Xapsis

Confessions of a Type Junkie

2012-02-21T10:33:00.000-06:00

By Sueann Hoppock, Graphic Designer at Xapsis Integrated Marketing

I must confess that I am a type junkie. I actually like watching the title credits at the beginning of a movie and trying to guess what font they used and I get outraged when I see bad kerning, especially on huge billboard signs (I mean, come on, the type is 10 feet high and you didn’t notice that huge gap between the P and e?!) My husband doesn’t get it, but then he’s a lawyer. And I know that are much more pressing problems in the world than my crusade against terrible kerning, but it’s a quirk of being a designer I guess. I have spent so many years immersed in the world of typography that I just don’t understand when a non-designer doesn’t see what I do.

My years of designing in the print world have made me a “Type A” personality when it comes to type, which is why I was so reluctant to jump on board the web design train until now. I hated that there were so many limitations on typography when you design for the web. I had no control over what typeface your computer might bring up on the screen when you viewed my web page. What if the only font you had was Comic Sans? Ugh…the humanity!

Then I was turned on to Google web fonts (www.google.com/webfonts). Finally there was a place where I could go and peruse a large selection of fonts that will work specifically for web design. When I use a Google web font, I know that what I have created in my design will be what you see on your computer screen. Our web programmers love it too because Google also generates the code to use for each font which makes their job easier, so it’s a win-win all around. Those people at Google are geniuses I tell you!

I highly encourage all you type-lovers out there to check it out for your next web site design project. It still doesn’t combat the bad kerning tragedies that still take place every day, but it does help a type junkie like me cope a little better in the web design world.

Windows 8 - Cross Platform, Nice For Developers

2012-02-17T16:21:00.000-06:00

By Matt Miller, Director of Programming at Xapsis Integrated Marketing

Microsoft has been relatively quite in the mobile deviceworld, even though they have been working on a mobile platform since beforeY2K. Microsoft released the Pocket PC back in 2000, one of the first handheldmobile computing devices with the ability to browse the web, and send andreceive emails. How and why did Microsoft get left so far behind in mobiledevice race, when they were on the front lines in the evolution of handhelddevices? Whatever the answer may be, Microsoft has been revving up and gaininghype towards a big release in 2012, which might be a game changer. Microsoftunveiled a new logo today for its upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

Microsoft Windows 8 is a cross platform operating system,which from what Microsoft has shown will take on the same Metro interface asthe windows phone. This will allow your phone, your tablet and your home PC,even your Xbox to all be running the same software, same programs, and sameapps. Microsoft said, according to PCworlds, it has created a new kind of appfor Windows 8 using HTML5 and JavaScript. This will help increase the amount ofapps in the market, because developers will not need to learn an unfamiliarprogramming language to create native apps, unlike with IOS having to useObjective C to create native apps, at least before the introduction PhoneGap.

There are some issues with regards to the existing Metro OS(which is the current phone OS) and Windows 8 not working together. Metro uses WinRTarchitecture and Windows uses win32 architecture, which means most of theexisting XNA phone apps with not transfer over to the windows or the Xbox OS.That may become an issue later, if not dealt with before the official release. Norelease date has been set yet, but it’s projected to be anywhere frommid-summer to early December.

What are your thoughts on having all your devices runningthe same OS?

5 Tips to stay creative in a creative position

2012-02-13T10:47:00.000-06:00

By Tyler Jefford, Web Developer at Xapsis Integrated Marketing

Have you ever hit a creative wall? After producing countlesscreative products you finally come to a point where you feel your creative cupis empty. This happens to everybody, not just in the creative field; runners,even body builders can hit their wall. How can you get over the wall though?There is no definite answer, some things will work for you, and others may workfor your colleagues. Here are five good tips on how to stay creative when youcome against that wall.

Crowds of Creative People

Colleagues, friends, family, neighbors find people thatstimulate your brain and make you see the world through a new pair of eyes.When you surround yourself with people who share the same passion as you, you willbegin to notice new and possibly innovative ways to conquer problems andhopefully, chip away at that wall.

Challenge Yourself

This seems impossible if you are stuck in a rut right?Challenge yourself to pay your bills early, or to go to bed earlier, or drinkmore water. It doesn’t need to be creative. Learning to challenge yourself inseemingly minute aspects of your life may be a way to challenge yourself to powerthrough the creative wall and create a superior product.

Never Stop Learning

Possibly the most important, the world doesn’t stop evolvingafter you get out of school, in fact, it moves faster. In a creativeprofession, designs, trends and standards are rapidly changing and gettingre-worked into the next big thing. If you are resistant to learning and don’tkeep on top of these trends, you will feel stagnant and lose your drive to beinnovative and to push the envelope.

Get Outside

When you sit and think about a problem too long, it becomesbigger and eventually consumes your reality. Turning off your computer andspending time with your family and friends is a healthy step to rejuvenatingyour creative juices. Going out on your lunch break, taking a walk, gettingfresh air, and seeing new things can also improve your ability to overcome thecreative wall.

Try Something Different

As Seth Godin says "Poke the box", try something new. The worry of failureshouldn’t be a reason not to try, because if you don’t try, then you havealready failed. This seems like a no-brainer, but is a very difficult task formany who fear the possibility of trying and not succeeding. When you do thesame thing over and over your process becomes repetitive, boring and your creativitysuffers. Doing something different you have the ability to try something out,and if it doesn’t work you have a better idea of what won’t work and what to dobetter next time.

Conclusion

Surroundingyourself with creative and positive people will help you learn new aspects andinteract with people who enjoy the same things as you. With a common goal, youare more prone to new ideas. Give yourself challenges and aggressive goals.Setting goals will help you take control of your creativity and force you tocome up with new ideas. Learn a new skill. Start learning how to play aninstrument or learn how to use a bow and arrow. Attaining a new skill can helpwith overcoming new problems that surface in your creative position. Gooutside, get fresh air. Stepping away from the computer screen gets your mindoff of work and can help you better focus on the tasks when you return. Trysomething different, failure is okay. Failure is the best teacher you can have,without it we are doomed to repeat bad creative work. Wrap all these tips intoa single call to action today, your creativity will thank you.

Website Vs. Web Presence

2012-02-02T09:45:00.000-06:00

By Doug Fouts, Managing Director at Xapsis Integrated Marketing

Let me ask you a question, how many website designers anddeveloper business and services do you think there are in a 50 mile radius ofyour company’s location? Odds are, whenyou account for one man operations working from home, online services through thelikes of 1&1 and Intuit, all the way up to ad agencies that offer a muchgreater degree of sophistication and an even higher price tag there are morethan dozens all around you.

I’ll be honest; I’m not interested in Xapsis being just awebsite design firm. I am all about ourcompany becoming a WEB PRESENCE builder. Afair question is certainly, what is the difference?

A website is something that potentially can be designed withlittle more than a logo, a third party content management system like Wordpressor Joomla, some pictures and a few paragraphs. In that case it’s often a flat tool that does little more than hold a spot on the World Wide Web through adomain name and some hosting fees, and sayslittle more than your company exists. There are many businesses out there that have that kind of website.

What is required, to not just survive but thrive in today’sworld, is for your business to have more than that, you need a webpresence! A web presence is a living,growing and changing strategy to announce, enhance and amplify your brand in aworld that is increasingly digital-centric. It includes not a static, dated or template designed website, but aninteractive, online portal that makes your brand, who you are, what you do andwhy people should want to do business with you, jump off the screen and enticepeople to drive deeper into your message and services. It also includes a strategy to take thatportal and make it accessible in a mobile format, and it spreads the wordvirally through social media outlets. Aweb presence is more multifaceted than just having a website, if it is doneright, and it must leverage many new media channels to touch people and remindthem of why they absolutely want to do business with YOU.

Think about being at a party or any large gathering ofpeople. Individuals are milling aboutmaking small talk, some you know, some you don’t. Conversations are animated at times, subduedat others, and then suddenly someone new enters the room and all eyes are drawnto them. There is something about thisperson that makes people sit up and take notice, the way they carry themselves,the confidence with which they speak with an air of authority or expertise thatcomes through. You can’t help but wantto interact with them; they just have a certain…presence.

The parallel is clear. Do an online search for your type of good or service in your area andwhat do you find? You are surrounded bycompetitors who are trying to mingle with your target market segment. Some of their sites are full of flash andnoise, some are staid and stodgy, but what if when they hit your site they felta certain presence? What if theywere drawn to your message, enticed by your brand and really desired to drivedeeper in to get to know you? What ifyou were set apart because of your obvious expertise in your field and yoursite spoke with an authority that made people want to interact with you? In fact, they wanted what you had so muchthat they talked to you through their mobile devices, and followed you throughyour social media channels. The nextthing you know, they are asking you questions and engaging in discussions with you,and you are asking for and getting their business! Now THAT is having a webpresence.

I began with a question, and I’ll end with a thought. If you are involved with a company that hassettled for the idea that you can only EXIST on the web, but technology andyour competitors have passed you by, why not try to establish a real WEBPRESENCE that makes waves, stirs up leads and produces real results.

YouCAN do something about it, and we would love to help! Contact Xapsis for a FREE website analysis.

Does Your Website Stink?

2012-01-30T09:52:00.000-06:00

By Corey Smith, Creative Director at Xapsis Integrated Marketing

You’ve worked hard to build your business, grow your client base, and provide great products and services to your customers. That same effort and importance needs to be directed towards your website. Many people begin their purchasing experience by doing online research to compare prices, quality, and reviews from other shoppers. Even if they end up making their purchase in a physical store, fact-finding and decision-making often starts on the web. This is one of many reasons why it’s so important to have a great website. With that said, how does your website stack up? Is it a great site, or does it stink? Here are a few signs that your site may need help:

S (Stagnant) - You haven’t updated your website. EVER. Ideally, you should be updating your website one or two times per month with new content. Some businesses probably need to be updating multiple times per day. Having fresh material on your site draws in more visitors and potentially new customers. Along with regular updates, your content needs to hold the interest of your audience. Have you heard the terms Clear, Concise, and Compelling? Your visitors need to be able to comprehend what you're selling or promoting. Content should be mean and lean. Cut out the useless flab. Make the content interesting and your audience will stay on your site. Find out what makes your site visitor tick. Hit on their emotional needs, and you’ll keep them on your site.

T (Typos) - Spell check and proofread your content over and over. Small typos add up to an unprofessional site and show your audience that you’re sloppy and careless. Have someone outside your business read through your content. It’s amazing what a fresh set of eyes will catch!

I (Illogical layout) - Site layout should make sense. Ever go to a site and have no idea what the business is selling or promoting? Your message should be clearly displayed on the homepage to tell your visitors what the site is about, give them some indication of what they are there to do or what they can expect to get from your site. Develop a plan and structure for your site before actually building it. Think through the design and layout of buttons, navigation, and content. How would you respond to the layout? Is it easy to find what you’re looking for? Is there too much clutter in the form of photos or text? Your site should have a similar feel throughout the entire website, and it should have a sense of order and thoughtfulness.

N (Navigation) - Navigation is one of the most important elements of your website. It directs your visitors to your content. If your navigation is too confusing, or changes from page to page, your audience will not find your products, services, and information. Navigation design should always be simple and direct with the overriding objective of helping the reader get to where they want to go.

K (Kooky) - Creativity is great and can go a long way in making a site interesting and fun. However, rainbow backgrounds and prancing unicorns across your screen may be a bit too much. Have fun with your site, but do so in a way that makes sense and complements your content or the message you’re trying to get across. Don’t assault your audience with a visual barrage of colors and animations just because you can. Think through your design and ask yourself if what you display on your site truly compels visitors to stay on your site and investigate your services.

If you think your website may fall into one of these categories and is a bit odoriferous, give us a shout and we’ll be happy to sit down with you and help clean up that stinky site! Whether you need a slight cleansing or a full bath, we have the resources to get your web presence sparkling again!

Xapsis in the news

2012-01-23T15:58:00.000-06:00

We were mentioned on WHOI's Good Company by our amazing client Tracy, Owner of Wannabes Upscale Resale, last weekend. http://ow.ly/8Dyn8

Oh Social Media you Hooked Me Again

2012-01-20T14:10:00.000-06:00

By Julie D. Sanders, Xapsis Director of ClientServices

Maybe you've heard of this little website calledPinterest? My guess is that you havebecause it has been taking over the social media world lately. I myself havebeen hesitant to dive in, because frankly there are only so many hours of theday, and I am already hooked on all other forms of social media(i.e.time-suckers). I mean how good could it be? I'm here to tell you that it is a little slice of heaven. Really!

I'm type of gal who likes to be hip and on the cutting edge oftechnology… but mostly technology doesn't love me back. Twitter and I arefighting right now as we speak because I can't understand hashtags, butPinterest is simple. It focuses on onething, visual bookmarking/sharing and they have made sure they are awesome atit. It doesn’t overwhelm the user. For example, in my free-time when I shouldbe thinking about how to engineer world peace what I'm actually doing isgleefully pinning and re-pinning things to my boards, and often giggling like alittle girl.

A picture still speaks a thousand words, even in the technologyworld. Personally, I love a good pictureand especially a good photo gallery, that is one of things that made me fall inlove with the internet long ago. Peoplelike to look at the images they like again and again. And share them,re-share them, and re-share them again. This is where Pinterest becomes geniusbecause you can share these images and arrange them artfully. So my inner organizational freak is doing ahappy dance. The designers at Pinterest have done a fantastic job of takingsomething that could be overwhelming, both in general and visually, and makingit a joy to experience.

Pinterest is more than just a place to store and share images. Theimages link back to the orignial site you found them on so you end up with anorganized, visual bookmark back to sites you found interesting. More importantly they link you directly toinformation that you might actually usein your real-world life. This makes Pinterest more than just a bookmarkingservice, and more than just an image-sharing service. It makes Pinterest abest-of-both worlds tool that is useful to you both on and offline. It helpsyou to find, share, save and use thingsthat are of interest to you. You can actually find, share, and utilize thingsthat are customized for you, by you.

I recommend giving Pinterest a try. You’ll probably love it.

Welcome 2012

2012-01-04T09:33:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year 2012!

Xapsis is bursting into the New Years by adding amulti-talented new addition to our team. Clay Deal is joining us as our newIntegrated Marketing Specialist with experience in both sales and marketing andis just the tip of what will be a very energetic year at Xapsis.

Butcher Block Steakhouse and Bourbon Bar

2011-10-07T13:56:00.000-05:00

We are so pleased to show the new Butcher Block Steakhouse and Bourbon bar website to go live!

http://butcherblocksteakhouse.com

Happy September

2011-09-09T10:59:00.000-05:00

Happy September! We have a lot to tell you!

Staff
We have added a new designer to our team, please help us welcome Sueann Hoppock. She does amazing work and we are glad to have her on our team!

Julie Sanders comes to us as our new director of client services to take on communication of our wonderful clients.

Peoria Mobile Coupons
We are proud to announce 19,000 downloads of our product Peoria Mobile Coupons and counting! We are constantly working to improve the application and the deals. If you have an idea to help us improve the application to help better your experience, or if you have a business you would really like to see on the application please tell us on our facebook or twitter.

New Website
Very exciting news, Xapsis has launched our brand new design. http://xapsis.com View our full portfolio, showcasing the websites, logos, print and mobile work we have done for our clients.

Our Clients
We have been really busy with launching new websites in Peoria, Fargo, Hilton Head and Gulf Coast!

http://grafflawinc.com

http://alwanrx.com

http://www.sanderstools.com

http://fortnerins.com

http://signserviceusa.com

http://fmhomeandpatio.com

http://msgulfcoast-ymca.org

http://doubleaspizza.com

http://thedrivetomakeadifference.com

http://dietrichhomes.com

Keep in touch

Stay up to date with us by becoming a fan of us on facebook, and follow us on twitter for all the updates!

News update

2011-06-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

Good afternoon friends! The past six months have been extremely busy here at Xapsis. From launching Peoria Mobile Coupons, Chiefs streaming application, an iPad giveaway, and more business showcases that we loved being a part of.

Peoria Mobile Coupons
Peoria Mobile Coupons has kept momentum since launch in January. We have now crossed 15,000 downloads this month! Also keep an eye on the Peoria Mobile Coupons facebook page for updates about new offers, and voice your opinion on what businesses you would like to see on our application. We are also getting set to launch a major update based off the feedback from our amazing users.

http://peoriamobilecoupons.com

Peoria Chiefs
Going along with the mobile applications, we have also launched a streaming app for the Peoria Chiefs for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. You can go to your app store/market and download that now.

Websites
We have been busy launching websites this year as well! Below are several that we have already rolled out, and there are many many more to come in the next few months.

http://fmhomeandpatio.com

http://gulfportmusicfestival.com

http://townandcountrypest.com/

http://woodfrontkitchen.com/

We are also looking forward to launching these in the near future:

Xapsis

You can keep up to date with us, by following us on twitter and fan us on facebook where we may give you a sneak peek at our upcoming redesign. We are really excited for the future, and the endless possibilities that it holds.

2011-05-06T11:28:00.001-05:00

Come check out the fresh out of the shop Wood Front Kitchens website. http://ping.fm/y763G
Like Wood Front Kitchens on Facebook to stay up to date http://on.fb.me/lN1Skr

2011-04-19T11:42:00.001-05:00

We have crossed 10,000 downloads on Peoria Mobile Coupons! What are things you want to see on the app?

2011-04-06T10:14:00.001-05:00

Thank you to all who came to see us at the Central Illinois Auto show. We have now crossed the 9000 download mark for Peoria Mobile Coupons!

Have a business you want to see on PMC? Fan us on facebook and write on our wall. We love to hear from you! http://ping.fm/tORgg

2011-02-11T13:17:00.001-06:00

Hey! Did you new Verizon iPhone users know that Peoria Mobile Coupons is in the app store? Download today and start saving at tons of great businesses, including great restaurants like: Tilted Kilt, McAlister's Deli, and Hickory River Smoke house.

2011-01-05T13:50:00.001-06:00

Peoria Mobile Coupons is now live! Get the app now on your iphone(http://ping.fm/ORL5P), android(market://search?q=pname:com.miller.PMCapp), and blackberry(http://ping.fm/jUPSO) phones and start saving! http://ping.fm/JjHmm

2010-12-29T16:18:00.001-06:00

January 1, 2011, keep an eye on http://ping.fm/pnZI6 for the official launch of our brand new service. You can download the application now for your blackberry, iphone and android devices in their respective marketplaces.

2010-12-15T11:39:00.001-06:00

Hey iPhone users, Peoria Mobile Coupons is now available in the iTunes App Store. http://ping.fm/AZtjC

2010-12-08T14:42:00.001-06:00

We just launched the new website for our friends at Enable Solutions. Be sure to browse the online catalog. http://ping.fm/0kGhH

2010-11-17T13:35:00.001-06:00

Look at these creative ways to market your brand offline. http://ping.fm/uuR83

2010-11-12T13:57:00.001-06:00

Check out our newest website for Cubrace. http://cubrace.com/

2010-11-05T12:23:00.001-05:00

Is the design of your website doing you any favors when it comes to promoting your business? (http://ping.fm/F9jKt) 3 very important aspects to look into when thinking of the importance of design in online marketing are Aesthetics, branding, and usability of your website. Make the user feel comfortable with your sites design. Use effective branding to promote your company in the right light, letting the customer know what you are about. Make your website usable for everyone. Your customer is most likely not a robot, and not everyone is on the same level when it comes to using the internet.

