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Uber’s Powerful Rebrand and What Your Business Can Learn From It

October 1, 2018, 8:11 am
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Brand identity constantly evolves and changes in public opinion and bad press can tarnish a company’s brand.

That’s exactly what happened with Uber when it rebranded for the second time in three years.

The Uber brand became associated with negative attention rather than a positive brand experience, and its existing branding was undermining Uber’s marketing efforts.

Let’s take a look at why Uber rebranded, the lessons you can learn from their rebrand, and how smart businesses can do the same to protect their brand’s health and success.

The basics of branding for businesses

A great brand starts with a good, memorable company name and professionally designed logo.

A company’s name and logo should spark immediate recognition whenever and wherever they appear.

But there’s more to creating a great brand experience than a flashy new logo. As we explained:

A brand is the sum total of the experience your prospects and customers have with your company. A strong brand communicates what your company does, how it does it, and at the same time, establishes trust and credibility with your prospects and customers. Your company’s brand is, in many ways, its personality. Your brand lives in everyday interactions your company has with its prospects and customers, including the images you share, the messages you post on your website, the content of your marketing materials, your presentations and booths at conferences, and your posts on social networks.

Successful businesses know that checking on brand health is critical if they want to stay profitable.

Ride-sharing juggernaut Uber is all too familiar with checking on brand health. They updated their logo and branding just two years ago.

Why did Uber rebrand once again in 2018?

Uber’s previous logo from their 2016 rebrand. Image courtesy of Uber.

Uber’s lackluster brand experience

Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick built a hugely successful business, but an increasingly toxic culture had become a poison and tarnished the brand.

The old Uber logo emphasized the public’s perception of this hostility, imposing itself on customers with an all-caps, hyper-masculine aesthetic.

Fast Company’s Mark Wilson described the harsh impression the old logo left on customers:

The word UBER was a visual manspread, evoking the members-only corporate club from Uber’s roots as an on-demand black car service for Silicon Valley’s elite.

The need to rebrand was clear: without a complete brand overhaul, Uber risked totaling its business.

Promotional reel for Uber’s new brand. Video courtesy of Uber.

Uber’s brand strategy for a redesign

Uber understood it faced a critical mission: it had to persuade customers that its lousy reputation left the building when its former CEO was replaced.

Uber opted for a complete redesign to overhaul the brand from the ground up.

New CEO Dara Khosrowshahi introduced himself to customers with a reassurance that he would bring the company a fresh start:

I’m so excited to write Uber’s next chapter with you. It starts with new leaders, a better company culture, and improvements to our app…

To reinforce their newfound dedication to a better customer experience, Uber’s brand strategy started with its most important visual element: their logo.

Uber’s new logo is the foundation of a substantial rebranding effort – one that incorporates a sense of mobility, accessibility, and friendliness not found in previous iterations. And in keeping with logo design trends, Uber’s promotional materials showcased how Uber was using its new logo in the real world.

Uber’s rebrand in use in New York’s Times Square. Image courtesy of Uber.

As we wrote, creating an effective brand strategy for your business means you must consider how your brand connects you with your customers:

A brand is a living document of not only what your company represents it also acts as a vital connection between your customers and your business.

Uber’s new logo seeks to do just that.

Uber’s new composition layout. Image courtesy of Uber

Uber’s goals for its new branding

Uber’s goal with this project was to create a cohesive brand system described as “instantly recognizable, works around the world, and is efficient to execute.”

Uber wanted to create a full brand experience, and they considered a broad spectrum of elements to craft it.

Uber’s redesign includes a custom typeface, photography, illustration, and composition system for layout of advertising and promotional materials.

Design studio Wolff-Olins collaborated with Uber’s internal design team to create a brand that would easily adapt to the 660+ cities worldwide where Uber operates.

Wolff-Olins summed up the project goals on their case study site:

The brand needed to work around the world. Its highest growth areas are in regions outside of the US, such as Latin America and India, where Wolff Olins has a considerable depth of experience. Instead of pursuing a complex identity system, localized through color and pattern, we moved towards a universal ‘beyond-simple’ global brand. Teams in diverse markets can make it relevant to their audiences with culturally specific content.

Uber had two key goals when they created their new brand: simplicity and global usage.

The result is a clean, fresh look that translates well in any medium or locale.

The clean visual break from Uber’s previous brand identity broke ties with their former CEO and toxic culture, pushing the company forward into a new era.

The reaction to Uber’s rebrand has been generally positive. Respected design sites like UnderConsideration note the brand’s success at distancing itself from what came before:

This new design is the most clear-cut example in recent memory of a company introducing a new logo to signal change and move away from very recent, very scandalous press. Most redesigns we have seen in recent years are part of positive momentum and while Uber surely has some of that going in its favor, this logo’s primary job is try to get as many people as possible to put as much of Uber’s past in the past.

Tips to effectively rebrand your business

Uber’s rebrand is a powerful example of how design can influence consumer opinion.

It’s important to equip your business with equally powerful strategies when it’s time for your own rebrand.

We’ve written in detail about effective rebranding strategies. Here are a few key branding tips that you should consider:

  1. Make sure your new branding is used consistently anywhere your customers engage with your business.
  2. Take advantage of every branding opportunity. Incorporate your new logo or a related brand message everywhere you can.
  3. Use a style guide. Give your employees easy-to-use tools and resources to make it easy to follow your new branding guidelines to the letter.
  4. Listen to your customers. Use valuable customer feedback to keep your brand relevant and reflective of their wants and needs.
  5. Introduce your rebranding efforts thoughtfully and methodically. Make sure you keep your customers engaged and informed while you roll out your new brand experience.

Your business may not have to distance itself from the negative legacy Uber faced.

But if you feel that your brand isn’t keeping up with the times or you’re not able to grow your business as fast as you want, consider a rebrand.

A smart and carefully considered design strategy will drive your rebrand straight to success.

 

The post Uber’s Powerful Rebrand and What Your Business Can Learn From It appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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Bias Impacts Your Business Decisions But You Can Learn To Control It If You Follow This Proven Advice

October 4, 2018, 8:15 am
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The human brain is hardwired to make generalizations.

Generalizations allow us to process the truly colossal amounts of input our brains encounter every day. They’re necessary for us to function and not be overwhelmed by data.

Generalizations also help by creating shortcuts in our brains.

Unfortunately, those shortcuts are a double-edged sword.

They allow us to move through the world and quickly assess a situation. But, they also lead to unconscious biases that impact our interactions with others.

Whether we’re talking to the guy in the drive-thru window, calling our sainted mothers, or chatting with our co-workers, unconscious bias influences the way we perceive everyone.

Unconscious bias happens outside of our control. It happens automatically when our brain makes a quick judgment. The HR team at Advanced Systems, a workforce management provider, explains that biases are:

…automatic and unconscious ways our brains try to help us. We cannot notice, remember, and value everything. These are not bad things only bad people do. But bias is a problem.

Good managers can’t afford to allow their biases to impact the way they perceive their teams. This is especially true when making hiring decisions, during annual performance reviews or when making recommendations for promotions.

With so much at stake, you owe it to the other people you work with to see clearly and make appraisals based in reality.

In fact, the ability to ground your decisions in facts, not speculation, is one of the most powerful traits of great leaders.

So, let’s take a look at the most common types of leadership and management bias and ways to overcome bias in the workplace.

Similarity Bias

Similarity bias over-values people who are like us.

This bias is rooted in the classic “US vs THEM” dichotomy.

Similarity bias states that we like people who are similar to us. Birds of a feather flock together, right?

And, we tend to treat people we like well.

The danger here is that managers influenced by the similarity bias may mistreat people who are different from them. These perceived differences could be based on age, race, sexual orientation, gender or personality.

As I’m sure you know, biases against people of different races, genders, sexual orientations or ages are considered discriminatory.  And whether you truly harbor negative feelings for these groups, or just subconsciously prefer people who are similar to you, the results are the same.

What You Can Do

Make the effort to find similarities with all of your co-workers. While you will always be naturally drawn to people who are clearly most similar to you, there are universal human traits that connect us all. Taking the time to get to know your employees and find common ground will humanize them and help level the playing field.

In-Group Bias

Most people have friends at work. These friends are our in-group.

Managers have in-groups, too.  And, in-group bias occurs when managers treat members of their in-groups better than members of the out-group.

We tend to think highly of the people we befriend. After all – they’re our friends.

But, if we’re not careful, we may make decisions that benefit our friends based on an over-inflated assessment of their abilities or simply out of the desire to help them get ahead.

In-group bias doesn’t stop with helping your friends. It can also actively manifest through behaviors that hinder your out-group. The Advanced Systems HR team points out:

The out-group is managed with more command and control, which reinforces the label by limiting their ability and motivation to grow and perform. No matter how well-intentioned the extra support and supervision, lack of confidence and appreciation lowers employee engagement, performance, and retention.

What You Can Do

Consciously identify the members of your in-group and out-group to raise your awareness of this issue. Then, take steps to avoid acting on positive or negative bias:

  • Seek out the opinions of other managers and employees to help round out your perspective of your report’s work performance.
  • Perform a self-assessment – can you be neutral regarding this employee? If the answer is no, remove yourself from the decision-making process.
  • Do your best to remove your feelings from the equation. Gather facts (not perceptions) to support your appraisal of the employee.

Timing Biases

Timing biases prioritize certain time windows instead of the whole timeline.

Some biases are based on timing. Here are three examples of timing-related biases that may impact your relationships with co-workers.

First Impressions Bias

First impressions are powerful. They’re tied to a known psychological effect called anchoring in which people:

…unconsciously latch onto the first fact they hear, basing their decision-making on that fact… whether it’s accurate or not.

This is true when you’re negotiating a salary, buying a new car, seeing a business name or business logo for the first time, or appraising your coworkers.

First impression bias means that your first impression overrides the reality of the employee’s behavior in the time since you’ve met them.

A first impression cannot possibly encompass the totality of an employee’s work performance or capabilities. Humans are not static; rather they are constantly growing and evolving – for good or bad.

First impression bias doesn’t leave room to acknowledge change or factor in new data. And that’s no good.

Spill-Over Bias

Spill-over bias occurs when a manager’s opinion of an employee is too heavily influenced by events that happened in the past.

If an employee had a stellar first year and then let their performance slide, and you’re still fixated on their earlier performance – that’s spill-over bias.

Likewise, maybe an employee was a class clown during their training, but pulled it together and delivered awesome results once their training was complete. If you can’t get past the idea of that employee as a sass-talking joker, then spill-over bias is at play.

Recency Bias

When managers are unduly influenced by a co-worker’s most recent actions, they are suffering from recency bias.

Let’s say an employee is going through a troubled time at home and their work has suffered for a few weeks. A manager influenced by recency bias might overlook that employee’s positive contributions and strong performance earlier in the year.

An employee should be judged on the entirety of their work performance. It’s not fair or accurate to judge an employee’s overall performance only on first impression, or a portion of their working timeline.

What You Can Do

Make sure to consistently touch base with your employees and record your impressions as you go. This running record of performance will provide a more accurate view when annual assessment time draws near. It’s also a good idea to perform reviews more frequently than once a year. Building closer relationships and assessing employees more frequently will help to sidestep timing biases and lead to stronger empl0yee performance.

Expedience Bias

Expediency bias only sees the top of the iceberg.

Ask ten people the same question and you’re likely to get ten different answers.  This is because people are formed by their life experiences and we all walk a unique path.

Expedience bias occurs when managers think that just because it’s the most obvious answer to them, that it must be true.

This bias is particularly compelling when a manager doesn’t want (or have the time) to dig deeper.

Relying on what seems to be obvious is quick and easy. However, as Beth Jones, Khalil Smith and David Rock of Harvard Business Review point out:

Expedience bias tilts us toward answers that seem obvious, often at the expense of answers that might be more relevant or useful.

Imagine if a support representative were judged by how many calls she took per day. If you heard that on average she only spoke with 12 clients per day, you might assume she was lazy or inept. That’s the “expedient” answer.

But, what if you learned that each of those clients were high-value spenders and had been planning to take their business elsewhere? And, that 80% of her clients stayed with your business as a result of her efforts?

It’s important to look beyond what seems obvious to make sure that you understand the whole picture.

What You Can Do

Take the time to dig deeper. Make sure you understand the full context before drawing any conclusions. To help achieve this goal, work to understand the parameters that should be measured in order to get a true understanding of each employee’s contributions. Then make sure those are the parameters that you measure.

The Harvard Business Review team also recommends setting pre-determined goals with your reports on which their performance can be assessed.

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias knows it’s right.

Have you ever said, “I bet today is going to be an awful day,” and then turned out to be right?

There’s a good chance that this was confirmation bias at work.

Confirmation bias occurs when people focus primarily on the data that confirms their initial hypothesis.

This bias can be a sort of secondary bias that piggy-backs along with other biases.

For instance, Joel’s car broke down and he arrived late on his first day of work. Joel’s manager Kim remembers this and carries a negative first impression bias against Joel that never really goes away. She mentally tracks every time Joel arrives late. These occasional infractions confirm her opinion of Joel as a late person.

Confirmation bias is seductively powerful. We all want to be right. This bias simply involves looking for the evidence that you’re right while ignoring the evidence to the contrary.

What You Can Do

Learn to be your own “devil’s advocate.” Ask yourself if your argument is really as air-tight as you think it is. Review the opposing evidence with an open mind. And, seek out alternative perspectives from other people who know the employee or topic at hand. Most importantly, be willing to learn that you were wrong (if that turns out to be the case).

The Bias Game Changer: Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is key to overcoming all types of management bias.

If you don’t want to be a biased manager anymore, focus on improving your emotional intelligence.

As we mentioned in a prior article,

Emotional intelligence (sometimes also called EI or EQ) is the ability to identify and regulate your own feelings, and the feelings of people around you.

And, the cornerstone of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. That’s the ability to accurately identify what you’re feeling and appraise your own motivations and behavior.

This higher-level awareness of your own emotions, motivations, and perceptions is essential to rising above the influence of your unconscious biases. As we previously explained:

You can modify your behavior for the better if you can identify your own bad habits and catch yourself when you’re doing them. So, in addition to creating the foundation for EQ, self-awareness is also the foundation for self-improvement.

The ultimate remedy to all types of bias is self-awareness. Bill George, the author of Finding Your True North,  offers three great techniques for improving your self-awareness. Check them out here.

 

The post Bias Impacts Your Business Decisions But You Can Learn To Control It If You Follow This Proven Advice appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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Twitter Link Roundup #348 – Terrific Reads for Small Business, Entrepreneurs, Marketers, and Designers!

October 5, 2018, 7:05 am
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There’s ample evidence that running promotes improved health and longevity.

Research links aerobic exercise with a number of health benefits across a surprisingly wide spectrum – from reduced cancer risk all the way down to improved cognitive performance.

However, there is a debate in the scientific and medical community about the benefits of frequent endurance running. There is increasing evidence that there are serious risks associated with heavy training.

How much running is too much?

It’s probably not time to put away your trainers yet, but it couldn’t hurt to get informed – you can read more on the discussion here.

Now, we hope you enjoy another great set of links and articles that we shared with you over the past week on our crowdspring Twitter account (and on Ross’s Twitter account). We regularly share our favorite posts on entrepreneurship, small business, marketing, logo design, web design, startups, leadership, social media, marketing, economics, and other interesting stuff! Enjoy!

smallbusinessblog

startupsblog

socialmediablog

designblog

logodesignblog

otherblog

 

The post Twitter Link Roundup #348 – Terrific Reads for Small Business, Entrepreneurs, Marketers, and Designers! appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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How Hashtags Can Help You Improve Your Small Business Marketing

October 8, 2018, 8:27 am
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Hashtags can boost impressions, improve the searchability of your content, and encourage more people to talk about your brand.

But using hashtags effectively, especially for business marketing, means doing more than just plugging them into your tweets on Twitter or posts on Instagram, Facebook or another social network.

Here’s what you need to know to use hashtag marketing better as part of your overall small business marketing strategy.

What is a hashtag and how do you use it?

Hashtags are used to categorize content. When a person adds a hashtag to their post, that hashtag is indexed by social networks and the content becomes more easily searchable and discoverable by others.

For example, if a person clicks on the hashtag #purplemarkers, they’ll typically see a page that aggregates all content with the same hashtag.

Hashtags originated on Twitter. Chris Messina, a former Google employee who, among other things, helped to design Google+, was the first person to suggest using a # sign in messages on Twitter.

Why do companies use hashtags?

Hashtags make it easy for people to find your social media content, increase social media engagement, and help to attract new customers.

Each hashtag is individually searchable. People can find posts from or about your brand using the hashtags you’ve attached to your posts.

And, some social media platforms allow people to follow hashtags. So, any posts labeled with that hashtag will appear in the feed of people following that hashtag.

What is hashtag marketing?

Hashtag marketing is the practice of using hashtags strategically to help your content reach your intended audience.

Choosing the right hashtags for a post can help it to sky-rocket in popularity – gaining your content views, likes, re-tweets, and shares. All of this social activity ultimately helps to give your content and your business exposure.

But, not all hashtags are created equal. And different types of hashtags reach different audiences – accomplishing different goals for your business.

These are the types of hashtags your small business should know and keep handy in your marketing tool bag.

Trending Hashtags

Image courtesy of Sprout Social

One of the easiest and most effective ways for small businesses to use hashtags in their marketing is to take advantage of trending hashtags.

A trending hashtag is a hashtag related to a trending topic or event.

Starting a new hashtag and helping it grow requires more work than simply taking part in a larger conversation that is enjoying a moment of popularity.

While trending hashtags can’t be relied on for long-term engagement, they are great for seizing the moment and capitalizing on a brief, but intensely popular topic.

The local marketing experts at ThriveHive explain:

Using a hashtag at its peak will allow you to get your posts, and therefore your business, in front of more people.

And, it’s true that using trending hashtags will give your posts more exposure. But, that exposure is less likely to be targeted to your ideal customer or audience.

The downside to this is that your conversion rate may be lower than if you had used a more targeted hashtag. But, the benefit is that new customers may discover your post and your business.

Tip: Pair trending hashtags with content linked to that trending topic or event to help reach a new audience your business may not ordinarily reach.

Niche Hashtags

Looking for ways to ease into hashtag marketing? Niche hashtags for existing communities, fields and industries are great choices.

Hashtags related to your industry or field probably already exist. You just need to learn what they are.

Start by searching what hashtags your competitors and industry influencers are using. If you’re still not sure how to find relevant hashtags, use tools like Ritetag or Hashtagify.  You can search for tags related to your industry and gauge their popularity so you know if they’re worth using or not.

If your business serves a unique niche community, follow popular influencers in that community and track what hashtags are being used by the active members on the ground.

For example, crowdspring helps entrepreneurs, small businesses, agencies, Brands, and non-profits with custom logo design, web design, print design, packaging design, product design, and even with unique business names and product names.

When crowdspring shares content on social networks, we often use industry hashtags on our content.

Below is an example of a tweet on Twitter sharing one of our articles on why small businesses need a logo designed by a professional. To help our intended audience (small businesses) find this content more easily, we used the following hashtags: #SmallBusiness, #LogoDesign, and #branding.

Others use the same hashtags to classify similar content. Here’s an example from a tweet shared by Limelight about how a company’s logo influences purchasing decisions (notice they used the same #LogoDesign hashtag we used in our tweet).

