Frustration + Observation = Opportunity

I'm frustrated with my chosen profession. No, it's not because of my job, our clients, the company, my business partner, or any other internal source. I'm frustrated because there seems to be a conspicuous downward trend among service providers in the small-business space.

To wit: After a really good meeting last week, our client expressed a great deal of frustration regarding a vendor who had previously handled their web projects. In this case, the client and vendor discussed and agreed upon a timeline with regard to a specific project, and the vendor proceeded to drop the ball in a big, big way. In this instance, he wasn't a few days off, or even a few weeks. They were a full month late, resulting in not only lost revenue for the client, but an immeasurable loss of respect for the brand.

Unfortunately, this client isn't alone. In the past few months, I've talked to many clients that share the same frustration. Some of them have actually paid sizable deposits to their vendors in advance, only to be left with an unfinished project, a diminished bank account and a contempt for web-marketing agencies. I can't say that I blame them—I've been on that side of the desk too. It's no fun.

Brian and I founded Ideavise almost two years ago to address what we perceived to be a underserved portion of the marketplace. We've worked with many different vendors over the years, and felt that there was room for a different kind of company that was focused on small business as its primary market. Like many of our clients, we're passionate about entrepreneurship and passionate about serving the needs of small-businesses—people just like us. We avoid the hard sell and hate fine print. We value our reputations (and yours) and believe that there are very few things in business more important than a person's word.

If you've had or are having problems with a service provider, I'd encourage you to view it as an opportunity to find someone who understands your needs. And if you find yourself looking, we'd love the chance to earn your business the good, old-fashioned way—with a smile and a handshake, true to our word, with respect for you and your timeline.

Thanks for reading.

—Jason @ Ideavise

Email Marketing Isn't Dead... So Use It!

Much has been said about the demise of email thanks to some of the new social networking tools that we now have at our disposal. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. have changed the game of connecting customers to companies. But what of email? Is it no longer valid? Has it been passed over by quicker, "tidier" methods of communcation?

Not according to a study published by eMarketer using data from sites StrongMail and ShareThis. According to the study:

A study of sharing activity across the ShareThis network in October 2009 also revealed that e-mail was the top channel for distributing content to friends, with 46.4% of all shares. About one-third of shares went to Facebook and less than 6% were tweeted.

Overall, Twitter did post the highest click-through rate in both studies quoted. But email came back swinging with higher page counts after click-through.

So how can you and I apply this to our businesses?

1. Make sure that you have an email marketing strategy for your business. If you're short on time/bandwidth, don't fret—it doesn't need to be a weekly investment. Shoot for sending out an email once per quarter. Recap important news, and give your customers an opportunity to engage with the brand. Launch a contest, ask for feedback, announce a promotion specifically targeted to customers on your email list. The end goal is to make them feel like they have the inside track on what's happening with your brand.
2. Email marketing is just one component of a well-rounded online strategy. As are Twitter, Facebook and the myriad of other social networking opportunities out there. Go ahead, start a Facebook fan page. But don't rely on it solely to carry your online marketing efforts. And just as Facebook shouldn't be your only online marketing effort, you shouldn't rely on direct email marketing to carry your voice by itself.

If you have questions on how to implement an email marketing strategy (hint: it's much easier than you think), drop us a line using the email address above or the comments box below. We've designed and implemented many successful emarketing campaigns, and can help you avoid the pitfalls that many people face when they're just starting out.

Thanks for reading!

—Jason @ Ideavise

Seven Easy Ways to Boost Your Marketing Copy

Print or web. Catalog copy or corporate blog post. The right words in the wrong order (and visa versa) can have a dramatic impact on your marketing efforts. Here are seven easy ways to improve the effectiveness of your marketing copy:

1. Avoid vague, bloated language. Many times it can obfuscate your point and reduce the efficacy of any value-added synergies (see what I did there?). Instead, speak plainly—drawing on words that you'd use when talking with a friend or co-worker.
2. Speak to people, not at people. Try phrasing sentences in a way that invites the customer to open up a dialogue about your company, product or service.
3. Educate your reader. Penning a list of product features only tells half of the story (and sometimes much less). Make sure that your copy communicates the value of the product or service, as well as how the customer's life will be positively impacted by their purchase.
4. Be consistent. If you're telling the company story through a first-person account, the chances are good that you'll want to use the same voice in your descriptive copy as well. There are some exceptions to this, but largely it's considered to be a good rule-of-thumb.
5. Make yourself available. Unfortunately, due to spam emails a lot of companies have chosen to hide their email addresses behind contact forms. But email isn't the only way to reach out. Post your phone number conspicuously on your site (and blog), and invite your viewing audience to use it. Encourage comments and responses to your blog posts. Budget a little bit of time each day to answer questions and respond to customer concerns.
6. Be Authentic. By addressing customer comments in a public forum, you're projecting an image that says, "I have nothing to hide." Yes, there may be issues that you end up resolving offline, but by keeping most things out in the open—even complaints—you're giving every customer (and potential customers) a glimpse of your standards and how you operate. Provided that you manage it well, this is probably the single most effective way to create trust for you and your brand.
7. Invite the Customer to Take Action. A simple call-to-action is one of the most basic, yet underutilized tools in small-business marketing copy. Once you've armed your customer with the information that they need to make an informed decision, invite them to take action. It can be as simple as "Learn More" or "Contact Us", or as detailed as "Call 831-887-0111 to set up a free consultation."

