Henry Cavendish display for Derby Cathedral.

We have just done this display board for Derby Cathedral, it is about Henry Cavendish.  

Henry Cavendish  (10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen.

A few years ago we did a project for Derby Cathedral which was to design the history boards for the Cathedral Centre.The Centre was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth II. We designed the invitations for the event. However the most stressful job we have ever done was supplying the official plaque for the opening. In design most things you design have a short life ie an advert in a newspaper may be one night, a leaflet may be around for a month etc, but the plaque made from granite will be there for a very long time. 

The stress came as the stone mason fitted it and the curtain for the opening the night before the visit. I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening, the thing was that I had a vision of either the curtain not opening or worse of all the plaque coming off the wall as the Queen was looking at it and injuring her in front of all the press and television cameras. That would have been the tower for me! The great thing was that everything went just like clockwork.

Picture of the opening is here at http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/features/2003/11/queens_visit/gallery_queen/pop_10.shtml

What I have learnt on Twitter to date.

Well, I joined Twitter on the 15 December 2009                              ( twitter.com/graphic_results ). The reason I looked at Twitter was that I kept hearing about how good it was. 

I was very sceptic about it, thinking it just media hype. However I was quickly proved wrong.

Twitter in a very short space of time has become a part of our over all marketing, communication and networking for Graphic Results. We are working on a new website for us and Twitter will be added. 

A great point about twitter is the instant two way communication between you and people in Twitter land.

Todate we have picked up several new customers who have ordered both products and services. The customers are from across the UK so this means free national marketing.

We have got a following of nearly 1000 followers and yes a lot are from overseas and are trying to sell to me. However in my opinion that does not matter as they have followers and if they like your twitter then they may retwitter it for you. Therefore your message can go national and international very quickly.

Twitter has given me the opportunity to chat to some very interesting people and it's not just all about business. I have seen twitter work very well in helping raise the profile of issues ie kickcancer, British Heart Foundation and many others.

Another amazing thing I have learnt is the speed of interaction between people. When I was watching BBC tv's Question time the other evening, the view points that were being twittered about the comments the guests on the panel made watching more interesting. With the elections all the political parties need to embrace to power of twitter and social networking.

On twitter I have seen some very good examples of interaction with customers and staff, this is a quote to me from the MD of a coffee chain " I am just trying to listen to what our partners (employees) and customers want". 

Twitter communication's should now be added to all company customer services departments, this would help to monitor customer feed back.

So what have a learnt, first of all remember respect and manners, so if someone retwitters you try to say thank you.

If some asks for help try to help them, for example a start up coffee shop in Chesterfield called Froth (forth_hasland) wanted to get followers so I twittered "please follow forth" and more followed, of which several are local to her so may end up being new customers.

Don't make tweets just sales messages, mix in other information about you, your family or friends, remember the old saying "people buy from people". It's about building trust and relationships.

Make your twitters interesting, meaningful and relevant. If you get a twitter that you think is good then retwitter it to others.

In my opinion Twitter is going to become a major route of communication for us all, now and in the future.

So I am now off to do some more twittering, bye for now.

Thank you for reading and following.

Regards

Mike

At last we go, a recent project.

A project we have recently done is for Denby Pottery , we have designed & produced marketing material to advertise the "Celebrity TV Chef James Martin returns to Denby" event.

The funny thing is that Liz has done the marketing material for the previous times that James Martin has come to Denby but has never been able to see the demonstrations as we have been on holiday but this time we are going.There will also be a Food Fayre in the Courtyard with a selection of local foods,so we will be tasting and buying lots of great local food.

Starting a new business,get your branding right..

Good design sells....Fact.
If you are starting out in the big world of running your own business, yes it's scary, but also very exciting. One thing that we have come across is a number of people setting up their business who don't invest time and effort into their logo, branding and marketing material. That may be business cards, letterheads, leaflets and even a website.

