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More than ever before, businesses put a high value on connection and collaboration in order to thrive. And we expect information (including advice) to be largely free. This new way of interacting has allowed us to connect in ways that would have been difficult in years past, making it easier now to reach out and ask if you can pick someone’s brain.
I do it. We all do it. But it’s easy to forget that some people make their living problem solving and using strategic thinking. I’m flattered when someone asks to pick my brain because it means they desire my opinion. The key word here is desire. Desiring and valuing are two very different things. We value what we pay for. Giving away too much of your time affects not only you but the people you aim to help, not to mention the people who do end up paying for it.
It’s a challenge to draw the line, especially for do-gooders. Bernadette Jiwa puts it beautifully here why it’s important to value yourself enough to put your energy towards high-impact work. If the goal is to help people, you can’t very well do that if you don’t value your time and expertise. The little dribbles of advice here and there don’t add up to much…for anyone. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s refreshing to land on a website of a company that has clearly hired a good copywriter. The words have life. The phrases weave a story, paint a picture, create an aura. Someone thought words mattered enough, indeed, that they’d be the very thing to connect to the visitor.
That is until you can’t find a clear explanation of what the business does. You dig through the fluff not finding the information you need. You wonder if you’re stupid or if it was intentional on the part of the company or if someone didn’t care enough to make it easy on you.
There are businesses that deliberately create mystery and aura around a product or service just like the TV commercials that make you want to frolic in that field of flowers even if you don’t know what they’re advertising.
But it’s a rare business that can get away with that.
And advertising isn’t branding. Branding is meant for building long-term, trusting relationships.
Then there are websites that totally underestimate the value of delight. They rely on just the facts ma’am to describe the work they do, forgetting that people make decisions based on emotions first, then they follow up with rationale.
If I’m looking for an accountant, sure, I need someone to prepare my tax forms and inform me of any changes to the tax code. But I might first like to know the human side of her business, who she prefers to work with and why, why she’s decided to devote her life to crunching someone’s numbers and how she delights in taking the pain out of the most painful day of the year. That’s the kind of storytelling that distinguishes a ho-hum presentation from a humanizing one.
Caveat: that story shouldn’t be a fire hose of information limited to an about page, but instead, should appear in spirit throughout the website.
Delight doesn’t have to be knee-slapping funny or jaw-dropping beautiful. Delight can be as simple as showing that you understand the fears, aspirations, challenges or needs of the person visiting your site. You can do this through words, through the thoughtful way you organize information so it’s intuitive to find and through using labels your visitor would use and not your company’s internal jargon.
If you’re going to take someone on a frolic through a field of flowers, make sure they end up, continuously, at well-marked signposts that point them in the direction they need to go. And that means truly understanding what they came for.
(Image: lambertwm)
That’s not an easy question to answer. For companies that have a deep understanding of how design can drive business, the choice of how much to spend and whom to hire is easier than for a small company minding a small budget.
One story making the rounds is this one on the cost of some famous logos. It’s not exactly instructive. Some famous brands spent $0 and others spent $100 million.
How then do you decide what to invest in a logo design? Read the rest of this entry »
There are those rare people who want to move projects forward. They see stagnation around certain issues and they fill the vacancy of action. (Thanks to a client—one who does take action—for sharing that phrase.) Read the rest of this entry »
The other day, my yoga instructor said that every pose has five steps.
Theodore Levitt was famous for telling his Harvard business students that people don’t need a quarter-inch drill, they need a quarter-inch hole.
A drill is just one way to get a hole. Read the rest of this entry »
If there’s one thing you can do to activate your brand image, it’s to improve your writing.
Better writing connects with your customers or prospects.
People feel connected if, when reading your copy, they feel like you have considered their desires, fears or needs.
And people who feel that way want more of what you’re selling. This goes for selling a plumbing service, getting people to read your annual report or attracting new members.
One thing that prevents this connection from happening is a focus on features, often masquerading as benefits. Read the rest of this entry »
You’re hiring a designer or marketing person and can’t wait for the process to unfold.
Or…maybe not.
Most likely you have some uncertainty. You don’t know how to choose a consultant. You’ve never been through the process. You don’t know which questions to ask. You don’t speak the same language. You’re worried about money. You have a committee to please. You’ve got your other work to do.
In any project or effort, there is big vision, small details and everything in between. It all matters, but it’s the details that are most noticed by the end user.
Well, not so much noticed as felt. This is an important distinction.
What is felt is delight…or annoyance. Clarity…or confusion. Satisfaction…or stupidity.
It would be one thing if the customer intellectualized what didn’t work. But most often, they feel lazy, tired or stupid. In The Design of Everyday Things, author Donald Norman explains that people tend to blame themselves when something doesn’t work, even if the flaw is in the design.
In this great TED talk, ad guru Rory Sutherland describes with humor the bad decisions businesses and organizations foist on unsuspecting customers. Read the rest of this entry »
Have you ever found yourself saying this as you start a project?
Have you ever imposed this criteria on a hired consultant or firm? Read the rest of this entry »
