Getting your message across
Do you have something to say? Is there something that your customers should know that makes your products more valuable to them? Ever feel like you're yelling into the wind? Don't lose heart. You're probably doing a bang-up job with what you are saying, maybe you're just not saying it the right way.
The first thing to look at is how we communicate. Most people are surprised to learn that verbal and written language forms only a small part of human communication. We use all our senses when interpreting the information before us - sight, sound smell, taste and touch.
Try turning the sound down on the TV or switching to a foreign language channel for a while. You can still work out what's going on. The body language of the actors, the lighting, the music (if you have the sound up!), the styling of the set - all of these things combined immediately tell you part of the story. The verbal language is just another part of the story. The trick to getting your message across is to make sure all the other parts of your message and how it is delivered supports what you are saying.
Consider the graphic style of your marketing pieces - the choice of typography, the choice of paper and other printing options such as laminating or foil embossing, how your material is bound and presented. All of these aspects should work together to create a cohesive message.
The second thing to do is to ask yourself who you are talking to. Identify your target market and have a good look at what appeals to them. Ask existing clients and customers what the do and don't like about your product. Go through your client list and identify the industries that most use your products and services. Are they private citizens of a particular age group? Are they large businesses or smaller businesses? What's the average annual turnover? How many staff do they have? Graffiti and loud music isn't going to sell your product to retirees so make sure that how you "package" your message is relevant to your target market.
Make sure your message is written in a writing style that is appropriate for your audience and consider employing a professional copywriter to do the job. The graphic style should also be directed at your market. For example you might use bright colours and bold shapes for something to appeal to children or softer colours and script fonts to appeal to an older female audience.
The third thing you need to do is look at how you package your information to make it meaningful.
Many years ago when I first started work at BP's Development office in Melbourne, I was asked to produce some dry, pre-formatted overheads for the financial manager to present in London. They had all the facilities to scan images to use as part of the presentation but didn't know how to use it, so I suggested we hook it all up and add some images to the presentation. The manager readily agreed and we spent a stressful day (and well into the night) setting up the job and testing the limits of the rather outdated colour printer.
After much delay the manager (who was by now definitely over the idea of photos in presentations) walked out the door, presentation in hand, with a few seconds to spare to catch his flight. It was a couple of weeks before he returned and I fully expected to be told we would not include images again. Instead he told me that the London office finally understood why it cost so much to continue exploration in remote areas of Papua New Guinea. Images of forest so dense workers have to cut their way through with a machete at a snail's pace, roads washed away in a single downpour, mountains and cliffs so steep they offered no alternative but the "long way around". In a single presentation he had justified the unusually high cost of the operation. London had been ready to pull the plug on the whole exercise. Instead they increased the budget. A picture paints a thousand words indeed!
Numerical data is another area that can look dry and uninteresting. It is often, however, the most important information so enticing the audience to read it is crucial. Most people are familiar with producing graphs to present data, but there can be more to it than plotting a scale. Colour again plays an important part here, as do graphical elements. Consider a scale with a shorter range (say showing only 50% to 100% rather than 0% to 100% for example) to emphasise the differences and anomalies in the data. Ideally the audience should be able to glance at a graph and understand the significant feature or trend.
Take some time to have a good look at how you are presenting yourself. Examine your existing marketing material and ask yourself the following:
How do you communicate? Is your visual message consistent with what you are saying?
Who are you talking to? Does your audience relate to your visual message and what you are saying?
Is it easy to see your point? Do you use tools such as images, graphics, diagrams or graphs to convey information in addition to your copy?
Once you have stopped saying "Yes" whilst shaking your head to the contrary, you might find there's more people listening out there than you think!
© mirage design. You may reproduce this article as long as you include the following information including the link:
By Jane Long of mirage design. Please visit www.miragedesign.com.au for additional articles and resources on marketing and design for small business.
The first thing to look at is how we communicate. Most people are surprised to learn that verbal and written language forms only a small part of human communication. We use all our senses when interpreting the information before us - sight, sound smell, taste and touch.
Try turning the sound down on the TV or switching to a foreign language channel for a while. You can still work out what's going on. The body language of the actors, the lighting, the music (if you have the sound up!), the styling of the set - all of these things combined immediately tell you part of the story. The verbal language is just another part of the story. The trick to getting your message across is to make sure all the other parts of your message and how it is delivered supports what you are saying.Consider the graphic style of your marketing pieces - the choice of typography, the choice of paper and other printing options such as laminating or foil embossing, how your material is bound and presented. All of these aspects should work together to create a cohesive message.
The second thing to do is to ask yourself who you are talking to. Identify your target market and have a good look at what appeals to them. Ask existing clients and customers what the do and don't like about your product. Go through your client list and identify the industries that most use your products and services. Are they private citizens of a particular age group? Are they large businesses or smaller businesses? What's the average annual turnover? How many staff do they have? Graffiti and loud music isn't going to sell your product to retirees so make sure that how you "package" your message is relevant to your target market.
Make sure your message is written in a writing style that is appropriate for your audience and consider employing a professional copywriter to do the job. The graphic style should also be directed at your market. For example you might use bright colours and bold shapes for something to appeal to children or softer colours and script fonts to appeal to an older female audience.
The third thing you need to do is look at how you package your information to make it meaningful.
Many years ago when I first started work at BP's Development office in Melbourne, I was asked to produce some dry, pre-formatted overheads for the financial manager to present in London. They had all the facilities to scan images to use as part of the presentation but didn't know how to use it, so I suggested we hook it all up and add some images to the presentation. The manager readily agreed and we spent a stressful day (and well into the night) setting up the job and testing the limits of the rather outdated colour printer.
After much delay the manager (who was by now definitely over the idea of photos in presentations) walked out the door, presentation in hand, with a few seconds to spare to catch his flight. It was a couple of weeks before he returned and I fully expected to be told we would not include images again. Instead he told me that the London office finally understood why it cost so much to continue exploration in remote areas of Papua New Guinea. Images of forest so dense workers have to cut their way through with a machete at a snail's pace, roads washed away in a single downpour, mountains and cliffs so steep they offered no alternative but the "long way around". In a single presentation he had justified the unusually high cost of the operation. London had been ready to pull the plug on the whole exercise. Instead they increased the budget. A picture paints a thousand words indeed!
Numerical data is another area that can look dry and uninteresting. It is often, however, the most important information so enticing the audience to read it is crucial. Most people are familiar with producing graphs to present data, but there can be more to it than plotting a scale. Colour again plays an important part here, as do graphical elements. Consider a scale with a shorter range (say showing only 50% to 100% rather than 0% to 100% for example) to emphasise the differences and anomalies in the data. Ideally the audience should be able to glance at a graph and understand the significant feature or trend.
Take some time to have a good look at how you are presenting yourself. Examine your existing marketing material and ask yourself the following:
How do you communicate? Is your visual message consistent with what you are saying?
Who are you talking to? Does your audience relate to your visual message and what you are saying?
Is it easy to see your point? Do you use tools such as images, graphics, diagrams or graphs to convey information in addition to your copy?
Once you have stopped saying "Yes" whilst shaking your head to the contrary, you might find there's more people listening out there than you think!
© mirage design. You may reproduce this article as long as you include the following information including the link:
By Jane Long of mirage design. Please visit www.miragedesign.com.au for additional articles and resources on marketing and design for small business.
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