The value of this hashtag marketing strategy, as ThriveHive points out, is that:

By using industry or content based hashtags, business owners can increase both the quantity and quality of their followers, as users who discover their posts are more likely to be potential customers.

Tip: Target your most active consumer groups using appropriate hashtags linked to relevant content. This will ensure that your content reaches your most valuable audience.

Branded Hashtags

Image courtesy of What Alex Did

Branded hashtags are hashtags created by your business to represent your brand.

These hashtags require a bit more work to get off the ground. They rely on your own marketing to build momentum instead of piggybacking off of an established trending topic or campaign.

But, creating a hashtag for your business is well worth it. When done right, these hashtags serve as a direct pipeline for people to find content specifically related to your brand.

The simplest version of a branded hashtag is your business name (#starbucks, #ikea).

But, you can also get a bit more creative. Think of examples like #EsuranceSave30 or #DigiorNoYouDidn’t.

Remember that hashtags belong to the realm of social media. Playful is good. But, unprofessional or accidentally inappropriate is bad.

Be careful that any hashtag you choose to promote your brand can’t be misinterpreted in a negative way. Social media justice will be swift.

Tip: You can include a branded hashtag to nearly any content you post on any platform to help increase exposure.

Product or Service-Specific Hashtags

Does your business offer a wide range of products or services?

If so, feature those products or services and create a stronger social media following by giving them their own hashtag. Digital strategist Jenn Chen explains:

Product or service hashtags can help consumers do research on a product. If a company offers multiple products, it can be troublesome to sift through many photos just to find the few you may be interested in. A company may use both a branded hashtag and a product hashtag in a post.

These hashtags also give customers a tool to become advocates and proclaim their love for your product or service in a meaningful way.

Millennials and Generation Z, the future of our economy and audiences you should be targeting, value authenticity and genuine interactions with the brands they purchase from. These targeted hashtags allow them to connect with your business and other like-minded consumers via a product or service they value.

Tip: Include the appropriate targeted hashtag on any content related to that product or service.

Call-to-Action Hashtag

Image courtesy of Ready for Media

A concise call-to-action hashtag can be a wonderfully effective marketing tool, as Christian Zilles, founder, and CEO of Social Media HQ, explains:

One popular type of hashtag is essentially a clever call-to-action (CTA) for social media users. If you are trying to raise awareness around a topic that’s near and dear to your brand, don’t be afraid to ask customers to re-tweet, re-post or share. And, you can even encourage customers to take action in the real world, not just the social media world.

Coke’s #ShareACoke campaign and Charmin’s #TweetFromTheSeat are examples of tremendously successful hashtag campaigns. They worked because they capitalized on the social nature of social media and related back to their brand in a natural way.

If you choose to incorporate a CTA hashtag campaign into your marketing strategy, learn from these successful examples. Embrace humor and human connection. And, make sure that your hashtag relates to your business in an unforced, natural way.

Tip: Only use these call-to-action hashtags on posts specifically related to that campaign, otherwise, you risk diluting the impact.

Ultimately, there is no one “right” type of hashtag to use to boost your social media posts.  Instead, you’ll be best served by using a wide range of hashtag types that are relevant to your business and your audience.

Use hashtags to target specific audiences. Use hashtags to draw attention to specific marketing events or social movements. The best practice is to choose the right hashtag for the content and audience you want to reach.

 

The post How Hashtags Can Help You Improve Your Small Business Marketing appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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Facebook Messenger Chatbot Marketing: The Definitive Guide (2018)

October 10, 2018, 4:02 pm
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This is a comprehensive guide to Facebook Messenger Marketing using chatbots.

We know that the idea of using a chatbot can be a little intimidating, especially for startups and small businesses.

But the truth is that chatbots can improve marketing and make marketers’ lives easier.

To create this guide, we partnered with Larry Kim, the CEO of MobileMonkey, a popular Facebook Messenger Marketing platform used by millions of users worldwide.

If you want to supercharge your marketing and accelerate growth and revenue, you’ll love this guide.

Here’s a table of contents to help you quickly navigate different sections of this guide – or feel free to scroll.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Messenger Basics

Chapter 2: How to Create Your Chatbot

Chapter 3: How to Promote Your Chatbot

Chapter 4: How to Use Your Chatbot

Let’s get started.

What is Facebook Messenger?

Facebook Messenger is a popular messaging app and platform.

Users can send messages and exchange photos, videos, stickers, audio, and files, as well as react to other users’ messages and interact with bots. The service also supports voice and video calling. The standalone apps support using multiple accounts, conversations with optional end-to-end encryption, and playing games.

Over 1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger and as you can see in the chart below from G2 Crowd, Messenger’s user growth has been consistently strong.

What is Messenger Marketing?

Messenger marketing is the act of marketing to your customers and prospective customers using a messaging app like Facebook Messenger.

Although this form of marketing is similar to email marketing, there are some significant differences and the tools are also different.

What are Facebook Messenger Chatbots?

A chatbot (or bot) is a piece of automated software that engages in a conversation with people.

Chatbots are programmed to understand basic questions, provide answers, and execute various tasks. Watch the following short video for a quick overview of bots.

Chatbots are growing in importance.

According to Gartner, by 2020, 85% of our engagement with businesses will be done without interacting with another human. Instead, we’ll be using self-service options and chatbots. Additionally, according to an Oracle survey, 80% of businesses said they currently use or are planning to use chatbots by 2020.

…

On the consumer side, over 59% of millennials and 60% of Gen Xers in the U.S. have interacted with chatbots. And according to a Facebook survey, more than half (53%) of customers say they’re more likely to shop with a business that they can connect with via chat.

A Facebook Messenger chatbot or bot is exclusively built for the Facebook Messenger platform.

There are over 300,000 active chatbots on Facebook Messenger.

Illustrated by Larry Kim

How do Facebook Messenger bots differ from other bots?

Companies like Drift and Intercom offer chatbots to help companies automate and improve lead generation, help with email marketing, and other things.

If you want to learn more about chatbots generally, read Drift’s The 2018 State of Chatbots Report: How Chatbots Are Reshaping Online Experiences.

Facebook Messenger chatbots focus exclusively on Facebook Messenger marketing. MobileMonkey’s Larry Kim explains:

MobileMonkey is built using the Facebook Messenger platform. So if you’re using our Facebook Messenger website chat widget (see the MobileMonkey website for an example of this) the conversations are instantaneously being routed from your website, to the user, via Facebook Messenger. This provides a few huge advantages for marketers over those other chat platforms including:

You Get All the Contact Information – The conversations aren’t anonymous. Facebook sends you the identity of people who are messaging your website, including all contact information and even a profile photo. On other chat platforms, if the user closes the browser, the marketers will have no idea who they were talking to, which is frustrating.

You Can Send Them Push Notifications – Anyone who messages your page is opted into messaging, so you can send them follow-ups or reminder drip campaigns, which is amazing.

You Get Their Facebook ID: These tend to last forever, where as business emails expire on average 4% / month due to people changing jobs, etc.

You Can Remarket to Them – Using Facebook ads.

But there are a lot of other things Drift and Intercom do, like email marketing, and other super expensive, fancy enterprise stuff.

MobileMonkey’s founder and CEO, Larry Kim

A number of companies, including MobileMonkey, ManyChat, and Chatfuel offer tools that help you build Facebook Messenger bots.

Companies like Chatfuel target bigger, more enterprise-level customers (and as a result, are more complex to use and cost more).

Others like ManyChat offer limited free plans and the paid plans can get pricey very quickly.

MobileMonkey offers the best of both worlds: powerful free and inexpensive paid plans with easy to use tools for small businesses and startups (and plenty of powerful tools for enterprise customers).

Why are smart marketers using Messenger chatbots?

Marketers want to reach more prospects, generate more leads, and improve conversions.

This was historically easy and cheap to do on Facebook, but in the past several years, Facebook’s organic reach has eroded while ad costs have increased.

As a result, many marketers have moved their campaigns away from Facebook to other social platforms.

But there’s a way to regain the historically strong reach and engagement on Facebook while reducing your costs: Facebook Messenger chatbots.

If you’re not using Facebook Messenger chatbots, you’re not alone. Fewer than one percent of marketers and businesses are using this strategy to connect with their customers and prospects.

Messenger bots may be the best-kept secret in digital marketing today. According to Larry Kim, founder and CEO of MobileMonkey, “Facebook Messenger chatbots are the #1 growth marketing channel for the next +5-10 years.”

Larry Kim is not a stranger to digital marketing. Before founding MobileMonkey, Kim founded WordStream, the world’s leading PPC (pay-per-click) marketing platform managing over a billion dollars of annualized ad spend for tens of thousands of businesses.

Messaging has eclipsed social networks in popularity. Kim explains:

There are more daily active users of popular messaging applications than social media applications, yet less than 1% of companies are doing chat marketing. I thought that was crazy, so MobileMonkey was born.

Marketers and business owners who have experimented with bots know that bots are proving valuable for businesses. According to Facebook:

  • 2 billion messages are sent monthly between businesses and people
  • 53% of people are more likely to buy from a business they can message
  • 56% of people prefer to message instead of calling customer service

That’s why smart marketers are increasingly using chatbots, and especially Messenger chatbots, as part of their marketing strategy.

Messenger chatbots can help you regain reach and engagement with Facebook users.

  1. Facebook Messenger messages reach far more users than organic posts. In fact, while organic Facebook posts reach an average of 1 to 2% of Page fans, the average open rates for Facebook Messenger messages is 50-80%, with a 20% average click rate. If you use a tool like MobileMonkey, for example, you can “blast all your contacts directly on Facebook Messenger, so you don’t have to worry about the News Feed filters,” according to Larry Kim.
  2. Facebook Messenger messages convert 3x to 5x better compared to Facebook desktop ads. This is because most Messenger users are on mobile and more frequently engage with messages. Facebook desktop ads have to share a large screen with tons of other ads and content. And it doesn’t hurt that people think messaging is the second-best way to talk to a business.
  3. Facebook Messenger messages can reduce your marketing costs. For example, here’s an interesting case study describing how MobileMonkey cut the cost of lead acquisition from $150 to $5 per lead using Facebook Messenger. According to MobileMonkey’s Larry Kim, “we’re finding that the new Facebook Send To Messenger Ads can generate leads at 30-50x less than what you’d pay for the usual Facebook ad campaigns.” Similarly, chatbots have helped other brands increase conversions. Sephora’s reservation assistant increased the average user spend to $50, while Tommy Hilfiger’s chatbot increased returning customers by 87%.
  4. Facebook Messenger can segment your audience. You can segment your audience on what they prefer or do and then target different chat blasts to different segments of your audience.
  5. You can create smart chatbots to automate Q&A with a live takeover by a human. For example, if you want to invite people to schedule a sales call with your team, you can automate a Facebook Messenger chatbot to ask for the necessary contact information. And, importantly, a human can jump into any conversation and take over at any time.
  6. You don’t need to know how to code to launch a Facebook Messenger chatbot. Anyone can use easy to use tools from a company like MobileMonkey to create chatbots in minutes without any help from software developers.


How are smart businesses using Facebook Messenger bots?

Each bot is as unique as the business it serves.

Bots can, among other tasks, help book sales appointments, track delivery, or make product suggestions.

Bots can also help book a flight or order dinner, remind you to purchase a product, notify you about an offer you might like, or tell you a joke.

For example, Sephora’s bot eliminates five steps from booking a makeover in one of their stores. Sephora’s bot increased the booking rate by 11 percent.

Whole Foods’ bot helps people discover recipes based on ingredients.

Here are more great examples of popular bots.

To learn more about using chatbots, we recommend you read How Chatbots Can Help You Grow Revenue In Your Business.

How can you create your Facebook Messenger chatbot?

You don’t need to know how to code or have a full-time team of software developers. You can use a tool like MobileMonkey (free and paid plans) to build chatbots for Facebook Messenger. MobileMonkey’s Larry Kim explains:

We offer tons of free chatbot tools for Facebook Messenger – there are way too many to list them out, but a few the most popular tools include:

An intuitive visual chatbot builder

A Facebook Messenger chat blaster

Messenger marketing drip campaigns

Automated website chat via Facebook Messenger


How can you promote your Facebook Messenger chatbot?

Once you build your Facebook Messenger chatbot, you need to develop a strategy to use and promote it. Here are some proven tactics that can help you do both:

Add a Facebook Messenger button on your website and on your Facebook page.

A button on your site or Facebook page will let your customers and prospects connect with your chatbots with a simple click. Facebook gives you appropriate embed codes for your landing page or you can use plugins if your site is running on a CMS (content management system) like WordPress.

Build dedicated landing pages.

Dedicated landing pages can help to connect you with more customers in Facebook Messenger. As we previously explained,

A landing page is a simple, targeted web page that steers your visitors to one specific goal. Landing pages can collect leads, motivate downloads and/or generate sales. For a new business, landing pages can establish credibility, create excitement for your new product or service, and collect leads for future customers – all before you officially launch.

We recommend you read Give Your New Business a Jump Start with an Effective Landing Page and How to Create a High Converting Landing Page to learn more about creating great landing pages.

If you use a tool like MobileMonkey, you can quickly build landing pages for your chatbots without any coding.

Use paid ads on Facebook Messenger to build your subscriber list.

Obviously, you want to offer people something of value as you build that list. You don’t want to simply sell 100% of the time.

One good way to do this is by sharing your most valuable content developed on your blog or other social networks, through Facebook Messenger blasts.

What’s your most valuable content? Here’s a terrific post that will help you identify your content marketing unicorns (content that will perform in the top 1 percent).

Once you identify your most valuable content, use paid Messenger ads to share it.

Messenger ads are rare on Facebook. These ads direct users to message your Facebook Page.

Once users get to your Facebook page, you can have your Facebook Messenger chatbot respond instantly to your Messenger ad, matching the message, offer, and audience.

MobileMonkey’s Larry Kim says that one of MobileMonkey’s customers “is driving leads for her personal training business for around $4 / lead. We haven’t seen Facebook ad prices that low since 5 or 6 years ago.”

If you want to learn more about Messenger Ads, we recommend you read: What Are Messenger Ads? Everything You Need To Know About Click-to-Messenger Facebook Ads.

Link to your Facebook Messenger chatbot from email signatures.

You can include a link to your Messenger chatbot in your email signature, or if you use a support service like Zendesk or Helpdesk, from the signatures your support agents use.

Add your chatbot to Facebook’s discovery tab.

Facebook’s Discover Tab is a collection of Messenger bots and nearby places and businesses to message. You’ll need to fill out a submission form but it’s simple and will help you gain more visibility with Facebook users.

To get your chatbot listed in the Messenger Discovery tab on Facebook, you have to fill out a submission form.


How can you use your Messenger chatbot effectively?

Larry Kim has developed a 9-point guide to help marketers and business owners become a master at Facebook Messenger chatbot marketing.

  1. Subscription messaging, what it is, and how to get it
  2. Fundamentals of signing up subscribers
  3. Advanced segmentation pro moves
  4. Art of Messenger handbook
  5. Engagement hacks
  6. It’s nothing totally personal
  7. All-time worst chat blasts
  8. Sponsored messages for promotional messages
  9. How to benchmark your campaigns

You can find the complete chat blasting guide on MobileMonkey’s blog. Below, we briefly summarize each of the nine suggestions.

1. Subscription Messaging: what it is, and how to get it.

Facebook Messenger has several types of messages.

Facebook Messenger Standard Messaging

Standard messaging allows you to send any type of message (promotional or non=promotional) to a person, within 24 hours, after they send your chatbot a message. You can send as many messages as you want within a 24 hours period. After the first 24 hours, you can send only one additional message to that person.

Facebook Messenger Subscription Messaging

Subscription messaging allows you to chat blast non-promotional messages as often as you want. You must apply to Facebook for subscription messaging status for each Page. This takes about 10 minutes of your time.

2. Fundamentals of Signing Up Subscribers

Once you’re approved for subscription messaging, you need to build your subscriber list. Start by building a Messenger opt-in page. Below is an example of MobileMonkey’s opt-in page.

Since you’re allowing people to subscribe, you also must allow them to easily and quickly unsubscribe. If you use a chatbot tool like MobileMonkey, this is easy because they handle all the technical stuff. People can simply unsubscribe by typing “stop” in response to any message.

You can grow your subscriber list by running click-to-Messenger ads targeting your Page fans, build a Facebook Post autoresponder to engage commenters when they leave a comment in Messenger conversations, and update your Facebook Page CTA to “Send Message” to your Messenger chatbot.

And don’t worry – you can easily comply with the EU’s GDPR regulations by following these best practices.

3. Advanced Segmentation Pro Moves

People are different and generally, have different interests. You can easily segment your Facebook Messenger contacts into custom audiences, and then vary your messages to each audience segment.

4. Art of Messenger Handbook: What Facebook Says

Facebook advises that marketers use short messages and if they’re sending longer messages, to separate them into a series of shorter messages. After all, people are mostly seeing these messages on a small mobile screen. Facebook also recommends you add color. This is where your company’s logo or icon would help you get attention. Notice the MobileMonkey icon in the example above.

And be sure to use your business name in your messages. After all, there’s no point to communicate with people about your brand if they don’t know with whom they’re communicating.

5. Engagement Hacks for Open Rate Optimization

Combine any widgets you use in your messages with a strong CTA (call-to-action). Here’s a good example from a recent Messenger blast Larry Kim send to his subscribers. (Kim is a top contributor to CNBC, Inc. Magazine and is the #8 ranked author on Medium. You can connect with him on Facebook Messenger).

CTA’s are important, not just for messages but also on your website. For more on CTA’s we recommend you read: Grow Your Small Business With These 7 Website Design Best Practices.

Also, be sure to use the right voice for your messages. Messenger is typically used to talk with friends. Since this is a unique channel, talk like you would with a friend. If you normally would use emojis, use them in your messages. Be sure that your brand voice in messages is consistent with your brand, but do account for the differences in channels.

6. Personalize Your Chatbot Messages

Normally, personalizing many messages when you’re blasting them to a large audience can be time-consuming. But if you use a tool like MobileMonkey, you can use dynamic parameters to include a person’s first name just like you would in an email.

You can also include custom variables that you create in MobileMonkey. Custom variables are bits of info that you gather over time which you can use to personalize your responses and messages.

7. What Not to Do

As you start experimenting with Facebook Messenger blasts, you’re bound to make some mistakes. But don’t worry, even the best experts make chat blast mistakes.

For example, don’t forget to include unsubscribe language in every chat blast. Otherwise, people will block you or complain to Facebook.

Also, be sure to test your messages on small sample sizes and send only your best-performing messages to larger groups.

You can create sponsored messages to promote your brand’s products or services. This allows you to use all of Facebook Ads targeting abilities on top of your own list of contacts, and go beyond your organic reach. And you can send a message at any time and overcome the restrictions with other types of messages.

You can create sponsored messages in Facebook Ads Manager, but instead of the Click to Messenger option, click the Sponsored Messages as your Messages destination.

9. Track Attack: Statistics Central

As with other marketing campaigns, you must measure each campaign to see if it’s effective. You can check Facebook Insights or, if you’re using a tool like MobileMonkey, you can look in MobileMonkey’s chat blaster for message analytics.

To learn more about using the Messenger chatbot effectively, watch this free one hour webinar.

And here’s another terrific video from Larry Kim about Facebook Messenger marketing, from his presentation at Hubspot’s Inbound conference:


Now that you know all about Facebook Messenger marketing, it’s time for you to take the next step and set up your first bot. It just might be the fuel you need to supercharge your marketing.

