inside this issue
~ Welcome ~
~
Article 1 ~
Your Diamond Mine:
Past & Present Customers
~
Article 2 ~
The Meaning of Colors
~
BoldPrint News ~
New Features in our Resources Section
~
Staff Spotlight ~
Susan Lawrence
~
The Deal ~
Hot off the press & only available here!
~
Newest Clients ~ |
Welcome!
Welcome to the
Bold Print,
the e-newsletter from Bold Print Design Studio, where you'll find creative marketing ideas, small business articles, tips and
advice... and, of course, the special deal.
As always, we welcome your feedback. Please drop us a note if you
have something you would like to see covered in the newsletter, or
if you have a question for our Q&A.
Your Diamond Mine: Past and Present Customers
by Wendy Maynard, Marketing Maven
In the early 1900s, Reverend Russell
Conwell - founder of Temple University - gave a popular speech
called "Acres of Diamonds." In it, he said:
"Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas.
They are in your own backyard if you but dig for them."
Whether you are a business owner, marketing professional, or other
entrepreneur, it is crucial to remember your backyard diamonds are
your past and present satisfied customers. You may currently be
focusing most of your efforts on front-end sales. Once a sale is
over, many businesses move on to getting the next new customer.
The big mistake is not developing a continuing stream of sales from
existing customers – ignoring their lifetime value.
Your real diamond mine is in the continuing stream of sales that can
be realized over the lifetime of your existing and past customers.
Plus, it costs much more to acquire a new customer than maintaining
a relationship. When you ignore customers you've already served,
it's like throwing money away.
Once you've made a sale, your customers know, like, and trust you
and are more likely to buy from you a second time.
Here are some tips for you to effectively mine your "acres of
diamonds":
1. Organize Contacts: You have to be able to get back in
touch with your customers again to be able to market and sell to
them. Maintain a centralized database to organize names, addresses,
and phone numbers. Keep track of purchase histories and interests.
2. Collect Information: Depending on your business, there are
a variety of ways you can collect customer data such as sign-up
sheets, website forms, postcards, and so on. Be creative - use free
offers, VIP programs, and contests to provide incentives.
3. Regularly Communicate: No matter what business you are in,
find methods to stay in regular communication with your customers.
Ideas include a newsletter, ezine, holiday cards, coupons, and
special offers. For some businesses, it may work to take a client
out to lunch or send a hand-written note. And, don't forget the
telephone!
4. Offer Proof: Provide case studies and testimonials to show
how you have helped other customers. In your communication, you can
provide helpful information, offer seminars, and provide useful tips
to keep your business on the top of your customers' minds and to
remind them of how your company can help them.
5. Testimonials Sell: For word-of-mouth, there is no one that
can sing your praises like a satisfied customer! Nothing speaks
louder to a potential customer that a peer. Ask for testimonials.
Post these on your website or feature them in your newsletter.
Remember, if you don't think to ask, they may not think to offer.
6. Cross-sell and Up-sell: Make sure customers know the
entire range of your products or services. Once your customer is in
your sales funnel, they are much more likely to buy larger-ticket
items from you. Based on their past buying habits, offer them the
deluxe model, more options, or premium services.
As you start to work your backyard diamond mine, I can't emphasize
this enough - take good care of it. Appreciate your loyal customers
by offering them special deals and incentives. You need customers
more than they need your business.
There will always be about 20% of your customers who will give you
80% of your business. These are the people whom should receive most
of your attention, energy, and time. By concentrating on your best
customers, your marketing efforts will become more efficient and
cost effective. It also rewards these customers because they are
getting the most personal attention.
Keep in contact with your customers and keep them delighted. In
return, they will continue to give you their business.
© 2006 Wendy Gray Maynard. ABOUT
THE AUTHOR: Wendy Maynard, the Marketing Maven, publishes REMARKABLE
MARKETING, a weekly ezine for business owners, freelancers, and
entrepreneurs. If you're ready to skyrocket your sales, easily
attract customers, and have more fun, get your FREE TIPS now at
www.gomarketingmaven.com
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The Meaning of Colors
When deciding on colors for your logo or
website, keep in mind these common color connotations from
Color Wheel Pro.
Red
Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy,
war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion,
desire, and love.
Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human
metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure.
It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights,
and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used
to indicate courage. It is a color found in many national flags.
