Below is a list of some points to consider and use as a rough checklist for creating great online experiences that will keep your customers coming back and referring others to you.

1. Show your personality

Your mom told you to just be yourself and she was right. Use copy and imagery that showcases your businesses personality.

TAKE ACTION: Print out your website’s copy. Does it sound like a person you want to do business with? Compare it to your competition. Does your personality stand out?

Note: Don’t confuse personality with funny or silly unless it is appropriate for your brand.

2. Be transparent

It is important to be engaged with your customers and to be honest with them. More and more businesses are at the mercy of digital word of mouth. Consider the impact that a positive or negative tweet about your service our products can have.

TAKE ACTION: Be honest about delivery times and product offers. Don’t over promise and under deliver.

3. Blog

Have you ever walked into a store and the shopkeeper was nowhere to be found and you were the only customer. Chances are you didn’t hang around long. Well it is no different online. Your store needs to look “active”. If people see recent blog posts and comments then users online will feel more comfortable purchasing a product knowing that the site is current.

TAKE ACTION: Start a simple blog to post news and promotions as well engage customers in relevant conversations.

4. Use Clear Navigation

This is good practice for any web site but it is crucial in the success of online stores and business web sites. Group information in a way that easy for people understand.

TAKE ACTION: Have a few people that are unfamiliar with your site navigate it. Ask them to find a specific product or answer to a question. Then make changes based on what you learn.

Common Mis-conceptions;

• Chances are if you brag about how fancy and cool your navigation is to your friends and family the less they actually like to use it. Keep it simple.
• Don’t be afraid to put a link to the same page twice. If it helps people get to the information they want faster than you have done your job.
• Every page or section does not need to be included in the primary navigation. It’s best to include only the links that serve the majority of your users.

5. Create lists of resourceful links

Answer questions before they arise. Include links to other pages that have information relevant to making the next step in the decision making process. Conveniently placed links will help move your visitors find what they are looking for and make them feel helped.

TAKE ACTION: For product or service pages include links to relevant case studies, testimonials or other recourses.

6. Easy Contact Method

Often times, people want to speak with someone about a specific question. Imagine if you went to your local department store and asked for assistance and were told that you would receive your answer in two to three business days. Unfortunately this is the standard for online support. Imagine the impact it can have if you provide easy contact methods and respond promptly.

TAKE ACTION: Putting your phone number at the top of your website can result in a 30% increase in response. Also try having a small contact form on the sidebar of every page. Be sure to respond quickly.

7. Welcome feedback

No system is ever problem free, and with technology changing constantly web sites could have the option of changing and expanding every minute. It is best to get feedback from your customers about their experience and what they feel like could be improved. Maybe the check out process is confusing or products could be grouped differently. It is surprising the simple changes that can help your users.

TAKE ACTION: Engage your customers in a customer service survey and include questions about the usefulness of your web site.

8. Make changes based on Analytics.

Be sure you’re making changes on your site based on the way people are viewing your site. Take into account where they are coming from and what pages are being click on the most. You may find differences in the path people take coming from search engines. If important pages are being neglected then make a change.

TAKE ACTION: Look at the visits in ratio to how many page views you are getting. People may be getting discourage in finding information and could be leaving the site to quickly.

9. Have a thorough FAQ’s page.

There are a lot of factors that influence buyer’s decisions. These things are often hard to predict and not every curiosity can be answered with great marketing copy. Having a thorough FAQ page can reassure customers and save some phone calls as well.

TAKE ACTION: Make a list of all the questions people ask you about your service or your billing process or and make sure your answers are clear. Have a form at the bottom of the FAQ page to easily submit questions along with a phone number. Respond quickly with an answer and post the question on your FAQ page.

10. Brand yourself from start to finish.

When a client approaches us to design the layout of their site they often ask to see the home page first. However, I would argue that at times this is not the most crucial part of the site. For e-commerce sites it may be the checkout form or for lead generation it may be the services page or contact form. These pages shouldn’t be afterthoughts but priorities. Also consider the receipt emails as well as email correspondence with customers. These things weigh heavy on the scale of customer service.