 

The post Facebook Messenger Chatbot Marketing: The Definitive Guide (2018) appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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6 Powerful Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategies That Can Help Your Small Business Grow Faster

October 16, 2018, 8:11 am
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Word-of-mouth marketing (also called WOM, WOMM, and word of mouth advertising) is the most powerful marketing tool for most businesses.

Unlike naturally occurring word-of-mouth when a friend or relative casually recommends a product or service, word-of-mouth marketing is actively encouraged and influenced by businesses.

According to a recent “Global Trust in Advertising” study by Nielsen, 83% of people polled said they trust the recommendations of friends and family.

A similar study done a few years earlier found that 92% of people trust recommendations from other people – even strangers.

In fact, marketing statistics show that 20-50% of all purchases are influenced by word-of-mouth marketing.

Unfortunately, few companies have strategies to get the most value from word-of-mouth marketing.

Let’s look at what word-of-mouth marketing is and proven word-of-mouth marketing strategies that can help marketers and businesses to increase growth and profits.

What is word-of-mouth marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing is a strategy in which businesses actively encourage customers to send tweets, post photos, leave reviews, and spread the love for their company in personal ways.

Many companies incorrectly assume that word-of-mouth marketing just happens naturally, without any encouragement.

Instead of promoting word-of-mouth, most marketers and business owners focus on collecting likes and social media followers.

With word-of-mouth marketing, the focus switches from collecting likes and followers to actively seeking a connection with customers.

Businesses that encourage word-of-mouth marketing recognize that 100 genuinely passionate fans are more valuable than getting 10,000 emails from people entering a contest.

With a contest, there are no real stakes for customers. There is nothing to connect them in any meaningful way to your brand.

With word-of-mouth marketing, customers are so invested in your brand that they’re willing to personally recommend your products or services to their personal network.

Word-of-mouth marketing creates brand ambassadors for your business, and that’s the secret to gain real influence in your market.

Is word-of-mouth marketing effective?

Word-of-mouth marketing is more effective than other types of marketing.

Compared to traditional advertising, media mentions, and promotional events, word-of-mouth marketing can help companies grow faster.

  • 74% of consumers consider word of mouth as the most influential to their buying decisions. [Ogilvy/Google/TNS]
  • 68% trust word of mouth from other people. [Nielsen]
  • 84% of consumers polled reported taking action because of personal recommendations. 70% of them did so because of online opinions [Nielsen]
  • 81% of people polled said they were influenced by what their friends posted on social media. [Market Force]

Word-of-mouth marketing strategies that work.

Here are 6 proven word-of-mouth strategies marketers and small business owners can use to improve their marketing:

  1. Encourage user-generated content (UGC),
  2. Add testimonials and reviews,
  3. Display product ratings,
  4. Create sharing incentives,
  5. Launch a referral program, and
  6. Create an experience worth sharing.

WOMM STRATEGY 1: Encourage user-generated content.

Encourage your customers to engage more with your brand on social media, since that’s one of the primary ways customers and prospects find out about your company’s products and services.

Create share-friendly content like contests, polls, and fun quizzes. Then, get customers to share your contest or quiz, and have them tag it with a shareable hashtag.

Hashtag marketing is a great way to boost positive impressions of your business, improve the searchability of your content, and encourage more people to talk about your brand.

As we recently wrote,

Choosing the right hashtags for a post can help it to sky-rocket in popularity – gaining your content views, likes, re-tweets, and shares. All of this social activity ultimately helps to give your content and your business exposure.

Reuse the best hashtags in your company’s social feed to help build awareness and keep the momentum going.

People can connect with brands that feel personal and authentic, and they’re willing to share their own genuine experiences with brands that reinforce those values.

Aerie’s hashtag #AerieReal is an example of how using hashtags can build positive impressions and brand awareness.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUkc7LHBz3n/

With the #AerieReal campaign, the company encouraged customers to post unretouched swim photos to help raise money for charities like the National Eating Disorders Association.

Aerie fans responded with enthusiasm and submitted thousands of dollars worth in personal photos for the brand’s campaign.

The intimate connection and invitation to share personal photos created an effective word-of-mouth strategy and propelled the brand to massive success.

WOMM STRATEGY 2: Add testimonials and reviews.

Testimonials and reviews can act as powerful word-of mouth-messaging.

For example, to make it easier for our prospective customers looking for help with custom logo design, web design, print design, packaging design and even naming businesses and products, we publish thousands of crowdspring reviews from our customers, along with crowdspring case studies, directly on our site. And of course, our customers and prospects can also find reviews on third-party sites like Reseller Ratings.

Posting testimonials or reviews can be a great way of pulling word-of-mouth recommendations onto your site or social feed.

Look on websites related to your business for reviews or testimonials. Bring them over to your site or social feed, and make sure to link back to the original review and/or identify the reviewer to help improve the post’s credibility.

Don’t forget to look for videos and other rich media posted by customers that you can repost to your site or feed.

WOMM STRATEGY 3: Display product ratings.

If your product or service is reviewed on sites that have an aggregate score (Amazon, Yelp, Facebook, Google), display the rating on your site.

It’s helpful to combine the rating with a selection of reviews from that source to help increase the credibility of the score.

Remember to link back to the original!

WOMM STRATEGY 4: Create sharing incentives.

People are more likely to post about your company and share your products when there’s something in it for them.

The incentive can be as simple as offering customers a discount if they tell their friends and acquaintances or post about your product to social media.

It can be bonuses, like additional storage (Dropbox), free premium features (Trello), or credit for future purchases (Blue Apron).

It doesn’t have to be a benefit solely to the customer. You can also create incentive and offer something more compassionate like Aerie did with their charitable donation.

WOMM STRATEGY 5: Launch a referral program.

We’ve talked about referral programs before.

Referrals from happy customers represent your best opportunity to grow revenue and profits in your business.

In fact, customers referred to a product are more valuable. A Wharton School of Business study found that referred customers have a 16% higher lifetime value and are more loyal.

At crowdspring, we encourage our customers to refer others and offer a great deal that helps both our customer and the person they refer: a discount to each of them on a future project plus a free project upgrade.

Creating a referral program may be complicated, but the benefits of having a system in place for incentivizing and tracking referrals can be invaluable.

WOMM STRATEGY 6: Create an experience worth sharing.

One of the best ways to encourage word-of-mouth is to offer something so unique or valuable customers feel inspired to share it.

Whether it’s through a great product and experience (like Apple’s highly-regarded products) or a service you can’t get anywhere else (like StitchFix’s personalized and handpicked clothing subscription), a great experience can almost literally sell itself.

For example, over the past decade, crowdspring’s community of over 210,000 creatives have helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, small businesses and agencies come up with a new business name.

If you’ve ever named a business or product, you know that it’s tough and takes a lot of time.

Our clients are excited when they get a fresh new business name on crowdspring and since that’s the first identifiable part of their new brand, they often share about their experience – and the new company name – with their friends on social networks. It’s a win-win.

According to Ted Wright, CEO of Fizz, word of mouth from just one excited customer can have a huge impact.

Through his research, Wright has found that 10% of the US population loves to share stories with their friends and are intrinsically motivated. Their stories get shared at a rate that will run eight factorial on average, which is 40,370 shares per single individual influencer in a year.

As we’ve seen, word of mouth is a powerful motivator for both sales and engagement.

Don’t let it be left to chance: take advantage of word-of-mouth marketing strategies and build your connections, customers, and revenue.

The post 6 Powerful Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategies That Can Help Your Small Business Grow Faster appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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10 Loss Aversion Marketing Tactics to Help Your Small Business Retain Customers and Win Sales

October 19, 2018, 8:57 am
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People don’t like to lose.

Whether it’s losing a game, an argument, or an item we want to buy, we don’t like it.

In fact, people make buying decisions that are motivated by their desire to avoid a loss.

Savvy marketers know this.

They keep loss aversion in mind as they plan their campaigns and write their copy.

Here’s what you need to know about loss aversion and 10 proven loss aversion marketing tactics that can help amplify your marketing efforts.

What is loss aversion?

Loss aversion refers to the tendency of people to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. Studies show that loss aversion is twice as powerful psychologically as the acquisition of something.

Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (you might remember them from our article on marketing and the anchoring effect) studied the impact of loss on human decision-making and were able to confirm their central assumption that:

…losses and disadvantages have greater impact on preferences than gains and advantages.

Humans are hard-wired to avoid losses. And, in the years since Tversky and Kahneman first developed their behavioral theory based on loss aversion, science has proven this to be true. Stanford University psychology professor Russell A. Poldrack explains:

…psychologists and neuroscientists have uncovered how loss aversion may work on a neural level. In 2007 my colleagues and I found that the brain regions that process value and reward may be silenced more when we evaluate a potential loss than they are activated when we assess a similar-sized gain.

Poldrack goes on to say,

Perhaps most interesting, the reactions in our subjects’ brains were stronger in response to possible losses than to gains—a phenomenon we dubbed neural loss aversion.

Just the idea of a loss is enough to create a strong reaction. There’s no question that loss aversion is a powerful motivator in all aspects of life – including consumer behavior.

Loss Aversion and Urgency

You’re familiar with loss aversion marketing tactics whether you realize it or not.

They’re everywhere.

“Only 3 left in stock! Order now!”

“Available while supplies last.”

“Flash Sale! Today Only!”

“Don’t miss out on this awesome deal!”

We are invited, pressured and cajoled to purchase using the fear of loss every single day. These hard-sell pressure tactics create what marketers call “urgency.”

And, while these urgency tactics may sometimes be obnoxious, they work.

Just this morning I was shopping for a small shelf to go above my headboard. I wasn’t planning to buy one, but I found a shelf that I liked and noticed that it said, “Only one left in stock” in small red script under the picture.

Before I knew it, I ordered the shelf.

Urgency plays directly to our desire to avoid loss. I didn’t want to miss out on that shelf. So, my lizard brain took over and clicked “Add to Cart,” ensuring that I wouldn’t “lose” what I’d found. Even though I’d never really had it to begin with.

Your marketing efforts should take these fear of loss tactics into account when planning their overall strategy.

What You Can Do

  • Attach a time frame to your offer. This will motivate customers to purchase within that time window to avoid losing out on the lower price. This is typical, for example, with retail sales.
  • Let people know if there is a limited number of products or service packages available at a particular price point. With the knowledge that the item or service they want may become unavailable at any time, customers will be motivated to buy now, so they don’t lose out. You can see this effect every year on Black Friday.
  • Add visible count-down timers and stock notifications to your website or landing page. The visual reminders will help to encourage customers to purchase before it’s too late.
  • Don’t overuse these tactics! While these tactics are effective, they are not sustainable as a stand-alone marketing strategy. If you constantly offer “limited time only” sales, people will catch on and only purchase during sales. Or worse, a constant deluge of “limited time” offers and “exclusive” deals will make customers feel lied to and manipulated. Use these tactics with restraint for maximum impact.

Loss Aversion and Status Quo Bias

Loss aversion can also help your business keep existing customers.

Fear of loss has a way of immobilizing people. As the old saying goes, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” We want to hold on to what we know, even if there may be something better waiting for us.

And, why do we stick with what we know? Because it’s also possible that what’s waiting for us is worse than what we already have.

Dr. Shahrah Heshmat Ph.D. explains:

 …people have a tendency to stick with what they have unless there is a good reason to switch. The loss aversion is a reflection of a general bias in human psychology (status quo bias) that make people resistant to change. So when we think about change we focus more on what we might lose rather than on what we might get.

For many people, our natural inclination is to stick with what we’ve got.

But, people do brand-hop. So, what can your marketing team to do encourage existing customers to stay?

What You Can Do

  • Provide a great customer experience and customer service. Don’t give people a reason to leave.
  • Create a loyalty program that allows customers to accumulate points or status. Once people have those points or status, it will feel harder for them to leave since leaving will mean losing the goodies they’ve earned.
  • Find ways to remind your clients what problems your product or service solves in their lives. Customers don’t like to lose a good thing.  An email campaign or social media is a great way to do this.

Loss Aversion and the Ownership Effect

People work hard to get what they have.

And once we’ve got something, we hate to let it go.

This is true whether the thing we have is actually ours or if we just think of it as ours.

At the end of the day, despite our best intentions, all people really do subconsciously think that they are the center of the universe. And, why not?

We spend our entire lives seeing the world through the lens of our own experience. We are the centers of our own little universes.

What that means is that when we see things happen to other people, we subconsciously imagine that happening to ourselves as well. So, if we see someone holding an item we think looks cool, we imagine ourselves in that role, too.

Couple this feeling of ownership with the fear of loss and it creates a powerful hook into our brains.

Magda Kay, founder of Psychology for Marketers, puts it this way:

Because we don’t like losing, once we have something, we don’t want to let go of it (and to top it even more – we value it much more). This is called the ownership effect. What it means, is that by making your audience feel they already own your product, they will be more likely to buy it- because not doing so, would mean losing it.

If you want to convert leads into sales, help them envision themselves already owning your product or using your service.

What You Can Do

  • Help prospects imagine owning your product.
    • Write marketing copy that suggests that your audience already owns the product.
    • Show images of people happily interacting with your product or service.
    • Show videos of your product being handled by other people.
  • Offer a free trial or free samples, so that the prospect can directly interact with your product or service with no risk. You can do this even if you offer a digital service. For example, we allow prospective clients to freely browse active and completed design projects. Clients looking to create a new brand identity or rebrand their existing business might be interested in a professional logo design and would love to see examples of other brands and logos created on crowdspring. They can easily do this by exploring other projects that have been posted on crowdspring.
  • Include testimonials from other customers to which your target audience will relate. We do this at crowdspring by letting our clients and prospects look at thousands of crowdspring reviews. They can even filter the reviews by project type (like naming a business, packaging design, web design, etc.)

Loss aversion marketing can be an incredibly effective tool in your marketing repertoire. Be sure to test some of these tactics in your overall marketing strategy.

 

 

 

The post 10 Loss Aversion Marketing Tactics to Help Your Small Business Retain Customers and Win Sales appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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Twitter Link Roundup #349 – Terrific Reads for Small Business, Entrepreneurs, Marketers, and Designers!

October 21, 2018, 1:26 pm
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We all know someone always seeking a compliment, whether through off-handed self-deprecation or an endless stream of selfies on Instagram.

It’s tempting to roll our eyes at this kind of apparent narcissism, but is it possible we have created a culture in which beauty is, in fact, an addiction?

Read more from this Medium piece and consider whether that narcissist is, in fact, vain, or perhaps dealing with the more underhanded consequences of an image-obsessed society.

Now, we hope you enjoy another great set of links and articles that we shared with you over the past week on our crowdspring Twitter account (and on Ross’s Twitter account). We regularly share our favorite posts on entrepreneurship, small business, marketing, logo design, web design, startups, leadership, social media, marketing, and other interesting stuff! Enjoy!

smallbusinessblog

startupsblog

socialmediablog

designblog

logodesignblog

otherblog

 

The post Twitter Link Roundup #349 – Terrific Reads for Small Business, Entrepreneurs, Marketers, and Designers! appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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Emotional Marketing: Scientifically Proven Ways to Increase Sales and Reduce Churn

October 22, 2018, 8:45 am
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What does emotion have to do with creating loyal, enthusiastic customers?

Everything.

If you want to turn casual customers into more powerful brand ambassadors, you need to give them a compelling, emotional reason to invest in your brand.

When you leverage emotional marketing to connect with customers, you reach those customers on a meaningful level. That crucial emotional connection stays in a customer’s mind long after the purchase has been made.

There are six important types of emotional appeals:

  • Self-esteem
  • Authority/Experts
  • Happy
  • Sad
  • Fear
  • Anger and Disgust

Let’s look at what makes emotional marketing so powerful and how you can use emotional marketing to connect with more prospective customers, create more loyal customers, and increase sales.

What is Emotional Marketing?

Emotional marketing refers to marketing and advertising that primarily uses emotional appeals to make your customers and prospective customers notice, remember, share, and buy your company’s products or services.

For example, there’s an intricate psychology involved in designing memorable, unique custom business logos. Similarly, emotions play a crucial role in product packaging design.

Even the name of your business plays an important role in creating emotional reactions in your customers and prospective customers.

There are many different emotions but eight primary ones: anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust, and joy.

Robert Plutchik psychoevolutionary theory of emotion illustrates different emotions through a “wheel of emotions”.

Does emotional marketing  influence what we buy?

Studies show that powerful memories come from intense emotional experiences.

Marketing efforts that tap into those memories access intense emotions. Those emotions are often responsible for that pricey purchase made on a whim.

The emotional content in advertising is far more influential than its informative content. David Frenay, Co-Founder at Emolytics, writes:

Thanks to many millennia of evolution at work, our emotional responses are so intuitive and deeply ingrained into our brains that we instinctively “react” before thinking or rationalizing a decision. We often don’t recognize how irrational many of our decisions are. And if asked, many people will insist that they favor logic over emotion.

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) looked at 1,400 case studies from the past three decades to explore what types of advertising campaigns were the most effective.

IPA compared the effectiveness of persuasive advertising that focused on making an emotional appeal and advertisements that focused on information and logic-based arguments.

The marketing with emotional content was twice as successful as the marketing using the informative content.

Image credit – NeuroScienceMarketing.

Why is emotion more persuasive than information?

Our brains are great at processing emotions. Brains understand and interpret emotions quickly, and the memory of those emotions persists for a long time.

As for facts… I challenge you to remember the capital of each of the United States.

Compelling, emotional stories can work well across cultures and languages.

For example,  “Giving” is a 3 minute commercial for Thailand mobile phone service provider True Move. The story begins with a young boy caught stealing medicine for his sick mother. A nearby small restaurant owner helps the boy by buying the medicine and also gives the boy soup to take home to his mom.

Watch the video to see the story unfold – it’s a powerful and emotional message conveyed in very simple, short video. Your tears won’t be from cutting onions.

What are the different types of emotional appeals?

Which emotions should your business use to boost the power of a marketing message?

You have a range of emotions to consider, but they can easily be broken down into two categories: positive, feel-good emotions, and negative emotions like fear and anger.

You might think that positive emotions are a better choice, but that is not always the case.

Positive and negative emotional appeals can be equally persuasive.

Think about your business and which of the following emotional appeals would work best for your brand’s identity.

Lane Bryant’s advertising uses self-esteem messaging throughout to help speak directly to its target audience, plus-sized women. Image courtesy of Lane Bryant

Self-esteem

Appeals to self-esteem target the customer’s desire to feel good about themselves.

Plus-size clothing chain Lane Bryant tapped into this with their “I’m No Angel” and “This Body” campaigns.

Adweek reported the ads resonated with women on social media:

“The Lane Bryant #IMNOANGEL initiative celebrates women of all shapes and sizes by redefining society’s traditional notion of sexy with a powerful core message: ALL women are sexy,” the brand says.

It’s a direct dig at Victoria’s Secret, and social media is loving it. Women have jumped on the trending hashtag, posting their own photos and declarations with #ImNoAngel.

Creating these feel-good emotions increase your customer’s positive impression of your product. Using an emotional marketing message feels more genuine.

Focus on messages that feel personal to your audience, and tap into a message that resonates with them in a positive way.

