Some companies are great for sharing information with stockholders and the market, even when it hurts. Others tap dance around issues and hope nobody notices. Which type of company is a better investment?
According to L.J. Rittenhouse, the investment markets reward companies that are forthright and open. The former investment banker and president of Rittenhouse Rankings studies the effects of CEOs’ willingness to communicate upon the stock prices of their companies.
This is the last in a seven-post series on how to choose the right creative service provider (writer, designer, photographer, etc.) for your business or organization. This advice is based on what I’ve seen companies do the wrong way over the years. Hope you enjoy and find it useful!
What’s the best measure of client satisfaction? In most industries, it’s repeat business. That’s also one of the most reliable indicators in the creative services business. After all, most organizations have an ongoing need for services, and if they keep returning to the same provider, it’s a sign that they place a great deal of trust and see a lot of value in that provider. If you notice client relationships that are measured in years, rather than months, it’s a sign that your prospective supplier is doing something right.
Keep in mind that some client turnover is inevitable as client contacts change jobs, or business strategies change. And one-time projects may signal a special need, rather than dissatisfaction with the provider. But if there’s a pattern of long-term relationships, the odds are better that your organization will be happy.
This is another in a seven-post series on how to choose the right creative service provider (writer, designer, photographer, etc.) for your business or organization. This advice is based on what I’ve seen companies do the wrong way over the years. Hope you enjoy and find it useful!
In business, most of us are judged not on how eagerly we try, but on how well we perform. You should expect no less from a prospective creative services provider. The primary focus of their work should be to support their clients’ business efforts, not to beef up their own portfolios. That’s why you should ask about challenges the supplier has solved for other clients.
Look for specifics, particularly where results are concerned. There’s a big difference between “I think the ad worked pretty well” and “the ad increased sales by 26 percent during the campaign.” Listen for both candor and enthusiasm. The supplier should be proud of a job well done, and he or she should speak favorably and respectfully of the client.
This is another in a seven-post series on how to choose the right creative service provider (writer, designer, photographer, etc.) for your business or organization. This advice is based on what I’ve seen companies do the wrong way over the years. Hope you enjoy and find it useful! Very few clients review a provider’s sample … Read more
This is another in a seven-post series on how to choose the right creative service provider (writer, designer, photographer, etc.) for your business or organization. This advice is based on what I’ve seen companies do the wrong way over the years. Hope you enjoy and find it useful!
Will you be happy with the supplier’s work? That’s the question that many clients ask, and it’s closely related to the one they should be asking — will you be happy with the working relationship?
This is a column I wrote several years ago, and thought was worth sharing again.
I guess it’s human nature for people to want their children to have the things they lacked as youngsters. Maybe it’s because we remember how badly we wanted the things our parents couldn’t afford or simply chose to deny us. Or maybe it’s because giving our kids abundance allows us to flaunt our own successes.
But as I get older (and presumably wiser – which my teenagers won’t confirm), I’m beginning to believe that the best way to give kids more is to give them less.
This is another in a seven-post series on how to choose the right creative service provider (writer, designer, photographer, etc.) for your business or organization. This advice is based on what I’ve seen companies do the wrong way over the years. Hope you enjoy and find it useful!
The second step is to determine whether your prospective provider is in business for the long haul. That’s important if you’re hoping to establish a long-term working relationship with that provider. You don’t want to be left high and dry in six months if he or she decides to take a full-time job.
This is the first of a seven-post series on how to choose the right creative service provider (writer, designer, photographer, etc.) for your business or organization. This advice is based on what I’ve seen companies do the wrong way over the years. Hope you enjoy and find it useful!
The first step is making sure you avoid the biggest mistake of all, which is to ask your prospective provider “What’s your hourly rate?” Do that, and you’re probably not going to end up with the best provider for your needs and budget.
It’s important for copy to be accurate, but it’s every bit as important for the visuals that accompany the copy to be equally accurate. Visuals either lend credibility to the messages being presented, or they detract from it. That’s especially true when they’re related to some kind of technical message.
I saw proof of this when an ad agency I worked for was preparing a major presentation to a new air cargo company client. One element of the presentation was a paint scheme for the company’s airplanes, and the art director assigned to the task had come up with a beauty. The only problem was that his drawing applied the design to a plane that didn’t exist. He had created the outline of it using a nose from this plane, a tail from that one, engines from a third, and so forth.
I stunned a client recently by telling them that I didn’t think they needed a tagline. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s a brief phrase that is supposed to crystallize what makes your business unique, different, or interesting. It’s similar to a slogan, and the best taglines tend to be on the clever side. Some even use wordplay.
There’s a belief out there that every business must have a tagline, and I’m not sure why. I suspect one of the reasons is the success that Nike had with “Just do it.” On many occasions, companies have asked me to develop taglines that will be just as impactful and memorable as Nike’s. Usually, I’ll politely turn down the work.