2010-11-01T13:17:00.001-05:00

Check out the site we designed for Alwan and Sons http://ping.fm/eX9qU and be sure to see the ingredients in their meat with the "Meat-O-Matic" (make sure to turn on your sound)

2010-10-27T13:04:00.001-05:00

It is important to know your customer. Learn your target audience. http://ping.fm/MR34B Interesting article on catering to your target group of customers.

Tell Me What You Want, What You Really, Really Want (Pt.1)

2010-10-25T15:45:00.000-05:00

Solid marketing is many times born from simply listening a whole more than you talk. When considering your company's brand and message, or a new type of campaign, the lens that has to be looked through is that of your target marketing segment and what they are saying they really want. This will tell you not only if your product or service is viable and prone to success, but also tells you how to package it up so that when it hits their radar screen it comes in a form and manner that they are most receptive to.
Take as an example the burgeoning mobile advertising market.

The options of how to dip your company toe into the mobile marketing world are increasing quickly as everyone figures out the best way to leverage the very device that we never leave home without along side our wallet (or purse), and keys...our cell phones. While my wife continues to fight against the movement, there is a rapidly approaching critical mass where getting a "Smart" phone will not just be a choice, it will be the singular norm and with it will come a bundled data plan. As this becomes our reality more and more of us will do more mobile web surfing, search engine utilization, info research, social media updates and yes, mobile shopping and saving. With all that said the more time passes we are getting some real feedback from current and future mobile using consumers and they are telling us what they REALLY want as the tools to shop and save are being developed right now, we just need to listen to them and we can hone very effective products that meet their needs when getting YOUR products and services into their hands and at the top of their minds. Here are a few things to consider:

Beauty is in simplicity. This seems like a no brainer, but the less hoops I have to jump through to use my mobile device the more apt I am to start and continue to use it. Make it easy and fast for me to gain benefit from the offers on and through my phone, don't make me register, only to then have to recieve an email with your coupon which I then have to send to myself as a text to take advantage of your offer in a mobile fashion. You get the picture because you probably have seen these types of programs. Keep it simple, keep it clean and get me savings right away when I want them.
Don't ask me for name, rank and serial number. There is a real blow back from people that have been enticed with a tantalizing "special offer" but only if you surrender your name, email address, phone numbers, and the latest, your cell number for texting. The issue has become that while we have all learned to turn our spam filters up as high as they can go on our email accounts, we are now in danger of being buzzed, beeped and bombarded with unwanted text message offers on a regular basis. Mobile marketing should be centered around the life and convenience of the consumer, influencing their purchasing dollar when THEY ARE READY to make a purchase, and some plans and programs become the equivalent of text spamming, annoying and soon dropped.
Mobile marketing should drive new business and increase loyalty, not cannibalize revenue already in the door. Here is the scenario: I am already in your restaurant ready to buy my food, and I see the photocopied paper on the wall telling me to text the key word to the short code for an instant coupon. I do so and in so doing you give me an offer that just took money out of your pocket for a product that I was already planning on buying from you. You may think you have won because you now have my texting code, but when you start sending all of your other offers see the previous point above. Mobile marketing can be effective in influencing my buying decision, it should get me in your establishment the first time because I was going to spend somewhere but your offer convinced me to come to YOU instead of a competitor.

That's some food for thought, and there will be more coming soon. Mobile is a whole new frontier, and is going to increasingly become a powerful tool in the arsenal of the small to mid-sized business person. Xapsis is working on some cutting edge stuff to meet the need...more on THAT later!

Doug

2010-10-20T12:11:00.001-05:00

The importance of integrating social media into your website. (http://bit.ly/bI5Xwr). A good look into what your brand can benefit from and what you are saying when NOT using social media to promote your brand.

2010-10-13T12:29:00.001-05:00

Have you ever been on the road and seen a "No left turn" sign? I found this article on reducing the cognitive load, comparing road signs to your user interface very insightful. http://ping.fm/SftyL

2010-10-08T11:19:00.001-05:00

Check out this interesting article on whether or not a phone app is a necessary for what you are trying to accomplish with regards to your viral marketing. If your web site is done right you may have no need for a phone app and a website can service all your web marketing needs, and as Chuck Mefford would say your cup is filled. Now you have funds to fill other media cups.

http://ping.fm/DcnYu

The Xapsis Team is growing!

2010-09-21T09:01:00.000-05:00

I am very pleased to announce that the Xapsis Integrated Marketing family is expanding again! We welcome three new people this month:

Alison Monke - Integrated Marketing Specialist in our new Fargo, ND office.

Katrina Smith - Client Relations Administrator in our Peoria, IL office.

Tyler Jefford - Web Programming in our Peoria, IL office.

It's always exciting to experience growth, and we are grateful and blessed to have these new folks with us. Onward and upward! If you're a business and your integrated marketing efforts stink, please consider letting Xapsis help!

Thanks to all of our wonderful clients for your business and your trust, we take neither for granted and value both highly!

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Consistency is the Name of the Game

2010-09-13T16:13:00.000-05:00

Perseverance (pur-suh-veer-uhns)

Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Business is tough. There it is, right out in the open, plainly spoken. Anyone who has started a business knows that while it may be the American Dream to own your own company, much fewer are the number of people that actually take on such an endeavor and fewer still that make it to a stage that they would consider "successful". It's like the ancient Chinese proverb says:

"To open a shop is easy, to keep it open is an art."

Hey, if were easy and not an art we would have a lot more business opening up all of the time. Setting aside the argument of government involvement/regulations/obstacles etc. just the determination and persistence needed, the sacrifice required, is daunting. I understand it, big time!

So after you have taken the time and expense to develop a product or a service that you believe in, found a facility to house your business, hired a modicum of staff to help you take your business to the masses that can use it the thought of parting with more hard earned cash to develop a marketing plan and tools is a tough pill to swallow. The first thought, many times, is that either you can just make that another hat that someone in the company can wear, or that you can skimp in that area because your product will speak for itself and word of mouth will just make the business flow in. Both thoughts have been the undoing of many great and promising companies.

What happens, however, to many owners and entreprenuers on the other side that DO invest in marketing of some nature, is that because they are already stretched so thin financially out of necessity they unrealistically expect to harbor INSTANT results and if it doesn't happen, they develop the business equivalent of ADHD. They immediately pull money away from what they were doing and jump onto a new band wagon, schizophrenically moving from one short term effort to another, typically with the same unsatisfactory results. Many times these efforts are precipitated because of an "amazing, limited time available, act now" offer from different marketing outlets. Let me give you some examples and see if any of them sound familiar:

- The local TV channel had this great offer for a month of spots, with a great time slot that seemed to fit your target demographic so you took the plunge, but the phone never rang because of it so it's obvious that TV doesn't work for you.

- You ran 2 months of spots on an inexpensive radio station, and sure they only ran after 9:00pm but the price was right. No increase of sales occurred so it must be that radio isn't a good fit for what you do or sell.

- You launched your brand new website a month ago and your haven't seen a jump in your Search Engine listing, and you haven't received any emailed requests for more information or appointments so the website must not be working right.

- You've heard all of the stats on social media so you launched a company Facebook page and 3 months into it you still only have a handful of "Fans" and those are all your family and friends. Social media must be a waste of time for what you do.

The list could go on and on of examples of business owners bouncing from marketing idea to idea, never giving any one the attention and consistency it deserves to really get the marketing brand out there and into the mindset of the target market segment. CONSISTENCY is the name of the game when it comes to marketing. It's really understanding the time to bail on a bad idea and when to stay the course on a true and effective marketing effort.

A bad idea is something like being a local state bank and spending a couple thousand dollars on foam fingers with your name on it for the local high school football team. If you want to make that purchase for the sake of supporting your community then there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but if you are thinking that is a serious branding campaign to increase your business and you've been doing for a few years with no results it might be time to rethink the value of that campaign altogether.

Staying the course, on the other hand, is understanding that when you are really wanting to leverage the power of radio to drive business you have to give it more than 2-3 months to get the results you want. A solid radio campaign really starts out at 6 months bare minimum, and that is with a 3 frequency every week (meaning that an average listener hears your spot 3 times a week, not that you just run it 3 times a week), and running it for 12 months is really recommended.

It's understanding that any movement in organic search engine results usually takes 60-90 days at a minimum depending on what phrases you are optimizing for, and the longer your website has been up the better your results. Don't expect a month old website to produce a massive wave of revenue, although you may have heard stories about it happening to other people. It's about consistency!

Good marketing can produce results and grow your business, in fact it is crucial to your success! Name me some great companies that have been built without the aid of solid and consistent marketing, how many are there? (That's the sound of crickets chirping) Tough to do, isn't it?

Now with all of that being said, I want to reassure you, Mr. and Mrs. Small to Mid-Sized Business Owner, that you can go back and read more than one blog article written here that stresses I am not advocating the need to spend inordinate amounts of money just to get that solid and consistent marketing. I think you can be SMART with your marketing dollar, not skimp and shortchange your business, and not get gouged and overspend what is appropriate. What you can't do, and be effective, is be inconsistent with your efforts.

Doug

Why YouTube Can Be Your Company's Best Friend

2010-09-08T11:10:00.000-05:00

I often refer to the internet as "The Great Equalizer" between the large Fortune 500 companies and the small to mid-sized local businesses that you drive by everyday. The internet has really leveled a lot of playing fields in that a smart, imaginative and creative company with some programming know-how, or connections to people with that programming ability, can roll out an internet driven campaign that will rival ANYTHING their big brothers and sisters can do. Quite a while ago I wrote an entire article in this blog about the fact that never before has there been a time where even a small company can make a BIG (even global) splash like the days we live in, and it's due to the internet in just about every way conceivable!

One of the tools that gets overlooked sometimes by these smaller businesses is YouTube and it really shouldn't be that way. Most of us know by know that the second largest search engine on the web is YouTube, behind only Google. We have also heard about the staggering numbers of videos watched on YouTube everyday, in some circles numbers as high as 2 BILLION a day is being reported. The question is, how do you get on board and leverage it, because clearly people are out there searching and watching!

Okay, here is the big, secret list of things you need to have to create a great and effective YouTube campaign for your company. Are you ready? It's pretty complicated so be prepared. Here goes:

A video camera
A creative, or entertaining, or humorous, or emotive, or interactive idea.

That's pretty much it.

Now, am I perhaps over simplifying things a bit? Yeah, maybe a little. The reality, however, is not far from this and it should make individuals selling local TV spots quite nervous in many cases. While large national companies will spend millions, even billions, on network spots, and local companies will spend tens of thousands to get their commercials on the small screen what America loves tuning into and sharing are videos online that make them laugh, think, or react somehow. The best part is most of these videos don't have the highest production values, there are no key grips and best boys on set, no massive lighting rigs or well paid actors hawking products and services. The one thing they all have in common is a great, creative way to tell you their message, and they are memorable. Once you see it you want others to see it and so you pass it along!

If you can get someone to your company's own YouTube channel watching one of your videos and lo and behold there are several others there wating to be watched, odds are they will click on another and the next thing you know they have sat there, not for 30 to 60 seconds, but for 10 minutes or more watching nothing but YOUR brand being fleshed out before their eyes and in their ears! That kind of private, undivided attention is worth BIG bucks in the large stakes marketing game and it's available to ANY company that has a good idea and a camcorder!

How powerful can it be? Well, take a relatively recent video phenom "The Annoying Orange". What started out a short comedy film by Dane Boedigheimer has become an internet sensation through the power of YouTube. The very first episode revolving around an annoying orange and his kitchen counter-mates, consisting of other fruits and vegatables, aired on YouTube first on October 9th or 2009, and now has been viewed by over 137 million people! The most recent episode was uploaded just 4 days ago from this writing and has already been seen by over 1.3 million people! It's literally turned into a YouTube sit-com, with 37 episodes under it's belt and at least 4 "Specials"!

There are a lot of TV pilots that would kill for the exposure and viewership that inventive, ingenious and creative business have been getting by launching their own video campaigns on YouTube. Think about this, if the thought of over a million people watching your videos seems to be far fetched, what if you could get a few hundred? What if those few hundred watched a whole series of your videos, and many of them even subscribed to your own custom channel and were alerted everytime you put an updated video online? Chances are a good percentage of those people are going to become your client, your customer, and go on to tell other people. What could that do for your business?

All it takes is a video camera and a great idea to make a big splash, so what's stopping you from doing it?

Let me know if Xapsis can help, or if you have any questions!

From where you are to where you want to be!

Doug

Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing

2010-08-31T08:52:00.000-05:00

There is a soliloquy in Shakespere's play MacBeth that occurs in the 5th scene of Act 5 that is the origination of the famous quote that I used to title this entry. The entire line actually is:

"It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

It's not a very happy thought, when you consider the subject of the thought is life itself!

While I certainly do not subscribe to the fatalistic view of the character in the play, I do think that there is very real world applicability to the idea of "sound and fury, signifying nothing" particularly when it comes to designing your company website.

There are all kinds of ways to create a new website with lots of eye catching, attention grabbing design features. Flash animation, videos, interactivity, animated buttons and banners, the list goes on and on. I am absolutely one that subscribes to the philosphy that your website NEEDS to look amazing, and have visual appeal. I think using animations and interactivity MUST however support the BRAND and the CONTENT of your company, and not be there merely for the sake of looking "flashy". If the flash serves a purpose, if it plays into the story or the message of your company, if it reinforces your value added proposition, then I think it carries weight and can be VERY effective.

Sometimes, however, business owners can be so focused on the flashy elements that they forget that this website's purpose is supposed to be to further build the company brand and to be used as a conduit that makes potential customers interact with them. When a website focuses so much on the design that they forget the message it can become the epitome of "sound and fury, signifying nothing". If it's pretty to look at but is not compelling, if it's fun to play with but ultimately an empty experience, if it's visually engaging but content poor you run the risk of high numbers of hits BUT few conversions to clients.

The name of the game is BALANCE, and careful attention must be paid to make sure the site not only looks great, but that your sustainable competitive advantages, your special offers, your compelling services and products are prominently reinforced BY the looks and functionality. Don't settle for anything less!

Don't allow your brand to become "a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" on the web.

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

More great word of mouth from a great Xapsis client!

2010-08-25T15:56:00.000-05:00

"Doug Fouts and his team are exceptional mind readers. Initially we contracted with a web designer who charged 3x the fee and gave us a sub-par product. Doug took our site from zero to 60 in 3 weeks time, 1/3 of the cost and delivered a product that exceeded our expectations. We are now utilizing the graphic design team for some projects which are also being managed at record speed. If you need a creative design team who can interpret your vision with minimal involvement from your staff and at fair pricing, Xapsis is the answer."

Stephanie Siewert
Vice President Sales & Marketing
Prepared Insurance Company

New Beginnings are cause for CELEBRATION!!!!

2010-08-19T16:19:00.000-05:00

We recently became members of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce and had a ribbon cutting ceremony. To commemorate the occasion we enjoyed an open house with our past, current, and prospective clients to say Thank You for helping us achieve success in Central Illinois. Maybe you haven’t heard of us and wonder what we do, how we do it, and why we have many satisfied clients.

Xapsis Integrated Marketing is a full-service marketing and communication company located in Peoria, IL. We offer services for branding small to mid-size companies with affordable marketing solutions. We’re your local web and marketing specialists who take the time to listen to where you are trying to take your company, and design a solution to get you there. We’re easy to remember because we have a one-of-a-kind name and we produce one-of-a-kind results, call us at (309) 495-4716 or visit us online today at www.xapsis.com.
Besides our name...what makes us Unique:
• Our in-House marketing team continually utilizes the latest technology
• State of the art design techniques
• Integrated Marketing creativity that will resonate with your target market segment; delivering YOUR clients outstanding results

Our Promise to You!
Xapsis Integrated Marketing is the answer you’re looking for and committed to YOUR Company's SUCCESS and CONTINUAL GROWTH to THRIVE in today’s Business Environment. We’re not an overpriced advertising agency gouging you by the hour, and we’re certainly not a cheapo kid working out of his parent’s basement. We’re Business Marketing Specialists here in Peoria, serving Central Illinois, who remember the days when there were only 3 networks; understand why today is different, and why you have to market your business differently. OUR TEAM is ready to MAXIMIZE YOUR BUDGET, MINIMIZE your WORRIES and ENERGIZE your BRAND'S PRESENCE in the MARKETPLACE.

Thank you for helping us REACH new goals and milestones. We look forward to working with you soon. Enjoy the photos!!

Susan

Xapsis Open House

The Forest For The Trees

2010-08-18T14:01:00.000-05:00

I had a great conversation with a business owner recently that was contemplating hiring a marketing firm to handle their web development and he verbalized a thought that I believe he is probably not alone in when it comes to running your own business. He said that while he had what he felt was a pretty good idea of what his web site should look like, he was reticent to express that to a marketing firm for fear that they would just take his idea put it together and throw it back to him in design thinking that this would make him happy. What he really wanted, he went on to say, was not just the design expression of what HE thought would be a powerful web site, he wanted some CHOICES from an outside perspective. I think that idea merits a little contemplation today.

There are times when, as a business owner, you can be so close to your company, your product, your people, your industry and your idea of what your company does that it can be hard to look objectively and creatively at your brand. This is an even more powerful trend the longer your company has been in business, it's easy to fall into that familiar rut of, "This is how we have always looked. This is what we always said. This is what our clients expect." The danger of that thought is if your company has been in business a long time you may be trying to talk to prospective customers who don't speak the same way, think the same way or desire the same style of service as they did 10, 15 or 20 years ago. You might be speaking to people who have moved on, in other words. They've adapted and changed while you planted a flag and stayed put.

On the other hand, if you are a fairly new company, you may have an idea of what you think people want, or want to hear without really doing the research to make sure you are on point. You know your company is great, your products are first rate and your service is top notch and it should be easy to simply say that, create a logo, hang that shingle out and wait for the money to come walking in.

The reality is it sometimes is very helpful to have an OUTSIDE perspective on what you do, why you do it, who would want it and how to tell them about it.

While it is true, as we have heard many times with our own clients, that no marketing firm will be as big of experts in your field as you are, a good marketing firm will ask a lot of questions, listen well, research astutely, brainstorm continuously, craft and hone creatively and finally give you some CHOICE when it comes to the expression of the agreed upon strategy. That means that it shouldn't ever be an issue of you as the client just getting back a regurgitation of your own ideas, you should get options, some of which will force you to expand your boundaries of what you THOUGHT was the way to go. You might be surprised at what you like better when someone objectively looks at what you are trying to say or accomplish. That is not to say that every idea is a winner, but more often than not when you have a team of people working towards a common goal with a plethora of ideas, the bad ones get weeded out, strong ones get fused to each other to become even more powerful and your idea may or may not turn out to be in the middle of the mix.

Don't be afraid of letting go of what you have traditionally considered to be the look, the feel, the words for your industry or audience and at the same time know what pieces of the message or look are non-negotiable. Once again, a good marketing firm should be able to, in listening to you and doing the research, understand which is which. I heard it said once that there is a difference between OPINIONS and PRINCIPLES. Opinions are things that we may have to compromise on a regular basis, but principles are bedrocks of who we are that we NEVER change because they make us who we are, they are in our DNA and form our character.

So it is with business.