Authority / Experts

Credibility and unbiased opinion can have massive sway over consumer opinion. Nielsen research shows:

  • 85 percent of consumers regularly or occasionally seek out trusted expert content when considering a purchase.
  • 69 percent of consumers read product reviews written by trusted experts before making a purchase.
  • 67 percent of consumers agree that an endorsement from an expert makes them more likely to make a purchase.

Hearing from an expert on a subject makes a claim more believable and carries more weight with consumers.

Trident gum’s “4 out of 5 dentists” campaign began in the 80s, initially appealing to customers using an expert opinion. Trident revived this campaign in recent years to excellent effect and introduced a new spin on “expert” marketing. They launched a series of irreverent ads that examined “the 5th dentist” and capitalized on authoritative opinion with an entertaining spin.

Find an expert with enough name recognition that their words carry weight, or create your own expert using a tongue-in-cheek approach.

Apple’s marketing often centers around positive, good feelings, and this classic campaign for Apple’s iPod is a great example of that in action. Image courtesy of Apple.

Happy 

Campaigns that conjure up good feelings, joy, and happiness are powerful ways to connect with consumers.

A study by the New York Times examined their most shared articles. Articles that created a happy reader response were shared more often than those that prompted negative feelings.

Apple uses this power of happy emotion in their recent marketing campaigns.

Apple’s move toward a joyful marketing approach is evident in their “Practically Magic” ads. They use color, magic, and joy to emphasize what their products will make consumers feel.

We agree – those red balloons make us pretty happy.

That happiness makes us eager to spread our joy.

Enthusiasm is contagious.

That’s one reason why positive business taglines, for example, create stronger brand identities, compared to negative taglines.

Try to incorporate positive language into your marketing: fun, success, achievement, joy… This will give consumers a positive and pleasurable association with your brand.

And then, they’ll share the love.

Sad

Marketing that makes people feel sad is powerful.

None of us will ever forget that ASPCA commercial featuring Sarah McLachlan.

Devastating images of dogs and cats paired with McLachlan’s tearjerker “Angel” will never be forgotten by heartbroken viewers everywhere.

You might wonder why any company would intentionally break the hearts of their audience.

The New York Times reported the ad was the ASPCA’s most successful fundraising effort. They raised approximately $30 million from the campaign.

In marketing, creating sadness can persuade people to act.

Show consumers a problem and demonstrate how sad and difficult it is.

Then provide them with the solution, and move them from sadness to empowerment.

Fear 

Fear is a primal emotion that marketers use to motivate a change.

Fear appeals are impactful, but they need to be used carefully. Appeals that are too intense or harshly presented can sometimes backfire.

One reason for this is that people tend to avoid unpleasant or upsetting imagery.

But fear is motivating because we are biologically programmed to run from scary situations.

Our bodies and minds compel us to act when we are faced with fear-inducing things.

In marketing, you can illustrate a vivid threat – like lung cancer to smokers – and then offer viewers the way to escape it.

Always’ Like A Girl campaign. Image courtesy of Always.

Anger and Disgust

Anger and disgust are negative emotions, but they can still provoke a positive reaction if used properly in a campaign.

Always’ “Like a Girl” campaign took a demeaning, anger-inducing phrase and transformed it into a positive and memorable experience.

Many companies will also use anger, but they will put aim that anger toward their competitors.

When Dollar Shave Club illustrated the frustration of buying commercial brand razors, they tapped into a common problem. Then they offered their solution.

Using anger toward your competitors is a great strategy to encourage your customers to try out your brand instead.

Wrapping up

Every business should understand how to connect emotions to their brand, and which emotions can best support what their brand offers.

A well thought out, emotional appeal to your customers is an extremely effective marketing strategy that connects you with customers in a meaningful, lasting way.

 

The post Emotional Marketing: Scientifically Proven Ways to Increase Sales and Reduce Churn appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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How to Successfully Rebrand: Everything Your Small Business Needs To Know

October 25, 2018, 9:36 am
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Many business owners believe that a company’s brand identity is nothing more than that company’s name and logo.

A brand is much more than the name and logo of a business.

Your company’s brand is the sum total of the experience your customers and prospects have with your company.

A good brand communicates what your company does and how it does it. A good brand also establishes trust and credibility with your prospects and customers.

Brand identity is important.

But a brand isn’t forever.

Companies evolve and often, must evolve their brand and branding.

This happens for many different reasons.

You might no longer love your logo or your brand aesthetic no longer speaks to your company’s values and products. You might be expanding the scope of your business and the name of your business is too limiting.  Or you might have realized that your brand simply isn’t doing a good enough job to differentiate you in the marketplace.

The truth is that many companies, including some of the most successful, rebrand.

We’ve seen this recently with rebrands by Dunkin’ Donuts, Weight Watchers, Uber, Unilever, and many more companies.

Let’s look more closely at rebranding and examine what it is, why companies rebrand, and what you should know to successfully rebrand your business.

What is rebranding?

Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a business develops a new name, symbol, logo design, or combination of those elements, in order to create a new brand identity in the minds of consumers, prospects, competitors, employees, and others.

As we mentioned earlier, a brand is much more than a company’s name and logo. But the name and business logo are key ambassadors for any brand, so it’s important that both are strong.

Rebranding can work wonders for any business that is struggling to modernize, differentiate themselves from their competition, or even escape a lackluster reputation, as was the case in Uber’s recent rebrand.

When should a company consider rebranding?

Companies should rebrand to better differentiate from the competition.

Young businesses often don’t understand the importance of branding and turn to generic templates or non-custom designs to build their initial brand.

A generic logo will hurt your business.

Generic branding is a problem because it leaves businesses competing against many others with similar sounding names and nearly identical logo designs.

Rebranding can provide your business an opportunity to stand out from your competition by showcasing the things that make your company different and better.

For example, did you know that Google started with the name Backrub? Amoco started out with the name Standard. Accenture started out as Andersen Consulting.

It’s not unusual for a company to quickly outgrow their name and look for a fresh, unique business name that can help grow its business.

For more on business names, read Why and How to Rename Your Business.

Companies should rebrand to give new life to outdated branding.

Maybe your business has been around for a long time. (Congratulations!)

It’s possible that your Comic Sans font, flash-based website, or 90s color palette are dragging your brand down and making your business look outdated.

It can be tough to evolve your branding materials to keep up with rapidly shifting design and technology trends.

However, to compete in the modern business climate, one thing is clear: Businesses must adapt, or get left behind.

Even the most successful businesses rebrand, as you can see from the various iterations of the Airbnb logo.

Smart companies rebrand because they know that good design can make or break your business.

In fact, failing to evolve your business brand is a critical branding mistake that can hurt your business.

For example, as we wrote when we looked at this year’s web design trends:

A dated or poor looking website design can make even the best businesses appear non-professional and unreliable.

If you want your business to thrive, you have to stand out, and one good way to do so is to take advantage of hot website design trends to give your website or landing page a sharp, contemporary feel.

Companies should rebrand when they outgrow their original mission.

Maybe your business started off selling personalized t-shirts, but now you want to add customized coffee mugs. If your branding revolves around t-shirts, customers probably won’t know that they can look to you for mugs, too.

This is a common problem and we always advise clients to make sure their business name is not too narrow or literal. That way, you avoid limiting yourself for future growth opportunities.

Companies should rebrand to outgrow their poor reputation.

We recently wrote about Uber’s successful rebranding efforts. Uber faced widespread backlash about their toxic company culture and the way they treated their drivers.

Uber’s complete brand overhaul was necessary to break ties with its bad reputation and visibly demonstrate a commitment to a new, improved culture.

If your business is struggling to overcome a negative reputation, a rebrand can help consumers see you in a fresh new light.

Companies should rebrand when their business evolves.

Sometimes, a business is presented with an opportunity to expand or target a new market.

When that happens, it’s important that your new customers and prospects can connect with your brand.

That’s what happened with Pabst Blue Ribbon.

In the US, Pabst Blue Ribbon brings to mind a couple of things: frat guys and hipsters.

It’s not exactly a sophisticated association.

Did you know that China’s version of PBR – the stately sounding Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844 – sells for $44 a bottle?

Pabst saw a chance to re-market itself to the Chinese craft beer market – a market unaware of its budget reputation in the US.

By doing their homework, Pabst expanded into a new demographic and significantly grew their business.

What your company needs to know to rebrand successfully.

1. Start by understanding your mission and values.

Before you rebrand, it’s crucial that you clearly understand your company’s mission and values.

Consider and assess what makes your company special. Why does your company exist, and what values are essential?

These form the foundation that gives you a solid base to build your new brand.

No rebrand can be successful without this foundation.

For more on this, read 5 Successful Rebrands and the Strategies That Worked For Them.

2. Have a complete strategy that works with your existing branding.

While things are more straightforward if you’re tossing everything out and starting from scratch, many companies don’t have the luxury of starting from a clean slate.

If you’re doing a partial rebrand, make sure to take the existing brand assets into account. You want a rebrand that lives holistically with what already exists.

Be sure any new updates to your branding are consistent with the brand elements you’re keeping.

For example, if you have an existing product package design or package graphics, be sure you update those to reflect your new brand.

BrandExtract, a branding firm with over a century of experience, explains the importance of maintaining consistent branding:

A consistent brand helps increase the overall value of your company by reinforcing your position in the marketplace, attracting better quality customers with higher retention rates and raising the perceived value of your products or services….In contrast, erratic, inconsistent behavior quickly leads to confusion and mistrust.

3. Consider the market and your competition.

Before you rebrand, do your due diligence.

Research what your competition does. Determine how you stand apart from your competitors, and what your true value proposition is.

Examine what’s hot (and what’s not) in brand fads. Be aware of what’s trendy, and make sure if you adopt a trend that makes sense for your company.

It’s vital that your new brand be fresh and relevant, but not so of-the-moment that it ends up looking dated too quickly.

It’s too easy to make a mistake. Even smart companies run into rebranding failures. For more on this, read 5 Major Rebranding Failures and What You Can Learn From Them.

4. Collaborate with your team.

Your brand may be one of your most important company assets, but just as valuable are the people that help grow your business every day.

Include voices from across your company: some of the best ideas and most valuable feedback are found in departments you might not expect.

It’s easier to rally your company behind a rebrand that was a true “team effort.” Give your employees a say. They will be the faces and voices that represent your brand to your customers.

5. Manage the rebrand carefully.

A rebrand is often a complex and lengthy endeavor. Without a careful plan of attack and a well-managed process, the rebrand can quickly go off the rails.

Set deadlines and mitigate going down those pesky rabbit holes with a well thought out project plan.

6. Launch your rebrand and tell the world.

Even the most incredible rebrand is wasted if you never actually launch it. Make sure you plan your rebrand launch and be prepared to explain why you rebranded.

Minimize the risk of customer confusion through a carefully planned launch that showcases the story behind the rebrand.

Give your customers a narrative they can follow to understand why you rebranded. This brings your customers along for the ride and strengthens brand recall and loyalty.

A rebrand is a declaration of your company’s commitment to upward growth. It gives you a chance to revamp and refresh the primary touchpoint between you and your customers.

Change is never easy, but sometimes, as the song goes, a change will do you good.

 

The post How to Successfully Rebrand: Everything Your Small Business Needs To Know appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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Brand Health: 6 Important Questions You Should Ask About Your Small Business Brand

October 30, 2018, 12:13 pm
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If your small business brand isn’t healthy, neither is your business.

That’s because the health of your brand impacts both consumer awareness of your business and your bottom line.

A strong brand is not a luxury to be enjoyed only by companies like Nike or Coca-Cola. It is a key factor in the success and prosperity of all businesses and nonprofits, regardless of their revenues. Your brand health is guaranteed to have a significant impact on the consumer awareness of your brand AND your bottom line. It directly affects your ability to sell, to fundraise, to hire the best employees, and to grow. A healthy brand is the hallmark of a company or nonprofit that is prepared to prosper.

What is brand health?

Brand health is a measure of how well your brand supports your business, how consistent your brand is, and how well your brand connects with your audience.

Brand health can be measured in numerous ways, including brand reputation, brand awareness, brand equity, brand positioning, and brand delivery.

This isn’t an issue you can afford to ignore. You need to know if your brand is thriving or ailing – before it’s too late.

So, here are 6 important questions you should ask to make sure your business brand is on the right track.

1. Does your brand support your business strategy?

Every healthy business should have an overall, forward-looking strategy.

For your brand to be healthy, it must align with and support that strategy.

If your strategy is to sell commonly expensive services at discounted rates, your brand should reflect a focus on price. It would not be in your best interest to cultivate a brand that appears affluent or expensive.

If your business strategy is grounded in creativity and custom work, a brand emphasizing traditional corporate culture would not work well.

A misaligned brand will create cognitive dissonance for your customers and undermine your efforts to succeed.

A brand that undermines your business strategy is not a healthy brand.

Get Your Brand in Shape: Cultivate a brand that supports your business strategy. If you don’t know your business strategy, start there. Know what you want and determine how you plan to get there. Now, make sure the public face your business shares aligns with your goals.

2. Is your brand consistent?

A brand identity starts with the name of the business and the business logo. But a brand is more than the name and logo. It encompasses your brand’s overall visual identity, messaging and execution.

An inconsistent brand is a confusing and unreliable brand. These are traits that drive customers away, not attract them.

Inconsistency is a sign of ill-health in any brand.

If your brand constantly changes, it’s hard for customers or clients to wrap their minds around what it’s about. And, it’s even harder to gain trust, confidence and customer loyalty.

Here are some additional questions to help you evaluate your brand for consistency…

3. Is your brand visually consistent?

Image courtesy of Blaze Pizza.

Your brand should look the same on every platform.

The colors, visual styles, and fonts on your website should look like your business cards, which should look like your social media accounts, which should look like your business logo, which should look like your… you get the idea.

Visual consistency helps build recognition of your brand.

When Nike debuted their famous “Swoosh” logo, it wasn’t famous – yet. But, they placed it on every ad campaign, every shoe, and every piece of Nike-branded merchandise. Today that logo is shorthand for Nike, “Just do it.” and athleticism in general.

Consistent branding delivered the ultimate prize – instant brand recognition.

A visually consistent brand also allows customers to identify that they’ve found what they’re looking for – your business.

The internet is full of websites; some reputable, some not. Creating a consistent visual brand that clients and customers can easily recognize and using that visual brand everywhere reassures them that they’ve found you.

Whether I walk past a Blaze Pizza, open an email from Blaze Pizza, or visit Blaze Pizza’s website, I immediately know it’s them. Their orange and tan color scheme, unique font and logo are easy to recognize in all of their decor, marketing, and store collateral.

They’ve created a distinctive and consistent visual brand.

Get Your Brand in Shape: Use your logo consistently on all of your branded material. Define a brand style guide that guides how your brand will visually appear on all platforms to create a consistent visual brand identity.

4. Is your brand message consistent?

Your brand needs a cohesive message. And, ideally, that message should come from your business’s core values and strategies.

If your brand tries to be too many things at once, the message becomes scattered and the brand grows diluted.

It’s hard to be known for something (which is really the goal of branding) when you fail to present a consistent message about what your business should be known for.

Or worse, if your brand messaging contradicts itself, you will lose consumer trust and, ultimately, their business.

People don’t like to be lied to. And, consumers are naturally suspicious of businesses as a general rule. After all, businesses want their money.

Contradicting messages serve as proof that your business is not to be trusted.

Inconsistent messaging is a sign of an unhealthy brand.

Get Your Brand in Shape: Develop cohesive brand messages that align with your business’s core brand identity. Make sure that all communication, marketing, and sales endeavors support these messages.

5. Does your brand behave consistently?

Image courtesy of Chipotle.

Your brand promises must be consistent with the reality of your customers’ brand experience.

If you feature speedy delivery as a central brand message but fail to make good on that promise, people will notice. And, your brand will suffer.

As we explained:

A fabulous logo, expertly deployed and a consistent style guide mean nothing if your business does not follow through on its brand promises in the real world. Remember that your brand should always be true to the reality of your business. Walking the walk is just as important, if not more so, than talking the talk.

Mexican fast-food giant Chipotle has made serving non-GMO foods a key element of their brand promise. However, they’ve repeatedly been spotted serving GMO foods.

Execute a quick Google search for “chipotle admits to using GMOs” and you’ll find a list of critical articles and lawsuits levied against the fast-food mega-chain. They’ve hit on a compelling branding position, but they’re failing to deliver it reliably.

Failure to deliver on a brand promise is a sign of an unhealthy brand.

Get Your Brand in Shape: Create a brand promise that you can truly live by. Use your business’s existing core strategy and values as your guide. When consumers see your business delivering on your claims, you will earn their confidence, their trust, and their business.

6. Does your brand resonate with your intended audience?

A brand is both the public face and the core identity of your business.

No matter how well your brand supports your business strategies, or how consistent it is, if it fails to connect with your audience, then your brand is not doing its job.

But, measuring your brand’s public reception is a bit trickier than examining it for consistency or internal strategy alignment. You’re going to need some brand health metrics to track.

Marketing intelligence experts at Datorama recommend tracking your branded impressions, internet search volume, and the performance of branded keywords.

You may also want to consider measuring social media engagement and keeping an eye on your online reviews. Your customer service team may also be able to offer some useful insight.

Get Your Brand in Shape: Assess how well your brand is resonating with your audience. Track the metrics mentioned above. Hold some focus groups to get direct feedback. Then tweak your brand as necessary to create the connection you need with your customers.

 

The post Brand Health: 6 Important Questions You Should Ask About Your Small Business Brand appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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9 Proven Strategies Your Small Business Can Use to Increase Engagement and Conversion Rates

November 1, 2018, 11:03 am
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If you run an e-commerce business or depend on leads to generate revenue from your website, the forms on your site will make or break your business.

A SalesForce study concluded that “companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50 percent more sales-ready leads.”

If your lead generation forms are poorly designed, they become a roadblock and quickly turn customers away from your site. If you design your lead generation forms well, you can watch your conversion rates quickly skyrocket.

This isn’t something you should leave to chance.

Your inbound marketing and content marketing efforts will be wasted and you’ll waste time and money if your landing pages aren’t ready to convert the people you’re sending to your website.

Let’s take a look at how your small business or startup can optimize lead generations forms to significantly improve conversions and increase sales.

What is a conversion form?

A conversion form, or lead generation form, is a set of text fields and labels that a company uses to gather information from its customers and prospective customers.

Forms can be as complicated as a multipage survey with dozens of fields and options, or as simple as a single email address field.

An effective lead generation form gets what it needs from the user and nothing more.

If your lead generation form isn’t working well, it will impact all of your marketing campaigns.

For example, many marketers and business owners are actively considering or experimenting with chatbot marketing.  Some chatbots are designed to send high quality leads to your landing pages. But if your landing page lead generation forms are poorly designed, you’ll waste those valuable inbound leads.

Every business and every form is different, but industry averages can help you understand how your site compares to others. Larry Kim writes in the WordStream Blog:

Across industries, the average landing page conversion rate was 2.35%, yet the top 25% are converting at 5.31% or higher. Ideally, you want to break into the top 10% — these are the landing pages with conversion rates of 11.45% or higher.

How do you increase your website’s lead conversion rate?

There are nine key, proven strategies to design a great lead conversion form:

  1. Use the above-the-fold space thoughtfully
  2. Make the value proposition clear
  3. Ask for only what you need
  4. Use a single column
  5. Eliminate distractions
  6. Offer a clear call-to-action
  7. Use inline form validation
  8. Use social proof
  9. Explain what happens next

Let’s look in detail at each of the nine strategies.

