In a competitive market, finding new ways to reach your customers in a cost-effective way can sometimes be hit-and-miss. Being able to track and measure your advertising means that you can save money by eliminating costs that are not returning the best value.

Email marketing is one of the most common forms of measurable advertising that is suitable for any size of company. Used correctly, email marketing - known for its cost effectiveness and powerful measurability - can be very effective while poorly produced email marketing can have negative effects.

To a lot of people the term “email marketing” automatically conjures images of email intent on one thing: selling. In actual fact there are a number of different types of email communication, some of which are not directly sales-related but can certainly contribute to your bottom line in other ways.

When considering which types of email to promote your products and services it’s important to remember that you don’t need to take a one-size-fits-all approach. Some customer types will be much more suited to email newsletters than one-off announcements while the reverse might apply to others.

Different types of email marketing you can offer

Quick Announcements

Often called postcard emails, these are simple, brief announcements you might use to inform customers of a special offer, a popular new product or quick-fire sale. These types of emails are typically restricted to a single call-to-action and should be easy for the recipient to scan in a few seconds.

Email Newsletters

The primary purpose of an email newsletter is to build upon the relationship with your customers. Of course, this might (and should) indirectly result in an increase in sales but the focus should be on providing relevant, useful content that your subscribers might be interested in.
Often the content isn’t directly related to your products either. For example, a produce store might send a monthly newsletter featuring a few recipes, a story on the benefits of organic produce and a column with exercising tips.

Catalog Emails

A catalog-based email is fairly self explanatory, being an electronic version of a print brochure which lists particular products with the primary goal being to encourage customers to purchase.

Press Releases

Email press releases can be a great way to attract news coverage. Of course, there are a number of ways that can distribute your press releases to the media but maintaining your own list of media contacts can be a great way for you to send targeted, personalized press releases to only those contacts who will be interested.

Some of the most successful email campaigns contain…

Information specific to your area of expertise
Case studies and examples of work you’ve done with other clients
Industry news
Information about product developments and new services
Special offers and discounts
Information relevant to clients’ needs

Avoid cutting corners

Use a professional designer. Your email design needs to be as attractive as possible because viewers are more likely to connect emotionally with the content.

Use colour, space, high impact images and a clear hierarchy of information to attract and keep the viewer’s attention…without getting in the way of key functionality.

Accessibility - email readers all display emails differently so ensure your designer has tested your template(s) in all the widely used email systems.

Protect your sending reputation. If you abuse email marketing or attempt large-scale email marketing without professional advice you are at risk of damaging your reputation with spam filters.

Be legal. You must follow certain regulations regarding email marketing.

For more advice on how email marketing could work for your business contact Toby Hutchings from Evoke Creative on 07 834 3366 or email toby@evokecreative.co.nz

The Internet is no longer a niche technology; it is fast becoming a part of everyday life. With more and more people using it to find and research all kinds of goods and services it is crucial to have your company website at the top of its game.

WHERE DO YOU START?

Websites are created to achieve different objectives. Your website might be an informative brand-building website that encourages user enquiries or its purpose might be to provide product information and specifications. You might use it to make your business accessible to customers outside of your geographic area. Your customers might even be able to use their credit card to make a purchase or to book a service. Whatever your website’s purpose it is important to have clear objectives in place and to access those objectives to ensure they meet the continually changing needs of your customers.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?

When it comes to choosing a website provider you have a lot of choice. How do you choose a provider that will deliver on reaching your website’s full potential?

Below are a few points worth considering when accessing your current website or choosing a provider:

• Design – does the website have a suitable style (look and feel) for its intended audience? Does it reflect the atmosphere or environment of your company, product or service and encourage the user to make a conscious buying decision?
• Navigation/usability – is the website easy to navigate? Can the user easily and efficiently find what they are looking for? Is a search function available? If a user has trouble finding what they are looking for or struggles to work the website they will most likely move onto the next website.
• Management – can the website be managed easily and efficiently? If your website has a content management system (CMS), tasks such as editing page content (text, images, documents, links, etc.), products, user accounts, etc. should be quick, easy and efficient.
• Measurement and tracking – do you know how many enquiries you get from your website? Do you know how many visitors your website gets and how they found your website? At a minimum you should be provided monthly reports that give you information on how your website is being used and by whom. When used correctly this can also help you to evaluate other types of advertising and media.
• Agility – is your website designed and build in a manner that streamlines adding features and functionality? Websites are dynamic by nature and an agile approach from the start saves money in the long run.
• Best practices and standards - does your website conform to International Web Consortium standards? To the untrained eye a poorly constructed website may look similar to standards-compliant websites but they have a number of flaws including poor search engine performance, slower loading speeds, compatibility issues with certain technologies (including future technologies) and accessibility and ease of updating/upgrading.