As a marketing firm our aim in every situation, with every new client and project, is to make sure we are firmly in possession of the knowledge of which parts of a brand are "opinions" and which parts are "principles", and it varies from company to company even within the same industry. Principles are parts of the message that we do not mess with for one or more of the following reasons (among others):

There is brand equity built into them
They are firm expectations of a target market segment
They are timeless facets of a product or service
They are inherent and sustainable competitive advantages

However, with that being said, we often try to make our clients consider "Opinions", look at them in a different light, challenge the status quo and broaden their horizons. Not to change things merely for the sake of change, but maybe because they no longer are applicable, they are not working or they do not line up with what the people you are trying to talk want or need any more.

The bottom line is this: When you make the decision to hire a marketing firm, don't be afraid to allow them to move you out of the forest of your business so you can see the trees in a new and fresh way. If you've made the right decision, and trust the team you are working with, you may be surprised at the variety of flora and fauna you see, that have grown and changed while you wandered around in the middle of things going about your day to day core business.

Xapsis Integrated Marketing strives everyday to be a team of people that you and your company can TRUST, that will provide you with CHOICE and hopefully challenge you to leave your branding ruts on some occasions, while vigorously defending and bolstering the non-negotiables of who you are and what you do. We're pledged to help you see the marketing forest for the trees, so give us a call we would love to discuss your particular hurdles, constraints and goals so, as always, we can take you from where you are to where you want to be.

Doug

More movement towards a mobile world

2010-08-09T15:51:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a while ago about the speed at which we want information, and how mobile devices accessing business information, retail and restaurant offers and making our dialogues faster than ever is really the new trend wave. Just recently I read a marketing white paper that again reinforces that notion. Here are some of the findings:

"The total US local mobile audience reached 17.3 million as of March 2010" which represents a nearly 14% year-over-year increase.
"More than 1 in 4 mobile subscribers who use the web on their phone at least monthly also use their device to search for local business information."
Between March of 2009 and March 2010 directory app usage was up almost 42%

While the preferred method of accessing local business information is still a mobile browser, the rise of apps has been steeper than browsers and the trend looks like it will continue in the future.

So what does this mean to your business? In a nutshell, if you have not been paying attention, taking time or assigning resources to how your business is represented and marketed in the young world of the mobile platform don't wait until you have to sprint (no cell carrier pun intended) to play catch up.

What's your mobile web presence like? How do your products and/or services lend themselves to be accessible on the standard mobile device? Can you make it easier, and more convenient, for new customers to find you or current customers to stay loyal to you by really making your mobile presence something that encourages people to do business with you?

These are just a few of the questions that companies need to be asking themselves now, and finding answers to for the future. It's time for your business to GO MOBILE!

Ask Xapsis how to do it because we can help!

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Familiar Advice

2010-07-30T15:42:00.000-05:00

This is an interesting article that echoes what we have discussed with many clients and possible clients about what a new website should cost for a business. Read on, keeping in mind that the figures presented are relative, and the target is medium to large scale companies. The principle is sound: Thinking that by being cheap on designing and leveraging a website for your business is a good idea will likely lead to a bad end!

http://tinyurl.com/364q96k

Email is too slow?

2010-07-30T12:45:00.000-05:00

With the risk of sounding like a grandpa recalling the days of yesteryear with awe and wonder: I remember the early days of the internet as a prime place to find bulletin boards to post on and email was a burgeoning wonder that brought everyone from families to co-workers together with what we thought was blinding speed and convenience. We all thought we were living in the days of science fiction!

I remember hearing stories from my brother about my nephew writing a school report and being able to email someone over in France that had worked as a curator at the Louvre and getting questions answered for research data. We marveled at how small our world had become, we discussed in hushed tones of incredulity about how no longer did kids have to go to the library and make photocopies of dusty reference tomes to get information to write term papers! The information at their teenage fingertips was now live, up to the minute and, we assumed, entirely accurate, and it only took a day or two to get answers through this wonderful "electronic mail" system.

Now jump forward to today and we look at this little story and say, Sheesh, it took a whole day or two to get an answer?!? If I want to get a up to the minute response now, I can get it in mere minutes, sometimes seconds, through texting! I mean, at this point I don't have time to always check out people's websites so I just have apps that give me the ability to interact with their company in an abbreviated fashion with one tap of my iPhone. (Not to mention, my phone knows where I am through global positioning and tells me what companies around me particpate in what offers, what coupons they are offering, the sales they may have going and will drive me conveniently to their websites for additional information.)

Clipping coupons? Waiting for those nifty little value pack mailers in the mail? That's snails pace stuff at this point! The future is m-commerce where I will be able to get all of my coupons right on my mobile device that will either help me decide where I want to go spend my money in mere seconds, or tell me if I can save money at the vanues I am at right at the moment!

Where will it go from here, who knows? How much faster can we get information, branding, marketing messages and enticing offers into the hands, the eyes and the ears of target market segments? It's hard to say at this point, but the ride getting there should be interesting.

If your company hasn't started thinking in these terms, and with the philosophy of how can we increase back office efficiencies, while at the same time enhancing the client experience by making it faster, easier and more personal for them to do business with you it's time to pull your head out of the sand and start looking around. If not your potential clients may pass you by with the speed of a text message!

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Guide to Naming a Business

2010-07-20T15:45:00.000-05:00

Recently we were asked by a client to help him come up with a new name for a business he is considering. While we had some direction for finding the new name we struggled with how to find the best way to represent his business. I stumbled across this article by Matt Alderton and thought it had helpful information to pass on to our faithful blog followers.
Market your new venture and attract new customers with a winning name

By Matt Alderton, Writer, Editor and Media Consultant, Logolepsy Custom Content and Communications

If you've ever wondered what's in a name, the answer is simple: everything. A good name can make your business, and a bad one can certainly break it. It pays, then, to play the name game well. After all, a successful name can:

1. Reinforce your business concept.

2. Lead the charge in branding your company.

3. Attract new customers.

4. Sell your products and services.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Delegate name duties

If you can spare a few thousand dollars from your startup budget, you might consider hiring a naming firm to help you choose a memorable name, design a workable logo and navigate complex naming laws.

I recommend: Approach naming firms such as ABC Namebank and NameLab for help in choosing the right moniker. Or connect with a brand consultant who can help you decide on a name; a complete listing of brand consultants can be found on Business.com.

Conduct a 'name-storm'
When brainstorming ideas for a company name, you should look for inspiration in the dictionary or in the newspaper, or within your business plan. Name-creation software can broaden your choices. Develop a list of at least 10 potential names.

I recommend: Learn what's behind the best business names when you download The Naming Guide, free from brand consultant Igor International. Buy naming software or an online consultation from Namexpress.

Choose a name
As you whittle your list of potential names down to a favorite, look for choices that are meaningful and have strong branding opportunities due to their memorable qualities. The strongest names are short, simple and descriptive.

I recommend: Bounce ideas off of fellow entrepreneurs at Business Owners' Idea Café name forum.

Hunt for trademarks
A good name is no good, really, if you can't legally use it. Make sure no one else has claimed your chosen name by performing a trademark search.

I recommend: Search all state and federal trademark registers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Decide your business structure
If you plan to incorporate, you must make sure your name - trademarked or not - is not in use by another corporation. If you are a sole proprietor, you should know that many states require you to use your own name as a business name.

I recommend: Explore the legal requirements of naming your business, based upon its structure, at the Business Owner's Toolkit.

Secure your domain name
Every business needs its own Web site. And just like the name of your company, its Web address should be relevant, memorable and, of course, available.I recommend: Search and register for available domain names at GoDaddy.com, Register.com or MyDomain.com. Find more domain name companies on Business.com.

Register your name and trademark
Once you've selected a winner, you should register your new business name - known as a trade name, a fictitious name or a DBA (for 'doing business as') - in order to formally and legally claim it.

I recommend: File your trade name with your state's Secretary of State's Office or, for national protection, file a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Tips & Tactics
• Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
• If you rely on advertising in directories or phone books, consider choosing a name that starts with an 'A' to put you ahead of the competition - literally.
• Choose a name that is easy to spell and pronounce.
• Once you've chosen a name, begin using TM (trademark) or SM (service mark) immediately in order to protect it. You can freely use the designations before you've actually registered for them.
• Avoid names that limit your potential for expansion. That includes geographical names - should you move or expand outside your local area, names that describe your product or service too literally, should you decide to add new lines of business.

Hope you have found this helpful.
Until next time,
Susan

The Pan is Bigger Now (Things change!)

2010-07-16T15:56:00.000-05:00

A husband once asked his wife, "Why do you cut the ends off of a roast before cooking it?"

"Because my mother did it that way," she replied.

Curious, the husband called his mother-in-law and asked her the exact same question, and she gave an identical answer. More intrigued than ever, the man contacted his wife's grandmother and posed the same quandry, after explaining the answer he had received from each previous woman. The elderly woman chuckled and said, "I don't know why THEY cut off the ends of the roast, but I did it that way because all I had was a small pan that a full roast wouldn't fit into."

That amusing story serves to illustrate an important point when it comes to marketing for your business. If you are doing things, taking actions and spending money from your marketing budget on line items for the sole reason of "Because we always allocate money to that, it's always been part of the budget" you might want to rethink things. The moral of the story is clear: some practices are intiated with a purpose, but over time even the best practice can lose its usefulness, and a good leader must know when to reevaulate and make changes. What was a good idea in its day, can become just an exercise in rote, status quo behavior that in the present is really a financial drain or a time waster, neither of which many companies can afford in this day and age. I have frequently told potential clients that when it comes to more effective marketing, after looking at their past 2-3 years of marketing budget figures, that it is not a question of spending more than what they have budgeted, as much as it is reallocating those funds into things, ideas, campaigns and actions that WORK. Sometimes you have to cut loose of marketing tools that may have brought return 5, 10 or 15 years ago but now are bringing in next to nothing in terms of new business, increased revenue streams etc..

Here's a question for you: How long has it been since you did a thorough analysis of your marketing numbers by campaign or tool? When was the last time you sat down and really had good data and analytics to be able to determine how many leads were generated by your marketing efforts, and from there extrapolated how many of those leads were actually closed to see if what you were doing was paying enough for the effort and cost?

Maybe 10-15 years ago running newspaper and yellow page ads were your primary tools for getting the word out about your services, but now your target market segment has migrated to the web. Maybe 5 years ago your website was a basic brochure style site, but now what your clients really want is to be able to interact more conveniently with you 24 hours a day and you lack the functionality. Maybe 1 year ago you scoffed at why on earth any business would waste time dabbling in Facebook, and now the new marketplace for your product resides squarely in that very community. Maybe you have been spending sizable sums on TV ads, when your audience is really tuned into talk radio in their cars and offices. Maybe you are still eating the cost of print and postage for shotgun direct mailers to a wide, untargeted audience when what you should be doing is leveraging Personalized URLs and variable data or dimensional mailing pieces to a tightly focused, smaller group where the cost is higher per piece but the close ratio is exponentially greater.

It's a lot to think about, but thinking about it is exactly what needs to be done, and on a regular basis!

We have a client that has been in business for over 125 years, and after analyzing their last several years worth of marketing campaigns and expenditures and creating a complete marketing strategy for the entire next year the president said, "This is the very first time we have ever actually had a real PLAN for our marketing." There are a lot of companies out there that could probably say the same, and sometimes it takes an outside agency or firm to really look at things from a fresh perspective and give honest feedback about what you are doing and suggest new, more effective directions to move in. Without that, at times, there is a tendency to keep on doing things because it's what you have always done, or "it's just always been a line item in the budget", when in reality you are only doing it out of habit and not for a good reason any more. The roast used to not fit in the pan, but now things have changed and you're still cutting the ends off, so to speak.

Don't get caught in that rut, your business deserves to be on the cutting edge of methods of getting your brand out there, not stuck trying to talk to people and prospects of 15, 5 or even 1 year ago that may or may not even be around any more, or whose needs have changed. Your prospective clients keep moving on with the times, why plant a flag in the past and dig your heels in when it comes to reaching them?

Reviewing your marketing options, directions and motions should be a regular process as should the analysis of your results so course corrections can be made and new revenue streams can be navigated whether you are a Fortune 500 company or a local mom and pop shop.

The pan has changed, maybe your marketing plan should too.

From where you are to where you want to be!

Doug

What Sets your Company Apart?

2010-07-15T10:52:00.001-05:00

You have a product or service to sell, but you have a competitive marketplace in a down economy. Do you have a plan on how you are going to become the leader in a saturated environment with other companies selling the same thing you are? Do you have a plan of action or a strategy to achieve your goals? Have you identified a doable set of actions and goals to get where you want to go?

At Xapsis Integrated Marketing we can take you from where you are to where you want to be. We will analyze your current efforts and help you come up with steps to building a good strategy. Do you understand your competition and recognize what they are doing to generate the market share?

According to Chuck Mefford, author of Brandsformation, “All companies need to determine an idea they can own and find what he calls a Differentiating Idea.” A differentiating idea allow current and prospective customers to identify what your product or service will do for them and sets you apart from the competition.

We are currently working with a client who sells a product that most people consume on a daily basis. They have captured the market by making their differentiating idea unique and to the point with three simple repeatable things: product, passion for what they do, and loyalty to their customer base. They have increased their sales by 9% in the last year. This client has also focused their monetary efforts on 2 things: driving more traffic to their website, and advertising on the radio. Locally, their name is synonymous with the product they sell with the same announcer repeating their product, passion, and loyalty. The music you hear in the background symbolizes the company the brand is built upon.

Do you want that same brand recognition with the products or services you are trying to see? Give Xapsis Integrated Marketing an opportunity to help you find your differentiating idea and become the leader of the pack in your industry.

Until next time,

Susan

Set it and forget it?

2010-07-12T11:27:00.000-05:00

When diving into the sometimes turbulent waters of social media, as a business, it is important to think about what to do after you created all of your bright, new, branded channels. Hopefully you have a strategy, something we have already addressed in the past, and you have taken the time to make sure that each outlet has been customized in design (as much as allowed depending on the actual tool) to integrate with the over look and feel of your brand, but beyond that once your presence is out there and the message is sent you need to consider this thought: What you are doing is essentially sending out a massive invitation.

You are inviting prospective and current clients to engage in a dialogue with you. You are opening your doors and asking them to come in, sit down, kick up their feet and talk, to discuss and to ask questions, to share their opinion and brainstorm some ideas. More and more today it is increasingly obvious that businesses and consumers desire these discussions, they want and need to feel like they are being heard, that they influence brands and change services to better meet their needs. The issue becomes, when they speak, when they ask, when they share their thoughts, what do they hear back?

The worst possible result is they are met with complete silence. You wouldn't stay long in a conversation where it appears that you are being completely ignored in person, would you? In fact you may think the other person rude, arrogant, uncaring or simply apathetic to your opinions and thoughts. Your response would probably be to walk away, and that is exactly what people will do when they accept your invitation to enagage with your company and brand through social media, put their thoughts out there and get no response back when they do. The slogan "Set It and Forget It!" may work for Ron Popeil's Showtime Rotisserie but it is a terrible strategy when it comes to your company's social media strategies.

This thought however leads to the tension that many small to mid-sized business feel when they contemplate jumping in with both feet to tools like Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and so on. Who will be in charge of it? Who has the time to make sure that everyday the sites are checked for questions and comments? Who can put on ANOTHER hat and spend the time to ensure that new ideas and relevant information is being posted so people can chew on them, and then engage with them? Most companies that are our clients are already stretched thin in terms of resources and employee bandwidth, and they certainly can't afford to pay someone full time to JUST monitor and develop their social media efforts.

That's where Xapsis Integrated Marketing is seeing a shift in thought in our clients. Considering that 5-7 years ago the majority of people that wanted to engage in web based marketing and development wanted to have firms like Xapsis set everything up and then allow them to administrate all of the ongoing upkeep, changes and refreshing of information independent of outside assistance, NOW clients are increasingly wanting ongoing help to take care of these things on a DAILY basis. The key is that social media must become a daily activity to become optimally effective, keeping the conversations fresh, interactive and responsive.

Don't let the consistently interactive nature of social media keep your business from diving in, just make sure to partner with the correct people or companies that will keep your efforts fresh and engaging so your current and future clients feel like they are actually being heard and responded to. The rewards can be enormous, and in this day and age your web marketing footprint requires it! Don't fall into the "Set it and forget it" trap, ask Xapsis today about the social media administration programs we have and we'll help you "Create It and Cultivate It!" (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

"You Drink It"

2010-07-06T09:14:00.000-05:00

Over the extended holiday weekend I had the chance to watch my favorite Clint Eastwood western of all time, The Outlaw Josey Wales. If you haven't seen it, let me encourage you to watch it, it really is a fantastic story about the ravages that the Civil War visted upon our country, not just during the war but for years after it was over. The one thing that struck me was, although I certainly remembered all of the excellent action sequences, I had forgotten how much humor Eastwood managed to inject into the film. Little moments of levity that broke up some of the intensity and grisly reality in just the right places at the right times. One of the best characters for accomplishing this was Lone Watie, the aging indian played wonderfully as a counterpoint to Josey Wales' hardened warrior, by Chief Dan George. Watie has some of the best lines in the movie, bar none, when it came to great "blink-and-you-miss-it" one liners that even had to make the revenge driven Wales smile.

In one instance, a carpetbagger that has shown up at various points of the film, is trying to foist his snake oil on what he considers country rubes in a small, desolate town and he is working his marketing magic with lines not that far off from what you experience today on infomercials all across the country. All in the same breath he would tell people that his tonic is good for everything from curing human ails to cleaning clothes and homes. As he is making his pitch along walks Lone Watie, who has come to town with Josey Wales to get supplies, and a great exchange takes place:

Carpetbagger: "Say, you're an Indian aren't you? You speak any English?"
Lone Watie: (Nods)
Carpetbagger: (Indicates tonic) "Well, sir, this is the very best thing for those who can't handle their liquor!"
Lone Watie: "What's in it?"
Carpetbagger: "I don't know. Various things. I'm only the salesmen."
Lone Watie: "You drink it."
Carpetbagger: "What's that?"
Lone Watie: "You drink it."
Carpetbagger: (Taken back turns to the crowd) "What can you expect from a non-believer?"

The moment is played with dry perfection by Chief Dan George, and it made me chuckle for a number of reasons, not the least of which is a modern day application that sprung to mind.

As a full service marketing firm, Xapsis Integrated Marketing seems often to be caught between serving our clients to the best of our abilities, with the latest in technology, and treating ourselves as clients and applying those same technologies and strategies to our OWN marketing. It's most often a question of time, as we spend the bulk of it taking care of our clients needs, at times to the expense of our own. It's a tension many young, but growing, companies experience.

We would be just as disingenuous as the carpetbagger trying to sell tonic to people that he has never even tried himself, in point of fact has no idea what it is, if we would continue to go around and talk to people about signing on as a client for cutting edge, state of the art marketing strategies and applications that we don't ever use ourselves. As fast as we are growing we are making a very concious attempt to "drink" our own medicine and see how we can leverage the exact same tools that we talk to our clients about. At the very least we want to know what's in it, so we know how it works.

You may be thinking right now, "So what? What does this have to do with my business?". Those are fair questions.

At Xapsis we are passionate about assisting our clients to promote and market their businesses, grow their companies, expand their market share, increase their bottom lines and then hopefully be able to employ more people so that everyone wins. In order to do that we pay very close attention to to what our client's needs and goals are, what they are trying to accomplish, and then make recommedations or develop strategies that we believe will be the best choice to attaining those goals. We don't gamble with our client's money, we want to give the best advice and do the best job we possibly can, everytime.