Thanks for reading! I hope that these simple tips will help you to improve the impact of your marketing copy. If you have questions about this post or want to talk about improving your company's direct marketing efforts, I invite you to leave a comment below or call us at 831.887.0111.

—Jason @ Ideavise

"Relationships Don't Matter in Business." Wait…What?

Relationships don't matter in business. Or so I was told recently in a conversation which included that; one of the most short-sighted statements ever heard in business. The gist of the exchange was an executive telling a vendor that relationships don't matter in business—that they're immaterial to the process.

What's more likely is that this particular executive doesn't understand HOW to relate to people in business. And since he doesn't understand, he perceives it to be worthless.

If that truly is the view of this particular executive, then he's missed one of the primary purposes of commerce, which is service. The most successful type of service exists when the person providing it truly understands the position and need of the person receiving it. The best way to accomplish this is through communication—forming a relationship.

Our company's relationship with our print rep is a perfect example (shameless plug: Denise Cardona at Printworx in Watsonville, CA). Because of our history (read: relationship), I know that she's willing to do everything within her power to get our projects completed on time and within budget. Consistently, time and time again, she's put herself in a position to serve the needs of our company. And it's because of that relationship that I'm not currently in the market for a print vendor. I'm quite satisfied with the one that I have.

Relationships are foundational for trust, and visa versa. More often than not, companies have options when it comes to clients, vendors and community associations, and we typically gravitate toward sources that we trust. To postulate that relationships don't matter means that no value is placed on service or trust and  that price alone is probably the most important criteria (read our post from December 4th: How to Overpay by Shopping for the Lowest Price). Businesses that shop on price alone will never experience the value that solid, long-term relationships create.

Do business relationships matter to you? Regardless of the answer is yes or no, tell us about it in the comments below.

—Jason @ Ideavise

Why Worry About Design?

Companies which hold design to be a core business virtue performed better financially. Here's a quote from the article over at BusinessWeek.com:

[Two fellows from] Northeastern University's School of Business, have conducted research in conjunction with DMI, the Design Management Institute, on the financial performance of design since the mid-1990s. They evaluated financial performance by using traditional financial ratios, such as return on assets and net cash flow to sales, for the sample period. They found that firms rated as having good design were stronger on virtually all financial measures from a practical and managerial perspective, as well as from a statistical perspective.

The full article can be found here.

Wish vs. Want

"Some people wish they had something and wait for the magic to happen. Others want it to happen and seek ways in which to make things come alive."

—Brian DeLong

(Brian is the Project Director here at Ideavise, and normally doesn't speak in such flowerly prose. Who knew that a technology guy could wax poetic in a fleeting moment of complete existential awareness.)

How to Overpay by Shopping for the Lowest Price

There's an old story which goes something like this:

A designer and a client were meeting to discuss an estimate for an upcoming project. After carefully reviewing the proposal, the client reached the final page where the financial terms of the project were disclosed. "You charge $1,500 for a logo?",  exclaimed the client. Without missing a beat, the designer replied, "Actually, the logo itself is free. The $1,500 is for the 10 years of experience that it takes to design the logo."

It's easy to assume that the price you're paying represents the tangible value of the service that you're receiving. Sometimes, this may even be the case. But often, there's more to the story. Value is more than price. Value also considers time and proficiency.

If a project costs half as much, but takes twice as long—depending on the job—it may not be a big deal. But if the same project costs half as much, takes twice as long and is riddled with errors, then you're obviously not receiving good value.

There are hidden jems in virtually every industry. People (and companies) who charge a fair price and offer a level of proficiency rarely duplicated by others in their field. They might initially appear more expensive, but these relationships actually save us money by helping to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that trap the less experienced.

How do you choose vendors, contractors and suppliers? If it's based solely on whomever had the lowest price, then you're probably overpaying.

Do you have a value vs. proficiency story that you'd like to share? Leave us a note using the comment box below.

Thanks for reading.

—Jason @ Ideavise

The Ideavise Book List, a.k.a. What We're Reading