Red brings text and images to the foreground. Use it as an accent
color to stimulate people to make quick decisions; it is a perfect
color for 'Buy Now' or 'Click Here' buttons on Internet banners and
websites. In advertising, red is often used to evoke erotic feelings
(red lips, red nails, red-light districts, 'Lady in Red', etc). Red
is widely used to indicate danger (high voltage signs, traffic
lights). This color is also commonly associated with energy, so you
can use it when promoting energy drinks, games, cars, items related
to sports and high physical activity.
Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine
qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger,
leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.
Orange
Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is
associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents
enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination,
attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the
sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red.
Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an
invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly
accepted among young people. As a citrus color, orange is associated
with healthy food and stimulates appetite. Orange is the color of
fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and
endurance.
Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch
attention and highlight the most important elements of your design.
Orange is very effective for promoting food products and toys.
Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.
Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure,
domination, aggression, and thirst for action.
Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is
illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high
quality.
Yellow
Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy,
happiness, intellect, and energy.
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates
mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often
associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter,
which is the reason taxicabs are painted this color. When overused,
yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry
more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colors when placed
against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning. In
heraldry, yellow indicates honor and loyalty. Later the meaning of
yellow was connected with cowardice.
Use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings. You can choose
yellow to promote children's products and items related to leisure.
Yellow is very effective for attracting attention, so use it to
highlight the most important elements of your design. Men usually
perceive yellow as a very lighthearted, 'childish' color, so it is
not recommended to use yellow when selling prestigious, expensive
products to men – nobody will buy a yellow business suit or a yellow
Mercedes. Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous color, so avoid
using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety. Light
yellow tends to disappear into white, so it usually needs a dark
color to highlight it. Shades of yellow are visually unappealing
because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.
Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and
jealousy.
Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.
Green
Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony,
freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence
with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.
Green has great healing power. It is the most restful color for the
human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and
endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of experience; for example,
a 'greenhorn' is a novice. In heraldry, green indicates growth and
hope. Green, as opposed to red, means safety; it is the color of
free passage in road traffic.
Use green to indicate safety when advertising drugs and medical
products. Green is directly related to nature, so you can use it to
promote 'green' products. Dull, darker green is commonly associated
with money, the financial world, banking, and Wall Street.
Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and
jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
Olive green is the traditional color of peace.
Blue
Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with
depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom,
confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human
metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly
associated with tranquility and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used
to symbolize piety and sincerity.
You can use blue to promote products and services related to
cleanliness (water purification filters, cleaning liquids, vodka),
air and sky (airlines, airports, air conditioners), water and sea
(sea voyages, mineral water). As opposed to emotionally warm colors
like red, orange, and yellow; blue is linked to consciousness and
intellect. Use blue to suggest precision when promoting high-tech
products.
Blue is a masculine color; according to studies, it is highly
accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise,
and stability; it is a preferred color for corporate America.
Avoid using blue when promoting food and cooking, because blue
suppresses appetite. When used together with warm colors like yellow
or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs; for example,
blue-yellow-red is a perfect color scheme for a superhero.
Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility,
understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.
Purple
Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple
is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury,
and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is
associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery,
and magic.
According to surveys, almost 75 percent of pre-adolescent children
prefer purple to all other colors. Purple is a very rare color in
nature; some people consider it to be artificial.
Light purple is a good choice for a feminine design. You can use
bright purple when promoting children's products.
Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.
Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.
White
White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and
virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.
White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black,
white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a
successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.
In advertising, white is associated with coolness and cleanliness
because it's the color of snow. You can use white to suggest
simplicity in high-tech products. White is an appropriate color for
charitable organizations; angels are usually imagined wearing white
clothes. White is associated with hospitals, doctors, and sterility,
so you can use white to suggest safety when promoting medical
products. White is often associated with low weight, low-fat food,
and dairy products.
Black
Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil,
and mystery.
Black is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown
(black holes). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist,
black humor, 'black death'). Black denotes strength and authority;
it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color
(black tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of
grief.
Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, but a black
background diminishes readability. A black suit or dress can make
you look thinner. When designing for a gallery of art or
photography, you can use a black or gray background to make the
other colors stand out. Black contrasts well with bright colors.
Combined with red or orange – other very powerful colors – black
gives a very aggressive color scheme.
