cold call that was going particularly well. In the new economy, successful sales people realize that a cold call is only the first step toward building a relationship. The goal is not necessarily to make a sale, but to further the relationship, which could mean another phone call or a face-to-face meeting. Effective selling shouldn't begin at the first meeting either. The goal of the first meeting should be to learn as much as possible about the needs of the customer, and to move the relationship to the next step, which could be another meeting, or possibly a presentation.
You get the idea.
Effective selling requires the right materials at the right prices. Choose GEMPaper for a great variety of papers at great prices!
|
|
|
|
Seven Tips for Spinning an Effective Web Site
An Internet web site is a great way to communicate with potential customers and advertise economically - if it's designed with the users' needs in mind. If it's not, web surfers may be turned away.
Recently conducted tests with users of commercial web sites to find which sites worked best - and why generated the following tips. Following them will help you get the most from your time and money.
Give your site an address
An Internet address, known as a domain name, will help users find your site quickly and efficiently. Without a specific address, only 15 percent of web searches are successful; a company's name is not always enough of a link for a search engine.
Make navigation easy
Lay out crucial information on the first page simply and clearly. Avoid fancy graphics and confusing gimmicks, but be sure to include well-marked pointers back or forward to lateral pages. The ability to quickly return to the home page and move to previous and forward pages is essential.
Keep links clear
Text links should be clear and plain. Ambiguous links confuse users; they should be able to predict where the links are leading to.
Provide basic information - fast
Most web surfers scan - not read. Present your text so it can be quickly skimmed. Use easy-to-follow, bulleted sentences rather than long, complicated paragraphs.
Get to the point
When building a site to sell a product, keep in mind that users will probably arrive there already interested. Close the order by quickly telling them what they need to know. Don't waste their time bragging about the business or recounting the complete company history.
Fill up the white space
White space, the blank area around text, slows down the user's scanning process. Reduce the white space for a more efficient site in terms of searching, reading and finding information.
Limit graphics
The more graphics on your web site, the longer it takes the user to download. Many people lose their patience and leave sites if they have to wait for complicated images to appear. Also, avoid animation. Most people find it irritating, especially when it's part of an advertisement.
Follow up leads from your web site with printed information. GEMPaper has a wide variety of papers for all your laser post cards, inkjet post cards and every type of paper to meet your business needs.
|
|
|
|
Four ideas to help you generate better and more leads
To generate customer leads, most organizations spend a lot of money on marketing tactics such as direct mail, trade shows and giveaways. It only makes sense that you would want to maximize your investment by increasing the number of customer leads and improving the quality of those generated.
Here are a few ideas to help you do just that:
[1] Learn what customers want - and what they don't want, before creating mailers. Mailers will be more effective if the people creating them understand the target audience. Sales people are a good source for information about customers.
[2] Offer prospects something in return for their response to a mailing. Survey results, product samples and catalogs all work well. Don't worry about giving stuff away to people who aren't serious prospects. More often than not, when people go through the trouble of returning a response card, it is because they have a genuine interest in a product or service.
[3] Make sure giveaway items are appropriate for your organization. There are so many options to choose from, there is really no excuse for giving away items that don't fit your company. Only give away promotional items that will remind your prospects of what you have to offer. For example, if you sell office supplies, you could giveaway mouse pads or desk calendars imprinted with your company logo and phone number.
[4] When holding drawings at tradeshows, target the prizes to your ideal prospects. If you are trying to reach accountants, for example, give away something that has special appeal for them, such as a particular software package. Appealing to a more targeted audience will bring in more qualified leads than giving away something with mass appeal, such as a bicycle.
Use the best paper for all your customer leads. Choose GEMPaper for a great selection at fantastic prices.
|
|
|
|
Create a Newsletter that's a Hit
More and more small businesses are discovering the value of newsletters. In fact, you could say that they are a public relations, sales and marketing tool all rolled into one. However, if you're the one responsible for creating and producing it, good customer communications require lots of hard work to go from the initial planning stages to a finished piece that's a joy to read.
Map out every task that has to be done with a scheduled date for completion. Then stick to the schedule!
A good place to start is to develop an action plan. Who will write the articles? Who will edit? Will the design be handled in-house or by an outside vendor? Map out every task that has to be done with a scheduled date for completion. Then stick to the plan.
One of the key components of increasing the readability of your newsletter will be to effectively define your target audience and write articles directed at them and their interests. The more it relates to their needs and interests, the more likely they are to read it.
Good design is crucial to success as well. If it looks interesting and appealing, the chances are greater that readers will read the articles. For best results, have a graphic artist design a "template" that will act as a style guide and format reference. The result will be a consistent look for your newsletter that can be maintained from issue to issue.
