An Amazing Brochure Is Essential

The Business is launched, the Logo designed and the Strategy is set! It’s time for an Amazing Brochure! This is often a difficult task for a new or even current business. The best way to get started is by brainstorming away from the computer. That’s right; grab a pencil, pen, or crayon even and a piece of loose-leaf.  It’s very important to get the ideas down and the elements of an Amazing Brochure on paper before you start designing.

Brochures are an integral part of any marketing strategy and a must have item for any new business. They are often the first look at a company and something that can stick around on a desk or folder for any potential new client. This form of business communication is a sound way to create a lasting impression for your target market.

Remember CONTENT is essential. It is so important to say something that is lasting and factual about your products and services; otherwise your hard work will become someone else’s drink coaster. This communication can do a lot to give your potential clients a feel for your company or the theme of your products and services. We always stress that doing the research on your target market is the key to being effective with your business communications. Know your client and your markets so that your message doesn’t get lost in the graphics.

Let’s examine the key pieces of a custom brochure. When designing something memorable you need to keep in mind that eye catching will grab the attention, flashy can turn your market off, so be sure to make it germane to the target market. Create several variations if necessary and then combine the key elements when you decide to refine your design for printing.

Cover

The first thing a client will notice is your cover. We use the company Logo or a variation of it to stand out and then motivate the client to read on about your products and services. The question the client immediately asks is HOW WILL THIS BENEFIT ME? The answer will be laid-out clearly within your communications. 

Graphics & Fonts

Picking the correct Graphics, Pictures and Fonts is not an easy task. Always be specific and make them relate to the content, the words of the brochure. Make the reader want to know what those graphics and pictures represent and then allow the fonts to speak off the page.

If they don’t, the quality of your products and services will never be communicated properly and it will take much longer the next time, they review your Business communications.  It is very common for consumers to read headlines and subheads and then scan the words for ideas that relate to their needs. We always use a BOLD headline and then a different font type in the body, for our client’s communications. This shows the viewer where to read and what the content is supposed to convey. This content should be specific and clear and give GREAT information about your company’s product and services.

Call Me

This final aspect of the brochure should be a focal point and found easily. We will generally mention the company name on the cover page with the LOGO but then again somewhere in the body to reinforce again whose products and services the consumer is learning about throughout the content. Once the reader has made their way through the creative design, they should find a block of information that again states the Company Name in the chosen company font, the easiest telephone number to be remembered, a fax number if applicable, the company website and blog address, an email address and then the physical address of the company. It’s important to give the consumer a variety of ways to contact your company; so that it is their choice and easy as possible for them to answer that call to action.

Lay It Out

Crucial Crucial Crucial aspect of the brochure!! If your company wants to stand out from the rest it is the most important aspect of the brochure. Chose the layout correctly and your company will make an impression and be memorable. If you layout your information like every other brochure, then you can expect the same results and be lost in the pile. We like to show our clients a variety of page sizes, and folds that will give their clients an idea that the time was spent to attract their attention, the research was done and the content was put together in such a way to express the benefits to them specifically. A clean design printed on quality paper with a paper finish will enhance your look and show your audience that your company is a premier provider of these products and services.

Producing this type of business communication can be costly if done incorrectly but it can yield high results when properly produced. It is JAX Designs desire to make your company look brilliant so give us a call, check us out online http://www.JAXDzign.com, Facebook Us or send us an email and we would be happy to show you how we have helped companies, just like yours exceed their goals!

With One Thought In Mind…YOUR Design…Refined!

Cost Effective JAX Marketing Tactics By Design

While it may be incredibly difficult to get a business off the ground, many hard working people are doing just that every year.  They have a little luck and a drive to produce success. What we will discuss in this article is the ways that you can increase your chances of being successful.  We don’t have all the answers but we do have a few tips that you can implement on a short budget and a desire to succeed. Keep in mind that no single effort will be the tactic that gets your business to #1, but rather a combination of them, repeating the most appealing ones for your company’s products and services will help you win! Let’s take a look at a few tactics that have helped our clients to grow.

Make Your Business Communications Personal

If you hand write something onto the delivery envelope or stick a post it note to the communication, those items are read first and remembered longer as it comes across specific to the person receiving the communications. We always recommend a pad of imprinted stick-it notes with varied messages to entice your target market to read further, keeping the message concise and to the point. Then don’t forget to enclose your brochure, postcard, newsletter etc. in all of your outgoing orders.