TAKE ACTION: Look at all of the pages a customer visits and make sure that they share the same quality as the others.

Some of these I have learned the hard way and others by great example. I hope that they can be insightful and help your business create a successful online presence.

2. It can illustrate your brand values. The last point already illustrated the power of perception. A custom logo design will allow you to consider not only what you want your logo to look like but what you want to be branded as. Consider three words that describe how you want your company to be perceived. Consider words like innovative, established, luxury, bargain, you get the idea (see our full list) . These words should be the bases of the message that your logo imagery conveys (even if it is just a typeface).

3. Have access to all of the design files you need. Typically logos are designed with one need in mind. Maybe you need a business card or a sign.
Chances are that this is just the beginning of the places that your logo will end up. Having a custom logo design will mean that you are provided with all of the design files that you need to print big or small, full color or black and white. Make sure that your logo looks nice on the side of a pen and on a billboard. You never know where your logo will end up in the future.

4. It will represent your business for 5+ years. Every successful business invests money into marketing their business. Consider the potential that a custom logo design can have on that investment. Making sure that your company logo is designed to represent where you will be in 5, 10, or 20 years will create a look that lasts. A logo that follows trends can imply that your business is only here for a season and will be gone soon.

5. Works for your target audience. When you develop a custom logo design, it is important to know how your logo will be perceived by the people who will be making decisions about your product or service. Make sure to have a few of your colleagues and close business partners take a look at the design. Also ask people from the specific demographic you are targeting for there opinion. It will be insightful to hear there responses.

Answer Questions

Consider all of the questions that you have when investigating a potential product or service. Of course the more questions that are answered the better. It is crucial that your web site answer as many of those questions for potential customers as possible. If nothing else, it will give your secretary a break. Consider all of the area of concerns that a person has before making a decision about purchasing your product or service. Address those. Every one of them. Take an inventory of all of those answers and use that as the foundation for your web site’s content.

Sell your service

I’m not talking about just having a “buy now” button. I mean really selling it. Showcasing your product or service in a way that really show’s its best features. If you have a unique product, post a video of how it can be used. Take detailed shots of the results of your service. Invest in good photography. It goes a long way in selling the value of your product or service. Consider photos and videos as way to really give users a chance to experience your product or service before ever buying it.

Point people to action

One of the most unique things about the web is that users are more likely to actually do things they are told. That said. Tell them what to do. Boss your users around. If you want users to contact you put a big button at the end of every page that tells them to do. Use your off line sales cycle as a model to create a checklist of the info or that people typically need to make a buying decision. For example if I am considering hiring an electrician. I might like to see some sort of certification, a ballpark estimate, maybe even some insight into his experience either through pictures or clients testimonials. A site that properly guided me through finding all of this information and prompted me to contact would be highly effective.

Leave them with something
People search the web for answers and information. Your business can benefit greatly from hosting information for download, or an informative newsletter to sign up for. Leaving your potential customers with more information is a great way to be considered as a solution. Don’t worry about your competitors getting a hold of that info. The impact it can have for gaining new clients is far greater.

Actually Work

So many sites online have broken links and pages that have been “Coming Soon” for years. Nothing frustrates a user more than a broken link or the disappointment of an empty page. It is important for your business website to have useful and informative content. A website full of broken links and unpopulated pages doesn’t reflect well on your business.

Matt just finished up these logo icons and typefaces. We are hoping to get some feedback.

This first one is our personal favorite and the concept is; People gathering

This next concept just plays with shapes to illustrate a lens shutter.

The concept of the logo below came from the iris of the eye. It is part of the eyeball that has color. I know we were supposed to stay away from an eye but i think this is abstract enough.

The last concept also illustrates the closing or opening of a shutter.

Let us know what you think. Whether you love them or hate them.

Off to lunch,
Tyler

The point is that I hope kids can grow up and learn to spell better than I can.

I must admit that I am a horrible speller. Every so often we receive an email or a phone call with someone noticing another one of my failures to hit spell check. So we decided to not only correct them, but donate money to the Lafayette Educational Foundation.

