Still spots open!

Posted on July 21, 2008 | Filed Under Business Image, Latest News

There are still 24 spaces left in The Classic Creations Image Club! Join before the price goes up on July 31st!

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This Week’s Big Project

Posted on July 20, 2008 | Filed Under Website Design

Linwood Farms HOAJust putting on the finishing touches to a new magazine style WordPress website for a Home Owner’s Association. This WordPress theme style allows the Community’s leaders to do updates to the content without having to depend on the webmaster for each and every update. It is loosely based on the Mimbo theme for WP, and plugins utilized are: Akismet (of course), Blog Roll Links (to create the Links Page), Events Calendar, Page Link Manager (to control the upper navigation), Search Pages (so the entire site is searched, not just posts).

We will also be adding a photo album (using a plugin) in the coming week.

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Even in Mooresvile, NC

Posted on July 17, 2008 | Filed Under Fun Stuff

Sunset in North Carolina
photo by Jeff Cooper

We may be known as “Race City, USA” because of NASCAR, but we can also get some sunsets beautiful enough to rival the coast!

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When Should You Re-Brand?

Posted on July 15, 2008 | Filed Under Business Image, Business Marketing, Logo Design, Smart Business, Website Design

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As small business owners, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our business. Read any small business magazine, or blog these days and you’ll find references to “re-branding”. First of all, what is it?

The official definition: The process of taking an existing brand and reworking the brand into something different and better than before. The process by which a product or service developed with one brand, company or product line affiliation is marketed or distributed with a different identity.

Business ImageWe all get an itch to redesign our website…to improve our print materials…or to change our logo. But, it’s not always a good idea to do so–especially not in dramatic fashion. Why? If you’ve had the same look for many years, and have a stable customer base, it can be alarming to those customers when they see a major change.

When is the absolute optimal time to re-brand? When you’re brand/identity was never really defined in the first place; or when your brand/identity needs updating for the current market.

One major re-branding swing that I remember was in the late 90’s when some auto companies decided that their logos were outdated. One major change was Oldsmobile:

Pretty dramatically different–and much more modern.

Web 2.0 and Rebranding

Now is a good time to consider rebranding, if it’s been a while since your website/logo was designed. Using a fresh new look, and moving your business into the “Web 2.0″ revolution will give your customers and visitors the impression of a “fresh” “hip” company.

Don’t Forget…

There are some important things to remember when you redesign your website to fit your new brand/identity. With a good business image consultant and marketing team, these things will go very smoothly.

•RESEARCH Determine exactly what you feel requires you to rebrand. If it’s because your current brand or identity doesn’t appeal to the market you want to reach, research what’s appealing to that market and put those elements into place within your new brand.

• PLAN Take the time to plan out the workings of your site…from navigation (put yourself in the user’s shoes), to researching better keywords. Web 2.0 is not only about the “look”, it’s also about simplicity and ease of use. It’s about guiding your visitors to do exactly what you want them to do while at your site.

Understand that your traffic patterns and business in general will likely slow for a time once your new brand/identity is in place. Be ready for that change…whether it’s an income or time management issue.

Planning ahead will save you frustration in the end.

• REDIRECT Be sure to set up 301 redirects from any pages that were ranked in your old site, especially if you completely rewrite your content, or change from html to php or asp.

• MARKET Your marketing plan will need an overhaul when you rebrand, especially if your target market has changed. Make sure your advertising in the right places to reach the right market.

Dont’ forget your current customers! Be sure to ease them into your new brand through good communication…they will be your most valuable asset during this process.

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