1. Use the above-the-fold space thoughtfully

Smart business owners know that placing a conversion form above-the-fold brings about the most impressive results.

Anything placed “above-the-fold” is considered the prime real estate of your website. That’s where engagement with your brand is the highest and longest lasting.

Engaged time usually peaks above-the-fold. That means you’ll want to put the most important elements of your landing page – like your conversion form – as high up on your page as possible. And be sure that your business name and business logo are featured prominently in that above-the-fold space.

It’s also helpful to place your form as close to your CTA (call-to-action) as possible. For example, KISSmetrics places its CTAs and conversion forms above-the-fold on their landing pages for the most impactful conversion rate optimization.

If you want to learn more about optimizing website conversions, read 13 Proven Ways To Optimize Small Business Website Conversions and How to Create a High Converting Landing Page.

2. Make the value proposition clear

If you’re going to make your customers fill out a form, make sure it’s obvious what they will get out of it.

Whether your customers need a product, a service, or information, it’s vitally important that you offer a value proposition that meets that need.

Your value proposition makes the benefit of completing the form clear.

Square uses a clear value proposition to let potential customers know exactly what they’re signing up for.

Don’t leave any room for uncertainty. Forms are a pain to complete, and if the customer isn’t sure what they’ll get out if it, they may balk.

Some value propositions examples to get you started:

  • Contact form – Get in touch with us / We’re here to help!
  • Order form – Buy now / Free shipping and returns
  • Survey form – Your feedback matters / Help us improve our service
  • Event registration – Register now for this event
  • Contest form – Win a prize! / Enter our free giveaway!
  • Donation form – Every dollar counts / Help us find a cure

3. Ask for only what you need

One rule many poorly designed forms break is they ask for too much information.

Think about what your goals are for the form and ask for the bare minimum from your customers.

For example, if you want customers to sign up for your email newsletter, don’t ask for their name or phone number. It might be great to have your customer’s name and email address in your mailing list, but there’s little benefit for them.

Research shows that removing unnecessary form fields boosts completion.

The company performed a comparison of an 11-field Contact Us form with a 4-field Contact Us form. They found contact form conversions increased 120% when the number of fields was reduced from 11 to 4 (a 64% decrease). Furthermore, the fields removed had no impact on the quality of the conversions.

You don’t want to give your customer any reasons to change their mind.

Get only what you need to complete the transaction and avoid that possibility.

4. Use a single column

There are many ways to organize and lay out your form, but if you’re optimizing for completion (and asking for more than a single item of information), a single column is your best bet.

Western customers read from left to right. This means you should keep your form labels (the text that describes what you’re asking for) and the form fields (where your customers type their response) aligned left.

This makes it easy for customers to scan the form. It also helps increase completion rates and decreases the number of errors.

5. Eliminate distractions

If your goal is to increase conversions, give your customers a clear path. Avoid any distracting images or links that could pull attention away from the form itself. Amazon uses this best practice to significant effect on its checkout pages.

A typical Amazon page has dozens of links to related products. This makes sense, as Amazon wants to give customers as many options as possible.

But as soon as you enter the checkout process, all of the distracting links are stripped away, leaving just the checkout form itself.

For forms that require one or two bits of information (like newsletter sign up forms) removing distractions isn’t as necessary, as you don’t need the customer’s attention for very long.

For longer, more complex forms, consider a more sparse, distraction-free design to make sure customers don’t click away.

6. Offer a clear call-to-action

We have covered CTAs, or calls-to-action, before. As we wrote:

A “call to action” (or CTA) is the single reason and driving force behind your landing page. Every landing page must have one single goal. This could be to subscribe to your newsletter, download your free e-book, sign up for your service, or purchase your product.

But, you only get one. If you place more than one demand on your viewers they will feel conflicted and leave.

The call to action is the moment when the proverbial rubber hits the road. It’s the simple act of requesting a prospect to act. And it provides the motivation prospects need to convert.

Give your customers a clear indication of what value they are signing up for when they press that form submit button.

This includes offering an incentive in the call to action as well. Treehouse’s subscription form’s CTA reminds customers that trials are free.

If you communicate your offer’s value well and provide an interface that easily completes the call to action, you can bet that your conversion rates will soar.

7. Use inline form validation

A completed form may be useless if the information in it isn’t accurate. Customers may give up if they complete and submit the form only to find that they have to go back and fix a mistake they made.

Check information as it’s entered, so customers immediately know if they’ve made a mistake. This not only reduces the amount of invalid information in your system – it also lowers customer frustration.

8. Use social proof

Reassure customers that what you’re offering is worth their time with testimonials and other social proof.

As we wrote in our look at 6 word-of-mouth marketing strategies:

Posting testimonials or reviews can be a great way of pulling word-of-mouth recommendations onto your site or social feed. Look on websites related to your business for reviews or testimonials. Bring them over to your site or social feed, and make sure to link back to the original review and/or identify the reviewer to help improve the post’s credibility.

In addition to showing thousands of crowdspring reviews from our customers, crowdspring also adds real testimonials to forms, from people who have completed design projects with some of our talented creatives.

FriendBuy found that adding some testimonial text right beside their signup form’s submit button boosted completion by 15%.

9. Explain what happens next

One area many companies forget to pay attention to is what happens after the customer has completed the form.

Take advantage of your “form sent” success page.

Tell customers what happens next, whether that’s “we’ll be in touch soon” or “we received your order!”

Another great use for this page is to give customers their next step as well. Many e-commerce order submission pages display “customers that bought this also bought” recommendations.

Customers may not jump at the chance to fill in a form, but there are many different ways to make the experience more painless.

Lead generation forms can significantly increase the quantity and quality of your incoming leads.

By following the strategies we outlined above, you can get better leads and improve your bottom line.

 

The post 9 Proven Strategies Your Small Business Can Use to Increase Engagement and Conversion Rates appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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Twitter Link Roundup #350 – Terrific Reads for Small Business, Entrepreneurs, Marketers, and Designers!

November 2, 2018, 9:33 am
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It can be tough to feel like you have power over money. Between salary, rent, and every other relatively fixed factor in our financial lives, feeling in control over our finances can feel impossible.

The good news is, it’s not.

So how can we find our sense of power over money?

Financial therapist Amanda Clayman poses an important question: “Because we can’t control the world, what we need to focus on is: What is it in our behavior, and our financial behavior specifically, that we have the power to change?”

Read this piece on Medium for simple steps toward making a major impact on your attitude toward money – and consequently, to your bank account.

Now, we hope you enjoy another great set of links and articles that we shared with you over the past week on our crowdspring Twitter account (and on Ross’s Twitter account). We regularly share our favorite posts on entrepreneurship, small business, marketing, logo design, web design, startups, leadership, social media, marketing, economics and other interesting stuff! Enjoy!

smallbusinessblog

startupsblog

socialmediablog

designblog

logodesignblog

otherblog

 

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The post Twitter Link Roundup #350 – Terrific Reads for Small Business, Entrepreneurs, Marketers, and Designers! appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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15 Tips To Successfully Market Your Small Business This Holiday Season

November 5, 2018, 8:02 am
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It’s that time of year again!

It’s just-past-Halloween and stores are filled with cinnamon-scented pinecones, turkey decor, and Christmas ornaments.

The holidays are here.

And, if you don’t have your holiday marketing strategy ironed out, you’re already behind. Way behind.

While consumers are thinking about how they plan to celebrate and what gifts they plan to buy, businesses across the nation are focused on how they can capitalize on the epic holiday spending that is about to commence.

The holidays are a major source of revenue for many businesses.

Retailers can make up to 30% of their annual income during the holidays. And, some sources argue that holiday shopping is integral to the health of the economy itself.

There’s no question that the holiday season poses a great financial opportunity for any business that plans appropriately.

As a small business, you probably don’t have the budget or resources to create a national holiday television ad or a digital interactive extravaganza like Google’s annual Santa Tracker website. But, don’t let that get you down. There’s plenty that you can do.

So, jump-start your small business’s holiday marketing strategy with these holiday marketing suggestions for 2018.

2018 Holiday Marketing Ideas

Deliver a package worth unboxing

Like it or not, gift-giving is an inescapable focus of the holidays.

And, whether you prefer giving or receiving, beautifully-packaged presents have become a visual shorthand for the holiday season. So, conjure the spirit of the holidays and make your customers feel special with a fabulous unboxing experience.

As we recommended previously:

…it’s time to start thinking about how you can make your unboxing process special. What does the outside of the box look like? What do you see as soon as the box is opened? How is the product wrapped? Is there a message or gift inside?

Treat each step of the unboxing process as a new opportunity to impress, surprise or delight the recipient.

Heading into this holiday season, let your clients or customers unwrap a wonderful experience (and some cleverly placed marketing materials) along with their most recent purchase.

Timing will be important for this tactic, as you want to make sure your intended audience receives this package early enough for them to act on any marketing call to action you include in the packaging.

And, if you want to reach out to new leads as well as existing clients and customers, consider sending a small free gift instead of relying on the packaging for an item they’ve already purchased. This will also trigger the psychological principle of reciprocity, encouraging the recipients to make a purchase.

If you need help with your product packaging design (the design of the product packaging) or package graphics (the design of the graphics on the packaging), consider reaching out for professional help.

And, for goodness’ sake, make sure to offer free shipping. In this day and age, consumers expect it. Failure to meet that expectation could sour their experience and undermine your efforts.

Target your current customers

Every year millions of people travel home for the holidays to be with their families. The holiday season is positively steeped in images and stories emphasizing the importance of our families and loved ones.

And during this time, people’s sense of loyalty and desire to connect is heightened. This makes it an ideal time to reconnect with past and current customers.

Research shows that it is 5-25 times less expensive to maintain relationships with current customers than it is to acquire new ones. So, it is definitely worth the effort to strengthen your connection with current and past customers at the holidays.

Consider sending special offers designed to re-engage with clients or customers you haven’t heard from in a while. Remember that emotional appeals are more effective than logical ones. (In fact, this might be a perfect opportunity to put that holiday unboxing tactic to work!) For a more in-depth look at how to successfully re-engage with past customers, check out this article.

And, don’t forget to consider what comes next. It’s all well and good to reach out at the holidays, but if you don’t have a strategy in place to follow up and cultivate these relationships then you’re going to lose any gains that you’ve made.

Optimize your content for the holidays

#LetItSnow

The holidays are important to your business’s bottom line. And it’s worth pulling some new tricks out of your marketing hat to get the most from the opportunity the holidays present.

But, don’t forget what you already know.

Search engine optimization and social media should still play an important role in your holiday marketing strategy.

Incorporate seasonal keywords into your marketing copy and your written content when appropriate. And, share holiday content on social media with appropriate images and hashtags.

Publishing search-engine-optimized web copy, blog content, and apt seasonal social media content should be tactics that you’re already employing regularly. Don’t forget to take advantage of this low-hanging fruit by tweaking it for the holidays.

Using generic holiday hashtags and keywords may draw in audience members who wouldn’t ordinarily find your content. For more targeted results, research industry-specific holiday keywords and hashtags to include with your content and social media posts.

For some terrific examples of effective holiday marketing campaigns, take a look at this post from Hubspot.

Show how your product or service is relevant this holiday season

What holiday-related challenge can your business solve?

This is the big question you should be asking as you prepare your business for the coming holiday season.

The holidays are coming. The money will be spent – it’s inevitable. And, every business is trying to figure out how to get their slice of that pumpkin pie.

You could just throw a big sale. Consumers love (and frankly expect) a good discount. Whether you’re a Black Friday or a Cyber Monday sorta business, discounts and sales should be a part of your holiday marketing strategy.

But, that’s not going to set your business apart from the competition. Not when everyone is throwing sales and offering discounts.

If you want to stand out from the crowd (and reap a larger percentage of the profits) you need to show your audience that you’re not just saving them money – you’re also solving a problem.

Does your e-commerce business offer unique and exotic gifts for those impossible-to-shop-for men in your family? Maybe your catering business can offer Thanksgiving meal planning services for families with food allergy sufferers. Or your spa can offer packages to help moms escape from the holiday bustle or recover after New Years.

Whatever your business, find a way to show how you can make your client or customers’ holiday experience a bit less stressful and a lot more jolly.

Stay True to Your Brand

Not every brand embodies the spirit of Norman Rockwell. But, that doesn’t stop many businesses from leaning into that Rockwellian interpretation of idyllic holiday coziness.

I can’t emphasize this enough – don’t toe the standard holiday line if it doesn’t suit your brand.

Your holiday marketing choices must reflect your brand. If they don’t, they’ll come across as insincere and disjointed from your brand identity.

Celebrate the holidays, but do it in your way.

Is your brand cheeky and snarky? Then your holiday marketing should be, too. If your brand is casual and geeky,  formal and conservative, or chic and cozy then lean into that.  Don’t let your brand voice or message be pulled off course by the desire to fit in with what a holiday message “should” look like.

Outdoor gear and apparel retailer REI does a great job of celebrating the holidays in their own, on-brand, way.

Marketer, project manager, and podcast host Justine Timoteo explains:

The entire product line of REI is centered around outdoor clothing and gear. Instead of just marketing their products for people to purchase this holiday season, they crafted a new, outside-of-the-box message — one that even went against the commercialization of the season, but stayed true to their brand…

REI broke with traditional messaging and encouraged people to get outside and enjoy the outdoors rather than spending Black Friday inside shopping.

Follow REI’s lead. As you plan your holiday marketing strategy, be true to your brand. Your authenticity will inspire consumers and clients to trust and engage with your business.

Here are more holiday marketing ideas that can help your small business improve its bottom line in 2018:

  1. Partner with another business and run a cross-promotion campaign with them.
  2. Partner with a local charity and donate a portion of your holiday sales to that charity.
  3. If you sell products, offer special holiday gift-wrapping.
  4. Give away free samples of your products or offer a free gift if people buy something.
  5. Update your branding for the holidays with a cheerful, holiday-themed logo design to show your holiday spirit.
  6. Offer gift cards (and gift card bonuses). These are very popular, especially during the holidays.
  7. Have a holiday photo contest for your customers.
  8. Create a holiday-themed website landing page to showcase your special promotions.
  9. Send special holiday-themed emails and newsletters.
  10. If you have a physical location, dress it up with lights and a fun holiday display.

There are many more ways to get in the holiday spirit and help your customers celebrate. Let your imagination guide you to build trust and engagement with your customers and prospects.

After all, trust and engagement lead to purchases consumers can feel good about – and happy holidays for everyone.

 

The post 15 Tips To Successfully Market Your Small Business This Holiday Season appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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How to Cultivate a Female-Friendly Cannabis Brand

November 7, 2018, 9:58 am
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With recreational cannabis use legal in nine states (and soon a 10th, Michigan), the District of Columbia, and in Canada, the cannabis industry is steadily growing.

But to grow even more quickly, cannabis firms will need to push their branding and advertising to reach beyond the core demographic of stoners and hippies.

There’s a huge opportunity for cannabis firms to more effectively market to women. Here’s what you should know.

Why are women important cannabis consumers?

The rapid rise of female cannabis users leaves a huge opportunity for cannabis business owners to connect with a brand new target market.

Women are responsible for 70-80% of consumer spending in the US. They also influence a huge number of purchases.

In fact, a report on cannabis use found that 59% of the respondents were women versus 41% male. Women are one of the fastest growing segments of cannabis users.

Chart courtesy of the Cannabis Consumers Coalition.

Despite these numbers, most existing branding, including logos for cannabis businesses, is still geared toward men.

With strain names like Durban Poison and Green Crack, cannabis firms will fight an uphill battle to attract women customers.

But this is starting to change.

Smart firms are beginning to understand that cannabis products are targeted to two different markets: medicinal users and recreational users.

John Kagia explains how products are branded and marketed to each group:

Two contrasting examples – Incredibles, one of the largest edibles manufacturers, uses bold, playful colors on their packaging which may be more resonant with recreational consumers, whereas Slactavis Medicated Syrup looks more like a pharmaceutical product in its packaging and branding, with strong emphasis on the pain relief afforded by the product.

Your brand identity, including your company name,  your logo design, and the design of your cannabis product packaging, affects your ability to attract customers for your products.

Branding and marketing for medicinal cannabis users

Medical marijuana can play an especially powerful role in catering to women interested in the health and wellness niche.

Anna Duckworth, the co-founder of the women-centered magazine Miss Grass, talked about women’s drive to investigate alternative means for self-care:

Women are looking for alternative non-toxic, plant-based, holistic remedies for health and cannabis falls into all of those categories.

Activist and entrepreneur Jamie Lewis told High Times that women seek out cannabis to treat a substantial number of female health issues, including menopause, menstrual cramps, anorexia, breast cancer, and PMS.

Similarly, a BDS Analytics report found that “menstruation, menopause, and sex are listed as the top reasons for female cannabis self-care.”

If you are selling to women medicinal users, communicate how cannabis helps with health issues by using clear, verified information.

Branding and marketing for recreational cannabis users

As the stigma fades, more women are starting to use cannabis for recreational purposes.

Businesses have noticed, and they offer products specifically tailored for women.

Cannabis businesses are taking inspiration from the wine and spirits industry.  Bridget Hoffer, the co-founder of Marigold Marketing and Public Relations, explains:

Now there are products emerging that women are saying ‘this is more tailored to me .’ It’s not unlike in wine and spirits where you see some retailers creating wine that’s marketed toward women specifically as well.

By offering information on the specific plant strain, intensity, taste, smell, and benefits, businesses can easily target individual users seeking out a more specific experience or benefit.

From sprays, creams, bath salts, tinctures, teas, all the way down to chocolates, there truly is something for everyone.

What does the average female cannabis user want?

Most women prefer sweeter tasting cannabis strains.

Maybe that’s because women have a better sense of taste than men, and have a high percentage of “super tasters” (people who experience a profoundly intense sense of taste).

Whatever the reason, female cannabis users tend to seek out cannabis that tastes sweet. Many of the strains women prefer are noted for their fruity, sweet flavors.

Additionally, women are looking to treat specific conditions.

For example, women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety than men. It’s no wonder that CBD options are popular with women.

Cannabis that offers women a euphoric, happy, or uplifting experience are also more widely used.

If you want to be sure that women will feel comfortable and eager to try your cannabis brand, make sure that your business clearly labels whether a cannabis varietal has any of these female-friendly qualities.

First impressions count

Branding can help you catch the eye and attention of women consumers.

With cannabis sales targeted to hit $40 billion in 2021, the competition is increasing and consumers are able to choose from many different products.

Cannabis firms should learn important lessons on reaching women buyers by looking at the beauty industry. As we previously discussed when we looked at branding and marketing strategies for beauty businesses:

48% of consumers report that their first purchase or experience is the most critical one in deciding if they will develop loyalty to that particular brand.

With thousands of beauty products available online and on store shelves, having an eye-catching, professionally designed logo and packaging design is a key way to make a good first impression.

In the past, branding for cannabis products was merely an afterthought. But with increasing competition and the desire to reach women consumers, cannabis firms cannot ignore strong branding. John Kagia from New Frontier Data agrees:

Branding has gone from being an afterthought to becoming a central aspect of the competitive strategy among cannabis companies.

To learn more about branding your cannabis business and products, we recommend you study what color says about your business, branding lessons you can learn from the world’s best brands, and the 20 important branding statistics every entrepreneur and marketer should know.

But you won’t attract women consumers solely through good branding.