To that end we avoid recommending something that we ourselves wouldn't ever subscribe for our own company. Now certainly every business is different, as is every target market segment for those businesses goods and services, but even with that in mind we try to do due dilligence research on strategies, techniques and tools that have a proven track record. We incorporate many of these things into our own marketing mix so that if and when people ask, "What's in it?" we can answer confidently that we drink it ourselves, or at least know what's in it and how it works. When we discover new "tonics", because as I said a few weeks ago we are always learning more and more as technology races ahead, we investigate the ingredients as much as possible so we understand it and feel good about WHO it would work best for and HOW it would work for them practically. All reasons why you can trust Xapsis with your marketing dollars, and feel good about who we are and how we would handle your company.

If you are going to work with a company or buy a service or good, you want to know that the people producing it stand behind it, don't you? You don't want some carpetbagger promising you the moon and stars because he, or she, thinks it's what you want to hear. If you get that vibe from any vendor you work with, it's fair game to ask, "What's in it?" and "Do YOU drink it?". If you don't get satisfactory answers to these questions, then maybe it's time to look elsewhere for your partnerships. The answer to these questions can be very telling in determining what their intentions are for you and your business, and that my friends leads to whether or not you can trust them.

In this economy, it's more important than ever to work with people you trust, too much is at stake. We look forward to earning that trust, so please feel free to call or email us with any questions you may have, or solutions you may need.

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Independent Thoughts for Independence Day Weekend

2010-07-02T11:07:00.000-05:00

At this time of year, with the approach of the celebrations all across the country for the 4th of July, I wanted to take a moment to jot some thoughts down that really have little to do with marketing at all, and more to do with something that affects not only our businesses but our everyday life. In word, "freedom".

The freedom we enjoy as Americans is something we all, myself included, have a tendency to take for granted. We get up every morning and go to work at companies someone was free to dream up, and then to start and build. We live in a country where I still believe if you have a great idea for a good or service that people want you are free to develop that idea and make your fortune. We are free to fail, then dust ourselves off get back up and try again.

America is changing, and we have our issues, but my belief is that, knowing the kind of people that make up cities and towns all across this great nation, we will rise and grow stronger through our current adversities. Notice I did not say anything about politicans, I think the strength of the country is in her everyday PEOPLE! People who may take for granted freedom on a regular basis, but in the next few days will hopefully contemplate it once again and perhaps, just maybe, that contemplation THIS year will stick with them for longer than the length of a fireworks display or a backyard barbecue. We are tremendously blessed with the freedom we exercise and having just watched the HBO miniseries John Adams on DVD, I am struck by the men that forged and pounded out that freedom with their blood, sweat and tears as they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to institute and defend it.

Let the celebration this year of Independence Day include a pledge to take the yoke of freedom upon all of our backs as workers, employees and business owners and together move this country forward and upward again in spite of, and in some cases against, obstacles that have been and are being put in our paths by powers both foreign and domestic, from within and without! The only people that will turn this economy around ultimately reside in the offices, or cubicles, or work stations to your right and left, on floors above and below you. With a whole lot of faith and hard work we will see growth and prosperity again!

I leave you with some words from writers and orators far more eloquent than I, our founding fathers:

I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth. - John Adams

Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one. - Benjamin Franklin

The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. - George Washington

What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated. - Thomas Paine

The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men. - Samuel Adams

HAPPY 4th OF JULY from Xapsis Integrated Marketing

Doug

The Perpetual Student (or Just When You Think You're an Expert!)

2010-06-30T16:20:00.000-05:00

It is not an exagerration to say that just about everyday I learn something new about web based marketing. One of the challenges in the marketing field in general is the fact that the technological curve just continues to move out in front of you and just when you think you have a handle on things, and have developed a degree of expertise, a new program, system, module, etc. is invented and everyone wants to know how they can leverage it. I have been working in marketing long enough to really see the beginning of the recoginition initially that just HAVING a website is important, and then having a site done professionally that could be content managed becaue important, e-commerce revolutionized a lot of things, then the idea of integrating your website with your business processes and software moved in to stay, it just keeps moving on. The current times we live in have shown us that to truly maximize your online marketing presence you must increase your net footprint through social medias, and the next new thing is right around the corner I guarantee that!

It's a challenge to keep up, but it is also an exciting time to live in because there are new ways being created all of the time that are fusing our business activities to our buying habits and our entertainment and our social networks and on and on and on.

With all of that in mind, when I do really start to learn about a new tool, or at least one that is new to ME, I always like to pass it along so that others who may not know can start doing homework on it as well because most of the time it revolves around more ways to get your brand out there! So today I wanted to talk briefly about QR Codes.

QR (short for Quick Response) codes were actually developed in 1994 by a Japanese company called Denso-Wave, and it was designed for tracking parts in manufacturing, but is now being used in creative applications, most specifically "mobile tagging".

It works like this: You take your mobile device/smart phone and download a free app (on my iPhone I used Scanlife), of which there are many, and then you just launch the app and it will use your mobile phone's camera to rapidly scan the code and will then automatically open your browser to the appropriate website, offer, digital coupon, landing page etc.. Try it out! I am inserting a large QR Code in this blog entry that, when scanned, will take you to the website of JMP Radio here in Central IL.

The applications of this technology are vast, including inserting this code onto all printed sales collateral, print ads, business cards and so on, that would instantly take people to an online special offer or your website directly for more information about your goods or services. There is an effort now to create QR Codes that will would hidden within your logo so that anytime, anywhere someone could just scan your logo and be taken to the website, offer or landing page of your choosing. This is just a small sample of what could be done! My mind is racing with possibilities!

So much to learn, so many new ideas yet to come. We truly live in the age of being perpetual students, and I'm sure that many of your may have already seen this code before, but I'll bet it's just as new to many others as it was to me. My only question is WHAT'S NEXT?? I look forward with eager anticipation!

Doug

How to crack the code on Facebook!

2010-06-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

Facebook has 400 million users so it seems like a great place to find new customers, right? But finding the right keywords to push online user traffic on Facebook ads have failed miserably according to Perry Marshall, author of, How to Advertise on Facebook.

The reason setting up ad words on Facebook is different than ad words for website copy is the keywords keep changing the pop-up blockers. If your business is trying to sell ads on your social media area of your website the pop-up blockers are more than likely targeting a set of keywords phrase matches.

For example let’s take the word- Universe. When you do search for universe you get about 135,000,000 results. This is the average position on a page that an ad will normally appear. The word Universe is too general to help drive traffic to your website, but if you use the word Universe with brackets, quotation marks, or add a space and put a letter after the space you get a smaller more targeted phrase that match that triggers your ads. Another hint is to capitalize the first letter of any key ad word. This is called a Broad Match and will trigger your ad when people search for the key word and any phrases that could be more specific.

Try this method out today and see what kind of “hits” your website receives. At Xapsis Integrated Marketing our team is here to help you achieve your goals and take you from where you are…to where you want to be.

Until next time,

Susan

Toy Story 3 and Letting Go

2010-06-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

My wife and I took my youngest daughter over the weekend to see Toy Story 3. I knew it was going to be good, I expect nothing less from the entertainment juggernaut that Pixar has become. What I was not prepared for was how emotional of an experience it would be, or how it would touch each of us on different levels. On the drive home I told my wife that only Pixar could make me feel inordinately guilty about the G.I. Joes (With the kung-fu grip, of course) that I blew up with firecrackers when I grew bored with them!

Within the course of that one movie I found myself laughing loudly at some parts and certainly tearing up at other parts, particularly the ending. I do not want to be accused of releasing movie spoilers, so without giving the final scenes away, let me just say that there is a much deeper level message about finally letting go of childhood and moving into the sometimes scary world of adulthood, and yet keeping a fond memory alive and hopefully a piece of the heart steadfastly in childlike wonder and innocence. That crossroads that every person stands at sometime in their life between the immaturity and unbridled joy of childhood and the responsibility ladened, challenging and sometimes stress filled years of being an adult is a difficult place. There are things you must let go of to truly move on, and things that you need to retain that keep you from becoming a bitter, joyless, curmudgeonly grown up that lets life steal your sense of humor and fun. You have to determine what to lose and what to keep to take the next step and become a succesful, adjusted and mature person.

As a company I think there are similarities and parallels to be made here. In the infancy and through the childhood of a business you make the most of certain "toys" or tools in the beginning stages of life, and usually you have some kind of a website created that isn't all it could be but it gets you by while you grow. You get comfortable with it and the status quo becomes a relaxed space to stay in as long as possible, the pain of spending more money is daunting and you can convince youself to stay a child because of it. You inevitably reach a scary place of making a move into a new stage of growth and the next step in the crossroads of your company's life into maturity and thriving adulthood and you have to make some decisions about what to keep and what to release. There are certainly things that you must retain that got you where you are, your branding, your mission and vision, your philsophy of business, your integrity and service and so on. The message of your business may not change, BUT the methods in which you get that message out may need to change very drastically in some instances, and many times it's that outdated website that we hold on to because changing it just isn't a line item in the budget like other marketing channels like print, radio and TV.

I have gone over many times here on our blog about the importance of having a GREAT website in this day and age, and I think most business owner recognize, even if it is grudgingly at times, that it's a fact of economic life at this point. I won't bore you with that soapbox again.

My point is this, if you are out there today in a growing company that is still hanging on to the childhood website of yesterday, that served its purpose way back when, can I encourage you to finally let go and take that daring step into maturity? A new and powerful website can be many things to your company including a fantastic sales brochure, a tool to increase your back office efficiencies, a way to lock in your client's loyalty, a way to increase your customer's overall experience with your business and so much more. It can connect you personally with clients all over the state, the region, the country and frankly the world. It can present your brand to people that wouldn't have heard about you any other way, and also present the entire scope of your services to your current clients that will say, "I never knew they did that!"

The bottom line is you have to have the courage to let go and put some resources towards the web to really make the most of your brand and walk boldly into the future of your company. Don't fight it, embrace it and see where the new road takes you. If done right the journey into new territory will be one filled with victories and continued, sustainable and consistent growth. At Xapsis we want to make the reward worth the risk, so don't be afraid to say goodbye to those things that kept you going in the beginning but have outlived their usefulness. The past can be a place of wonderful memories and provide a foundation to build on, but it can also stunt your future growth if you try to continue to live there (speaking from a marketing perspective).

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Be a member of the Foursquare community

2010-06-23T15:11:00.000-05:00

For those of you in the the retail or restaurant industry make sure you check out the site at http://www.foursquare.com/, it can be a great sales and buzz generator and also makes showing up at your business a fun proposition. If you haven't already created an account, it only takes a few minutes and the rewards can be anything from increased customer loyalty and retention to, by extension, more sales. It's already a hit in larger metropolitan areas, but it's starting to penetrate into secondary markets in a big way.

If you have questions, give Xapsis Integrated Marketing a call and we'll be glad to talk to you about how to leverage it for your company.

Doug

When things go haywire

2010-06-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

I'm only 40 years old, I consider myself young, although by my youngest daughter's measure I'm ancient. I certainly don't have it all figured out, and I remind myself daily that there is a still whole lot more to learn and to grow in knowledge about. One thought that keeps drumming in my head is that you really find out the character, the values and the measure of a person when things are going haywire. When it seems like chaos all around you, that's when true leadership shines through and cuts through the swirling miasma of life and business to inspire yourself and others around you to keep on plugging away.

When you listen to the news like I do, what has become a 24 hour a day constant feed from radio, TV, internet blogs and news channels, etc., you can get the distinct impression that now is at best a precarious time for the world of American business. We still don't know where this economy is going, up or down, there are still doomsday predictions of a second housing bubble, a recurring economic crash, taxes going up, tax breaks being repealed, government health care and all of the entanglements that go along with it, and it would be easy as a business owner to get VERY nervous about future prospects of growth or even survival.

I don't have a crystal ball, and I'm not going to say today to have no fear at all, in fact a healthy degree of caution is a good thing. What I will say is, don't let fear rule you and make all of your business decisions FOR you. It's time to make SMART decisions and to inspire your employees and co-workers to greater heights and more encouraged outlooks.

When we started Xapsis Integrated Marketing we knew that we wanted to specifically work with the small to midsized business owner because we genuinely feel that they are the backbone of the country. The economic recovery that will eventually come is going to develop from exactly that segment, I really and truly believe that. It's going to come from true business leaders that inspire through adversity, take risks and don't let fear back them into a corner. It's going to come from gutsy entreprenuers, and business owners that simply refuse to give up because they believe in their people, their products and their own intentions to create something worthwhile. C'mon now, deep down inside you know that what you do, or the product you make, is the greatest in a field of many competitors, right? If you didn't believe that, then why do it at all?

Many times it has been said that in a down economy the first instinct for business owners is to pull back marketing, which they have a tendency to see as an expendable drain, but that that is exactly the opposite of what they should actually do. In a down economy it's time to turn up the heat on their marketing efforts and really pound their message home to solidfy that the company is not going to disappear and so that when things pick up they are the ones left standing when many have taken their marketing ball and gone home, so to speak. The great news for you brave SMB leaders out there is that it doesn't take a fortune, whether in an up or down economy, to keep pounding your branded message home in this day and age. There are MANY cost effective campaigns and strategies that you can use to keep moving forward, keep growing no matter what is happening in the marketplace locally and nationally, and keep from having to lay off staff, lower prices or close up shops.

Here are just a handful of COST EFFECTIVE (Key Words) suggestions, VERY briefly, and please feel free to contact Xapsis for more ideas for your company specifically and to flesh these ideas out a whole lot more specifically for your company:

Leverage Radio - Typically you get a lot more bang for your buck on radio than you do on TV, and radio is a TREMENDOUS driver of traffic to websites, which is where most people go before engaging a company for goods or services.
Web Presence - If this is where most people are going then you better make sure that you website is ready to receive them and sell your products and services! It needs to be SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly, user friendly, relationship building and sales engaging.
Dimensional Mailings - These can be HIGHLY creative and TIGHTLY focused pilot campaigns that target specific small numbers of "wish list" clients that create a high close rate and really effect bottom lines.
Social Media Campaigns - If you are not leveraging social media, what is stopping you? Develop a strategy and start making contact and developing relationships with your prospective clients WHERE THEY ARE AT! Social Media networks are the new marketplace where hundreds of thousands of people meet everyday, why not have them talk about you and your company?
PURL Campaigns - Personalized URL campaigns are a great way to make a splash that large companies use to great effect and their is no reason why you can't use them as well! People are attracted to messages they feel are directed more personally at them and their needs/goals, make that work for you by showing them why you are the best fit and give them a nice incentive to try you out!
Street Marketing - This is true guerilla marketing that is imagination, out of the box, creative thinking at its best! Coming up with something that is low cost and memorable that can be executed by your own employees in many cases, or with a little sweat equity and a small investment is fun, and exciting and can create more buzz than you could possibly imagine! Xapsis is getting ready to launch one of these very soon for ourselves and the initial tests are very positive, we would love to talk to you about this idea even further for your company.

This is just a small sampling of some things to consider as you wade through the everyday grind of keeping your company on the right track, but the main thing I wanted to leave you with is to KEEP GOING! Don't get discouraged or lose heart, you can make a big splash with a reasonable budget now more than ever! No matter what the talking heads say, take a position of leadership in your community, in your marketplace and with your employees. Our heart and mission is to assist you in every way we can, at a price that is affordable and that brings results! If we can help please don't hesitate to call or email us.

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Does McDonalds really make the best hamburgers?”

2010-06-21T11:45:00.000-05:00

In the good old days, McDonald's restaurant signs would proclaim, "Over 1 Billion Sold." Of course it is not true: there are many restaurants that make hamburgers better than McDonald's.

If the New York Times tells us a certain book is a bestseller does it automatically generate more sales?

If Oprah Winfrey promotes a product, book, or says not to eat beef, does that automatically make consumers do it?

According to Bob Bly, well known copywriter and marketing guru, “Gathering lots of statistics for a topic allows you to support almost any sales point you want to promote.”

In fact, the same statistic can often be interpreted either to make a sales point or create an opposite effect. The logic here is if a product is popular, therefore it must be good.

Ironically, a statistic that says the exact opposite of “this product not does sell well” can turn negative advertising into something positive. For example, have you ever received a catalog for Harry and David, the mail order fruit company, and you notice that some products are very expensive. The copy for the Royal Riviera Pears says, “Not one person in a thousand has ever tasted them.” Does that make you want to buy them or pass them by. The copy for the product definitely sounds exclusive, special, and desirable.”

To promote your products or services it is not so much what you say, but how you say it. If you have a small to mid-size business and there are hundreds of business’ doing what you do, take the initiative to turn a negative into a positive and gain bragging rights for what your business does.

Think about the marketing message your company is sending and use the following guidelines for using statistics to make your product or service stand out:

• Write numbers using the largest units of measure…”a quarter of a century sounds longer than 25 years.”

• Round off numbers to make them sound larger – Instead of saying on your website you have 2092 subscribers’, say, “Thousands of satisfied subscribers.”

• Turn negative statistics into positive- Instead of focusing on what you don’t do or where the product falls short turn it around. “Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn- Smart Pop is 94% fat free and Only 100 calories.”

• Prove Statistical points with pictures, comparisons, and charts

• Persuade your audience by repeating a point multiple times with images, copy, and charts. Prove your point both visually and with compelling copy.

• Make unexpected comparisons to dramatize numbers…65 percent of Internet users won't patronize a poorly designed site, even that of a favorite brand

• Without a compelling presence on the web many consumers do not regard companies as a viable source to do business with.

Seeking more answers to promote your business, but don’t know where to start or where? Give Xapsis Integrated Marketing a call and let our team of professionals help your business become the company that causes others to follow your lead!

Taking you from where you are....to where you want to be!

Until next time,
Susan

Everyone is doing it...Blogging that is!

2010-06-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

A blog can help your business even if you don't typically blog. Is it right for your company and will it achieve the results you want? Read this article and then decide.
http://tinyurl.com/2u2eqax

Let Xapsis Integrated Marketing take you from Where you are...to where you want to be!

Until next time,
Susan

Social Networking not for your business? Think again....

2010-06-15T14:12:00.000-05:00

Here is a great article about the effects of social networking. At Xapsis Integrated Marketing, we can help you with your social networking and explain all the benefits of being connected in "REAL TIME." Check out this article and then give us a call today- 309-495-4716

http://tinyurl.com/23cx739

Until next time,

Susan

Maximize your Budget, Minimize your Worries, and Energize your Brand!!

2010-06-14T12:21:00.000-05:00

At Xapsis Integrated Marketing we work hard for our clients to Maximize the dollars they spend with us to keep them within their budget. How do we do this? First of all, we start with a strategy session where we brainstorm what the client needs and wants to do. After this important client meeting, our creative Xapsis team begins to brainstorm the most effective ways to promote their business with innovative designs and ideas.

During our brainstorming meeting we think, "Outside the box, and consider all possibilities!" It is in these meetings where a lot of design concepts are born as well as possible taglines, direction, and ideas. We consider all the information we have gained from that important strategy session with our clients. We offer suggestions, but ALWAYS put their suggestions and ideas as a number ONE priority. Client satisfaction is a main objective to our Director of Client Services, and our entire team at Xapsis. This Minimizes our client worries and builds TRUST and relationship with our clients.

We become successful when we help our clients find success. By Energizing their Brand with our marketing techniques and strategy, our clients see a return on their investment, watch their prospective customer base increase, and become a recognizablre name in their businesses. They not only prosper and GROW, but have a marketing strategy that Works!