• For those wanting to push their website a little harder, service plans can be a good idea as these give your website provider the opportunity to evaluate your website on a regular basis and report on how the website can be grown, enhanced and promoted for maximum value. They often include a preferential service and special rates for additional work.

WHAT TO AVOID

Be wary of offers of free or cheap websites, restrictive software and limiting design templates. Offers that seem too good to be true probably are!
Look for designers who have varied portfolio that shows both their creative and technical capabilities across a range of industries, good understanding of business logic, branding and corporate identity and don’t hesitate to ask them questions.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information a directory of website information for business owners is freely available at www.evokecreative.co.nz/website-resources, or contact Toby on +64 7 834 3366

The words ‘Brand’ and ‘Branding’ are thrown around by all sorts of people with many different meanings. In this article we shed some light on the subject of branding; what it is, how it works and how you can use it to help improve your business.

What do we mean by the word ‘Brand’?

A brand is a set of associations that a consumer makes with a company, product, service, individual or organisation.

The word ‘Brand’ is defined in the Oxford American Dictionary as “The promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design.”

While advertising and design make up the physical elements of a brands image, in reality there are more ingredients to a successful brand. Factors including the personality of your business, its vision, and its point of difference all influence how consumers perceive brands and consequently determine the consumers buying habits.

Some of these associations are intentional (actively promoted) and some may be outside of the company’s control (accidental). For example, Coca-Cola has actively promoted the positive associations of being the original drink ‘The Real Thing’, yet consumers may also see it as unhealthy.

What is Branding?

Branding is an attempt to create and manipulate consumer associations to help the business perform better.

Any organisation can benefit enormously by creating a brand that its consumers perceive to be attractive and memorable.

If you’re thinking about how to rebrand your business, its products or services, or if you want to assess where your brand stands at present, there are a few key aspects to consider:

• The big idea – what lies at the heart of your company?
• Values – what do you believe in?
• Vision – where are you going?
• Personality – how do you want to come across?

Why is branding important?

Branding can help you stand out from your competitors, it can add value to your offer, and it can help you engage with customers.

Creating difference from competition
Branding is a way of clearly highlighting what makes your offer different to, and more desirable than anyone else’s.

Effective branding elevates a product or organisation from being just one commodity amongst many identical commodities, to become something with a unique character and promise.

Adding Value

People are generally willing to pay more for a branded product than they are for something which is largely unbranded. Furthermore positive associations with a certain brand can be extended through a whole range of products or services.

Connecting with People

Creating a connection with people is important for all organisations and a brand can embody attributes which consumers will feel drawn to.

Design and branding

As we started out by saying, an organisation’s brand is a whole set of associations which people make when they think about or encounter that business.

A common misconception is that a brand is simply a logo or identity. The logo is one instance of a brand, although it’s a top-level communication, seen most frequently by the greatest number of people. It should therefore encompass the key ingredients of the brand in a distinctive and recognisable symbol.

After working through a branding project with your designer you should be left with something called a brand identity style guide. This document details exactly how the different design elements (typically visual) should be applied in different situations. It will give information on things like typography, graphics, colors, materials, templates and photography used in the visual manifestation of the brand, providing instructions on how to apply them in different contexts, at different scales and so on. More detailed brand guidelines may include things like cultural or behavioral directions for staff training.

Your organisation can use these brand guidelines to manage the brand after the designer’s work on the project is completed without losing the original consistency and clarity of the designs and, most importantly, without losing sight of your original big idea.

Summary

While absolute control over a brand is not possible due to outside influences, intelligent use of design, advertising, marketing, service proposition, company culture etc can all help to generate associations in people’s minds that will benefit the organisation.

In different industry sectors the audiences, competitors, delivery and service aspects of branding may differ, but the basic principle of being clear about what you stand for always applies.

Contact Evoke Creative today for more information on branding or re-branding for your products, business, or organization.