Just Because it Looks Pretty ...

At M Communications we are constantly noticing the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to marketing. And, one thing I have noticed is that just because a marketing piece looks pretty it doesn't mean it is functional. It's kind of like those really cool nail files that are pretty to look at, but the don't really file your nails. Below is an a example of recent "No-No's":

Wonderful websites gone wrong. There are sites out there that are wonderfully designed and very esthetically pleasing. It is obvious that someone was smart enough to hire a professional graphic designer. The big oops here is that when it came to the navigation and someone decided to create a labyrinth. You have seconds to grab a visitor's attention when they stumble on their website and the more they have to click, the more likely they are going to go "bye-bye." Also, don't get me started on slow loading websites, even if the flash presentation is pretty cool. In both cases, you lose customers.

Your Marketing Should Be the Perfect Blend

We see a lot of marketing disasters at M Communications, which we will happily fix. One thing I have been seeing quite a bit lately is the lack of cohesive brand. Basically, all of your marketing needs to have the same look and feel. Your marketing all needs to match and be the perfect blend. You can have items that are great on it's own ... but if your blog, website and business card look completely different you may end up like you are running three different companies. This is kind of like drinking really good coffee. Starbucks Cinnamon and Starbucks Vanilla are great on their own but when you mix them together (which I did) the result is blech. My point? Do not blend things that are clearly not meant to go together.

There Isn't Competition ... Period

There is one thing I come across at most events when I am networking for M Communications and that is people who are seriously worried about their competition. Here is my philosophy (and, actually a shared one by the successful) and that is: there is no competition. Even though my company offers graphics, websites, public relations and publishing many others do the same. People work with who they want to work with. It is very similar to working with a business coach - there are a ton and you work with who clicks with you. Last, worried about what the competition is doing is a complete waste of time. Understand different services and what similar companies offer, but do not sit and stress yourself out because there are two webmasters in the very same room. Last (for real this time), find out what services your competition offers ... because maybe you can partner up. I am personally collaborating with another publicist ... so again, there is no competition.

Scrambled Eggs and Sandwiches

I firmly believe there are two things that are always better when someone else makes them: scrambled eggs and sandwiches. Although, I did make some pretty kick a$$ eggs last weekend ... which brings me to a different rule ... if you add enough cheese to anything it will end up being good. Here at M Communications, 3L and I see disasters on a daily basis ... when someone should have relied on someone else, a "real" marketing expert to make it better. It makes us so sad when our clients take the cheap route and then have to spend more money to fix what they did or hired someone to do. I will be honest ... I cannot draw and therefore am not a graphic artist and will never pretend to me. (I have however practiced this cute cat drawing over the years ) This is where we have our quality team members come in for our graphics, web design, and of course I handle the PR ... (did we tell you that Oprah called?) Oh, and I think 2L mentioned without the price tag ... no big office on top of the Tiffany's building for us, we are all virtual and seasoned players. The point of my message is this: hire someone to do the work for you. If you do not have webmaster on your resume; my guess is that you are probably not.