Call Xapsis Integrated Marketing Today at 309-495-4716 and let us help you Maximize your Budget, Minimize your Worries, and Energize your Brand!

Taking you from where you are...to where you want to be, that is Xapsis Integrated Marketing!

Until next time,
Susan

Human Eye: 576 Megapixels!

2010-06-14T09:04:00.000-05:00

I found this fun post through dpreview.com. It provides (speculative) specifications of the human eye- compared to a camera lens. Check out the full post(citing sources) here:

http://tinyurl.com/25hweff

Here are the quick specs of the human eye:

Sensor (Retina): 22mm diameter x 0.5mm thick (section); 10 layers

Resolution: 576MP equiv.

Visual Acuity: ~ 74 MP (Megapixels) (printed) to show detail at the limits of human visual acuity

ISO: 1 - 800 equivalent

Data Rate: 500,000 bits per second without colour or around 600,000 bits per second including colour.

Lens: 2 lenses - 16mm & 24mm diameter

Dynamic Range - Static: contrast ratio of around 100:1 (about 6 1/2 f-stops) (4 seconds)

Dynamic Range - Dynamic: contrast ratio of about 1,000,000:1 (about 20 f-stops) (30 minutes)

Focal Length: ~ 3.2mm - (~ 22mm 35mm equiv)

Aperture: f2.1 - f8.3 (f3.5 dark-adapted is claimed by the astronomical community)

FOV Field of View: 95° Out, 75° Down, 60° In, 60° Up

Color Space - 3D (non-linear) RGB

Color Sensitivity: 10,000,000 (ten million)

Color Range: 380 to 740 nm

White Balance: Automatic (constant perceived color under different lighting)

Refresh Rate: foveal vision (high-quality telescopic) - 3-4fps; peripheral vision (very inaccurate) - up to 90fps

Corey

Make it Entertaining! (Video in Social Media Campaigns)

2010-06-10T10:11:00.000-05:00

One of the characteristics of fast spreading social media campaigns is the fact that many of them take the goods and services that they are trying to promote out of the box and into entertainment. Most of the time it includes humor, off the wall concepts, or just creative positioning of the company. Think about that for a second, how could you take what you do or what you sell and make it something that people would want to tune in and watch on a regular basis for 2-3 minutes at a clip maximum?

Take the case of a very mundane, unentertaining product like a blender. Not a lot of innovation has gone into the blender over the last 20 years, the purpose of the product remains the same through the years. So how do you take something like that and make it so entertaining that people would actually subscribe to a YouTube channel just to get regular updates to watch someone blend something??

Well if you are BlendTec you start up your own episodic YouTube channel and website called http://www.willitblend.com/. In every episode, engineer, blender creator and founder of BlendTec, Tom Dickson attempts to answer the question "Will It Blend?" by sticking all kinds of everyday objects into his BlendTec blender to see what happens. Everything from golf balls, bic lighters, and silly putty, to glow sticks, footballs, toys and rakes have been pounded to dust or liquified into shakes. The campaign evolved again when the company started asking people to send suggestions of what they would like to see pureed and it produced some of the most popular episode when Mr. Dickson destroyed an Apple iPhone and later an Apple iPad in his mighty blender. Somewhere Steve Jobs is probably weeping, but Tom Dickson is laughing along with his audience...all the way to the bank! Since this campaign started in October of 2006 the company has added close to 300,000 subscribers, and seen the cumulative viewing of his episodes explode to over 116,000,000! Now the phrase 'Will It Blend?" has become an internet meme and the company sells everything from T-Shirts to DVDs of their videos. Ultimately, however, what was the impact on sales? In Tom Dickson's own words:

The campaign took off almost instantly. We have definitely felt an impact in sales. Will it Blend has had an amazing impact to our commercial and our retail products.

It's a fantastic example of out of the box thinking, creativity and social media strategy combining to make CFOs happy and bottom lines grow. Want to make a splash, earn top of mind awareness or just get people to think about your product, service or industry differently? Try thinking about making your message become a part of the infotainment movement especially using video.

If you need ideas, let Xapsis help!

From where you are to where you want to be,
Doug

Using the social media network, or getting caught in it's net

2010-06-08T10:59:00.000-05:00

Many times I have had conversations with companies whose services fall into the B2B category about using Social Media to establish relationships and open up dialogues with propsective clients. The questions abound about how to do that, and inevitably there is the fallback position, "I'm not selling to consumers directly and why do I need to tell someone my minute by minute thoughts on Twitter anyway?". The thought process revolves around the idea that prospective client companies are not starting conversations with other companies, and Twitter is just a bunch of people talking about the fact that they are currently "Eating potato chips and watching Private Practice" or other inconsequentials that can fit within the 140 character limit.

When contemplating whether or not to dive into social media strategies and management, and whether or not it's even important to do so consider one important thought: The businesses you are trying to sell to are made up of individual PEOPLE. Increasingly the odds are that those individuals DO have Twitter accounts, they do subscribe to Facebook fan pages, and they do post and watch thousands and thousands of YouTube videos everyday. Here at work we have a team member that has coined a phrase, and I don't know if he is the first to say it but he is the first person I have heard express it this way, "Word-of-finger".

It used to be that Word-Of-Mouth was a great way for your company's message to spread in a community both positively AND negatively. Happy clients may talk to a few people about their experience with you and unhappy ones will tell everybody they see! In today's world the megaphone has gotten MUCH larger through social media, not by their mouth but by typing fingers. An individual's sphere of influence is now literally global, and can touch an infinitely greater group of people through "Word-Of-Finger". Let's be generous and say that a very popular person in your community is unhappy with the way your company treated his business, and he gets out his rolodex and starts actively calling 250 people to tell them that you failed him. That could be pretty devestating, right? Now what if, through social media, that same person used his fingers, and a little creativity, and was able to reach 8,643,797 people with the message that you failed them? How embarrassing would that be? How potentially catastrophic could that become?

Why did I choose that number? Because that is the count as of 10:23am (CST) this morning that have viewed Dave Carroll's YouTube video bringing to light what he felt was an injustice to he and his band by United Airlines. You can watch this amazingly effective gripe here: http://tinyurl.com/np2ddl

I'll let Dave, in his own words from his YouTube channel, tell you what happened:
In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didnt deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say no to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of those songs.

Those three songs are now all up for public viewing and racking up comments of support by the day, there were over 26,000 to this first song alone! The pressure became enough to the point that United did indeed offer to finally compensate Dave for the damage to his guitar, according to his video follow up here: http://tinyurl.com/lsk2oz

What is the lesson here? No matter who you are, what your business is, or who your services are aimed at, ultimately you are selling to PEOPLE and people increasingly have a powerful voice through social medias online. You can choose to be proactive, or you can be reactive when it finally comes home to roost through your current and prospective clients. One way or another it will end up touching your business world!

Get a strategy for social media and execute with excellence, make it work for you, and let Xapsis help you where we can. We'd love to hear from you!

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

We love assisting our clients!

2010-06-07T14:27:00.001-05:00

After years of research and testing a medical device, I was ready to market my elbow brace to help eliminate pain for my patients, and help them avoid surgery. The great team at Xapsis Integrated Marketing helped me launch this new product and created a website for me with professionalism and creativity. The Xapsis team is easy to work with, available when you need them, and personable. I would highly recommend their marketing expertise to any company.

Dr. Gene Cheng
Tach, Inc.
President and Creator of Cubrace
A division of Tach, Inc.

Our presence on the web didn't really reflect our company any more, it was outdated and stale. What we really wanted was a website that was fresh, engaging, and represented who we are and what we do better than anyone else. We decided to hire Xapsis Integrated Marketing to create a new web presence, and take care of our marketing strategy and branding. We have found it an honor to do business with their professional team. I would recommend Xapsis to anyone for all their marketing solutions.

Mark Hutchison
Peoria Awning
Owner

Reflections on Linkedin

2010-06-02T14:47:00.000-05:00

The two names that get brought up almost inevitably in any discussion on socal media are Facebook and Twitter, but it would be a mistake to discount the power of Linkedin. I was reading a great article about how to put it to use to generate B2B leads, and while it was written last year I think the info bears repeating. Check it out at this link: http://tinyurl.com/qh5oww

Don't Break up long copy Online...Scroll instead!

2010-06-02T11:14:00.000-05:00

If you are planning a long-copy mini-website or a landing page to sell
a single product, make it one long continuous page that the
reader can read by scrolling down.

Don't break it into multiple pages, each ending with a "cliff
hanger" and a "next" button the reader can click on to read the
next page.

Reason: according to online marketing wizard Yanik Silver, when
he broke his long-copy Web page into multiple linked pages, response
rates declined by 40%.

Why this happens: whenever you give the reader a choice between
doing something (i.e., clicking "Next") and doing nothing (i.e.,
leaving), a percentage of them will opt not to take the action
you desire.

Therefore, the more steps in your online sales process, the
greater the "abandon rate" - the percentage of people who leave
without completing the purchase transaction.

"This article appears courtesy of Bob Bly's Direct Response Letter,"
and include a back-link to www.bly.com.

Whats your Tagline?

2010-05-27T16:01:00.000-05:00

Today I’m working on some creative copy ideas for a client website. In the process I realize that they don’t have a tagline. In my attempts to be creative, I have come up with a list of descriptive words that sound good, but not necessarily together. I started thinking about what a tagline actually does for a business. In the world of marketing we emphasize to clients that they need to have a tagline. Developing a tagline is basically a one sentence pitch that briefly describes what your business does and who it’s for. It makes your message stand out.

I started thinking about memorable taglines that automatically make someone identify with the product. See if you can guess the products these famous taglines are intertwined with:

“Where’s the Beef?”

“Look Ma, no cavities.”

“Like a good neighbor, ____________is there.”

“Mmm, mmm, good!

“Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.”

“Breakast of Champions.”

“Just Do It.”

A tagline is not just a group of words, but an effective way to brand your business. A single sentence that pitches and describes your business must attract consumers because it makes brand identification effective.

Look at the big picture when thinking about your business and ultimately your tagline. What are your areas of expertise? What is the message you are trying to convey to your target market? How are you branding your image?

The simple lesson for small business today is to be Different, Stand Out and you will Be Noticed.

At Xapsis Integrated Marketing our tagline is…From where you are…to where you want to be. Give us a call today to allow our team take you to the next level and transform your business.

Until next time,

Susan

Social Media marketing measurement and analysis

2010-05-27T08:59:00.000-05:00

This is a great article to check out when you have a bit of time to digest it. If you are leveraging social media in any way for your business there are some things to remember when gauging its effectiveness: http://tinyurl.com/32gq7mc

Insights From a "Seasoned" (no pun intended) Entrepreneur

2010-05-26T13:15:00.000-05:00

Ray Kroc is the founder of the McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants, and has created one of the most influential and compelling brands of all time. Here’s a small sampling of quotes by the burgermeister himself.... I hope they inspire you!

“I didn’t invent the hamburger. I just took it more seriously than anyone else.”

“The definition of salesmanship is the gentle art of letting the customer have it your way.”

“As long as you're green, you're growing. As soon as you're ripe, you start to rot.”

“I was 52 years old. I had diabetes and incipient arthritis. I had lost my gall bladder and most of my thyroid gland in earlier campaigns, but I was convinced that the best was ahead of me.”

“I didn't know what we would be selling in the year 2000 but whatever it was we would be selling the most of it.”

“Visions of McDonald's restaurants dotting crossroads all over the country paraded through my brain. I don't believe in saturation. We're thinking and talking worldwide.”

"It's easy to have principles when you're rich. The important thing is to have principles when you're poor."

“If you're not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.”

“Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.”

“We're not in the hamburger business, we're in show business.”

“Look after the customer, and the business will take care of itself.”

“Early to bed, early to rise, advertise, advertise, advertise.”

Corey

Tips on Fostering Creativity

2010-05-25T09:56:00.000-05:00

I've been in hundreds of brainstorming and idea-generating meetings over the years. Brainstorming sessions can be fun and inspiring, and they can also be terrifying and idea-killing. Going into a meeting with the right frame of mind is the key to having a successful idea-generation session.

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

1. Don’t Think- Jot down the first idea that pop into your head. These quick “sparks” or “bursts” will usually emerge as your best ideas. Over analysis can completely destroy a great original idea.

2. Don’t Force Creativity- You cannot be creative all the time. Your mind and body needs time to rest and rejuvenate before those creative juices start flowing again. Forcing creativity will only raise your stress and anxiety levels.

3. Negative Criticism- Nothing kills creativity or idea generation faster than negative criticism. If you must critique, make sure it is positive and helpful. Positive critiquing should be constructive and inspire, not belittle.

4. Face Your Fears- Don’t underestimate the emotional and physical stress that can result from trying something new and different from the norm. Push ahead,even when you are afraid, and embrace change. Don’t be afraid to fail.

5. Nurture Your Creativity- You cannot force creativity. However, you can nurture it by putting yourself in an environment that will stimulate and promote creativity. Surround yourself with other positive and creative influences.

6. Be Passionate- Creativity is all about passion, as this is the prime factor to driving creativity. Creativity is about pushing yourself above and beyond the norm because of something you so strongly believe in.

Remember, creativity is not a tangible object. It's an emotional force that allows you to express and communicate your thoughts and feelings to the world. Open your mind to new possibilities and ideas and embrace your creative side!

Corey

Let Inspiration Find You( A quick note for creatives)

2010-05-24T21:43:00.000-05:00

Merriam-Webster defines inspiration as:
1. a: A divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation.
b: The action or power of moving the intellect or emotions
c: The act of influencing or suggesting opinions

As human beings, we are inundated on a daily basis with little nuggets of information relayed to our brain through our five senses (touch, taste, hearing, sight, and smell). These "nuggets" of data "inspire" us in our daily lives. Without inspiration, human life as we know it wouldn't exist, or at the very least, would be pretty dull.

Inspiration can hit you at any time, any moment of the day or night, even deep in the subconscious recesses of the mind through nightmares and dreams.

Inspiration is a very personal, subjective, and unique human experience. What inspires one person may have no meaning nor significance to another person. As creative individuals, we are constantly driven to search for inspiration. We look for inspiration on the internet, in art and design, with music, in literature, and in the great outdoors. We also look to the individuals we associate with in our daily lives, to inspire us and fuel our creativity.

With that said, I don't think you can actually "find" inspiration, no matter how hard you look. Inspiration finds YOU. It sneaks up and attacks, most of the time when you least expect it, giving you new-found passion, focus, and direction. You can read all the creative publications in a bookstore, walk through the great outdoors for hours, and listen to music until your ears ring. All of these things may help you on your quest for inspiration. However, it's no guarantee that any of these will ultimately inspire you.

My advice? Don't force inspiration and don't fret over it. Put yourself in an environment which fuels creativity or surround yourself with positive influences, and let inspiration find you.

Corey

More great testimonials!

2010-05-24T16:38:00.001-05:00

Thank you to our friends and clients at Nixon Insurance Agency, here in Peoria, IL. These are people of the highest integrity, the utmost professionalism and undeniable expertise. They are truly passionate about protecting you, your family, your business, all the things that are among the most important in life. Please take the time to look them up, give them a call, check out their website at http://www.nixonagency.com/, follow them on their Twitter site (http://twitter.com/NixonInsurance) or be a fan of their Facebook page (http://tinyurl.com/3adrb26). All of these are chock full of great information about what's happening the insurance field as it pertains to your everyday life! Great stuff!

"Doug, Corey, and Susan are great professional people to work with! They listen to your needs and find a way to help you get your message across to your clients whether using social media or designing a marketing mailing piece within your budget."

Nancee S Purdum, CIC
Nixon Insurance Agency Inc

"Our insurance agency has worked with Xapsis for our website development and we are extremely pleased. We are also working with Xapsis on developing an effective social media presence. The staff at Xapsis are creative and responsive. Very good people!"

David H Nixon CIC
Nixon Insurance Agency Inc

We appreciate the shout outs!

2010-05-21T15:38:00.000-05:00

What some people are saying about Xapsis Integrated Marketing:

Partnering with Xapsis was a step in the right direction for our company. Their professionalism, insight, knowledge and marketing abilities have advanced our start-up company to the next level. Xapsis captured the integrity of our company through the design of our website, logo and promotional materials. We look forward to partnering with Xapsis on future marketing efforts as our business continues to grow.

John Faletti
Tach Inc.
Vice President
Marketing and Manufacturing

I have worked with Xapsis on multiple projects and am thrilled with both the quality of work and responsiveness of the entire team! Xapsis really took the time to understand our needs and provided valuable insight to create great solutions for our company. I look forward to continuing a long-term relationship with Doug and the entire Xapsis team!

Brad Cullman
The C-3 Group
President

I worked with Xapsis on the development of a new website and could not be happier with the end result, I was blown away! Xapsis has an extremely talented staff and they were very helpful throughout the entire project. I am happy to refer any businesses looking for a great marketing solution to Xapsis.

Paul Garcher
The C-3 Group
Project Manager

We were looking to refresh our web site, and we could not be happier with work done so far by The Xapsis team. They have taken the time to learn about our business, and used that knowledge to offer a creative new vision for our internet presence. They are a wonderful business partner with our company.

Mark Moline
Mitchell Fabrics
Vice President

At Farnsworth Group, we were looking for a web design agency that could develop a sophisticated web site without breaking our marketing budget. Xapsis works as a team, with each member bringing a unique skillset to the planning, design and implementation of the web site. It is extremely beneficial having the Xapsis creative team all under one roof. You can talk directly to the team working on the project, and sit with them side by side as changes and modifications are made to the site. We are especially looking forward to Xapsis’ content management component, which will allow us to maintain our site and keep it updated with new information almost in real-time.

Jeff McCombs
Farnsworth Group, Inc.
Director of Marketing

Xapsis delivered beyond my expectations with a creative website in a very short amount of time that allowed me to market to my clients immediately.

Brian Dutton,
Dutton Law Group, PC
President

A big THANK YOU to our wonderful clients, we appreciate both the continuing opportunity to work with you and the trust you place in us!

Doug

There's a reason you cannot neglect your company's web presence!

2010-05-21T15:15:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest scoop, straight to the heart of the matter. Web based marketing is the number one initiative this year for SMB, and probably for the foreesable future. Web marketing obviously encompasses a lot of different avenues, and both FedEx and Constant Contact recently released surveys talking to the SMB market and asked them to identify tactic in order of importance from last year and through the end of this year. Check out the results, they are very telling:

Now the question is why is bolstering your website and web presence, utilizing social media, emails and blogs so pervasive in the marketing mindset of so many companies?

The answer lies in a truth that we must face to not just survive but thrive in the economic landscape today: there has been a profound and permanent shift in the mindset of how people buy, how they choose businesses to engage with, essentially what their basic buying drivers are for both products and services.

It was more than a few years ago that the Kelsey Group and ConStat said that at the time "New research shows that 70% of U.S. adults use the internet as an information source when shopping locally for products and services." If that statement was true then, just imagine what that number is now! The reason why people are working hard to create an amazing website and web marketing is simply, that is where their potential clients are looking!

It might be time to take a good, long look at what you are doing this year in your internet based marketing, and make some changes. Make 2010 the year you really leverage the web the way it needs to be, don't be left in the lurch while your competitors speed by you, they very well could be one of the 92% that are already working on their website from the chart above!