Image courtesy of the Direct Cannabis Network.

Why product packaging design is important for female cannabis consumers

Product packaging design is a crucial element of any product’s success.

Your product packaging should be a crucial part of your branding strategy as you market your cannabis product to women.

Pay attention to these three key areas when you design your cannabis packaging for women:

Color

Contrary to gender stereotypes, studies show that pink is low on the scale of colors. Consider blue, green, red, and purple instead.

Shape

Studies have found that women tend to prefer packages with curved or smooth shapes that are easy to handle and store.

More importantly is how the packaging works: is it easy to get the product out?

If the packaging is a dispenser, is it easy to control and does it dispense the right amount? The last consideration is even more crucial with cannabis packaging as you want to ensure the doses are delivered accurately.

Text

You should aim to keep the text on your packaging simple and to the point. There are many regulatory requirements you need to consider as well, and these will inevitably take up space on the package. Above all, keep the other text to a minimum and let your marketing and other sales collateral do the talking.

For more on effective product packaging, read Biggest Product Packaging Design Trends in 2018, Telling Your Brand Story Through Packaging Design: These 3 Businesses Are Doing It Right, and 4 Psychology-Based Design Tips For Eye-Catching Packaging Design.

As women discover the health and wellness benefits of cannabis, their influence on sales is set to grow exponentially.

Are your cannabis branding and marketing strategies designed to reach these important women consumers?

 

The post How to Cultivate a Female-Friendly Cannabis Brand appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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5 Tips for Starting a Successful Clothing Brand: The Definitive Guide (2018)

November 8, 2018, 6:30 am
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Many people want to start a clothing line or clothing brand. After all, how difficult could it be?

The truth is that clothing brands become successful in part because they’re created by people who are passionate about clothing.

But, a clothing brand needs more than just exquisite apparel design to create a lasting business. It needs all the trappings of a successful business as well. Apparel retailers need to master marketing, manufacturing, and retailing, among other things.

Shira Sue Carmi, the founder of Launch Collective, reminds us that the business of launching a clothing brand is as important as the artistry:

Fashion is amazing in the way it balances art and commerce, but it’s a business. Don’t start a business because you want to design. Start a business because you want to start a business.

So, are you a fashion designer or an apparel entrepreneur? If you are ready to start a fashion business (whether part-time or full-time), let’s get down to it. Here is a step-by-step comprehensive guide with our top 5 business tips for starting a successful clothing brand or clothing line.

  • Develop your brand.
  • Fill in the business blanks.
  • Prepare for manufacturing.
  • Create a sales plan.
  • Spread the word.

1. Develop Your Clothing Brand

Step one of starting a new clothing line or clothing brand? Develop your brand identity.

As we’ve previously discussed,

…your brand is your company’s public identity. Ideally, your brand should embody the best (and most essential) attributes of your company.

The importance of your brand identity cannot be understated – especially in the world of fashion. Clothing is very personal because our clothing choices are one of the ways that we define our identity – to both ourselves and to the world. As a result, the brands we choose to wear and the labels we display on our clothes become an extension of who we are and how we see ourselves.

In particular, the millennial generation has been shown to desire an authentic connection with their clothing brands. Fabrizio Moreira writes in “Building a Startup Clothing Brand in a Fast Fashion Economy“:

They want a brand “experience,” they want authenticity. It follows, then, that having a message that resonates with these consumers, and staying authentic to that message, is one of the few ways to break into the cutthroat fashion industry as a small brand…

So, before you sketch your first rendering, ask yourself these important questions:

  • What identity do I want my clothing brand to project?
  • Who will want to wear my clothes?
  • What can customers get from my clothing brand that they can’t get anywhere else?
  • What makes my clothing unique? Is it high-end?
  • What is the most important part of my customer’s experience?

Your answers to these questions (and others like them) will build the core of your brand. All of your future branding decisions should expand on these ideas. Your business name, your logo, your website design should all grow from the concepts you laid out here.

Moreira cites Bad AF Fashion (a fashion startup) as a how-to example. Here’s what Moreira thinks they’re doing right:

Arguably, the key to their success has been having a clear brand identity that resonates with their target customers, staying authentic to that identity, and knowing how to communicate it to the desired audience.

So, take the time to think – really think – about your brand from the start. Fashion is an exciting, fast-moving industry. You might have many business ideas, but it’s important for you to focus on one.

You can learn more about the nuts and bolts of establishing and maintaining a consistent brand in Grow Your Small Business with Consistent Branding.

2. Fill in the Business Blanks

Once you define your brand, you can begin to think about the vitally important details of actually starting and running a clothing company. From choosing a fashion business structure to pricing, licensing and permits to business plan…

There’s a lot to think about.

First, you will need to choose the legal structure for your new apparel business. Sole proprietorship or LLC? Incorporate or register a partnership?

We discussed these options previously in our article 15 Tips for Turning Your Craft Hobby Into a Successful Business:

A sole proprietorship is the “most basic type of business to establish” according to the SBA (Small Business Administration). You are the sole owner of the business; and, as such, are solely responsible for the assets and liabilities accrued by the business. This may be just the ticket for your brand new, baby crafting business as it is also the easiest to set up.

If you’re interested in a little more protection, an LLC (or Limited Liability Company) may be a better fit. The LLC business structure provides the limited liability features you would find in a corporation. The Small Business Administration has all of the details about these common small business structures and others.

To learn more about corporations, partnerships and other legal mistakes people commonly make when setting up a small business, take a look at our post and video: 10 Legal Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Small Business And How To Avoid Them.

After you determine your business’s legal structure, you’ll need to file the necessary paperwork.

The U.S. Small Business Administration tells us that some form of license or permit is necessary for virtually every type of business. Their website has all of the info you need to find out what sort of license or permit you’ll need to start a business in your state.

Legal details squared away? Then it’s time to think about the specifics of your business. Entrepreneur contributor Toby Nwazor advocates for creating a business plan:

Any experienced entrepreneur knows a company without a business plan is like a fish without water. The plan does not need to be lengthy at first. Rather, it should be one or two pages, identifying the key elements of the clothing line’s business strategy.

Your plan should include (at minimum) a statement about your clothing brand, a general description of your products and a strategy for how you plan to sell them.

For more information about how to create a business plan, the Small Business Administration has you covered again. Click here to see their complete guide to writing a business plan.

In a detailed business plan, you may want to include your anticipated pricing structure. But, whether you include pricing info in your business plan or not, it’s an issue you must consider.

You may dream of owning your own brick and mortar shop – or maybe you fantasize about seeing your labels on the rack at Nordstroms. Either way, in order for an apparel business to scale and grow, it must have price points for both retail and wholesale. And, those prices should take into consideration the expenses of designing and creating your garments.

Nwazor recommends that you aim for prices 30% – 50% higher than your expenses in order to ensure a profit. Profit is, after all, essential to your business’s success.

Plan ahead for all of the necessary legal and logistical business considerations and you’ll create a strong foundation for your clothing brand’s successful future.

3. Plan for Manufacturing

Unless you personally plan to sew every garment you sell (a business model that would be impossible to scale) you’ll need to consider how your collection will be manufactured.

A manufacturer is not just the means to an end – it’s the partner that will help you make your ideas a physical reality. So, making the right choice of clothing manufacturer is critical.

This is especially true if you’re already running a clothing brand and want to start a new clothing line. Your existing manufacturer might not be a good fit for the new clothing line. This often happens, for example, if you started with t-shirts and are now are looking to start a new clothing line and need a new supplier.

You should plan to interview a number of different factory locations to find the one that is a right fit for your business. Remember that you must ensure that you maintain healthy profits margins for your business, and manufacturing will be a large percentage of your budget.

There’s a terrific book about this from the founder of Nike, Phil Knight – Shoe Dog. In the book, Knight writes about how he found the perfect partners for manufacturing Nike shoes – and the struggles with partners who were less than perfect.

Before you reach out to potential manufacturing partners you’ll need to get your own business in order. Anna Livermore, founder of fashion business consulting company V. Mora, recommends completing the following “To-Do” list before reaching out to manufacturers.

  • Determine a realistic, honest budget. Don’t overcommit funds you don’t have. 
  • Learn about the manufacturing timeline so you can plan accordingly.
  • Prepare your design resources (fabric swatches, sewn samples, and tech pack or renderings).

When you reach out to a manufacturer for the first time they will have questions for you – questions that you should be equipped to answer. If you take the time to establish your budget, understand the production timeline and know your designs inside and out then you’ll be ready for them.

When you do finally start meeting with potential manufacturers put your most professional foot forward. Jennifer Philbrook co-founder at Stitch Method suggests:

Look at this meeting as a partner meeting and walk in with a smile! Not only are you looking to see if this factory is a good fit for your brand, but they are looking to see if your brand is a good fit for them! You don’t want to assume they automatically want to work on your project.

Of course, walking into that meeting prepared will go a long way toward convincing a manufacturer that you are a worthwhile prospect. Having worked on both the design and production side of the clothing industry I can tell you that manufacturers love a designer who really knows their business.

On the same token, nothing is more irksome to a supplier or manufacturer than a designer with lots of ideas and no understanding of the manufacturing process by which those ideas are made real.

Before you commit to a full-scale run, order a few samples from several manufacturers to evaluate the quality and speed of their work. For example, if you’re screen printing on your clothing, examine the quality of the print. Examine the labels to make sure they contain the information you require.

4. Create a Sales Plan

There’s more to a clothing line business than manufacturing. Once you have manufacturing well in hand, build your marketing plan and consider how you will sell your new clothing line.

Where do you plan to sell your clothing line? In an online shop or online clothing store? In a brick and mortar clothing store of your own? Or maybe you want to sell in local boutiques that feature many different clothing items?

There is no one right answer. And, it’s a good idea to consider the pros and cons of each option before making a decision that feels right for you.

This is where market research can help you. Not every selling option will be cost-effective or practical.

You’ll want to develop both an overall marketing/sales strategy and also a list of day-to-day tactics that will help you sell your clothing line.

Selling a clothing line in an online store is cheaper and less labor-intensive than setting up your own physical store. There’s no monthly rent, mortgage or property taxes to pay, and no fixtures to buy. It’s also relatively easy to create an e-commerce presence nowadays without a lot of technical knowledge.

Most template-based web design services offer some form of e-commerce functionality. And some, like Shopify, are built specifically for e-commerce. But, think carefully before you decide to use a template-based service like Shopify.

Remember how important your unique branding is? The templates on those e-commerce sites are available for every other new fashion brand to use, as well. As I mentioned in a previous article,

It’s not enough to have a website… You also want to be sure that your site’s design is unique and that it showcases your products and you.

Just like your logo, your web design should start with your personal brand. A well-designed website will expand upon and support the values and personality traits that you’ve identified as being core to your business. If web design is not among your many DIY skills, know that there’s help available.

There are self-hosted open-source e-commerce services available that allow you to use your own uniquely branded website with their e-commerce functionality.

Check out services like WooCommerce, Magento, and Open Cart. Not only can you use your own original web design, they also scale easily alongside your business as it grows.

Alternately, if you dream of selling in a physical store, it’s a safer financial bet to start by selling in boutiques that already exist before taking the plunge and opening your own shop.

When deciding which boutiques you would like to carry your clothing line, double back to our first point – your well-developed brand.

Choose boutiques that are in line with your brand identity and your target market. If you design biker leathers for motorcycle enthusiasts, you can probably bypass the boutique down the street that specializes in yoga pants and maxi skirts.

However, if you make wise location choices, there’s a good chance your target audience already shops for clothes there.

Once you’ve targeted which boutiques you’d like to partner with, the next step is to start thinking like a retailer. Stitch Method’s Philbrook shared this advice in her article 5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Started My Clothing Line:

If you plan on selling wholesale to boutiques it is important that you have merchandise ready to sell during the correct buying season… You need to figure out when you need to have production ready to ship to stores or customers and then work backwards from there through the development stages (leave enough time!) to make sure that you are working on the correct season.

Luckily, you’re already planning to learn about the manufacturing production timeline (remember Tip #3?) so you should be golden.

Pro Tip: Always schedule your meetings with boutiques in advance. In retail, the customer always comes first, so cold calls and drop-ins are a bad idea.

5. Spread the Word

If you’ve made it this far, you know your brand inside and out, all of your legal business details and business plan are in place, you have a manufacturing partner producing your garments, and a plan for selling them.

Now it’s time to focus on getting the word out about your fabulous new clothing business, a new line of clothes, and to find potential customers!

A great way to get started is to compile a list of local fashion editors and media outlets (radio, television and online blogs). When you are ready to launch your clothing brand or your clothing line, you can notify these resources via press release.

Take it one step further by creating an entire press kit. Check out this article from PR Couture to learn how.

Another important (and easy to overlook!) marketing tool for your clothing line are the pictures of your garments.

If you’re just starting out, you might be tempted take these yourself. But, blurry or poorly lit photos can actually work against you. So, if you can afford it, hire a professional photographer to ensure great results.

These images will be used on your website, social media marketing, and advertisements. So, keep your brand and target customer in mind and style them accordingly.

But most importantly, make sure your styles are the stars of the photos – simplicity is key keep accessories and background elements to a minimum.

As a new, up-and-coming business owner, you’ll also want to take full advantage of the inexpensive and easy exposure that social media marketing offers you. As we previously explained,

Social media gives you the ability to easily keep customers up-to-date on new products, store policies or sales. It also enables you to build a social rapport with current customers, while building low-pressure relationships with future buyers.

Maintaining (at a minimum) a Twitter and Facebook presence will help you build an audience of devotees. And consider micro-influencers, who can help you in the early days.

Make it easy for visitors to see what your clothing brand all about by featuring those fabulous photos of your line in a Facebook album.

Social media is also the perfect platform to help future customers get to know you as well as your clothes.

One major reason why customers buy from a start-up business instead of a major retailer is that they feel a connection to that business’s story. So, use your Facebook and Twitter to share that story – for free!

Finally, consider throwing a launch party to create exposure and excitement for your line. In an article for Inc. Magazine, Francis Arden (Aston Models partner) shares some great advice to ensure that your launch party is the well-attended extravaganza you dream it will be.

Build your list.  Remember those local fashion editors and media outlets? They should be on your list. So should local boutique owners, fashion buyers and anyone else who is relevant in your field.

Don’t compete for guests.  Schedule your party on an evening with no other major events – especially not other major events in the fashion industry. You don’t want to force your attendees to choose between your launch and another event.

Hold your event at an interesting location.  A special, unique venue can really make an event feel like… well… an event! But, don’t choose randomly, pick a location that jives with your brand presence. Try to find a venue where your target audience would feel right at home – if ‘home’ was super fun and exciting.

Offer something for free.  People love free swag. If you can afford it, offering a thoughtful and relevant free gift will make a great impression on your guests. A branded t-shirt might be the right gift. Or you can offer a one-off specially designed garment in a raffle. If your budget is tighter, Arden suggests offering an open bar for a limited part of the evening. Everyone loves an open bar; and, you can schedule the timing to coincide with when you’d like the bulk of your guests to arrive.

For more useful tips like these, check out the rest of Arden’s tips here.

And there you have it… Five tips to help get your new clothing line off to a great start. We’ve covered a lot, so let’s briefly review.

1. Develop your brand.  

Develop an authentic brand that honestly embodies your unique artistic point of view and speaks to your target audience. Plan your clothing business name, logo, and web design to embody your brand.

2. Fill in the business blanks.  

File the permits or licenses that allow you to do business legally. Create a business plan and pricing strategy.

3. Plan for manufacturing.  

Before you start a clothing line, determine your budget, learn the manufacturing process and timeline, and prepare your designs for sharing with tech packs, samples, and fabric swatches.

4. Create a sales plan.  

Choose your strategy – online or off? If online – create a custom website with your unique branding and e-commerce capability. If offline – form partnerships with boutiques that your target audience would frequent.

5. Spread the Word.  

Send press releases or press kits to relevant media outlets. Show your line off to its best advantage with professional photos. Use social media to share your story and your fashions. Hold a launch party to create excitement for your line.

There’s a lot to think about when you’re starting your own clothing line – not the least of which are the clothing designs themselves. But, following these 5 recommendations will help set your business off on the right Jimmy Choo clad foot.

 

Your company’s brand deserves a first-class logo. Let crowdspring’s team of  210,000+ designers help you find it. It’s easy, fast and your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed – just click below to get started for as little as $299. 

The post 5 Tips for Starting a Successful Clothing Brand: The Definitive Guide (2018) appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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2018 Logo Design Trends: Your Guide to Navigate Hot Trends and Avoid Fads

November 8, 2018, 10:45 am
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Logo design with bright colors, creative typography, and signage mock-up by zeste/crowdspring.

Small businesses and startups have to compete in an increasingly noisy world, often against large, dominant businesses.

Customers who are just discovering your brand need something to remember you by, and your logo serves as a symbol of your business.

A great logo will help boost your marketing. A poor logo will tarnish your brand.

That’s why many businesses, including some of the most successful, periodically rebrand.

The truth is that not all logos are created alike. New logo trends and fads in logo design appear every year.

Stripes, letter stacking, fades and geometric shapes were popular logo types in logo design last year. Additionally, monoline designs, negative space, and retro designs were all the rage.

But, which of these modern design trends and logo styles are worth following and which logo design styles can serve as inspiration for your own custom logo?

And, which new year “trends” are really passing fads that will date your new logo in just a few years?

After all, you want your modern logo to feel fresh and relevant for a long period of time, and not dated a year from now.

Not all modern logo design trends are equal. And, even if a trend does offer some inherent aesthetic value, if it doesn’t support and reflect your brand, it’s a poor choice for your logo.

When it comes to branding and innovative logo design, a good modern logo design must reflect your brand, and be memorable, unique, and timeless.

You should avoid trendy logos that get in the way of accomplishing those design goals.

As we wrote in The Small Business Guide to Creating a Perfect Logo:

At its most basic, a logo is a small, symbolic piece of artwork that represents a business. But, we’ve dug a bit deeper than that. When you set aside all the design trends and fancy fonts, at its core, a logo must:

1- Embody your brand.

2- Be instantly recognizable.

3- Be versatile.

4- Be timeless.

Everything else is optional.

In fact, I’ll go one step further. Every design choice in your logo should exist only to serve and strengthen the four items listed above. And, if you meet these four requirements, many other commonly cited logo must-haves, like simplicity and memorability, naturally follow.

Here are 6 contemporary logo design trends that are hot in 2018 (plus 2 trends that you should avoid).

Top Logo Design Trends and Styles in 2018

1. Creative typography

Logo design with hand-effect typography courtesy of mateuzord/crowdspring.

The visual mark of a logo is often supported by the text.

Some logos (including crowdspring’s logo) are made up entirely of text – these are called lettermarks, logotypes, or wordmarks.

It’s especially important that you get from your designer vector files for logos that use creative typography since these will be unique files you will not be able to replicate with common fonts. This is one reason why crowdspring requires designers to provide vector files to clients in all custom logo design projects on crowdspring.

But not any old text will do. You can’t just plop your business name under your logo mark in a serif or sans serif font like Helvetica, Times New Roman or Comic Sans (shudder) and call it a day.

Your typography and lettering should be as tuned in to your branding as the rest of your logo. Just look at the high-profile and high-quality logos of Coca-Cola, FedEx, Microsoft, Wikipedia, and others as great examples.