Send A Short Postcard Or Email

One of the best ways to increase your chances and decrease your challenges is through advertising. This can be extremely costly but with consistency it will pay off.  We often suggest creating a small advertisement and either having it imprinted onto a postcard and mailed to your immediate geographic areas or repurposing that content into an effective email that you can send out to your  target market.  Consumers will read a postcard or email message that is brief and to the point. These campaigns can have a high yield for traffic to your website or store front; generating sales leads for a very small cost.

Work With A Partner

Maximize your reach by working with another vendor that your target market might find interesting as well. If you create a 3 panel brochure for your organization you may want to include a business card or a coupon to a neighboring business that has agreed to do the same for your company. This will create good will and a reach into a whole new market that you may never have explored. We often introduce our clients to one another in order to increase the networking opportunities. You will also look like an expert in the field with additional resources for your prospects.

Soft Sell The News

Another very cost effective way of communicating your products and services as well as the latest news for the industry and company, is through a Newsletter. We have found this form of communication very helpful for our clients. It adds a dimension to your business that speaks to being a “mover and shaker” and “someone in the know.” Monthly, Quarterly or Annually based on the amount of information you can provide are best when the news is again to the point and easily read. Keep the fonts bold and big and more like bullet points and quick statements of fact. Your clients are busy too and may only have a half minute or less, so make your major point easily recognizable and a call to action. Keep in mind that it costs much less to email a newsletter than to print and mail it, so if you are diligent at collecting emails addresses, an eye-catching PDF can easily be sent and then posted in your news section on your blog or website.

Follow Up & Renew

Always follow up on a sale with a customer right away, communicating an offering, additional service or product at a "special" rate or as an added value. This will keep your company at the top of mind awareness. This communication should also make mention of referring you to a friend or colleague, that could use your products and services as well. This will increase your market influence and again make you the expert in the area or market. An imprinted thank you note, for the new or renewal business is also a great way to make your company your client’s newest partner, since so few companies thank for doing business together.

Work On Your Speaking Voice

Have a script ready for when a prospect calls and hint at new products and services or monthly specials so that your consumers will have additional questions or thoughts beyond the reason for their call. We always suggest picking up the phone and not allowing it to go to a voicemail. In our high pressure society, prospects want their questions answered now and are willing to learn more about your company also, once they have their question answered. Your voicemail can’t do that and often will turn a prospect on to your competition. If you have a monthly special or a sale ending soon, include that information in the way you answer the call, so that you can create a sense of urgency.

Marketing can be a challenge but also a huge reward when it is successful, take advantage of every opportunity available when communicating your company value to your consumers. Vary the communications and try your best to keep track of the ones that are most successful. If you would like to learn how       JAX Designs has made our clients communications more memorable and effective, visit our website at http://www.jaxdzign.com/. We would enjoy the opportunity to learn more and be a part of the success of your business...

A Promotional Video...To What Else...Market Your Company!~

Branding Your Company with a Fantastic Logo

Once the decision is made on the company name and your company is interested in visually representing that name, it is important to do the research in order to design a fantastic LOGO.  This is crucial because it will leave a lasting impression in your potential customer’s mind of what your brand represents.  In fact, we think that research is the most important factor in designing a fantastic logo. Spend the initial time on research to brainstorm an interesting and unique yet simple design, that your customers can really connect your product and service to your brand, and you will gain and retain the business your company desires…

After putting a few thoughts together with your team of marketers, it’s important to decide the type of logo you would like to represent your company.  We basically design 3 types of logos, Font-based Representations, Graphical Representations and Abstract Representations. When you think of a Microsoft, you think of the way the word is written or the font of the word Microsoft. Monster Energy Drinks for example use a graphic as well as the words of the company so the customer can easily distinguish the brand of energy drink or even now the apparel.  An abstract Logo would be something like the NIKE’ swoosh, that over time has become the most recognizable branding for any public company.

The abstract logo is probably the most difficult because it takes a longer time for the customer to link the product with that design, but with a massive amount of marketing and offering a quality product your company’s design could fair just as well as the biggest in the world.

