Below is a transcript of a short talk given to the Local Chamber of Commerce on 19th October 06.
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You probably do not recall but I spoke at a Chamber meeting just over a year ago and at that meeting I explored the theme of ‘First Impressions’ and how incredibly important it is, in today’s competitive marketplace, to convey a positive and authentic image for your business. If you recall I said that ‘there is no second chance to make a first good impression’. Well strangely this is my second chance.
Today I would like to spend a few minutes talking to you about the need to make business and marketing PERSONAL AND EMOTIVE. Why do I think this is important? Well most of you here run or work for small or medium sized businesses that compete with much larger competitors. Am I right? To win business you know that you have to have a point of difference beyond a competitive price. You need to have something that I call PR, not public relations, but Personal Relationships. People deal with you because they like you and trust you and when you do a good job they tell others. That’s the start of a sustainable business. Why then, if this is a formula for success, is it forgotten when SME’s market themselves. Many times I have sat in marketing and design meetings and the brief is – these are my competitors and I want our brand to look like them! This is the wrong starting point. The right way is to say that these are our beliefs and values and that’s what makes our business different and that is what our brand and communications should reflect. A much more refreshing and distinctive approach.
Just as we all have different values, personalities and beliefs we also, as individuals, have different styles and communication approaches. It is often surprising to me that companies fail to project their individual personalities – they get what can kindly be called corporate constipation and forget who they are. They try to appeal to everyone but their communications end up being bland and ineffective.
We believe that marketing is a strategic process where you decide precisely who you are, what you stand for and who you would like to have a relationship with. Once you have this distinctive value proposition then marketing is about one thing - defining and building personal relationships that last.
At Duo we think in terms of ‘relationships’ because it creates for us a humane and authentic approach to marketing – one that appreciates the value of customer understanding and empathy – one that respects individual needs – one that is more inspiring, intelligent and effective.
In a way all of us here already understand this – we are all here to build relationships.
But relationships can be personal or impersonal. Their depth, longevity and ultimate profitability however will depend on your relevancy and emotional connection. And this is where design can make a huge difference.
Design is one of the most powerful tools for making connections. It’s the glue that links logic and reason with imagination and feelings. Good design expresses the essence of a brand in ways that speak directly to the emotions. Design communicates the intangible benefits through tone, style, colour and attitude: loud or quiet, edgy or elegant, exclusive or accessible.
Lets briefly look at our most recent work for a local organisation and one of the biggest employers in the area – Stamford Endowed Schools.
So to summarise Duo can add value by helping you to define and communicate who you really are and what you stand for within the context of the relationships that matter to your business. It’s something we have been doing for our clients for many years, for small start-up businesses to large international companies. Creating compelling company identities with strong propositions, websites that communicate with conviction, brochures that tell a wonderful story – that’s what we do, that’s how we can help.