After the design stage, you'll face many decisions that will impact the final product. Paper stock selection, photographs, illustrations and colors are just a few. Each element should be chosen carefully with one eye on the budget and the other on what benefit it will bring to the finished piece.
These tips remain useful whether you use a printed or an on-line version.
Use the best papers for printing your newsletter. GEMPaper has a wide variety of papers at fantastic prices.
|
|
|
|
How to improve your ads and promotional materials
Chances are your company invests a lot of time and money in developing sound promotional and advertising programs. After carefully considering important elements such as positioning, graphic design, strategy, media placement and other aspects of effective marketing, the result should be ads and promos that generate leads and sales.
Unfortunately, even the best-laid plans can be tripped up by relatively minor oversights.
Review these suggestions to help make your ads and promos more effective:
Have a clear purpose
Are you trying to increase awareness, educate, persuade, or motivate your audience? What exactly do you want your audience to think or do after seeing your ad or promo? If you don't know, your audience won't either.
Make it easy on your audience
Avoid direct mail pieces that tear upon opening because of staples or adhesive; newsletters that roll up like window shades because they've been delivered in mailing tubes; shrink-wrapped materials that require determination and sharp-edged tools to open. Avoid clumsy packaging that can frustrate the receiver and hamper your objective - smooth and easy communication.
Be trendy within reason
It's okay to be on top of graphic design trends, but there is a point where you risk alienating steady customers if your sales material starts looking like it's aimed at high school seniors.
Use type faces that enhance readability
Experienced designers understand the importance of using type faces that balance design considerations with readability. Unfortunately, too many desktop publishers are tempted to go berserk in specifying and manipulating type. The result is often type that's loaded with attitude and visual impact - at the expense of readability.
Maintain continuity
In most cases, really effective ads and promotions connect to other sales materials issued by the company. Over time, this continuity helps prospects and customers become aware of the particular identity the advertiser seeks to establish. While one-shot ads and promotions are sometimes appropriate, the general rule is to have everything tie together to create synergy.
Use the best papers for printing your promotional items. GEMPaper has a wide variety of papers for all your laser post cards, inkjet post cards and every type of paper to meet your business needs.
|
|
|
|
Marketing Tips for a Brave New Economy
Here are some marketing tips to help your business maintain and expand its marketing edge in an economy characterized by intense competition, rapidly changing technology and increasingly demanding consumers:
Be a leader of the pack
Regardless of the type of market your company serves, cultivate a perception of innovation and leadership among customers. Being seen as just another runner in the middle of the pack makes it harder to compete in today's high-stakes marketplace.
Unique is what you seek
Another effective way to stand apart from the competition is to identify what is unique about your company, product or service - and communicate it consistently to customers, prospects and investors. It could be a way of doing business, a process, an idea, or a product feature. Whatever it is, identify it and spread the word.
Maintain a high profile
It's easy for a company to get lost in the tidal wave of marketing messages that inundate consumers every day. To maintain visibility, devote ongoing resources to coordinated promotions and public relations efforts in addition to your advertising and direct marketing programs. Use a newsletter if possible. See gempaper.com for great papers for producing top-notch newsletters.
Expand your horizons
Don't limit your sales and growth potential by thinking too local in terms of geography. Even small businesses can effectively expand their reach to include regional, national or even international customers through targeted marketing efforts and new communication channels like the Internet and the World Wide Web.
Don't go by the old rules
Rapid change controls today's markets, and you'll find few answers by looking backward. Flexibility and creativity are the keys to success in coping with evolving technologies and markets, so commit yourself to looking forward and rewriting the rules.
Concentrate on customers
A constant customer focus is one of the few sure bets in today's rapidly evolving marketplace. The days are long gone when a company could get away with an attitude like, "customers can get our product in any color, as long as it's black." Tune in to customers' needs throughout their life stages and buying cycles and let those dictate your products or services and how they are marketed.
Important Marketing Tip: It takes 70% less time, effort and money to keep an existing client than it does to aquire a new one.
Adapt or perish
Waves of technological change quickly turn today's processes, products or services into yesterday's old news. Survival depends on looking ahead, perceiving new opportunities and being flexible enough to continually reinvent your company.
GEMPaper offers a full line of desktop publishing paper, copy paper and quality letterhead papers to get your company noticed!
|
|
|
|
Design Your Web Site for Maximum Impact
If you've surfed the web lately, you know that for every effective web site there are scores that are confusing, time-consuming to wade through and that lack key information.