Web Based Marketing

2010-05-21T14:02:00.000-05:00

Did you know that..."65% of internet users won't patronize a poorly designed site even that of a favorite brand and 30 percent said that website design is more important than a great product. Even rock bottom prices only persuaded 4% to shop on a poorly designed website. What's worse is that nearly 30 percent stop buying from their favorite offline store if their online experience is poor." Genex

Do you have a website that STINKS? Give Xapsis Integrated Marketing a call today- We can help!
309-495-4716

Video Blogging...Have you Considered it?

2010-05-21T11:25:00.001-05:00

There is nothing new about online videos, but there popularity has grown through the years thanks to the 2nd biggest search engine, YouTube. Have you thought about reaching your target audience with a video that promotes your products and business? Online video is now at the point where it can compete with traditional television programs. Most traffic methods become over saturated, or banned, however; this can never happen to online video. You can't count the number of methods that exist in Internet Marketing. They are a mixed bag of paid and free traffic techniques. When we talk about the free marketing methods, video marketing happens to be on the top. What other way do you know of engaging someone and having them so interested in the content you are sharing that they have no other choice but to visit your site?

The power of video marketing is no longer a secret. It is now so easy to make and upload videos that you can take someone with little computer experience and teach them. With video marketing you have the capability of reaching millions of people if you learn to do it right. Below, you will find a few of the wonders of video marketing.

It’s not hard to connect with your target audience using video. Another advantage of creating quality videos is that other relevant sites may embed your videos to their sites. By using videos you can captivate your target audience, bring interested visitors to your website, and create a loyal following. The results of getting targeted traffic to your website create a high conversion rate for your branding and positioning in the market.

Have you thought about a video blog to create a niche market? Some people will be attracted to this form of content. With regular updates on your regular will catch the attention of your target market and increase repeat visitors. Once a new video is made you just use your social media networking on your website to notify users of the latest video blogs, or vlogs for short.

Videos are exciting, fun, and easy to change content and inform users of new information without having to change content on static pages. This form of marketing can test different approaches and strategies to best understand your target market.

While this form of marketing may not be for all businesses, it is definitely something to consider along with your other social network marketing.

The Big Reveal

2010-05-20T10:53:00.000-05:00

"Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called 'The Pledge'. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called 'The Turn'. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call 'The Prestige'."
--Michael Caine as Cutter in the 2006 movie The Prestige

What a great movie! Two men obsessed with beating each other, striving to up the stakes and out do the other in amazing audiences with jaw dropping, amazing feats of illusion and prestidigitation. The resulting life long struggle ended up destroying them both, as well as the lives of many people unfortunate enough to come into contact with them. This however is not a movie review, so I'll stop now before engaging in full on Roger Ebert mode.

The quote above illustrates the basic essentials to creating a fantastic, intriguing magic trick that people think about long after the theater lights have come up and the magician has left the stage. To show someone something very mundane, or simple, get them to view it in an extraordinary way, one that makes them say "What's the secret!!" and then you amaze them with the final act, the big reveal and they leave with questions, interest and theories that stay with them for days.

Some of the best marketing campaigns that I have ever seen follow that same magical formula.

There are some industries that thrive using a straight forward, constant barrage of ads and spots, but after a while we as consumers or business owners get immune to the same message over and over and over again. We have become desensitized to junk mail, spam emails, shotgun messages sent out enmasse from companies we did not request information from, and the classic "Don't wait, there's more...!" and "The price goes up tomorrow!" are really just bad marketing punchlines. Sometimes what is needed is a good "pattern interrupt", a campaign, a message, a intriguing mystery that makes people stop short because it forces them out of their typical response patterns to the mundane.

If you can take something that creates an air of mystery, and make people say, "What is that?!", create a buzz and leave people wanting more, give them something to think about long after the big reveal takes place you can really make a name for your product or service. How great would it be if everywhere you went, when you handed out a business card, the first thing people said, with the light of recognition in their eyes and a smile on their face, "I know your company! You were the guys that did that....!".

Could you do something gutsy, out of the box and buzz worthy? Make people think differently about who you are, what you do and why they should choose you?

Here's a couple of great, out of the box examples:

A couple of years ago, near the end of 2008 Burger King ran a campaign where they dropped 5000 wallets all around high traffic and landmark areas of Chicago, IL. Inside was a sticker that told the potential good samaritan that The King wanted them to have the contents of his wallet, so to not worry about trying to return it. Exploring further the lucky person found a BK gift card loaded with anywhere from $ 5.00 to $ 20.00 and actual currency of anywhere from $ 1.00 to $ 100.00, along with a map to all of the Burger Kings in the metro area, The King's drivers license and even some funny ficticious receipts. What a GREAT pattern interrupt! If you see a wallet on the ground walking down the street, you are likely to pick it up, naturally to return it to whoever lost it I'm sure (THE PLEDGE), you open it and inspect it (THE TURN) and POW what an awesome surprise, you just got a $ 100.00 courtesy of The King and a gift card to boot (THE PRESTIGE)! Guess where you went to lunch probably not long after you found the wallet? Can you say, "I'll have a Whopper, please!"?

Another great story, even closer to home here in Central IL.

Several years ago a series of billboards starting appearing around Peoria, IL that looked like nothing more than just a long slightly wavy line on a pitch black background. No words, no logos, no names, just that line. People immediately started trying to guess, what is it? What was it supposed to look like? Was it a mistake? For weeks these billboards sat there, to the point where local TV channels started covering the mystery, asking questions, running segments on getting to the bottom of it! Suddenly there appeared another line on all of the boards, adding a little more definition to the obviously heavily stylized object, but still not enough to garner a firm consensus of what it was. More guessing ensued, more digging, more buzz. Long story short, the ads were for the impending Car Show that was coming up at the civic center, but that wasn't finally revealed until the VERY end, the last board in the series. By that time people were so energized about the guessing game that it was literally on everbody's lips when the answers finally came. It was just a line in the beginning (THE PLEDGE), that slowly started to define itself as an abstract car illustration (THE TURN) and then the actual reveal with dates and offers (THE PRESTIGE). Do you think attendance was up that year?

So here's the challenge: what kind of campaign could you run that would generate that kind of buzz? Can you think outside the box? Do you have the guts to try something that pushes the envelope? Can you interrupt the ingrained response pattern of your target market segments to the standard pitch of your industry, and your competitors? It may be an immediate splash like the wallets, or a slow boil like the billboard campaigns, but the big reveal can be worth it in ROI in a big way!

Maybe you need a nudge outside your comfort zone of how you have always marketed yourself, take this blog as that gentle push. In the words of Spock from the movie "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" maybe all that is required to generate huge business is a feat of "linguistic legerdemain and a degree of intrepidity". (How's that for mixing movie metaphors? Yes, I am a movie geek!)

The big reveal can mean big ROI, give it a try this year. As always, we here at Xapsis would be more than happy to assist you in coming up with that BIG idea, give us a call today!

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Top 10 Direct Mail Mistakes

2010-05-18T11:40:00.000-05:00

Top 10 Direct Mail Mistakes

There are some people who make a career out of direct mail. Most people, however, get the general idea but make errors along the way. Below are the most common mistakes that you will encounter with a direct mail campaign.

1. Using the wrong list. Perhaps the biggest mistake that you can make is to use a mailing list that does not represent your target audience. Too many people send out mailings, receive no response, and wonder why. Make sure that your list is current and targeted to meet your needs.

2. Poor copy. It may only be 100 or even 25 words, but they need to be the right words. Take the time to do several rewrites until the copy will grab the reader's attention.

3. No call to action. If you don't tell the reader what you want them to do, it defeats the point of sending the direct mail piece. Do you want them to call you? Email you? Send in the enclosed postcard? Buy something? Make it clear what they should do or they will not respond.

4. No testing. Too many people learn the hard way that their direct mail piece is not effective. It should be common practice to test out anything you plan to use to market or advertise your business in order to see if it makes an impact.

5. Using hype over meat. It is all too common to hype your product or service with superlatives instead of highlighting and explaining the actual benefits of your product or service.

6. Not proofing the copy. There are too many stories of great direct marketing pieces that were missing phone numbers, addresses, or other key information. Errors in the copy are also too prevalent. Proofreading is an important aspect of all of your marketing campaigns. If you feel that you are lacking in those skills, hire someone to proof your copy. Or ask a colleague who has a way with words to take a look at your text.

7. Not focusing on your headline. One of the reasons we all toss direct mail quickly is because it does not grab us. Somewhere between boring headlines and gimmicks is a smart use of a headline that catches someone's eye without insulting their intelligence. You only have a few seconds to grab the reader, therefore you need to put great stock into your headline.

8. Highlighting form over function. One common mistake is placing too much focus on the design elements of the direct mailing piece, which results in marvelous four-color graphics, interesting shapes, and eye-catching color, but a discrediting loss of content.

9. No follow up. Many businesses send out brochures, fliers, and other materials with no follow-up plan. Follow-up refers to calling, mailing additional information, or at least being prepared to fulfill requests for the product or for additional information.

10. Not tapping into expert advice. Direct mailing has been around for many years because when it works it works very well. Many people have spent their careers mastering the art of direct mailing. They know the right words to use and the best ways to get results. However, far too few people tap into this bank of knowledge. Do your research and learn from experts in For information, check out the Direct Mail articles in the AllBusiness.com Sales & Marketing Center.

Send Us Your Questions

2010-05-14T16:15:00.000-05:00

We will endeavor to keep this blog packed with as much relevant, interesting and educational marketing information, but if there is a topic you would like to see addressed please do not hesitate to contact us and let us know. You can send an email to:
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Put in the topic: Blog Question

And let us know what you would like to hear about, questions you may have or research you would like to see done.

Thanks!

What To Do When Good Branding Turns Into Bad Reality

2010-05-12T16:51:00.000-05:00

It's almost passe to even use the term "branding" or "brand" now, they have been buzz words for so long and yet throughout the years there seems to be a lot of different ideas about what those words mean. Marty Neumeier, in his 2003 book The Brand Gap, begins by explaining that a brand is not a logo, a corporate identity system or a product itself. He defines it as "a person's gut feeling about a product, service or company." In other words your brand is what people FEEL about your company, your goods, or your service, because as much as we want to say we are driven to behaviors by logic, in the end "we're all emotional, intuitive beings, despite our best efforts to be rational."

What each company can try to do, and the reason they hire ad agencies and marketing firms, is to influence the way people FEEL about your business, your services, your products. That is done by crafting the message, using the right words, conveying the emotional connection through everything from TV commercials and print ads, to websites, bill boards and radio spots. It takes some time to properly build a brand, but when you hit the mark you know it! It's when people bring up your company name on the streets and they can articulate your message, in their own way maybe, but generally they hit the mark and use the words you want them to. In fact it's an interesting experiment to try some time, just to hit the streets and show people your logo, JUST your logo, or your company name and see what the response is when you ask them to tell you about it. What would people say? Would they recognize your logo? Could they verbalize your tagline or slogan? Would they know what you offer generally? What emotive words would they use to describe your company? Be prepared to have thick skin in some cases, people may not know you like you think they do!

In some cases, if you have done the job right and you have cultivated a well known brand, it may come back to bite you. Do you want to guess when that is? When you or your company have not fulfilled the well established message of that brand! When you have sold yourself as one thing, and not performed up to the promise.

A few years ago I received a call from a client that in the construction industry, and he had spent time and money with our firm to really garner a reputation of trust because of longevity, they had been a family owned business for over 100 years, they were thought of as high end, superior materials and service. They were the people you called when you wanted the job done right the first time, and with products that withstood the test of time. Business was good, their brand firmly entrenched in the minds of the local consumer, until a series of jobs went very wrong because of recently hired installers that did not perform up to the standards that had been groomed over years and years of working within the industry. The employees were fired, but damage had been done.

The president of the company received phone calls, and they all contained the same basic idea in very plain terms. They went something like this, "Your website said.....", "We hired you because we had heard your radio commercials for years and they always said...", "We trusted you to do this right because you have always said you were one company that....". Nothing is potentially worse than building your brand, instilling in people the gut feeling that YOU want people to have about your company and then behaving contrary to that feeling. Clients and customers feel suckered, betrayed, and hurt. They get that "I've been had!" feeling, that replaces the trust they had in your message.

The age old saying that a happy client may tell one person, but an unhappy one will tell everyone they know has stuck around for so long because it's very true. That means you have to act quickly to repair this damage. A violation of your brand can be a company's undoing in the worse case scenario, OR it can be an opportunity to reinforce your message all the more. That's correct, I said sometimes your mistakes as a business can turn into the greatest opportunities to make people even more a believer in your brand!

In the example I mentioned we advised the president of the company to contact the unhappy customers personally, if at all possible in person, even if that meant calling and setting an appointment to come and talk face to face. When he met with them, the most obvious initial response was that it went without saying that the inadequate work would be torn out and rectified ASAP at no charge, and the completed project would be overseen by he himself so that it was certain to be satisfactory. The second thing we told him to do was to follow up within a day or two of their meeting and simply send them a personal, hand written letter that included a gift card to a very nice restaurant and movie theater to send them out for entire evening on the company's dime. It was a nice and UNEXPECTED touch that went the extra mile, and established how important they were to the business. They were not just paycheck, they were valued and appreciated for their patience. The result from such a simple procedure? Those same handful of customers turned into the biggest brand trumpeters you could imagine.

Suddenly the story coming from them was not, "Can you believe how poor a job that was?" to "Can you believe that the president of the company came to our house and fixed it all personally? That's right they paid for a night on a town besides that!" The brand was not just restored, it was felt even more personally and strongly because of a very small investment in time and gift cards. They knew that the message was real, the president of the company lived it, and the company made sure it always left a customer happy.

I have heard it said that you never want the sun go down on an argument, normally that thought is relegated to a spouse or familial relationship. I think the concept works for business-client relationships as well. If something has happened that violates your brand, don't wait to jump in and turn the situation from something bad and damaging to a chance to reinforce and strengthen your message. Sometimes all it takes is the extra mile of dinner and a movie, and that's a small price to pay to keep your brand intact. People just want to know that you hear them, you are good to your word, will fix your mistakes and that your commercials and websites and ads all truly MEAN something to you and your employees.

From where you are to where you want to be!

Doug

Eating the Elephant (Upon further reflection)

2010-05-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

Last week I wrote about the danger of going "on the cheap" when considering what needs to be done with a company's website/web presence, and I wanted to take just a moment to reflect on the flip side of that discussion.

Over the weekend I was sent an email message from a friend who is the owner of a very successful business that was in need of a website overhaul. They had a look that they wanted to refresh and some functionality that they wanted to add, as well as solid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to drive good lead generation. We talked about some scenarios and costs and then I received this aforementioned email asking me about a website he had found that was advertising a custom designed website for $ 350, and the question was essentially "Why not go with these guys?". It was a fair enough question, to be sure, and I already had some thoughts in response, but I felt it was only fair to actually LOOK at the web design company in question and see what they were really offering.

After looking through the site he had sent me, the differences between what we were offering and what they were touting became even more clear. First of all, the $ 350 only gave you a 5 page website, albeit custom produced. They were giving you some video and slide show capabilties, and metatags and titles, as well as some custom response forms with those 5 pages. Now SEO goes way deeper than tags and titles, so I clicked on their SEO link to see what they else they offered besides the basics, and the story got a little clearer.

The cost for what they termed an aggressive SEO campaign was going to cost over $ 3,000 a month for 6 months. Now, from the description of their service they looked like they were covering good bases with the program, but the question is do you have to spend upwards of $ 20,000 for 6 months of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

There was additional costs associated with setting up a social marketing network as well, which is standard, but the point is that what started out as "Get a custom site for $ 350!" after reading the so called fine print became more like "Get a custom, 5 page maximum website with integrated social media and aggressive SEO for over $ 20,000!". What a difference reading deeper in makes! Without strong SEO all you have representing your company and brand that you have worked so hard to build is a 5 page site for $ 350.00, hardly what I would call putting your best foot forward.

The real reason, however, I bring this story up is to address the flip side of the original argument against going cheap, that being do I have to spend over $ 20,000 to get something good?? Does good web based marketing have to cost an arm and a leg?

Let me say this, is it possible that SEO could cost that much money? The answer is, yes, BUT with a proviso and that is that it depends on a lot of factors. That's the same answer I would give to someone who asks, does website design and development have to cost six figures? There's a lot that goes into answer that question, but the nutshell version is you DO NOT have to spend that much to get great results as long as whoever you are working with, or whoever is doing the job in house, understands things like:

Who is your target segment
Where are they (primarily local? Regional? National? Global?)
What are their buying drivers? How do they make decisions about who to hire for your type of goods or services?
Who is your competition really? (You may THINK that they are national 800 pound gorillas, but are they really? See the questions above.)
How do people/companies typically find your type of business?
What type of functionality will your website possess?

These are just a handful of initial questions that have to be answered, and the deeper the discussion goes the more questions come up. Once you have honed these answers down you can start to see what kind of effort and cost need to go into your web based marketing. I can say confidently that it is NOT a given that for a small to midsized business you have to face paying $ 20,000 for 6 months of "aggressive" SEO! Nor do you have to assume that to build your web presence correctly it will cost tens of thousands of dollars beyond that.

In order to find that number, the true cost of doing what you want to do, some work needs to be done upfront by the company you are engaging with. This means that a one size fits all, churn out $ 350 websites type of business is not always the great option that it looks like on the surface, and neither is a company that carries a price tag that would choke the elephant you are trying to eat one bite at a time (see original Eating the Elephant post). Sometimes more isn't better, more is just more! Just because a company charges a huge amount doesn't mean that they have any more expertise or skill to build an online marketing presence, it may just mean that they are outsourcing their work and they have to mark things way up to make a profit. It may be that they are not set up to work with the SMB market and are used to charging large rates to very large companies. It could just be that they have a well known name, a huge staff and premium office space that carries an enormous cost and they have to charge a lot to pay for their overhead.

The point is, beware of paying too little, but also too much when it comes to web marketing and all that goes with it, both can burn you, just in different ways.

From where you are to where you want to be.

Doug

The Problem with "Fancy Words" (An SEO discussion)

2010-05-07T15:33:00.000-05:00

I was driving my daughters to school recently and my oldest, who is 8, used the word "perplexed" in a sentence which I have to say, being the proud dad that I am, I was impressed with. Not only had she used the word, but she used it correctly within the sentence. When I commented on the fact that I was proud of her for using a larger word in her vocabulary, and using it correctly no less, my 6 year old piped up and said, "I know a fancy word too! Posh!"

I chuckled to myself and asked her where she had heard it before and she explained it was in a Fancy Nancy book she had been reading, and then gave me a definition that was somewhere in the vicinity of what the word meant. It was certainly pretty close for a 6 year old, so I also congratulated her.

Barely another minute passed and once again my youngest spoke out and said she knew another "fancy word" so I asked her to share it and with all sincerity she said, "Ooh-la-la!" This time I laughed out loud, because when I pressed her to give me a definition she missed the mark by a pretty wide margin. It was a "fancy word" to her, at least it SOUNDED fancy, but she did not really grasp how exactly it should be used, who would be using or why they would use it. That's the problem with fancy words sometimes, especially when it comes to Search Engine Optimization.