For every misspelled word on our site, we will donate $1 to the Lafayette Educational Foundation.

Good luck, there are plenty out there. Leave a comment with your findings.

Back to work,

Tyler

What makes Verbalpress unique?

Their product transforms traditional press releases
for investors into a verbal recording.

Concept and Vision

We based the verbalpress icon on this concept; A transformation of news on paper to audio. We combined abstract images representing the investing world, paper press, audio and broadcasting to create a unique icon that represents what makes verbalpress great.

Let us know what you think. We are excited about this project and will be posting more progress soon.

Back to work,

Tyler

We even have a list of words to help businesses along. For example if you are new clothing store you may want your customers to perceive your business as modern, or maybe elegant. It all depends on the way that you want to market your product or service.

We took our list of words and used typefaces that represent each one of them. We have seen stuff similar to this before but It was interesting to try and illustrate each word with a look that fits with the word itself.

We got the idea to do this after seeing a logo designer make a few of them on www.lynda.com. Some are closer than others but it is interesting to see them all together.

Back to work,

Tyler

Matthew Wiltz designed the font after he developed the typeface we used as our new logo. This is the first full font that he has ever made. It was a fun project and I hope that there are more typefaces to come.

We named the font Levotype because we liked the smoothness of the logo especially as a larger type. We took levo from the latin word for “smooth or polished”. We are excited to have completed it and have used it in our own promotional materials quite frequently.

Here is an example of our logo and how we have used the font there, and also branded “logo, print, and web” with the same typeface. “Pixelbrush” is made with Levotype and “studios” is verdana a common web based font ( and depending on your browser the font your reading now ).

Let us know what you think. Matt wants to hold onto his baby for now so if we get enough of a response we may be able to convince him to let it free. Imagine the world typing with a font that you made. Just another reason graphic design is such a cool job.

Back to work,

Tyler

Re-gen Oils operates out of Lafayette LA and works with farmers and fleet trucking companies across all of southern Louisiana. Be on the lookout for the logo on the sides of their Oil Trucks.

This is the new logo.

Ben works out of his shop in Lafayette, LA and is working on building us a custom workstation. We are hoping to see his new logo branded on his work.

There business was seeing a lot of growth and decided it was time to establish a brand.

Superlube Mobile started their services in our home town of Lafayette LA, but is planning on expanding throughout the gulf coast regions. They needed a brand image that could set them up for the long term and had enough flexibility to be printed on uniforms, trucks, and dozens of other marketing and brand related materials along the way.

We are still working with them to continue developing their brand image. Look out for their new website launching soon.

However, it is your employees that see your logo and brand more than anyone else.

Your logo can become the inspiration that your employees need to understand the big picture and serve as a reminder for the vision of the company.

For example when we designed the logo for Southern Fete (an event planning service) we spoke with Valerie (wedding planner) about what her logo should express.

The main idea that she wanted to illustrate was  “being captured in a party.”

This was vital to her marketing efforts. She needed to be branded as the complete solution for hosting great events.

As we began to sketch out the design for her logo, we realized that this logo will not only communicate to her clients but can express the same vision to her and the many vendors that she works with.

The concept of the logo is as simple as Valerie stated; “Being captured in a party.” But when we showed Valerie our mock-ups we told her to imagine herself looking into an event that was well planned and all the people enjoying the fruits of her labor.

Painting a picture like this is common in larger corporations as well. Often the symbolism in the logos of top corporate companies are used as images that can be translated into the direct vision that drives the company. Giving some thought into the design of your logo can keep the vision and goals in the fore front of you and your employees efforts.

We have given our clients the option of allowing us to post their project before it is finished so that we can get feedback from anyone that follows us. We think that having a few more eyes on the design can be very insightful.

Its our goal to serve our clients better so as a result we have added some significant features to the new site.

You can now…..

• Fill out a creative brief for a Logo design online.
• Use the QuickFix Order Form for quick turn-around on smaller design requests and support.
• Fill out a more thourough quote request.
• See an updated porfolio and gain insight into our process.
• Be our friend with links to all of the major social networks.

Let us know if you think we are missing something.

Back to work,

Tyler