Web design so basic, yet many times overlooked….

web design tips so basic, many sites overlook the impact to their audience

#1: An Attention-Grabbing Headline. 

The first thing people see when they visit your site should be a compelling headline that describes the most important benefit your product or service offers. The headline is the key element of your site. It's what will persuade visitors to stick around and check out what you have to offer.

Essential Element: Your headline should be well-written: It should be clear, concise and to the point. It should also be enticing-you want to pique your visitors' interest and make them eager to learn more about what you're selling. You can do this by emphasizing what your product or service can do for them.

Once you've crafted a compelling headline, format it so that it stands out from the rest of the text. It should be the first thing that catches your visitors' attention. Use a large font size, bolding, italics, a different color-whatever suits the style of your site.

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4 Ways Drones Are Changing The Marketing Industry

4 Ways Drones Are Changing The Marketing Industry

Drones are an emerging technology. Only in the last few years, have marketers been able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by drones in advertising brands and products.

Even in such a short amount of time, marketers have been able to figure out different ways to use drones in their marketing strategies. Some of these ways, while still in their infancy, show a huge potential for the future of marketing. Find out which ones!

How Are Drones  Being Used In The Marketing Industry?

Drones as a physical medium: they are used to physically reach consumers in new and innovative ways. Disruption potential: medium

Drones as actors: they are used by marketers in video commercials as surprising flying objects bringing the “wow” factor. Disruption potential: low

Drones as videographer tools: they are used in commercials to produce innovative video content and offer new perspectives. Disruption potential: high

Drones as a hub of emerging technologies: integrated with other technologies (such as VR/AR*, cloud, IoT* etc), drones are opening the path to disruptive ways to gather data and market to target audiences. Disruption potential: huge!

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What’s the difference between CX and UX?

The difference between CX and UX? You Better Know

Customer loyalty has changed significantly in the last decade. Businesses exist in an increasingly customer-led environment: the rapid evolution of technology, along with a coming-of-age of millennial consumers has had a transformative effect on customer expectations. And one of the biggest components of this expectation is the idea of customer experience.

Customer experience (CX) is the sum of all interactions a customer has with your business, and should be distinguished from user experience (UX), which is the experience that the user (your customer) has with a specific product or service of yours.

When we talk about user experience (UX) – using our tech startup in Manchester as the example – we’re talking about desktop software, mobile apps and the website browser that your customer encounters and interacts with. We need to ask the following questions: How intuitive is the interface? Is it easy to use and navigate? Is it clear in its information architecture? Does it solve the correct problem? Does it provide the right service?

Any business that wishes to remain competitive in this new landscape needs to understand the difference between customer experience (CX) and user experience (UX), and be able to adapt their business practices accordingly.

So, why is customer experience more important than ever? Research from former Gartner analyst Esteban Kolsky has suggested that 55 percent of customers are willing to pay more for a guaranteed good experience. Only 1 out of 26 unhappy customers complain. The rest churn. Absence of feedback or complaints doesn’t necessarily mean satisfaction – indifference really is the opposite of love. Sixty-seven percent of customers cite bad experiences as reason for churn and it is six to seven times more expensive for companies to attract new customers than to keep existing customers.

Whatever your business, be it a burger joint in Manhattan or a small tech firm in Manchester, you need to provide value and differentiation. That’s how you stand out in any market – even the most crowded. And today, it seems that customer experience is the last source of differentiation. So, be outstanding.

Let’s look in more detail at how CX differs from UX and why that matters to you, and more importantly, to your customers.
As stated previously, CX takes into account the entire experience that your customer has when they deal with you and your brand, not solely the product. Yes, in the old days that meant walking into your burger place and rating the food, the service and the price. This would be the whole of the customer experience, right? It’s the same basic principle, but now what a customer can rate you on is much broader, and crucially they can decide not to walk into your business way before they even see the restaurant or the menu. Points to consider are: What is the first point of contact for your potential customers? How easy is it for customers to find answers to their questions? How pleasant and professional is the interaction process? Do they feel positive about their overall experience and everything associated with your organization? What role is new media, like Facebook and Twitter, having on your customer points of contact?