Let's take an example like a chiropractor who is trying to drive traffic to his site. He starts thinking about all of the jargon and terminology that are familiar to him in his industry and profession. They common words to him, but "fancy words" to most average people not involved already with a chiropractor, the potential new patient that is exactly who he is hoping will find his site. So he starts placing in his copy, and metatags and titles and alt tags things like "spinal decay", "subluxation", "vertebra" and "lumbosacral strain". To him this describes things he works with, methods he uses, areas of pain he fixes, etc. but to his target market segment they are "fancy words" with no meaning. The people that he wants to talk to would search by using phrases like "cure for back pain", "aching lower back", and "joint pain remedy". Now naturally he wants to certainly come up when some searches for the obvious "chiropractor (insert city and state here)", but he should also think about getting hits on his site by people who are looking for answers or information on topics that he has knowledge of because of his education and training. He should want to be known as the guy that relieves lower back pain, not just the Chiropractor that utilizes the Flexion-Distraction technique to rectify spinal subluxations. Those are nice fancy words, that most people don't know the definition of and don't really care to learn because they don't think in those terms.

If you are the chiropractor that can successfully brand yourself as the guy or gal that just flat out makes back pain go away like magic, and everywhere people look online and offline they see your name along with message that people in pain come to you and leave invariably feeling like new YOU WILL BE BUSY! Much more so than the guy trying to impress people by giving them a list of technical terms and proper names that describe all of the new medical equipment and techniques you are versed in. Corner the market on being the Chriopractor that people go to for relief they could not get anywhere else, and watch the business roll in!

One more real world example. I was speaking with the owner of a very successful group of retail stores that specialized in furniture, electronics, appliance and bedding. He was explaining to me that as they started out optimizing their website when they got to their TV and sound system department they used the actual term "electronics" heavily because that was how they thought of the department, but the more talked to people they realized that is not how people shopped online for TVs or sound systems. When looking online the average user was inserting either "TV", "television", a variation of "plasma", "HDTV", "LCD" or even a specific current model that they had seen advertised as the latest and greatest like "Samsung 3D LED 7000" and then a geographical tag. They changed their keywords in short order.

Getting inside the head of your prospective client/customer and understanding HOW they search will assist you greatly in using the right words in your SEO and help drive business to your online location. That means you have to make a conscious effort to avoid jargon and "fancy words" that make sense to you, but mean nothing to the average person on the street or in the conference room. What they know is they have a problem, goal or issue that they need help with and your product or service could be the answer if only they can FIND YOU! Market in that direction, think like they do, and you'll be much more effective in your Search Engine Optimization.

Sometimes we just need to leave the "fancy words" for training manuals, technical documents, text books and Fancy Nancy.

In closing, I have to admit that in writing this post I had to look up the Samsung 3D LED 7000 and all I can say after looking over the picture on that thing is "Ooh la la!"

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

The secret weapon

2010-05-06T16:21:00.000-05:00

What’s the Secret Weapon?

It's not social networking…or rich media ... or blogging ...... as effective as those marketing tools may be.

It's powerful, persuasive online copywriting: knowing how to write compelling copy for emails, and ads that drive users to your website, increase sales through the roof - and make more money online.

The internet has revolutionized marketing because of its speed, accessibility, ease, and low cost. For example sending an email campaign is faster, easier, and less costly than distributing the same promotional information through mail, or in ads.

Clear, Concise, Compelling copy is the way to capture your readers attention. Readers are bombarded with information overload and the internet has made them more savvy to detect hype and promotion more quickly. Potential prospects are busier and have less time than ever to read long copy.

Best Practices for Clear Concise Compelling Copy:

Write for your audience.

When someone consults a website, there is a precious opportunity not only to provide useful information but also to influence their decision. To make the most of this opportune moment, we must ensure that the site says or does precisely the right thing at precisely the right time.

Give them words that zing with style.

Always bear in mind who you're providing your marketing for. Are you providing them with the information they need? Are you allowing them to complete the tasks they want to achieve?

Put important information at the top of the page

The reader needs to know at a glance what the page is about and whether it will interest them. Make sure your first heading and paragraph make this clear.

Be relevant

Is there any content on your page that might make someone say, “So what?” If so, get rid of it. Don't provide information they already know.

Be concise

Make your sentences short and to the point. Start with clear information on what the page is about. Once a user has established that the page contains information that interests them, they are more likely to read the text properly.

Use simple language

Don't use long words where short ones will do. The purpose of your website is to provide people with information - make it easy for them.

Be consistent

A consistent approach will help people navigate your site, and make the site look more professional.

Use bold and italics sparingly and never underline or type in CAPITALS

Most default browser settings underline links on the page, so underlining text that is not a link causes confusion. Remember too, that large amounts of text in bold or italics are difficult to read on screen. Typing in CAPITALS makes it seem that you are shouting.

Check grammar

Grammar and spelling are important for the same reasons as consistency. Your content is important so follow the rules to make sure you get your message across. Remember, you may well be writing for users for whom English is a second language. Non-standard use of English can only confuse users.

Think globally

Remember that your website can be accessed by everyone in the world with a modem, so choose both appropriate content and words.

Till next time,

Susan

Eating the elephant

2010-05-06T15:45:00.000-05:00

If there is one sure thing in the business world right now, one truism you can take to the bank, it is this: The only thing worse than having no website for your company is having a crappy one.

If you have no website, yes people will question your legitimacy and credibility, they will even become frustrated or angry at not being able to explore further into your company before deciding if they want to pick up the phone and call you or not. However if you have an unattractive, poorly designed, cheaply made, and functionally stagnant site that looks like a teenager designed it as a school project for extra credit, while in a haze of World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Red Bull, the decision on whether or not to call will be made in seconds....they just won't.

Companies may think they are saving tons of money going this route, and there are plenty of small graphic design shops that will, for what seems to be a very modest sum, throw something together that is really giving people the exact WRONG idea about your company. The company thinks they have entered the modern age because the simply HAVE a website to hang their logo on, but in reality what they have told potential clients, be they consumers or businesses, is that they are behind the times, are anything but tech savvy, and appear to be a cut rate or fly-by-night company. If the website looks shoddy, what will the quality of the service or product be? Most clients these days rarely see your bricks and mortar location, they know your company BY YOUR WEBSITE. What does your website say to them?

Now, am I implying that you must spend a fortune on your web presence? Does it mean that you have no choice but to pay exorbitant rates to create something worthwhile? Not in the least! What I am saying, however, is that your website is not the area where you want to skimp. This is not the place where you go looking at JUST the price tag (notice I said 'just"), and start your search in the bargain basement, because you can damage your brand beyond repair, and the worst part is you'll have no idea of the business you are losing. People will hit your site, make a judgement about your company in short order, and navigate away without you ever knowing that they were there, or the business you could have had. If you wonder why the phone isn't ringing, the answer may be no farther than your website, but let me help you figure out how to effectively leverage the net, build an extremely beneficial website and yet do it in a way that doesn't force you to mortgage your future to build a tool in the present.

When you seriously consider the power you could have in a great website you may have a wish list in your mind of all of the things you would like it to do and be, because there are so many great tools and modules that are being created all of the time. Your list may look like this:

New look, better branding, enticing functionality
Full out Search Engine Optimization, the latest techniques to drive traffic
An e-commerce catalog for a new revenue stream
An intranet site for dissemination of company information
An online client file manager with a client log in function with passwords for greater efficiency
A live chat feature for real time frequently asked questions
An appointment scheduling feature that updates calendar in real time

As you know the list could go on and on, and like a kid in a candy store it all looks good...until you eat it all and the resultant stomach ache makes you regret overindulging all at once. The thing that people have to remember is that for many of these features if you don't have someone in place to manage and administrate the functionality you will crash and burn and even further frustrate these potential clients with broken systems, and you may not get them back. Here's my suggestion:

You may have heard of the old proverb/joke that says, "How do you eat and elephant?" The answer, of course is, "one bite at a time." Take the large and break it down, make the overwhelmingly complex into a series of manageable tasks...take the big picture of what you ultimately want to accomplish on the web but don't have the funds to afford, or the manpower to manage and build in manageable, more affordable PHASES.

Spend the money to get each phase done right, at a pace you can handle and a cost you can afford, that is the key. Phase 1 might be just redesigning your site to be more branded and marketable, honing the copy to be clear, concise and compelling and maximizing your SEO so you have steady flow of traffic. That should enable you to increase your revenue and profits and then you can afford to add the next Phase, which might be, just as an example, the e-commerce module that again boosts revenue which enables you to hire additional assistance for online orders being processed and shipped. You get the progression.

The point is, if planned and executed correctly with a good SMB marketing firm there should be no reason or excuse for terrible websites that damage your brand and turn business to competitors. All that is required is eating the elephant one bite at a time, digesting as you go, growing and then taking another bite. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you can get by with the cheapo, shabby site or that the economy demands you hire the bargin bin operation with a the rock bottom price. You may think you are saving money, but it will cost you, and in this economy where you need to capture all of the business you can and differentiate yourself from the choices out there you need to make a sensible, wise choice in your web development. That exploding online traffic is going to buy somewhere, so give them a reason to choose YOU!

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Don't sell the dream

2010-05-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

"Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And stop to dream of somewhere to relax their restless flight"

(From the song Subdivisions by Rush, lyrics by Neil Peart)

We live in a very unique time, in a world that is becoming increasingly smaller as it gets more and connected by the world wide web. Never has there been an age like this where if you have a dream of starting a company, a product or service that is innovative, add in some marketing savvy and some net know-how along with a heaping dollop of hard work you can make yourself known, and sell, in a global economy. It's literally changed the concept of the "small to midsized business" (SMB) market, and how they can create revenue streams.

Here is a real life example of how this played out right in front of my eyes. I had a client at the former marketing firm I worked at that was a solid local band in central Illinois. They had a strong local following, and considering every member had a day job they had a steady supply of performance dates, but the band's leader and founder had a dream of going to the next level.

Our firm became engaged with the band and after studying over 100 popular and successful muscial artists websites and identifying certain key points and functions, a dynamic new online presence was designed and established and the marketing launched the band into a much larger world and gave them exposure to an entire globe of potential fans. Music lovers can be searching on YouTube and see live concert clips of the band, or even a music video, explore further and see additional songs online, be linked to their website and subscribe to a forum where they can interact with other fans and the band themselves. New potential fans can go onto iTunes, sample some songs and then download their catalog of music from anywhere in the world. On their website people can get connected on to a platform that sells the bands merchandise, including CDs, t-shirts, hats, etc., and get an up to the minute booking schedule to find out where they are playing next. While this is all really cool, what were the results? First and foremost the internet gave them exposure to the point where they were being contacted by music reviewers as far away as London, England, and they were selling songs and mp3 albums to people halfway across the world in China, as well as being talked to by new fans all across the United States.

Think about that for just a minute.

Now put yourself back in time 30 years ago, if the band were yours to guide and direct. How would a talented band from a midsized midwestern city ever be able to conceive of selling their albums to a worldwide market? Many, I would wager, would not even think about someone in Asia listening to their songs, they would have been focused on pounding through show dates in small venues, hoping to make it to a larger metropolitan stage and maybe, just maybe, being discovered in a one in a million shot by an agent who could then really start to build a regional following. The odds of selling music globally would still be a long ways off.

As I said, we live in an amazing time.

The quote at the beginning of this post is from my all time favorite band, who I have seen in concert more times than I should probably admit. When they started way back in the 70's things were certainly different, more like the scenario I just described, and they defied the odds and became a huge success with an enormous world wide following. Their chief lyricist, drummer Neil Peart, has written many lines that have stuck with me over the years, and this one is powerful to me in many ways, but what I have always taken away from those words ultimately is to NEVER sell dreams for small desires, to never settle for less than what can be.

There are people out there right now that either have a business and a dream of where they want to take it, or maybe they just have the dream itself of starting a business, and my message is don't give up, give in or settle. There has never been a time like today when a small business can not only succeed, but can make a splash globally! The internet is the great equalizer, where the SMB market can absolutely leverage the same technology and tactics to reach far beyond their walls into a local market, from a local market to a regional market, from a regional market to go national and from there, who knows?

If you have a business dream you are passionate about and you want to see it flourish, don't let go and don't lose the race to rats, or get caught in the day to day grind of being a slave to the ticking trap of the 9 to 5 job. Pursue the dream fully realized, not just the sell out of the small desire. Will it be hard work? Yes! Will it take some time? Sure. Will their be struggles, ups and downs and challenges? You can bet there will be. All that said, if you are out there right now wondering if you can keep your business going, wondering if you can weather the storm that our economy is going through right now, or thinking it might be too difficult to launch out right now, let me just encourage you to not give up. Right now with the technology we have and the strategy we can produce you can do more marketing than ever, you can reach more people than ever, and you can be more creative than ever and do it without breaking the bank, destroying your budgets and sinking your company. Learn the lesson from a group of small town, talented band mates who can now say that they sell their music to the world! I'll leave you with one more gem from Neil Peart for further inspiration (any chance to quote Rush, ha!):

"You can do a lot in a lifetime
If you don't burn out too fast
You can make the most of the distance
First you need endurance
First you've got to last..."

(From the song Marathon by Rush, lyrics by Neil Peart)

Let's make the most of the distance, avoid the fast burn out and hold on to the dream!

Doug

Seeing Through Your Customer’s Eyes

2010-05-03T22:29:00.000-05:00

The next time you review your website, products, and services, take a step back and ask yourself: “What are we selling” versus “what does our customer perceive we’re selling?” Purchases are not solely made based on rational factors, such as pricing, or if one product is better than another. There are other variables which come into play. One of which is perception. Customers make purchasing decisions based on their perception, or how they feel about the product.

Perception can be tricky though. It’s an intangible, unconscious awareness that’s difficult to quantify. Perception is built of subjective factors, such as emotion, personal preference, senses, culture, geographic location, influences, and experiences (personal & secondary).

A prime example of a businesses that has a very specific perception in the eyes of it’s customer is Apple. What does Apple sell? Well that’s easy, they sell Macintosh computers, iPod mp3 players, iPhones, and now the hot new iPad tablet.

That’s all well and true, however, in the eyes of the consumer, they’re selling something totally different. Apple is selling a hip, trendy product that makes the buyer feel like they are part of a community. They feel like they’re in tune with the young adult lifestyle portrayed by Apple through their products and advertising. Consciously, they’re buying based on facts. Subconsciously, they’re highly influenced through their perceptions.

The same example can be applied to Harley Davidson motorcycles. Are customers purchasing Harley Davidson specifically for the quality and mechanics of the motorcycle? Are other factors coming into play subconsciously? Is the appeal / perception of the "lifestyle & freedom" that accompanies Harley Davidson a key factor in the purchasing decision?

In order to innovate and grow, companies must intimately know their audience. They need to be in touch on a personal level and understand how their customers view their products. Understanding what your customer is doing with the products they purchase from you can also open the door to new markets which may not have been previously considered. Ultimately, it’s not about what you’re selling, it’s about what the customer is buying, why they are buying, and how they “perceive” your products or business.

Corey

Xapsis Website is live!

2010-05-03T11:14:00.000-05:00

There is an old folktale that emphasizes the very definition of the word "irony" about an old cobbler who was so busy making shoes for his customer that his children ran around barefoot. So it is with many of our businesses, and Xapsis was no different.

Right out of the gate, when we opened our doors on March 1st, 2010 we were busy, busy, busy and while we are not complaining in the slightest it did hinder us from getting our own company website up and running while we worked on our clients projects.

Well, I am excited to announce that our website is finally live! You can get to it from two different domains:
http://www.xapsis.com/
http://www.peoriaintegratedmarketing.com/

It is still being tweaked (portfolio has to be filled in, some copy changes etc.), a few kinks to work out but we are excited to have you visit so please let us know what you think! (Checking it out full screen is the best way to get the full effect!)

(A special thanks to Scott Robbins, of the Scott Robbins show on 1470 WMBD radio, for the voice over!)

Doug

The 6 Cs of Effective Web Design (Pt. 4)

2010-04-30T16:43:00.000-05:00

Donald Trump once said:

"People get caught up in wonderful, eye-catching pitches, but they don't do enough to close the deal. It's no good if you don't make the sale. Even if your foot is in the door or you bring someone into a conference room, you don't win the deal unless you actually get them to sign on the dotted line."

Whether you love The Donald or hate him, you have to admit as a business owner there is truth to that bluntly stated sentiment. All of the talk we have covered over the first three parts of this series is well and good, but the bottom line is, after all is said and done, did your company profit from the work and investment? Did your website close the deal and garner you a new client? No matter how you define your goal:

Increased profits
Larger Market share
New revenue streams
Increased brand awareness and engagement
Top of mind awareness
Generating leads

The question remains, did your website help "close the deal"? The final C.

Commit

The culmination of everything that has come before is summed up in this word commit. Did your website provoke the appropriate reaction? Did it make someone pick up the phone and call you, or email you with questions, or walk in your front door, or set an appointment with a salesperson?

Your website needs to be working as a sales tool for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It should be actively driving traffic to itself, Capturing those out their searching, Containing them with its Clear, Concise and Compelling content and design and interactivity and then when you add it all up it must provide them with an easy, convenient, enticing way to take the last most important step...COMMITTING to start a relationship with you.

I know companies that when they originally became our clients had sales people that actively steered people AWAY from their business' website because it reflected so poorly on their services. How sad is that?! Your website should be your employee's best friend and universal tool to extend their reach into a prospective client's needs. It should instill trust and bolster credibility that you are experts in your field, specialists in your industry and on the cutting edge of understanding those that need your services.

A website can be a welcome mat that greets new visitors, a gracious and generous host while they look around, an entertaining and intriguing storyteller, a problem solver and diagnosis provider, a traffic cop and GPS system that can offer assistance and point people in the right direction to make their lives easier, their business run more smoothly and alleviate their headaches. That's a tall order couched in a run on sentence, but it can be a reality for you and your company's web presence if you do it right and place the importance on it as it deserves. It can pay you back in droves when done right, and crush your momentum when done wrong.

At the end of the day, ask yourself if your current website makes people want to commit to engage in business with you over your competitors, and if you have a good system in place to even track its effectiveness. If the answer is no to either or both of those questions, it may be time to go back to the basics of the six Cs.

If we can, we would love to help.

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

The 6 Cs of Effective Web Design (Pt. 3)

2010-04-30T09:32:00.000-05:00

By now most people can recognize instantly what you are talking about if you utter the famous phrase, "If you build it, they will come" from the movie Field of Dreams. It makes for a fine modern day fantasy catch phrase, and while that sentiment may apply when you build a baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield, it's a lousy philosophy when it comes to building and launching an effective website for your company! Just throwing a website out there and expecting people to come to it by chance, and engage your business by luck is a recipe for disappointment and frustration.

That's what brings us to the next 2 Cs in our series about the basic building blocks of effective web design, and they are:

Capture
and
Contain

Capture

Now that the first 3 Cs (Clear, Concise and Compelling) have taught us to have something worth while to look at and powerful in selling your brand, you must have a plan to drive people TO your site. This discussion really needs to happen at the beginning of the process, not at the end, because how you get people to your site does influence the design of your site is several ways. Are you already involved in marketing campaigns through radio or TV? If that is a large piece of the puzzle in how you drive your business currently, then make sure you are emphasizing your website on every commercial! Do you currently have sales collateral materials you pass out at presentations? Put your website prominently on your business cards, brochures, presentation folders, envelopes, letterhead and so on. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a crucial component these days, and it carries a certain mystique because the rules are forever changing it seems on how to best raise your page ranking above your competitors and then KEEP it there (a part that many companies drop the ball on). It really is part art and part science, and it has moved beyond the basic programming of metatags, metatitles, alt tags and site maps, thanks in large part to Google's dominance and setting the standards. Is a Pay-Per-Click, "Sponsored Ad" campaign right for your business? Would a Personalized URL (PURL) mailing work? Are you leveraging Social Medias online? All of these questions need to be addressed so that there is a PLAN on how you will CAPTURE web surfers, particularly those that are specically looking for goods and services like yours.