Good design can ensure that your organization's web site delivers information to consumers quickly, efficiently and conveniently. Whether you're using in-house staff or outside vendors to design your site, here are some tips and suggestions to enhance its effectiveness:
- Good sites start with solid content, organized to support a specific objective. Decide whether you want to sell products, establish or enhance an image for your organization, create a library of company information, or achieve some other objective, then tailor the content to fit.
- Think of your home page as the table of contents or a directory to your organization. If your company is small, you may only need one page. Larger companies may need to add sub - pages for additional information. Your home page plus your sub pages equals your web site.
- When designing a web site, remember to think in terms of computer-screen-sized chunks of text and graphics.
- Make sure your company name and logo are prominently featured on your home page. Don't leave visitors guessing as to who they're interacting with.
- Use headlines of the information and products on your web site that users can click on to access more detailed information. Possible topics include: press releases; sales materials; catalogs, registration forms or surveys; contact information; a map of your location or date of last update.
- For web sites that include a lot of information - a catalog of 5,000 machine parts, for example - consider providing search capabilities to help visitors locate the information they need. Another good idea for large sites is a site map that shows linked pages and the information they contain.
- Don't get carried away with photographs - they can cause frustrating delays that turn visitors off. One solution is to create large and small versions of the same picture and only show the small one. Let visitors know they can view the larger picture by clicking on the smaller one. Another option is to let visitors know how big a file is and how long it will take to transmit. Likewise, keep your graphics lean - about 6K per image is a good number to shoot for.
- When you do use pictures and graphics, make sure the accompanying text appears on screen first, while the picture is still transmitting. That way, visitors will have something to read while they wait.
- Make your interface simple and clear. The interface, or visual display of digital information, has a lot to do with your site's effectiveness. Too many sites use dark or gaudy backgrounds, type that's difficult to read, or other distracting elements. A quick rule of thumb: If a Web page design wouldn't work on the printed page, it probably won't work well on the screen, either.
- Use icons to help readers find information quickly. Symbols can speed your visitors to the information they want - if the symbols are logical and easy to understand. Luckily, you don't need to start from scratch. A variety of icons, buttons and backgrounds are available as shareware.
While these design suggestions are only a start, they should get you thinking in the right direction. Make the information on your web site easy to find, access and understand, and you're well on your way to maximizing its marketing impact.
For example - consider providing search capabilities to help visitors locate the information they need. Another good idea for large sites is a site map that shows linked pages and the information they contain.
Make sure you list your web site address on all of your printed materials. GEMPaper has a wide variety of papers for all your laser post cards, inkjet post cards and every type of paper to meet your business needs.
|
|
|
|
Planning will Increase the Effectiveness of your Web Site
It seems that these days, just about every company - large or small - either already has a site on the World Wide Web or is in the process of developing one. There's no doubt that an Internet presence can provide a variety of benefits, but it seems that many organizations jump onto the Web without a clear understanding of what it is they are trying to achieve.
If you're about to begin a web development project, you will want to do everything possible to ensure that your organization sees benefits from its investment. Whether you are developing your web site in-house or utilizing an outside resource, it is critical that you spend adequate time planning. In fact, the planning phase is probably the most important part of any web development project.
While it is important for businesses to take advantage of technology, using technology without a strategy can be dangerous. An Internet presence is communication, and just like all communication, it needs to support and reflect an organization's image, mission and values.
But the Internet also has a variety of attributes that make it different from other methods of communication. For example, its use is controlled completely by its audience, providing a challenge for marketers. It is dynamic, which allows for frequent updating of information. And the rules governing its use are still evolving. These unique characteristics make this relatively new medium a challenging one to use effectively.
Put together a team consisting of key players throughout all areas of your organization. This team will be responsible for developing a strategic plan for your web site. Once the team is in place, they should begin by asking themselves a number of questions. Answering the following questions will give the team the information they need to develop a strategic plan.
- How much money can we spend on this project?
- Who will need to be involved?
- What is our target date for completion?
- What do we want to accomplish with this site?
- Who is our primary audience?
- Are there other audiences we would like to reach?
- What measurable goals do we have for the site?
- What major content areas will be included on the site?
- Who will be responsible for each major content area?
- Do we have any technical constraints that will affect the project?
- Are there any legal issues to be considered before we begin the project?
- After the above questions - and probably a few others - are answered, you can safely begin designing your web site. Taking the time for planning up front will help you achieve a healthy return on investment.
Make sure you list your web site address on all of your printed materials. GEMPaper has a wide variety of papers for all your laser post cards, inkjet post cards and every type of paper to meet your business needs.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