What makes your users ‘users’ (or the person eating at the burger restaurant) is that they are involved in using your product. What makes them customers has to do with everything else. What’s important to keep in mind is your customers’ entire journey with your organization. In fact, your customer may not even use your service before they are turned off: CX takes in potential customers and their experiences before they put hands near wallets. The customer journey now begins much sooner than it might have even five years ago. Thanks to things like social media and the digital transformation at large, customers can now encounter your business in a wider variety of ways and can be delighted or put off before they even get near your product.

If UX is one important pillar under the roof of CX, then both are very important. If your UX is poor, then people will think twice about your services. However, even if your website is fast and well signposted, your app convenient to use, your burger the best in town, if you have an ill-tempered or unprofessional customer service team at the helm when someone calls to inquire or complain, you are going to struggle to attract the numbers your product deserves, or to cement such loyalty as we mentioned above.

So, like any complicated relationship, UX and CX need each other in more ways than we might at first realize. Both are vital parts of your business’s growth, so don’t mix them up: treat them with the attention that they deserve, and you’ll reap the benefits.

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How design can boost clients' profits

How design can boost clients' profits

For a client, the success of a design project usually hinges not on acclaim, but sums. No matter how many Yellow Pencils, social media mentions or column inches a project tots up, it’s hard for a client to see true value for money unless the work boosts their profits by generating cold, hard cash.

According to a 2013 report by the Design Council, for every £1 a client spends on design, they reap over £4 in net operating profit, over £20 net turnover and over £5 in net exports. The same study also reveals that two-thirds of companies that ignore design have to compete mainly on price, whereas that’s true of only one third where design is integral to the business.

Earn more with the designer's guide to money!

To designers, the benefits of creative work are obvious, but convincing a client that it will yield a return on investment requires tangible statistics from previous outcomes. However, whether it’s a commercial campaign that shifted a larger than average volume of products, a charity campaign that raised a considerable sum of money or a high-profile rebrand that can be credited for helping reverse the fortunes of a business, measuring effectiveness can be a slippery task. 

Part of the problem is that design work rarely exists in a vacuum. Separating the power of a well-timed rebrand from the appeal of a good product or service, and the consumer trends surrounding it, is often nigh-on impossible. It might be possible to measure a packaging design overhaul's impact on sales figures, but a rebrand is an investment that could take years to pay off – and sometimes in ways that aren’t immediately apparent or easy to measure.

Laying the right foundations

Dedicating some time to assessing brand health before you even start thinking about the creative side is an investment that will pay dividends when it comes to measuring how much you’ve improved a client’s bottom line. When it comes to qualitative data, interviews and focus groups that establish desirability, satisfaction and aesthetics are the keystones of ROI measurement – but when calculating bang for buck, quantitative metrics need to be finely tuned to the client’s business objectives. 

“I think where design fails a lot is where it doesn’t connect to organizational goals,” says Hulse & Durrell partner Greg Durrell, whose rebrand of the Canadian Olympic Team led to overwhelming financial and social success. “If you start with aesthetics and style, it’s not going to create meaningful change. Knowing where the business needs to go can really help define your path.”

The strength of a brand overhaul isn’t just in the finished outcome

How you define success – as well as your approach, and most likely the creative itself – is going to be different depending on whether your client wants to sell more products, break into a new market, increase its attractiveness to sponsors or buyers, cultivate brand loyalty or amplify social media clout. But remember, the strength of a brand overhaul isn’t just in the finished outcome, but in helping clients see their strengths and weaknesses, and streamlining their operation throughout the process. 

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” adds Durrell. “Foundational branding work is largely about the long-term goal, but what rebrands can do is be that rallying point for an organization to change.”

Next page: discover four ways in which design can help contribute to a client’s financial health...

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10 Perceptions Outdated Websites Create That Damage Credibility

10 Perceptions Outdated Websites Create That Damage Credibility

1. “They’re going out of business”

Where’s the latest blog? Press release? Social media status? Upcoming sale? New product release?