Contain

Do remember the days when Vistor counters were all the rage at the bottom of company websites? It was like bragging rights if you could show people, "I've had 1000 people hit my sight!" It reminds me of some pastors that I have known that would make the first question they always asked each other "So how many did you have in attendance in your church last Sunday?" The question really misses the mark because it's superficial, it only touches the surface when the main concern should be something much deeper! So it is when discussing only the volume of vistors to your site. The issue can no longer be just the number of eyeballs on your site, there is a deeper concern and that is how many of them became engaged enough in your brand on that site that they were contained for a period of time and ultimately responded to you in the manner you desired. Think about it like this, you don't just want to know that 1000 people hit your site, you want 20% of them to tell you who they are, what they were looking for and how you can communicate with them directly. Now what if, instead of 20%, you could get to know 30%? How much more could your business grow if 40% of them contacted you after hitting your site? You get the picture! That scenario is possible if you properly plan ahead in your web design to capture them and then contain them. Without belaboring the point, containing prospective clients on your site is accomplished through many different tools such as Calls-To-Action, Value Added Propositions, dynamic content, interactivity, one-click-navigation, the list goes on.

We're almost to the end of our list, and the biggest C is coming up. It's the one that ultimately matters most to you as the business owner, and it's reflects the culmination of everything we have talked about up to this point so don't miss it!

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

The 6 Cs of Effective Web Design (Pt. 2)

2010-04-28T15:09:00.000-05:00

Depending on the article you read, or the statistics you subscribe to, on average you have about 20-30 seconds after someone finds your website homepage to show them something that speaks to their buying drivers enough that they want to push deeper into the site itself. No matter how you slice it, that just isn't much time at all.

Think about it, that's barely even time for a quick elevator speech! You have a maximum 30 seconds to tell a perfect stranger who you are, what you do and (perhaps most importantly) why they would want to do business with you over any competitor in your field. No small task that!

That challenge leads right into the first 3 Cs in effective web design:
Clear
Concise
Compelling

Through visuals, functionality and content you have a such a short period of time to convey your positioning and image that you must make the utmost effort to be clear, concise and compelling.

BE CLEAR

Think about your own surfing behaviors. Have you ever come upon a homepage that defies you to find a visual focal point with a slew of blinking banners, fill in forms, and hotlinks/buttons as far as the eye can see? How long do you stick around to try to slog through the murky navigation to simply find the pertinent information you were looking for? Take the time to think through the navigational structure of your site BEFORE you start designing it, and allow that road map to influence HOW you design it functionally. Any good marketing web firm will take the time to draw up a navigational flowchart and make sure it is agreed upon by the client, after running it through the filter of the mindset of your potential customer. Is your brand represented well? Does the message make sense? Is it obvious how the navigation works, and is laid out rationally and simply (this point will actually be fleshed out in greater detail later on in this series of posts)? Is your brand positioning so "creative" that it's abstract or incoherent to the user? If the user does indeed like what he/she sees, is there a logical next step in responding to you? When it comes to links, many times less really is more, so don't try to jam everything and the kitchen sink onto that home page! Be clear!

BE CONCISE

People look at large blocks of text with the glazed look of a deer in headlights, and the idea of a scroll bar that drops them repeatedly "below the fold" is a killer to the motivation of clicking deeper in. As proud as you may be of your company's history resist the temptation to tell your life story on your home page, unless you really feel it is intrinsic to your sustainable competitive advantage. The copy on your homepage needs to be sparing, and every word needs to count so weigh them heavily and carefully. Ultimately the main thing that the target market segment wants to read is how your goods and/or services will accomplish a goal for them that is foremost on their mind, and how it stacks up in regards to any other options. You want to give them just enough about your brand and positioning that they really want to flesh it out by reading more on further pages, so don't, in a manner of speaking "spill all of the candy at the door", you want them to want more. Be concise!

BE COMPELLING

The copy on your site doesn't have to be sterile, boring or just a laundry list of services. Without rambling (see the 2nd C above) the information can be presented creatively, humorously, pointedly, directly, emotionally and so on, but make it powerful! Web surfers are saturated with homepages, bombarded with offers and inundated with choices and they tend to expect certain things, both visually and in copy, on similar sites, so choose to make your home page a major pattern interrupt. Have something designed that makes the user stop short and say, "Whoa!". It could be imagery presented with branded copy in a way that makes them want to just sit and watch it work, it could be interactivity that makes them want to play with the buttons and click the icons, it may just be powerful words that talk directly to their needs.

A quick example is a fencing company that we have worked with. They were selling high end residential fencing, far more expensive than the 6 foot panels for sale at the DIY box stores, and even higher than other professional installation competitors. After some research, talking with their sales staff and understanding their sales process, it was determined that the woman of the house more often than not placed the first call to get a quote, and that there were three reasons that kept coming up over and over again when she talked to the sales rep. They were, in order of importance, 1.) Security 2.) Privacy and 3.) Beautification. As we putting their marketing together, we did a photo shoot for imagery and in the pictures the fence was not the focal point. It was there in the back ground, but there were many options to go get a privacy fence, including several cheaper. Showing photo after photo of fences was not very compelling, more like yawn inducing. The pictures showed a mother playing happy and carefree in her SAFE and SECURE backyard with happy children, or a family have a nice PRIVATE barbecue in their backyard with friends, and a couple relaxing in their flower garden with a BEAUTIFUL ornamental iron fence. Then we paired that this compelling copy that reinforced each picture that moved by with each picture. Those emotive words that touched the women's goals PRIVACY, SECURITY, BEAUTY and talked about this being more than an fence, it's an investment in your home, for your family. The campaign was a success, the client sold more residential privacy fence in 2 months than they had in the year prior, and never lowered their prices! Be compelling!

We'll cover the next 2 Cs soon, until then...

Doug

The 6 Cs of Effective Web Design (Pt. 1)

2010-04-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

It has been more than a few years ago that Genex, the top tier marketing and research firm in Culver City, CA, came back with a report that drew quite a few conclusions that at the time seemed startling. Just check out some of these findings:

65 percent of the internet users surveyed won't patronize a poorly designed site, even that of a favorite brand, and 30 percent reported that web design is more important than a great product.
Rock bottom prices only persuaded 4 percent to shop on a poorly designed website.
30 percent stop buying from their favorite offline store if their online experience is poor.
75 percent of those between the ages of 25 and 34 say that usability is a very or exteremely important factor in their online and offline purchase decisions, and 64 percent of those aged 45 to 54 answered the same way.

The company's Vice President of Creative concluded by saying, "As our survey shows, there are substantial financial consequences when a company does not pay enough attention to the usability and information design of its website."

If these conclusions were reached several years ago, how much more weight do these words carry now?

So if we can agree that the design of your site is important, and worth paying attention to, and investing money towards, where do you start in considering how to create an effective web presence? There is a whole lot of work that goes into the process if you want it done right, but I wanted to give you some very brief items to think about as you begin to think things through. I call them the 6 Cs of effective Web Design, and you can look at them as the basic building blocks, a jumping off point, as you consider really making the web a foundation of your marketing mix for growing your company.

In part two of this series we will deal with the first 3 Cs, so stay tuned!

From where you are to where you want to be!

Doug

The Open Brand

2010-04-27T12:57:00.000-05:00

If you get a chance, and if you are a reader, I would recommend picking up the book The Open Brand by Kelly Mooney and Nita Rollins. It's a great, fast read that is chock full of great insights into the trends of this net-centric business world we live in. It was actually written a couple of years ago, but reading it now makes it all the more fascinating, just to see the fruition of many of the concepts, terms and trends that the authors spoke about in 2008 concerning the unbridled growth of the online community, and what they term as the "iCitizen". If you touch marketing for your company in any way, own a business or want to own a business, this is a highly recommended read.

The Age Myth

2010-04-26T16:43:00.000-05:00

Recently I was speaking with the president of a company that I had had a fairly lengthy dialogue with about becoming a client and really investing in his web presence with a new and better site with increased SEO and expanded capabilities. He had ultimately signed on and I couldn't help but ask him what made him take the plunge and his response was very interesting.

His company actually falls into the catagory of having 2 separate divisions, one that sold to consumers and one that sold to other businesses. He was on a job site and the woman who had hired his crew happened be roughly in her 80s and he asked her how she had found them, and she replied that she used the internet. Somewhat surprised by her answer he pressed a bit, and said, "You mean you don't use the phone book?" The woman looked at him and without missing a beat responded, "Honey, I haven't used a phone book in years!" At that moment he knew that it was time to really get serious about investing in the future of his company through his website.

It's a common myth that the younger generations are the only ones actively and consistently using the internet in their everyday lives for everything from shopping and business, to entertainment and social connection. Certainly this new group of "post-millenials" have the internet increasingly becoming a part of their DNA, to the point where they are being called, in some circles, the "iGeneration". What is being proven false year after year is the assumption that those on the AARP roll calls are uninterested in, or even adverse to, using the web for all kinds of daily needs.

In November of 2009, the number one destination for people age 65+ was Google with over 10 million hits that month, and ranked 3rd, up from 45th place just one year prior, was Facebook with almost 8 million hits in one month! In fact one article I read recently said that the number of social media site users age 65+ has grown 53% in the last two years, and to blow the myth out of the water even more is the statistic that of the total number of social media users surveyed in the article I mentioned above there was only 0.1 percentage points seperating the number of seniors as opposed to the number of teenagers using those sites.

Where the web is concerned the gap between the age groups of users is rapidly disappearing, when it comes to internet surfing it appears everyone is starting ride the wave.

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Social Media and The Importance of Having a Strategy

2010-04-26T15:17:00.000-05:00

Social Media is the buzz word of the day for professional and amateur marketers alike, and most business have at the very least a growing knowledge of what the term means, if not how it can be used for their own individual companies. So just how important is it for companies to get on board and start engaging in this exploding practice? The answer depends on how committed you are to coming up with a solid strategy on how you will use it.

Looking at recent data collected in April of 2010, especially at a cursory glance level, it appears that while a majority of marketing professionals are touting the importance of wading into the social media waters, only 35% feel like their efforts have resulted in increased profits or revenues.

When you get beyond those numbers, however, another interesting trend shows up. Those professionals that responded that they had seen increased profits as a result of social media efforts were twice as likely to have a “formal strategy”, and were also more likely to have people specifically designated to manage their social media campaigns.

So what was the biggest obstacle for not having a firm social media strategy? “Not having enough data to come up with a measure of return on investment”, which was followed closely by not having senior management buy in.

The lesson here is clear: Social media can be a powerful tool, but makes sure you plan ahead on HOW you will use it. Take the time to create a defined strategy and to do that start with garnering data on who your target customer is. What will build the most community around your brand, and cause social media users to engage with it and then share it with others? Take a look at your website analytics and understand the mindset, wants and needs of the common users are.

Social Media is not a panacea for all marketing ailments as some may have you believe, but those businesses that ignore its power and pervasiveness do so at their own peril. A study conducted in March of 2010 revealed that among the participating small to midsized companies that sold B2C those that had active Twitter accounts had double the median monthly leads over non-Twitter using companies. Furthermore, the more active the Twitter account, the more powerful a tool it became. In the same study, companies with 100-500 followers on Twitter generated 146% more median monthly leads than those with 21-100 followers. Among companies that sell B2B, those that maintained an active blog between December 2009 and February 2010 generated almost double the monthly leads as those that had no blog.

Thinking about sticking your toe in the social marketing pool? There’s a great big market share out there waiting for you, just make sure you have the right target, good aim, and a plan on how to hit the mark. Let us know if we can help!

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

Stuck in the Middle

2010-04-26T12:43:00.000-05:00

One of the problems that clients have expressed to us many times is that after they came to a place where they understood the importance of investing in their web presence and web based marketing they were faced with a scale of choices that seemed to have no middle, only opposite extremes.

On one end of the scale there were the cheapest solutions, things like every more sophisticated Do-It-Yourself type services, such as the one being advertised on TV by Intuit heavily right now. In this type of solution, for the low, low price of $ 4.99 a month you can choose from over 2000 website templates that look nice, you just plop your logo into a corner and away you go.

The issues here, as I see them, are that while template style sites have come a long way, and are very inexpensive, it comes with the drawback that your site is going to inevitably look like a thousand other sites out there that chose the same template. They also put you in a box. There are boundaries when it comes to customization, limitations that may or may not fit your business. Combined that with the fact that while the look of the site may be well designed graphically, does it even fit your business, and will it speak to your target market segment? Does it integrate with the brand you have established with your company? You have worked hard to create and build your business brand, you have risked and sacrificed and carefully hired employees, established relationships and tried to hone your company’s message. With all that said and invested, do you want to entrust that brand now to a $ 5.00 website to be the most effective online tool to sell your company and its services?

Not much farther up the scale is the one person design shop, the person working from home with some 3rd party software to create a website, and usually a good knowledge or education in graphic design. While this can be another economical solution, a little pricier than the DIY site, this again does not normally address the marketing side of web design. Programming a pretty site is one thing, thinking through what it should look like, why it should look that way, what the navigational structure should be, how to drive traffic to it when it has gone live, what the branded copy should say…these are not the things that one person design shops are typically equipped to fully help you answer. These solutions are also usually not the most adept in the actual programming of a site if it falls too far into the “from scratch” customization arena, where functionality meets specific marketing goals. The bottom line is, while you can have the beautiful site in the world, but if you do not have a strategy to drive traffic to it it’s like putting the Mona Lisa of billboards in the middle of a desert where no one sees it and responds.

Move up one more rung on the scale and you have the even more expensive IT firms, which can specialize in software development, 3rd party software integration of existing systems and yes, they can create a website for you as well. This is squarely a issue of focus, as the idea behind creating a great and effective website with excellent ROI has to balance not just technical “know how”, but also an understanding of how marketing research figures into the design itself. The IT firm doesn’t really focus on understanding the target market segment your company is trying to talk to, get into their mindset and define their buying drivers. They are not focused on examining your competitors and understanding their brand proposition to make sure your message and copywriting is a differentiator in establishing your sustainable competitive advantage effectively to the consumer or company that hits your website.

From here the middle of the scale is noticeably vacant of options in the minds of many small to midsized businesses, and the next step up to a website design and development solution is a doozy!

At the top extreme of the scale are most of the advertising agencies and marketing firms that can certainly capture both halves of the equation: the marketing acumen and focus on strategy, and the execution of the strategy through proper and effective design and programming. The issue here is the price tag, plain and simple. We have reached the top end of the scale, into the rarified air of the website that now costs in the tens of thousands on the low end into the solid six figure category, and the goal of having a web based marketing strategy that is really effective appears to have becomes out of reach for the typical midsized business. This is where most of Xapsis clients had found themselves before meeting us…stuck in the middle.

Where do you go when you need more than a $ 1,000 web solution can provide, and yet you are shell shocked by the six figure proposal? When you need the marketing acumen, but assume that the costs associated with it is out of reach? When you or your clients have specific needs to make the business run more efficiently, more profitably, more conveniently, or even more globally through the web?

Xapsis Integrated Marketing was created to fill that middle gap! We can take the budget you have, maximize it, give you the results you want and the ROI you need, and you don’t have to sacrifice either side of the issue (Marketing/Execution). Let us show you today what our current clients have already found out, we can take your company from where you are, to where you want to be, and do it cost effectively! Don’t give up on the goal of fully leveraging the web as a viable and powerful marketing tool to connect with your current and future clients, let us show you what is possible and attainable today!

From where you are to where you want to be,

Doug

What's with the funny name?

2010-04-26T09:22:00.000-05:00

Xapsis? What in the world?

Is it a new pharmaceutical that assists in reducing your cholesterol? Is it the latest FPS game for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii? Is it the latest search engine trying to compete with the likes of Google, Yahoo and Bing?

Maybe the most important question besides what it means from an etymological perspective, is what does it mean to you as a small to midsized business owner here in Central IL, and ultimately around the globe. What's with that name???

Xapsis is actually a derivative of the word apsis which in celestial mechanics is essentially defined as a point both farthest away and nearest to the center of attraction in a defined system. Now that may have made things as clear as mud when it comes to understanding why we named our marketing firm Xapsis, but bear with me.

If X marks the spot, the "You Are Here" indicator on the map of commerce, you would place your company at the center of the business system known as your local marketplace. Your business is the center of your world where you do what you do, working hard to get the word out about your sustainable competitive advantages, trying to tell people who you are, what you do and why they should do business with you. In this day and age even small to mid sized businesses can expand their marketplace from the local to the national, and in some cases even global through the great equalizer that is the internet.

Somewhere out there floating around in a net-centric world are your potential customers and clients. They are navigating through, and overwhelmed by, a myriad of product and service choices in a multitude of categories, no matter if you are a company that sells B2B or B2C. We've all heard the statistics:

• 2 billion daily Google searches
• 100 million YouTube videos watched every day
• Over 200 million blogs
• Hundreds of millions of Facebook users
• Light internet users spending the time equivalent of a part time job surfing the net, at home and at their jobs

It's not a stretch to say that the new marketplace community is out there on the World Wide Web, but the question is: How do you REACH them?

How do you make social medias work for you? How do drive a searcher to your business and leverage inbound marketing to your advantage? How do you turn eyeballs on your website into profits to your bottom line? The numbers are staggering, but those users seems so far away, so removed from actual interaction with you, your employees and your services. The million dollar question is, how do I take those online communities of far away prospects, at one apsis, and bring them around to become consistent clients, closest to your company and loyal to your brand? Luckily you don't have to spend a million to ANSWER it!

Welcome to Xapsis Integrated Marketing!

If you take a look at our logo you'll see that word apsis, along with the X that marks the spot of your company. That far away sphere in the upper corner is your prospective target market segment, the sphere close to the X your loyal clients and bridging the gap, moving your company out to the farthest point and bringing your customer back is that green ellipse. That green band is what Xapsis does. We take your company from where you are to where you want to be, and we do it through things like:

• Web Design and Development
• Search Engine Optimization
• Social Media marketing
• Company Branding
• Integrated multimedia
• Print collateral
• Personalized URL campaigns
• Mobile websites and apps
• E-commerce solutions
• Marketing Strategy and analysis
• Intranet development

That's just a few of the things we specialize in that, in turn, bring you ROI in the form of increased brand awareness and engagement, larger market share, profit growth, new revenue streams, top-of-mind-awareness and on and on.

Xapsis may seem like a funny word, but what it ultimately means is affordable marketing solutions for small to mid-sized business that actually produce results. We are committed to YOUR company's success and continual growth by providing the marketing tools necessary to thrive in the modern business environment. Our team is pledged to maximize your budget (no matter the size), minimize your worries, and energize your brand. We will help you reach your prospective clients with uncommon creativity and leverage the latest technologies for the greatest impact.

We look forward to serving you with integrity and refreshing vision as we take you from where you are to where you want to be!

Doug

Welcome

2010-04-23T00:34:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the official blog of Xapsis Integrated Marketing. We are diligently working on our website and should have it up and running shortly. In the meantime, we'll use this blog to post information regarding current projects, industry trends, and the latest hot news in technology and marketing.

Sit back and enjoy!