I will call this start up "The Hard Work and Cheap Joinery Company" (HWCJC for short).

Often what we'll hear is this: "...well, I have a mate who can knock me something up in Microsoft Word, using every colour in the rainbow and a font like 'Comic Sans'." or "My son who's at school has done it for me".

This will then be followed by a strict and detailed process as follows:

1) The logo gets printed onto some card thats just thin enough to go through the printer for the business cards, but will add nice smudge marks to them.
2) Then, they are cut out by hand with blunt scissors.
3) The Letterheads, to maintain a Corporate Identity, are printed onto 80gsm (Toilet) Paper. But hey, it's cheap paper.

On to the website, which again, is to be handled by a mate who's good on the PC. First of all, he's purchased you the following domain name:-

www.freespacesomewhereinspace.com/my-new-business-setup-by-my-mate.

The site design is then handled by your "web-savvy" mate, who will maintain your corporate style with numerous colours, text saved as images (Search Engine Friendly? No.), neglecting to insert any META Tags or Keywords. The finished article will be placed into Google's top 1,000,000 results, just below "Betty's Ironing Service".

Then you start your business and wonder why you are not winning on quotes......

As a well known advert say's "...there has to be a better way". This is what another person who understands the power of creativity would do...

First of all, they would set a budget of let's say £500.00 to invest in their branding, letterheads, business cards and website.

Lets call this business "Cool Looking Joinery" (or, CLJ for short). CLJ will first of all meet up will with a creative and professional design company. Between them, they would work out who CLJ's customers are, what their target audience is, and what image and branding is needed to attract the right customers. After the initial meeting, the Designer would come up with some great creative ideas, using the right colours, a quality font, relevant and appealing imagery. These are then worked up into business cards and letterheads, linked together by a fresh and implemented Corporate Identity.

CLJ are very happy with the designs and then look at having them printed. The designer recommends printing the business cards on a high quality 400gsm board, printed in full colour, with the letterheads being produced on a 115gsm white bright paper stock which adds to the look and professional style.

The designer and the chap from CLJ progress onto the website, and the options available to best suit the need. As CLJ are Joiners, all they need is to have good web presence as they don't need to sell direct to their client base. The designer recommends work on a small, 3 page web brochure, to be produced in the same corporate style as the printed material.

They get the right domain name in "www.coollookingjoinery.co.uk" which helps customers find CLJ. Then, the Designer creates the site using relevant keywords and tags so that the little spiders from Google can find you in a heartbeat. Betty's Ironing isn't even on the same page.

Both CLJ and HWCJC both get telephone calls from Mr and Mrs Needakitchen.

They both go and have a look at the job, then go away and work out the quote. Both CLJ and HWCJC are going to use the same kitchen units bought from a well known DIY chain, both will do it in the same time frame and both have the same basic quote price.

The quotes arrive in the post. HWCJC's quote is printed on cheap paper, with a poor logo and a business card that looks like a dog's eaten it. CLJ's is printed on quality paper, is well designed and comes with a professional business card with the photographs reminding Mr and Mrs Needakitchen of the high class workmanship that CLJ have done before.

So, let's say you have the to quotes in front of you. One looks and feels professional, the other looks and feels poor. Which would you take?

We know which one the majority of us would go for... it's the one that looks and feels professional. 

So lets say for example the kitchen cost £10000 an investment of say £500 in branding and professional material was an excellent return on investment. 
The key point that I am making is good design sells and is cost effective, bad design will eventually cost you money in lost sales.

If you are starting out, take advantage of one of our business start up packs. Our product knowledge coupled with concentrated creativity can help you hit the ground running.



Call us on 01773 599159, and let us help you to make the right start in business.
printing.com @ Graphic Results

Leaflet Masterclass

Leaflets are so versatile, it’s no surprise so many of our customers find them an essential part of their marketing. Whether they’re being popped through letter boxes, inserted into newspapers, posted out or propped up on the counter – they look great in glorious full colour and are incredibly low cost.
Many things will affect the response you’ll get from your leaflet campaign. Answer these questions and make your leaflets work harder for you:

Who’s Your Target Market?