“No news is good news” is certainly not applicable here.

This silence gets people wondering if the company is dying a slow death (even if their books show skyrocketing profitability!)

2: “Their customer support will be terrible”

If customer support is imperative to an organization, don’t you think their website should make it easy to get that support?

“78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience.” (Source: American Express Survey, 2011)

Outdated websites come laced with wrong phone numbers, hidden email addresses, broken contact forms and confusing navigation — all red flags, especially to a prospective customer.

3. “The company must be OK with the status quo”

Consumer expectations are high, especially in retail. “Shoppers want to experience a brand online as they do within the store.”

A company OK with an outdated website feels like a company OK with just doing enough to get by. Technology companies in particular might be labeled “status quo” which cheapens their products/services.

4. “They just aren’t with it”

Though being “with it” is difficult to translate into practical meaning (and sounds like teenager speak), it’s still a gut reaction that damages credibility.

Being “with it” could mean a variety of things, but my guess it’s related to the website’s design — a factor with significant persuasion.

Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab found that almost half (46%) of people say a website’s design is the number one criterion for discerning credibility.

5. “They have technology incompetence”

We all live in the Digital Age, but using technology isn’t always easy.

A recent WSJ study found more than half (54%) of small to mid-sized businesses are concerned with “technology outpacing their ability to compete”.

Technology can’t be ignored. Especially on a website.

Outdated websites typically run old technologies (e.g. Flash, Frames, Hit Counters) and give the impression the company hasn’t left 1999. This creates the perception that the company faces similar technology incompetence — which impacts almost every single aspect of today’s business.

6. “They won’t keep my data safe and secure”

An outdated website tends to forget about the details, even the critical ones like keeping their SSL certificate renewed (which allows the URL to securely shift to https://).

Negligence with security (like an expired SSL certificate) leads to skepticism when giving up sensitive information such as name, email address, phone number and — especially — debit/credit card information.

7. “They must not be proud of their company”

When you interact with an updated and lively website, you can almost feel it. The company’s executives (especially if there’s thought leadership) and their employees feel proud to be part of things.

The website is an extension of their organization.

Outdated websites don’t represent organizations well because they send an apathetic message — which might not be an accurate measure of pride within the organization.

8. “There’s no buzz”

Most people like to buy from companies that are exciting and have a “buzz” to them. I’m sure you’ve heard of Apple?

This buzz is especially important in the B2C (Business to Consumer) sector where emotion has a dramatic role in marketing. Existing and prospective customers want to — sometimes unknowingly — be part of something buzzworthy.

This brand excitement is hard to see and hear without an updated website.

9. “They’re not good enough for my money.”

This perception feels a bit harsh, but I’m getting the impression that consumers just don’t care anymore. An organization with an outdated website is simply, bad business.

This study found that 35% of consumer walked away from a small business because of its poor website. Let me repeat. Over 1/3 of them WALKED AWAY.

The old fashioned business approach can only go so far without a solid website

10. “I could never work for a company like this”

An outdated website will impact a company’s ability to attract, recruit and retain talent. I know this perception exists because I’ve seen it first hand with my clients

One client’s leadership was galvanized because a hot recruit verbally trashed their outdated website, and another (Stanford Careers) made it clear that it was the #1 reason for hiring ProtoFuse.

An amazing work culture and competitive pay may, in fact, be a reality for a recruit, but this perception stops the conversation from even starting.

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The Best Super Bowl 2017 Commercials Already Released

Oh, the drama! Oh, the excitement! Oh, the household names! No, I’m not talking about football, I’m talking about the commercials that are sprinkled throughout the football. Whether you are into the actual game taking place on the field on Super Bowl Sunday, or whether you are more into the Puppy Bowl, everybody loves a good Super Bowl commercial–which are often filled with surprises, new products, and delightful cameos. At a sticker-shocking price tag of $5.02 million per 30-second spot, they better be good.

While some companies save their Super Bowl ads for the big game, others release their commercials early. Below, we’ve collected some of the most exciting spots released so far.

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