This article courtesy of Color Wheel Pro, a
software program to create color schemes and preview them on
real-world examples. See Color Theory in Action at
www.color-wheel-pro.com
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Bold Print News
---New Features in our Resources
Section!---
We have
recently added a few items to our ever-expanding resources section.
 One
is a collection of links we heartily recommend - tools and tips in
the small business / design field.
Click here to view the links.
 Another
is our new Graphic Design Terms Glossary. it is a comprehensive
listing of many common design terms, both for print and web.
Click here to view the glossary.
---New Manual Created for IDX Realtor Websites ---
We now have a
60+ page manual for how to get the most out of your Bold Print
Design/iHomefinder Powered IDX/MLS Realtor Website. It is a very
complete and comprehensive information source. If you already have
an IDX/MLS website and would like a copy of the manual, just let us
know. We'll email one right over to you.
[top]
Staff
Spotlight: Susan Lawrence
Susan Elizabeth Lawrence
Principal/Senior Designer
Birthday: February 8, Aquarius
Hobbies: Design, Vegetarian Cooking, Camping, My
Children & Family
Music: A little of everything, changing frequently so
I don't get bored. Some punk, some folk, some r&b, some hip
hop, some reggae, Jimi Hendrix and the classics, almost
anything live is good... We have both Napster and Sirius Satellite Radio,
so our pool of music is endless! |
Susan Lawrence has been working on design projects since high
school, with classes in art, computer design and layout, printing
and pre-press and photography. She served as Art Club President, and
even "lettered" in Art. In college, Susan was
a
member of the Radford University Art Guild, and contributed to the
Radford University Student Newspaper, The Tartan, as both a
photographer and ad design/layout artist.
Later, Susan became a senior graphic designer with a northern
Virginia media company where she designed ads and assisted with the
production management of four northern Virginia newspapers. In
addition, she was responsible for the layout and production of
several outside contracted publications.
Susan was next employed as production manager by a major Washington
DC- based trade association. Responsible for the production of over
thirty publications annually, Susan learned valuable skills in the
production arena from cost-cutting printing and binding techniques
to finding the perfect vendor for each print job.
Although many new skills were learned and old skills perfected,
Susan's dream of being at home with her children was beginning to
resurface due to long hours and travel associated with working with
a major corporation. So, she did what any sane and responsible
person would do: quit her job and went freelance.
Bold Print Design Studio was formed, then called Visual
Communications. Shortly thereafter, husband Scott took the same
plunge, quitting his full time job with a major DC environmental
organization to stay home and work with Susan at Bold Print. Those
days were tough working from a small breakfast nook in northern
Virginia. But it has all paid off now that Bold Print Design is a
full studio in the lower level of a home walking distance to the
ocean in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Outside of Bold Print Design Susan serves as Communications Director
at her church, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Outer
Banks. She's created and maintains their website at
www.uucob.org.
And in other news... Susan and family are expecting a new baby in
February of 2007. With two
wonderful sons already, let's hope for a girl this time!
[top]
The DEAL!
REFERRAL FRENZY!
Know someone
who could use a new website or print materials? Send them to us. If
we work together, we'll send YOU
10% of whatever they spend with us on their first project. Make sure
they name-drop so we know how they found us.
Offer
good on new clients who contract us before December 31, 2006.
Click to see our website portfolios:
informational,
e-commerce,
real estate.
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Welcome to our Newest Clients
We extend a warm welcome to our newest clients listed below. We
look forward to working with you on your graphic design projects!
The Crawford Cottage: Vacation Rental in Nags Head, NC
Hurricane Lane Storm Shutters, NC
Shore Realty, NC
Wild Heron Properties, Denver CO
Home Tour Magazine of the Outer Banks, NC
View
our full
Client List
[top]
Next Issue
Look to us next quarter for: putting your website to work for you -
avoid wasting money on a site that isn't working for you.
We'll also feature
information on email-marketing systems, also known as permission
marketing or viral marketing.
And, of course, a discount code for your upcoming design
needs.
If
you're looking for creative and effective ways to bring attention to
your business, turn to the experts at Bold Print Design Studio. We
can handle all aspects of your projects from concept through
production, and we make it easy for you.
Contact us today to learn what we can offer to your next project.
Sincerely,
Scott & Susan Lawrence
and the Team at Bold Print Design Studio
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