Make Your Thoughts Become Reality

Once your company has decided on the type of logo you would like to represent your products and service what should a really fantastic logo do? Simply put, MAKE YOUR MARK! The following are a few ideas that we at JAX Designs keep in mind when we are designing for our customers.

Can we differentiate your company from your competition?

Be original and by doing the research your brand won’t look like a copy-cat of an already successful brand. Target and Walmart don’t look anything like each other, nor do Home-Depot or Lowes but each has been able to carve out a very successful piece of the market and each is easily recognizable.

Can we design your logo to be memorable?

The very next time a customer needs something from your market you want top of mind awareness so that your brand is the first one recognized as the best choice. Your logo should make that statement quickly and easily for your company.

Can we keep it simple, so that your clients can recognize you fast?

Your logo should be simple enough to make a fast statement. Make it easy to see at a quick glance. We sell X’s or we fix Y’s. If your company name says that, then a nice graphic should show it.

Can we choose the appropriate font?

The font can make all the difference between representing your company in a BOLD way on in a very elegant and graceful way. Generally speaking an Interior Design Company would probably look most effective if a Script font was chosen. Whereas a Trash Company may look to use a Bold Block lettering that says we remove garbage. This is a crossroads though because some fonts are easier to reproduce online and in print. It’s very important to make this choice wisely.

Can we effectively use color to represent your brand?

By doing the research, we can distinguish a GREEN company from its competition by effectively using shades of that color to place in a customer’s mind that this company is good for the environment.

Can we avoid all of the distractions?

A logo does not need the company’s full name or tag line but it does need to be recognizable. Your company may be a LLC or and Inc., or have a very short tagline, but it’s not important to distract the potential customer with those details. The full name can be placed on your contracts and brochures once the customer needs additional information regarding your brand. At this point you don’t want clutter!

The Final Word…

Making logo’s memorable and effective is an art form but it’s more than just the artwork. It requires expensive software and the talent to use that software to make your company image memorable.  It’s important to make the logo scalable so that if you use it on your letterhead and then want to place it on your building someday, the images don’t become distorted and grainy.  

A great place to begin your research and start the journey to create the perfect look for your brand is the brands of the world website. They have almost every public company in file formats that your computer can read and analyze. Get your inspiration from some of the fonts and graphics and then let your imagination and the brainstorming begin. If you don’t have that kind of time or talent, give JAX Designs a call or visit our website www.JAXDzign.com and we will get the ball rolling to making your brand or service the most recognizable in the marketplace...

A BRAND'S VALUE

Just a couple thoughts from my desk....

A Consumer sees a particular brand name as an invisible contract. The brand name may reduce the buyers' sense of doubt or uncertainty, allowing them to purchase or trust the brand, improving their sense of value. Promoting a brand can address either the prices, actual brand attributes or the feeling of brand attributes. Product value is shown to the consumer using regular and consistent visual cues and a consistent message, allowing the buyer to quickly distinguish between the different brands available and their perceived product value and attributes. As a buyer considers the actual product features in connection with the brand values, along with cost, they can quickly arrive at your brand in the marketplace for purchase consideration. The brand's value can then become even more dependent on effective communications in the marketplace and products value can be improved with more effective communications.

A products perceived value(s) becomes part of the tradeoff a buyer will consider as they weigh the tangible benefits against the cost, whether monetary or labor to own, helping them to make their purchase decision. Products that have high perceived value are always first in a buyer’s consideration and then ease of use second. When a product's combined actual value and perceived value are consistently higher than any other product in the category, that product will have the highest customer loyalty in terms of purchase, repurchase, and recommendation. Generally, competing brands can improve market share against the brand leader by lowering costs initially or for a short term, improving their product's actual features or improving their brand's perceived benefits, using effective communications.

NOT ALL consumers are created equal, some will always shoot for the deal or buy on price, making effective communications essential to reaching these consumer's and expanding your market base. Often, recommendation and brand loyalty is not enough; a bad economy is a perfect example of this model. Many consumers have to purchase outside their perceived valued product due to cost, making it even more important to prove your products value on a consistent basis with them or increasing your brand's base to make up the cost of lost brand loyalists.

We believe the best communication is constant communication especially in a downturn; many smaller brands seize your market share and can hold onto it after the downturn, if the buyer feels their new brand meets their perceived needs. If you can keep these brands at a distance from your market share, by effectively communicating your value, obviously you will continue to WIN!~