Who are you trying to reach? Are you selling to consumers or businesses? Where do they live? What industry are they in? What age group? If you can’t answer these questions, you’ll find it a bit trickier to find the right way of targeting your market.

What’s Your Point, Caller?

Presumably you’re investing in marketing to win more business. We do it all the time, so there’s no need to be shy. Think about what makes you different or special. What problem can you solve? What need can you satisfy? What’s your Unique Selling Point – your USP? Why should they buy from you?

What’s In It For Me?

We’ve seen leaflets which are no more than business cards – a name, a number and maybe a list of stuff they do. When you get a leaflet like that, what do you do? Save it or bin it? The most effective leaflets use time-bound offers. Maybe “half price this month”, “free teddy with every quote” or “free consultation during November.” Think really hard about offering an incentive – and the level of it. “5% off” may be enough to get some interest… but what would “25% off” do to the response?

What Do You Want Me To Do?

What’s the next step? You don’t need to close the deal there and then (although, if you can, do it!) Tell them what you want them to do next. “Call now for a free sample”, “Bring this leaflet to…” or “Email us for a quotation.” Spell it out. Make it easy for them to buy from you.

How Will You Reach Me?

There are many ways to get your message out. First or second class post is highly targeted, but quite pricey. Try inserts in a local free newspaper, or pay some local kids to do a leaflet drop. For a more targeted approach try an insert in a magazine read by your target market. Selling crochet saddles? Put an insert into ‘Your Pony Magazine’.

What Will It Look Like?

We’d recommend that you spend at least 30% of your budget on design. Design can mean the difference between success and failure. A badly designed leaflet may do more damage than you think. There’s no such thing as a second impression, so get it right first time. We can help. Design is our business, after all. Talk to us.

When’s The Best Time?

This will depend on what you’re selling, although according to the Direct Marketing Association, October is the prime time for inserts. You’ll probably get a lower response in summer months, since your recipients may be sunning themselves in Benidorm or Barbados. At Christmas, your message will have to work harder to compete with all the others.

Anything Else?

Leaflets are a wonderfully effective marketing tool… when they’re used correctly. We want you to be successful for selfish reasons – you’ll invest more with us if you are. Let us help you succeed – get us involved from the start. And, good luck!


Regards
Mike
printing.com @ Graphic Results
 01773 599159

A Quick History of Graphic Results...

Liz and myself set Graphic Results up in 1998 in the back bedroom of our house.It came about as Liz had worked in graphic design and packaging design for the likes of Holland and Barrett, Asda in Leeds and then for chocolate company Thorntons and was after several glasses of wine Liz said "I cannot do another Father's day promotion". At the time I was working for a recruitment agency as the sales and marketing manager, and with no children my salary covered the costs of living. So on the 7th of August 1998 Graphic Results was born. Liz hit the road running and our first client was a well known pottery company and today they are still a major client.After about 3 weeks of setting up I could see that Liz was only spending about half her time designing and the rest of it running around looking after clients, so we decided it was time for me to leave my job and join the business. So within 6 weeks we had gone from two salaries to no salary.We played at it for about 6 years, making a living and having time for the children. Clients would ring me on my mobile and would ask where are I was and often the reply was " I'm on the park". The business grew but when you have most of your house used for the business and share an office with my daughter and her cot its's time to move the business. We moved the business into a unit in Belper, had the usual battle with BT re telephone and broadband. We then decided to recruit and that's another major story. After about 18 months we outgrew the unit and moved to a bigger unit, had again the BT issues only this time we made BBC news about it! We then grew the team. In 2009 in a moment of madness ( my idea not Liz's)  just before the deepest recession since 1930 we expanded the business and opened Chesterfield. A very short history in the life of Liz, Mike and Graphic Results.