And, creative typography continues to grow in 2018. Here are just a few examples…

Split Typography

These fonts feature unexpected negative space (or splits) in the letters while maintaining the text’s readability. That allows you to treat parts of your company name differently.

There are endless variations to play with here between the choice of the base typeface and placement of the splits.

Logo design with split typography by annasmoke/crowdspring.

Chaotic Typography

This dynamic typography effect features a chaotic, non-linear placement of the letters.

If you have a playful or casually dynamic brand, this may be a good choice for you. But be careful because abstract logos can be difficult to read.

Logo design with chaotic typography by connexis/crowdspring.

Hand-effect Typography

Rather than the perfectly smooth, polished, and fancy looping scripts of yesteryear, hand-effect typographic styles look like it’s been written by hand.

These can range from cursive scripts that look hand-drawn to crisp prints to typefaces that use playful block letters.

Often, this style is matched with a graphic, icon or symbol to create a combination mark. Irregularity is the key to this effect and designers will often implement different kerning techniques to better position the letters in such designs.

These letterform typographic styles are on-trend now, even if some of them make your modern logo design look old-fashioned. But, they’re only a fraction of the options available. So, don’t stop looking here.

Encourage your logo designer to play with typography to find the right fit for your brand.

2. Bright Colors

Logo design with bright colors by ElenaGabriela/crowdspring.

The internet has changed the way that we interact with the world. It’s vital that businesses design their visual brand with this medium in mind. And it’s important that your graphic design understand this.

After all, if you’re selling anything online, you’re competing with millions of other e-commerce businesses.

And this is true even if your organization is a non-profit – you’re still competing for attention against millions of other non-profits.

Modern logo design differs from logo design several decades ago. One of the strengths computers and mobile devices bring as a visual medium is their ability to display color. A computer or mobile screen provides a perfect canvas to show off bright, saturated colors. This is probably why we’re seeing such a big surge in brightly colored logo designs.

Logo design with gradient colors by AlexChiriac9/crowdspring

Intense colors that fade from a saturated hue to a lighter one, or gradients that segue from one shade to another continue to be popular in logo design.

When you combine your company’s name and an image (called a combination mark), you can try playing with different colors for both as you see in the accompanying examples here. And try variations where the name and image are side-by-side versus one above the other.

So, don’t be afraid to ask your logo designer to play with different options and to create an illustration that can accompany your logotype (the name of your company).

Just keep it simple enough that it won’t cost you a fortune when you actually have to print your logo.

And, don’t forget that there’s a psychology to graphic design. Specifically, colors tug on our grey matter to produce different emotional results. For more about using psychology to influence customers, check out our previous related article How 21 Brands Use Color to Influence Customers to learn which colors will send the right message from your brand.

It’s a foregone conclusion that your customers will interact with your brand online. Make the most of this opportunity by capitalizing on the visual medium with eye-catching, vibrant colors that will set your logo apart from the competition.

3. Geometric Line Art logos

Image courtesy of Davide Bassu/Design Bundles.

Geometric shapes eternally float in and out of favor in the worlds of architectural, fashion and graphic design. Simple, geometric line logos are popular and continue on an uptrend in 2018.

Geometric designs are loved for their clean, elegant lines and timelessness. Geometric design done well can be a thing of beauty and create minimalist, innovative abstract logos.

However, a simple geometric line design as a logo element is not the one-size-fits-all answer that some people seem to believe it is.

Logos must be distinct. This is what allows us to visually identify a specific brand from the vast array of logos in the marketplace.

But, at times, simplification can actually undermine your efforts to make a brand identity distinct. This is a problem because your modern logo must also reflect your brand. This is where blindly following this geometric logo trend and designing a logo based on a shape can fall short for your business.

There are only a handful of basic geometric shapes – squares, circles, triangles, diamonds… Even once you branch out into octagons, hectagons, parallelograms and the like, there still just aren’t that many. So, designers get creative and begin to layer the shapes together, play with curves, introduce negative space…

But, the results often look like “just another geometric shape logo design” – indistinct, unremarkable, and communicating nothing about your brand.

If you choose to go with a geometric line logo, make sure your symbol supports and reflects your brand identity and stick with a flat logo design (rather than a multi-dimensional design).

 

4. Social Media Optimized logo design

Logo design with social media optimized icon by PurposeMade/crowdspring.

Social media continues to offer a valuable marketing platform for businesses big and small, all around the world. So, it should come as no surprise that social media-friendly logos are “in” for 2018. But what exactly does this mean and should you ask your graphic design to create a social-media-friendly company logo for you?

Most social media platforms offer a square field to display a profile picture. So, your logo should fit nicely into that square field.

But, please don’t think that we’re advocating for everyone to have a square logo – far from it! What we are suggesting is that your logo should be sufficiently self-contained and visually balanced to fit into a square.

For a naturally social media-optimized logo, avoid overtly long horizontal or vertical designs. Those are complex and take away from the simplicity you need in a social media logo.

Choose a logo with a nice visual balance between its horizontal and vertical axis. These will display well on Twitter, Facebook, and even Instagram’s circular profile field.

This trend is a must-follow! It only slightly restricts your creative options and optimizes your business to put its best face forward on social media.

This is important because you want your brand to be consistent across channels, as we wrote in Grow Your Small Business With Consistent Branding:

Customers recognize unique logos easily in a sea of generic logo design. Versatile logos translate well across all mediums – from large business signage to a tiny business card. And appropriate logos create logical associations in your customer’s mind, helping them to link the logo to your product or service.

5. Simplistic Letterplay

Image courtesy of LetterLogos.

Monogram and single letter logos (sometimes called emblem logos) are classics. And, as we head into 2018, their endless popularity continues unabated. They can also serve as your brandmark or emblem (an image, like the Nike swoosh, that’s connected to your brand identity).

Unfortunately, although they can be simple logos, letter and monogram logos can be incredibly hard to make unique even if you have a talented graphic designer.

A monogram is defined as:

a design consisting of two or more alphabetic letters combined or interlaced, commonly one’s initials

Business owners love to make logos from their business’s initials. This makes sense if consumers will associate those initials with your brand and creates a useful, branded symbol. But, unless your brand has already had time to get established, that’s unlikely. And a monogram – unless it’s really well executed – doesn’t tell consumers much of anything about your brand.

To the contrary, monogram or single letter logos are often just a lazy retreat for designers who aren’t creative enough to think of something else. Not to mention that there are only so many ways to combine a sequence of letters. It’s almost inevitable that there’s another logo out there for a business with your initials that looks similar, if not the same, as yours.

Be wary of overly simplistic letter or monogram logos. If you must go the monogram route, make sure it is unique and brand-conscious.

 

6. Real-World Presentation

Logo design business card mock-up by saska-puff/crowdspring.

We’ve noticed a logo design trend that we’re really excited to see gaining momentum. That’s the practice of presenting a logo design in a real-world context to help clients envision the logo in actual practice.

(I know, I know… This trend is about how to present the logo, not logo design itself.  But, it’s a really valuable practice!)

Logo design signage mock-up by princereymar/crowdspring.

Many graphic designers are now providing mocked-up visuals of their logo designs on a t-shirt, business card, stationery, web design, infographic, or wall signage in addition to their beautifully rendered design. These supplemental materials not only help clients see what the logo might look like in practice, but they can also be used to help influence a brand identity.

Choose a style that looks appropriate to the brand for your mock-up to help the client to better understand how to visually communicate their brand beyond their logo. This may also influence their perception of what their brand might look like once fully realized. Mockups can be a great inspiration.

A strong designer will always do their best to enable their client to see the complete design picture. Not to mention that mocking up business cards or letterhead may inspire the client to invest in those items as well. A practice that serves the client and the designer is always a trend we want to support!

7. Swooshy People (avoid!)

Image courtesy of RocketArt/Creative Market.

Let’s face it, most businesses interact with people in some way. So, people are a pretty common theme in logo design.

Over the past decade, a trend for abstract, curvy line people has developed and continues to grow.

We call these design elements “swooshy people.”

They’re everywhere, especially from online logo makers or logo generators. Those sites offer generic templates used by thousands of other businesses.

And, now that we’ve pointed them out, they’ll probably start haunting you at every turn just like they haunt us.

The curved lines of the figures suggest dynamism and movement. They’re colorful. They’re playful.

And they’re also completely overdone and overused, as we demonstrated in an earlier article, Why You Should Avoid Making This Stupid Branding Mistake With Your Logo.

There are so many swooshy people logos flooding the market that it’s impossible to design one that doesn’t already exist somewhere. Often, this is because designers use stock art or templates to design swooshy people logos and you should avoid stock art at all costs in logo design.

We feel strongly about this. Crowdspring has always had a rule that no stock art, templates, or generic art can be used in custom logo design projects on crowdspring.

Don’t be lured in by the swooshy person’s bright colors or faceless relatability. They should not serve as design inspiration. Swooshy people are enemies of unique logo design. They don’t distinguish your brand and are not memorable enough to help your prospective customers remember you.

You want a unique and innovative logo. Actually, you NEED a unique and innovative logo if you want to stand out in the marketplace. Skip generic logos and invest in a custom logo design that will help your business stand out from the crowd.

Steer clear of the swooshy person trap, lest your logo be confused with every other swooshy person logo out there.

8. Pixellated Designs (avoid!)

Image courtesy of Dusan Sevarika/Dribbble.

Technology defines our contemporary culture; so much so that the technology of days past inspires fond nostalgia today. Think floppy disks, CD-ROMs, and 16-bit graphics. “Oh, look how cute we were back then! We thought that technology was advanced!”

One of the results of this nostalgia is the pixellated logo trend.

Some versions feature logos rendered entirely in the 8 or 16-bit pixel style. Others transition from a more natural image into pixels.

However the style is executed, it is sure to date your logo.

Pixel art is tied to the specific date range of the 80’s and 90’s.  And, our current perception of pixellated art as fun and quirky will fade. The zeitgeist will continue to change – it always does.

Incorporating this pixellated style will leave you with a logo that inspires folks to ask, “Remember when we thought pixel art was cool?” instead of inspiring them to trust your brand as modern and relevant.

You can do better. Take a pass on the pixels.

Before you go…

Trends are always difficult to navigate. Human beings are compelled to conform and try to fit in. It’s in our basic makeup. But following the crowd isn’t always the best choice. Sometimes we should leave that shiny new trend alone.

The bottom line is to always let your brand guide you. It’s more important to create an authentic brand identity than it is to be “on fleek.”

So when you’re researching logo design trends or logo design styles this year for your next business or looking to redesign an existing logo … make sure to ask yourself if that trend really represents your brand. We’re happy to help – let us know if you’d like a free design consultation with our team.

 

The crowdspring community (over 210,000 graphic, web and product designers) has helped many entrepreneurs, small businesses, and agencies design unique and memorable brand-centric logos, for a fraction of the cost those companies and agencies would otherwise pay.

Ready to take the next step? Engage with crowdspring’s community of over 210,000 designers who can work with you to move your company’s brand and design to the next level by creating an awesome logo design for as little as $299.

The post 2018 Logo Design Trends: Your Guide to Navigate Hot Trends and Avoid Fads appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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10 Best Cities in the United States for Startups and Entrepreneurs (2018)

November 8, 2018, 10:15 pm
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Silicon Valley has dominated the U.S. startup ecosystem for many decades.

Despite repeated efforts, only a few cities outside the Valley (New York and Boston) have historically had the critical mix of VC funding, network, and talent to fuel vibrant startup centers. Best startup city rankings have reflected this truth for a long time.

But this is becoming less true today, as more and more entrepreneurs find their way across the U.S.

There are now many metro areas with growing infrastructure and increasingly skilled workforces that can support tech startups. 

Increasingly, these metro areas are regularly appearing in rankings of the best cities in the United States for startups and entrepreneurs.

The good news is that these new metro centers are significantly less expensive than Silicon Valley or the East Coast. 

Let’s take a look at some of the best U.S. cities (outside of Silicon Valley and the East Coast), to build your startup.

 

austin-davide-damico.jpg

Austin, TX

The Texas capital recently was named the #1 place in America to start a business by CNBC.

According to the 2016 Kauffman Growth Entrepreneurship Index, Austin grew its startups faster than every city except Washington, D.C., with their startups growing by 81.2 percent. That’s exceptional startup growth that other cities will find tough to match.

In large part due to the University of Texas at Austin and other universities’ influence, Austin is known for having an educated workforce.

Austin has become quite a hotspot. Employers and people interested in growth industries are drawn to the youthful, smart energy that flourishes there.

William Hurley, the co-founder of Honest Dollar, an Austin-based provider of retirement plans to small businesses, says creative talent is abundant:

It’s got the music, the university scene, the hippies and the rule-breakers…. It’s very easy to hire people who want to push the limits. It’s an incredibly innovative city.

Austin also stands out for its affordability. Many small-business owners, who often pay taxes at the individual level, appreciate the fact the state has no personal income tax. The state also has a corporate tax rate of zero. Combined, these factors point to available money for business owners to invest in their ventures.

The overall culture in Austin is renowned for its supportiveness of the small business community. The celebration for its unique culture and flourishing business community is very appealing, and many new startups are flocking to the city to embrace it as their own.

Boulder, CO

Boulder may be known for its eccentric, diverse population, but that reputation belies its true nature as an entrepreneurial powerhouse.

In 2015 Nerdwallet.com chose it as one of the best places to start a business, as well as the #1 city for female entrepreneurs, and for good reason: It’s an affluent urban center and was ranked as one of the top 20 most productive metro areas in terms of GDP. It’s no wonder so many entrepreneurs launch their startup in Boulder.

A number of high profile companies call Boulder home, including herbal tea leader Celestial Seasoning, Ball Aerospace, and respected startup accelerator TechStars.

Boulder’s entrepreneurial system is bolstered by a number of local venture capital firms, including Foundry Group.

With its concentrated mix of start-ups, established businesses, and venture capital, Boulder has all of the elements to fuel sustainable economic growth. Foundry Group’s founder Brad Feld noted:

Entrepreneurs here use a ‘give before you get’ mentality. We are willing to help anyone without an expectation of what we are going to get back in the short term. This creates a powerful long-term dynamic.

Boulder is an entrepreneurial force of nature. In 2010, the city had six times more high-tech startups per capita than the nation’s average. Its dynamic culture encourages Boulder’s prosperous economy, draws people in (especially millennials), and provides them with excellent motivation to stay.

Miami, FL

Don’t let the sand, sun, and tourism of the South Beach distract you from Miami’s reputation as a great place for new businesses. The Kauffman Index recently named Miami the second most entrepreneurial city in the U.S., with the country’s highest startup density, 247.6 startups per 100,000 people.

The city isn’t just the home of new businesses. Large companies like Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Apple have offices there, as well as 139 companies on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies.

Miami’s close ties with Latin America has bolstered its appeal. Laura González-Estéfani, Director of Partnerships & Mobile LatAm for Facebook, says:

There is talent, there is support from the institutions and private initiatives that are focused on boosting innovation, and there is an incremental interest from VCs and business angels for innovative projects.

Brian Brackeen, CEO of Miami-based Kairos also found Miami hard to resist:

We were searching things like AngelList, GitHub, different state web sites, then we took all that data and Miami was at the very top of the list in every important category…Cheapest for our employees, and the best tax situation for the company and our workers.

A diverse, skilled population, robust entrepreneurial environment, and an invaluable bridge to Latin America: The “Magic City” may be just that for entrepreneurs seeking a thriving, business-friendly place to set up shop.

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles is known for sun, stars, and surf, and now you can add startups to the list.

The city is renowned as a center for tech entrepreneurship. In addition to being the third largest startup hub in the U.S. (behind Silicon Valley and New York), the city of flowers and sunshine boasts one of the largest concentrations of engineering graduates in the country.

LA has also increasingly attracted more and more venture capital investment and investors.

All of these things aside, one of its biggest attractions may be what is not: Silicon Valley.

This was one of the reasons entrepreneur Justin Yoshimura (founder of the start-up 500friends) found his way there:

Compared to San Francisco in particular, it’s very cheap. Santa Monica is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in L.A. and I have a yard with a pool and a beautiful home for less than what I would pay for an equivalent-sized condo in San Francisco.

The city isn’t lacking for high-profile companies, either, with Snapchat, SpaceX, VR trailblazer Oculus, and League of Legends creator Riot Games calling Los Angeles home. Whether they’re here because of the diversity, the mild weather, and the relaxed atmosphere, the city’s energy fuels and sustains a community of entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur Adam Pokornicky found the city’s community inspiring:

I’m seeing a consistent pattern of optimism, curiosity, and community, That kind of energy and like-mindedness is a breath of fresh air and super motivating.

Psyop founder Todd Mueller agreed, drawing attention to the city’s mix and diversity of talent:

Venice itself represents this sort of oddball collection of people representing different backgrounds and worldviews, but they share an openness and a curiosity that, when you harness it for a common cause like building a startup, is very powerful.

San Francisco, CA

The days of San Francisco being famous for trolley cars, Rice-A-Roni, and serving as a refuge for artists and bohemians are long over.

For better or worse, the city and the Bay Area are now synonymous with entrepreneurship and innovative high-tech thought leadership.

The concentration of startups, especially tech startups in the city by the bay is dizzying. You can find Twitter next to Square and Uber, and Dropbox, Pinterest, and Zynga within blocks of each other.

The whole city feels like a self-perpetuating machine, where venture capital draws in startups, which pulls in more venture capital, and so on. If the tourist tours of start-ups are any indication, the area’s nickname as the “Hollywood of Technology” is wholly appropriate.

It makes a lot of sense for companies and entrepreneurs to want to be here. In addition to the availability of funding and startup resources, the huge numbers of skilled workers and prestigious schools that help to educate them are unparalleled.

Musician Paul Kantner once said that San Francisco was “49 square miles surrounded by reality.” That may be true when it comes to the opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs, but the reality of big money and big business’ strain on the city itself is everywhere. Housing and rent prices are at unbelievable levels, and the difficulties of such a high cost of living are real and growing, issues.

All of these things said, the benefits to entrepreneurs found in the city and Silicon Valley are many, and for some, the intensity of energy and innovation found here may be irresistible.

Provo, UT

Utah’s entrepreneur-friendly culture is well known, but even with that considered there is still something noteworthy going on in the Beehive State, especially in Provo. The amount raised in 2014 by companies based out of the Provo-Orem metropolitan area was staggering: around an average of 51.3 million dollars.

This, along with over 800 million dollars raised by Utah-based companies that year ranked Utah as the seventh highest in the country, an impressive achievement for a state with just three million people.

There are a lot of big companies based in Provo, too, which helps attract and retain people with desirable skills and experience. Novell has its corporate headquarters in the city, as do Qualtrics, BlueHost, and Jive Communications. Brigham Young University has renowned entrepreneurship programs and produces many graduates who start businesses of their own.

Provo also stands out as a great city for entrepreneurs and startups because it’s affordable. The cost of living in the city is a big attraction, with the median price of homes hovering around $220,000. Compared to the median price of homes in San Francisco (which as of June 2017 was over 1.5 million), the cost of living combined with the access to venture capital, and a skilled, motivated workforce makes Provo a compelling option.

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Las Vegas, NV

Startup activity in Las Vegas is booming.

A recent study by the Kauffman Foundation found Las Vegas bounding onto the startup scene, countering the public perception that Vegas is entirely centered around gambling and resorts.

After the economy crashed in 2008, Las Vegas was pushed to reinvent itself in order to survive. With businesses clearing out of California because of its oppressive taxation, Las Vegas welcomed many of those entrepreneurs with open arms and appealing tax relief.

The city is now the host to many of the largest industry trade shows for tech and other industries. It also boasts plenty of investors with co-working spaces, as well as funding and mentoring programs to stimulate a business environment.

Tony Hsieh of Zappos appreciates the “endless possibilities” he has discovered in Nevada. Hsieh put $350 million into revitalizing Las Vegas to contribute toward it becoming “the co-learning and co-working capital of the world.” He began a venture fund in 2012, VTF Capital, which invests in other businesses interested in joining the Nevada scene.

Living in Nevada is significantly more cost-effective than most other places in the country. Las Vegas sets itself apart from startup cities like Boston and San Francisco by offering a much lower cost of living in a major city. This is extremely attractive for younger professionals interested in city living – and lets them afford to experience more than a closet-sized apartment filled with Cup-O-Noodles.

Denver, CO

Maybe there’s something about the majestic mountains in Denver, a symbolic challenge perpetually imagined in its rising peaks. According to the Kauffman report on entrepreneurship, Denver is ranked fifth for a US city with the most start-up activity.

As Denver continues to explode with startups and small business ventures, an increasing number of millennials are heading to the beautiful city.  Denver is also one of the most educated cities in the US. 53 percent of the population holds a bachelor’s degree, and Colorado is ranked first as a relocation city for skilled workers ages 25 to 44.

Investment in transportation is another major player in Denver’s appeal. It has a new, multi-billion dollar rail system called FastTracks, which is continuing to expand. There is of course also the Denver International Airport, which is now the largest American airport by landmass – and it’s only half completed.

Gusto, the San Francisco based payroll startup, just opened its second office in Denver this month. Rachel Kim, a communications employee with the company, cites Denver’s close proximity and easy transport to the Bay Area as major reasons for Gusto branching out there. She also cites the spirited small business community is being a significant part of the city’s appeal.

Eric Remer, the founder of Denver-based startup PaySimple, said:

We have a really supportive startup environment, partially because we’re a relatively smaller community. The companies out here, they’re rooting for each other.

Between the striking beauty of the landscape, the easy access to major transportation, and the vibrant and educated community, Denver would make a great choice for anyone ready to set out on their startup journey.

Seattle, WA

Seattle is home to Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, and other well-known companies, but it has recently grown into a welcoming place for startups, entrepreneurs, and small business owners, too.

Seattle has been among the fastest-growing cities in the United States since 2010, and its population is expected to increase by an additional 200,000 over the next 20 years. A young, vibrant population, a booming tech industry and a run of interesting restaurants, unique shops and coffeehouses are among the reasons for the increase in start-up traffic in Seattle.

“Seattle historically is a place that attracts pioneers to come and do their own thing,” says Maud Daudon, CEO of the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce. Those pioneers are attracted to the eclectic, entrepreneurial spirit that the city breathes.

Seattle doesn’t offer major tax incentives for entrepreneurs, but it does have plenty of venture capital firms and economic development ventures to help foster the development of small businesses and start-up companies. Just as enticing as these are the incubators and business programs at the University of Washington and community colleges, where aspiring entrepreneurs can get their start.

Chicago, IL

As always, we’re excited about listing Chicago on our list of top cities for startups and entrepreneurs. And this status is well deserved. Chicago stands alone, not just in the Midwest but in the United States, among the “biggest and baddest of startup cities” when it comes to profitability, according to PitchBook. That’s only one reason venture capitalists love Chicago.

Chicago’s tech proficiency is becoming increasingly more recognized in the start-up scene. KPMG’s survey of more than 800 tech leaders found Chicago in the top 10 of tech innovation hubs worldwide. KPMG Chicago’s Mike Gervasio further cited the capital market and “an innovative culture” as partially responsible in Chicago’s impressive climb up the global ladder. That culture helped garner upwards of $1.7 billion in funding last year, and Chicago is host to a multitude of promising start-ups.

Startups in Chicago make good bets for those who invest in them. In Chicago, 45 percent of investments produced 10 times a return on investment. Chicago’s numbers are routinely superior, with 81 percent of its startups producing between three and 10 percent a yield on an initial investment. Now wonder VC’s love Chicago.

And as we have previously noted:

While startup resources in Chicago were scarce a decade ago, things have changed quite a bit. Chicago’s 1871, created in 2012 to support Chicago’s startup community, ranks 1st in the U.S. among North American Business Incubators and 4th in the world. 1871 is home to hundreds of early stage, high growth digital startups and offers tremendous resources and programming to entrepreneurs at all stages of their startup journey.

Sound good? We think so. Crowdspring couldn’t imagine home being anywhere else.

Here are some additional U.S. cities that you should keep in mind as some of the best cities for startups and entrepreneurs:

  • St. Louis, MO
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • San Jose, CA
  • San Diego, CA
  • Columbus, OH
  • Nashville, TN
  • Portland, OR
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Atlanta, GA
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Houston, TX

Are you ready to launch your startup or take your existing one to the next level? Enlist crowdspring’s help! Our team of over 210,000 creatives is ready and waiting to handle your business’s package graphics, logo design, web design, and more – everything you need to build a great brand. And, our outstanding customer service team is available to guide you through the whole process. Get started now and request a free, no obligation design consultation with one of our design experts today.

 

The post 10 Best Cities in the United States for Startups and Entrepreneurs (2018) appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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Food Packaging Design Tips and Why Product Packaging Is Important

November 13, 2018, 8:34 am
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We all have days when we want a delicious dinner delivered right to our door.

Luckily, many restaurants and meal delivery kit services are ready and waiting to fulfill that dream.

But, poor packaging design decisions can ruin the experience.

Let’s take a closer look at why food packaging is important and how you can improve your own packaging to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Why food packaging is important

Whether your hot soup arrives cold, your cold sushi arrives warm, or the packaging is just an unattractive mess, the wrong packaging makes a meal less appetizing.

Food packaging serves a number of important purposes. It protects food from outside contamination. It ensures that the meal arrives at the right temperature. And, it serves as a tactile brand ambassador your customers can see and touch.

Packaging for food items has the ability to create fantastic associations between your audience and your business. Your food packaging contains delicious food! So, that’s half the battle right there.

Packaging is important in selling any product, and especially food products. As we pointed out previously:

…attractive packaging design motivates people to make impulsive choices, bypasses reflective thought and leaves the purchaser with a feeling of having been rewarded. That’s a powerful impact.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to deliver a quality customer experience and help to strengthen your brand’s positive bond with its audience.

Here’s how…

Choose the right packaging material

Using the right material is the first step to product packaging design success.

Food package containers come in a variety of materials – cardboards, corrugated boxes, boxboard, paperboard cartons, plastics, paper bags, and styrofoams are most common. And, each of these materials has strengths and weaknesses. For example:

  • Styrofoam is great at insulating hot and cold foods so that they maintain their temperature. But, it’s non-biodegradable and bad for our environment.
  • Plastic is sturdy and prevents leakage when designed properly. However, many plastics are non-biodegradable. And, some plastics can leach toxic materials into your food.
  • Cardboard is biodegradable and easy to print on. But, wet foods can turn it to mush. And, it’s not very good at insulating to maintain temperature.

There is also a growing variety of biodegradable and sustainable food packaging containers to choose from – more about those later.

For an in-depth look at all of the factors you should consider when choosing packaging for food items, take a look at this article from the Dairy Technologist.

So, what are your business’s food delivery needs? Think about the distance your food needs to travel, how long it will remain in its packaging, temperature requirements, as well as what type of foods you will need to transport.

Then work with your packaging designer to create custom packaging that will best suit those needs.

Keep the packaging compostable

Most food packaging is disposable.

And, consumers are growing increasingly aware of the growing impact that disposable packaging has on our shared global environment.

Restauranteurs and meal delivery kit services need to be mindful of this as well – lest your environmentally un-friendly ways alienate customers.

And, prioritizing recyclable, reusable and biodegradable packaging materials is a great step toward running an ethical, environmentally-conscious business.

Some food delivery businesses have gotten this message loud and clear.  Meryl Pritchard of Kore Kitchen, a meal delivery service in Los Angeles, explains:

There is an unbelievable amount of waste that goes into delivery service, and once I was aware of the effect that this waste had on our planet, I knew I couldn’t let my business contribute to it.

Kore Kitchen uses compostable containers made from corn and sugarcane, along with recyclable glass bottles and reusable ice packs and bags.

Your business would do well to follow  Kore Kitchen’s example. So, look for ways that you can use re-usable packaging as well as biodegradable food packaging containers.

Products like “Nanowood” – a new, biodegradable styrofoam substitute, disposable bamboo, and tree-free recyclable containers are all worth considering.

Brand your packaging to raise awareness

Image courtesy of PopSop.

Once you’ve determined what types of packaging materials are the best fit for your needs, and hopefully prioritized environmentally-friendly disposable and re-useable containers, you can start to think in earnest about packaging branding.

Your packaging will interact with hundreds of people. It’s a huge missed opportunity if that packaging is not branded and properly designed.

London-based food photographer Stephen Conroy explains:

The packaging is the physical representation of a brand’s personality and one of their key identity tools. It helps to draw the consumer’s attention to a specific product in a crowded retail space, and differentiate a product from its competitors.

Your custom package graphics design presents the opportunity to create a bond between your brand and every customer who purchases from you. People like to get presents. People like ease-of-use. Food delivery provides both.

And, in addition to contributing to the happy feeling that accompanies the arrival of a food delivery, over time and repeated interactions, seeing a branded food package can elicit a Pavlovian hunger response.

That response can impact the customer who bought the food… as well as anyone else who sees the food in transit.

Ever seen a McDonald’s bag and been unable to shake your subsequent craving for McDonald’s?

Yeah. Me, too.

So, put your branding on your food packaging and make it visible and crisp. Make sure your business name is readable and your company logo is prominent.

Use your package design to communicate

Image courtesy of 123RoyaltyFree.

Packaging can do more than tell people where the food came from.

Packaging can also be used to communicate a message to your audience. You just need to decide what that message is.

Remember that your packaging should be an extension of your brand. So, the message you share should be on track with your brand identity and promise.

Then let that message guide you toward creating a unique food packaging design. And, don’t be afraid to seek out professional packaging design help for this important task.

Unique food packaging provides a novel experience and sets your brand apart from the competition – two valuable missions. So, let’s take a look at what this might look like in practice.

Buffalo Wild Wings is a sports bar and restaurant specializing in – you guessed it – wings. And they have mastered sharing their branding message on their food packaging.

Image courtesy of Larsen

All BWW packaging is emblazoned with their bold, yellow, black, and white color scheme. The container your wings arrive in features their logo as well as confident messages relating to their product like “It’s All About the Wing.”

No opportunity is missed. Even their napkins and wet naps are designed to communicate brand identity.

So, take a page from B-dub’s playbook and use every opportunity to spread your restaurant’s brand identity and message.

Meal delivery kit services should use their packaging to communicate, too. But, instead of branded napkins and food containers, create an amazing unboxing experience.

Part of the fun of a meal kit is the anticipation of the meals the customer is about to enjoy. Heighten that experience with a well-organized delivery package and beautifully-designed printed recipes and marketing materials.

Brand the box your kit arrives in and everything inside it.

For more on effective packaging design, read 6 Proven Tips for Successful Food Packaging.

The Last Course

The food you serve should always be the star.

But your food packaging should never be an afterthought.

Make packaging choices that will serve their function well. Select packaging containers that will ensure that your food arrives looking and tasting as amazing as it should. And, make design choices that will enhance your customer’s meal and be a visual ambassador for your brand.

 

The post Food Packaging Design Tips and Why Product Packaging Is Important appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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5 Rules for Designing an Unforgettable Unboxing Experience for Your Brand

November 15, 2018, 7:45 am
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Online shopping grows in popularity every year.

Between 2014 and 2017, the number of online shoppers increased from 1.32 billion people to 1.66 billion people – an increase of roughly 26%. And, the number of digital shoppers is projected to increase to 2.14 million by 2021.

This means that more packages are arriving in homes every day – packages that should be ambassadors for your brand.

Product packaging was developed to protect products during the shipping process.

But modern product packaging has played an increasingly important role in creating strong product brands.

Just look at the growth of the unboxing video craze.

What’s the deal with unboxing videos?

Unboxing videos feature frequently faceless narrators opening packages for new products. These videos often offer initial impressions on the packaging as well as reviews of the products themselves.

Some unboxing videos are carefully and professionally produced.

As mundane as that sounds, unboxing videos can rack up hundreds of thousands and even millions of views. Here’s an example for the Apple iPhone XS and XS Max.

Why are unboxing videos popular?

There are many theories about this. But, my own personal belief is that the process of unboxing is analogous to opening a present. And, people love opening presents. We love the novelty of new things. We like the appeal of a new surprise.

Admit it – as soon as a package arrives in the mail, you want to tear into it and find out what’s inside. Unboxing videos play into all of these instincts.

What is a branded packaging experience?

A branded packaging experience is the deliberate selection of shipping and packaging materials, combined with smart package graphics design, that leaves a positive and memorable first impression for your product when the product is initially unboxed.

When creating a memorable packaging experience, be sure to understand packaging design trends because such trends strongly influence how people react to your products and your product packaging.

Why a memorable branded packaging experience matters

Whether your product is likely to ever be featured in an unboxing video is irrelevant.

You can’t anticipate whether it will or it won’t – so it’s best if your product and packaging are camera-ready.

But, more importantly, the unboxing phenomenon as a whole has raised the public’s expectation of what the unwrapping experience should be.

They’ve seen better and they want it for themselves. And, now that the bar has been raised, your product packaging needs to live up to these new standards.

So, it’s in your business’s best interest to create the best unboxing experience possible.

As we recommended previously:

…it’s time to start thinking about how you can make your unboxing process special. What does the outside of the box look like? What do you see as soon as the box is opened? How is the product wrapped? Is there a message or gift inside?

Treat each step of the unboxing process as a new opportunity to impress, surprise or delight the recipient.

So, let’s take a real look into how you can create a fantastic unboxing experience for your customers.

Creating a custom product packaging experience

A properly designed, memorable custom packaging experience combines a number of different elements.

Here are five important factors to consider that will guide you to create memorable product packaging design and a fantastic unboxing experience.

1. Everything in product packaging should have a function

An awesome unboxing experience starts with strong functional design.

Your packaging must serve its primary purpose – to protect the items inside during transport. If the item arrives damaged, then you’ve failed before the unboxing can even begin.

But, beyond that basic rule, there’s an important guideline you should follow:

Eliminate superfluous packaging material.

French writer and poet Antoine de Saint Exupery famously said,

It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove.

There is beauty in simplicity not just because it offers a relaxing visual, but, also because of simplicity of design demands that the design embrace function and aesthetics as a cohesive whole.

Think about Apple’s celebrated white minimalist packaging – perhaps the holy grail of unboxing videos.

Every element of your packaging should serve a function, whether it’s organizational, protective or aesthetic.

Opening a clean, streamlined, and intentionally-designed package is a pleasure.

And, eliminating unnecessary packaging also helps in other ways.

  • Lighter packaging is cheaper to ship.
  • Eliminating waste saves money on packaging materials.
  • Banishing wasteful packaging practices is good for the environment.

How many times have you opened a large box only to find a tiny product inside? If you’re like me, when that happens you turn to the nearest human and point out how absurdly wasteful it is.

That’s not the unboxing experience you want to create for your customers. And, that’s not the impression you should want your brand to create.

So, design with intent and get rid of the stuff you don’t need.

To Do:

  • Design custom product packaging to fit your product and brand.
  • Design your packaging to serve double-duty. Padding should be both protective and attractive, with eye-catching package graphics design. Organizational barriers should protect product components and contribute to creating a dramatic visual reveal.
  • Invest in the most effective packaging materials to accomplish more with less.

2. Make the product packaging personal

One way to create a memorable unboxing experience is to make it personal.

We all like to feel special.

But, we live in an age of form letters, spam email, and one-size-fits-all (fits-almost-no-one) clothing.

Customization is rare. And, it stands out like a warm ray of sunshine amidst all the impersonal, grey uniformity we face every day.

Design an unboxing experience that is all about the recipient and you will make your customers feel special.

Customize your packaging design to your customer whenever possible. Use the customer’s name. Send recommendations based on their previous shopping preferences. Include a personal note thanking the customer for their business.

And, say thank you.

Make it clear that you know there is a person receiving this package.

You can also create a more personal unboxing experience by sharing something about you and your business in your packaging. You may consider including a flyer with a photograph of the person who packaged the product, or a note explaining the story behind this product.

To Do:

  • Use your customer’s name whenever possible.
  • Customize the contents of the box to meet your customer’s interests.
  • Include hand-written thank you notes.
  • Share genuine information about your business and the people behind the purchase.

3. Create an exciting packaging reveal

When people open a new package, their curiosity is piqued. They’re subconsciously prepared for a surprise.

Not the “will-spring-snakes-explode-out-of-this-package?” sort of surprise; but, the curious “will-what’s-inside-meet-my-expectations?” kind of surprise.

You can capitalize on this curiosity and delight your customers by including a bit of drama in the unboxing process.

You could just plunk your product into some padding and stuff it in a box, but there’s no fun in that.

Instead, think of your unboxing design as a classy and tasteful PG-rated burlesque performance – you don’t want to give everything away all at once. Reveal one element at a time and take your customers on an exciting journey as you build to the final reveal of your product.

To Do:

  • Plan out what your customer will see from the time they open the box until they uncover the product itself.
  • Control what the customer can see as they remove each item from the box.
  • Consider ways to use functional elements like padding or organization to contribute to a step-by-step reveal.

4. Aim for an attractive package design

Science has shown that attractive packaging helps sell products. As we wrote previously:

…attractive packaging design motivates people to make impulsive choices, bypasses reflective thought and leaves the purchaser with a feeling of having been rewarded. That’s a powerful impact.

That’s because attractive packaging design triggers activity in the parts of our brain associated with impulsive behavior and the feeling of having been rewarded.

You can make these psychological influences work in your favor and create an enjoyable experience for your customers by prioritizing an attractive packaging design.

Think about color, font, shape, and texture.

To Do:

5. Keep your brand identity front and center on the packaging

Image courtesy of Digiwrap

Strong unboxing design should act as a brand ambassador for your business.

Your packaging design and other elements of the unboxing experience should all reflect your brand identity.

Customers are reassured by brand consistency – especially when shopping online where they can’t speak to someone in person or handle the product before purchasing.

While branding that doesn’t match the customers’ expectations can create a sense of unease and possibly even dissatisfaction with the product itself.

So, your unboxing design should prioritize creating a consistent brand experience for your customer. And, beyond the reassurance factor, other benefits include:

  • Creating a touchpoint to reinforce your customer’s relationship with your brand and
  • Serving as an advertisement for your product to anyone else who might see it.

As you plan your unboxing design, make sure to consider how your visual brand can play a role.

To Do:

Jake Rheude, of eCommerce conversion experts The Good Group, explains:

Properly packaging your product is like giving someone a birthday present every time they order from you.

You should approach your packaging design with the intent of creating the best possible impression on the recipient.

A cool unboxing experience is a fantastic way to create a positive bond with your customers. So design an unboxing process that will surprise, delight, and connect with your audience.

 

The post 5 Rules for Designing an Unforgettable Unboxing Experience for Your Brand appeared first on crowdspring Blog.

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