# Posts

title: Embarking on a Brand
tags: Logo Design,Branding,How to build your business,Startup,Strategy
content:
  <p><img src="http://creativebearings.com/blogimageuploads/logos-and-branding-why_1.jpg" class="post_page_image" alt="Why Build a Brand?"><strong><br></strong></p><p><strong><br></strong></p><p><strong>What does an logo/brand mean to your business?</strong></p><br><p><strong>Image</strong><strong>:</strong></p><p>A logo is the first impression a customer will get of your company and its professional stature in its marketplace. The logo ends up on the header of your website, on letterhead, and on business cards. Larger companies include their logo on their products, so at a glance consumers will identify their quality with the product on the shelves. As companies grow, their logo becomes more recognizable and that's when a brand is built.&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Recognition:</strong></p><p>Ever seen event posters with logos of the event sponsors? This is a great way to promote your business. Show the world that the event you are sponsoring aligns with your business philosophy. Shirts and hats that have your logo will become billboards your customers wear opening up a conversation about your involvement with them.&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Return on Investment:</strong></p><p>Every time you use your logo, hand out your business cards or have your logo as a decal on your work vehicle, you increase the value of your brand. Think of it this way: If you sold your company the day after you created it, it would be more or less the same price as the investment you put into it. But, over time, as you build up a reputation, a product line or service list, your company's value begins to grow. After 10 years your customer list, products, revenue outlooks are all sellable for a price that is much much more than your initial investment. Same goes for your logo. Your brand is a large part of what sells with your company.&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Additional Revenue Stream:</strong></p><p>Why not sell your wares? Restaurants, tours, destinations, events and musical groups all sell items with their logos on them. The price of a shirt can be as little as $6.00 but when sold over the counter, you can make 400%, and that is good for the bottom line. Many products or services you sell may not even make that much. That advertising is also a hidden bonus. Next year, change the date and do it all over again.</p>


title: Adding a Live Chat to your Website
tags: Live Chat,Add on for Website,Marketing Ideas
content:
  <img src="http://creativebearings.com/blogimageuploads/add-a-live-chat_1.jpg" class="post_page_image" alt="Why Add a Live Chat"><br><br><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;">The trouble with online shopping is that many customers are disconnected from someone who can answer their questions in real time with precision. Rather than watching potential customers click away from their site, many businesses have been adding live chat support. As it turns out, live chat has the ability to provide the convenient answers that customers want, while also adding significant benefits to the staff and bottom line of companies.&nbsp;</p><br><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;"><strong>Access to Immediate Help:</strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;">An online chat system provides customers immediate access to help. Wait times are often much less than a call center, and customers can easily multi-task while waiting. Additionally, the pain of having to dial a 1-800 number and navigate through a maze of numeric options is non-existent.</p><br><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;"><strong>Save Money:</strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;">Live chat software has consistently demonstrated that it can save on both employee task time and phone expenses. Some of the most notable cost savings are:</p><br><ul><li>Live chat reduces overall contact center costs by lowering average interaction costs.<br></li><li>Increases efficiency by allowing live chat representatives to handle multiple chats simultaneously, thus reducing the need to hire more representatives.<br></li><li>Live Chats are easy to install and manage.&nbsp;</li><li>Some Chat software is by subscription and is competitively priced.&nbsp;</li></ul><br><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;">With employees spending less time on the phone, they can multi-task during chat conversations and cut the waiting queue to a fraction of its former size when compared to a call center. Not only is this a process improvement but it increases the chances of overall sales (which we’ll get into next!).</p><br><br><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;"><strong>Live Chat Increases Sales:</strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;">The general trend among users in marketing forums and on blogs is that live chat on a website can generally lead to improved sales numbers. The key is that customers have someone who can immediately walk them through a sale if they become confused or have a question that can make or break a sale. This helps eliminate bounces away from retail websites and ensure that full shopping carts make it through check out.</p><br><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;"><strong>Live Chat Gives You An Edge of Your Competition:</strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; line-height: 1.8em;">If you want to gain an edge on the competition, live chat is a key feature that websites must have in order to be competitive and to hopefully rise to the top. In fact, live chat provides a simple way to connect with customers who spend a good deal of their money online. Email requests can go unread a couple hours or even a couple days. If your industry needs to deliver answers quickly a live chat is a great way to do it.</p><span style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>


title: Color Forecast for 2016
tags: Color,Pantone,Design,Forecast
content:
  <img src="http://creativebearings.com/blogimageuploads/forecasting-pantone-colors-2016.jpg" alt="Color Forecasting for 2016"><p><br><p><strong>Why do designers pick the colors they do?</strong></p><br><p>Feel. It's all about feel. Bubble gum actually has a color scheme. It is bright and playful. Why? Because it is not too serious about itself. It is to be enjoyed, popped, stretched and snapped. &nbsp;Color expresses all of this in a simple package.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Attorneys use dark blues, official and strong colors that feel stately, professional. Outfitters use outdoor colors, tans and dusty greens. Eco-friendly companies use bright greens and dusty tans to display their dedication to the 'green' movement. Black and white with gradients and shadows could be used for a photographer trying to focus their attention to the photography, not the surroundings.&nbsp;</p><br><p>As we move into 2016, we love to see what the 'experts' believe are going to be the hot new colors of the year. Pantone (the color matching system used by artists and printers globally for nearly a century) releases their picks this time every year. These picks also represent combinations that work together in all new ways. This year's sets are great inspiration for us, and our customers as we plan to catch the eyes of the consumer in the new year.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Take it or leave it, the colors both hone in on the hue or shade of blue, used on the Attorney's website, or warm up the gray on the photographer's business card, but ultimately we are tuned into color combinations as complements to the stereotypes we are comfortable with in marketing. Let's see what happens next.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Just take a moment to think about what bright bubble gum colors would say about a recycling company. Take 'em seriously? Notice them more or less?&nbsp;</p></p>


title: Working in Person
tags: Business Strategy,Outsourcing,Insourcing
content:
  <img src="http://www.creativebearings.com/blogimageuploads/meeting-in-person-creative-team.jpg" alt="Working in Person"><br><br><p style="margin-bottom: 32px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 32px; outline: 0px;"><span style="line-height: inherit;"><b><i>Are we re-entering an age when working in person has become key to the success of a project?&nbsp;</i></b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 32px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 32px; outline: 0px;">It seems that over the past 12 years, working remotely with a web designer, app developer or graphic designer has required very little face-to-face interaction, if any at all. In response to this, many internet companies have launched to introduce the&nbsp;clients and the designers. Some have gone so far, that the designer has to produce samples before they even know they have the project. On the customer side, there has always been a risk that the designer(s) will waste a lot&nbsp;of their time too, to end up with something that they really were not happy with at all.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-bottom: 32px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 32px; outline: 0px;">Perhaps face-to-face is making a comeback because of the need&nbsp;for better communication. Those who can communicate effectively&nbsp;on the internet, in email or via online proposal are hard to find. Getting a point across, in person, is always going to be easier and clearer. Face-to-face is also a way to develop trust. Knowing that a person is "real", supplies a great level of comfort for the person doing the hiring.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-bottom: 32px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 32px; outline: 0px;">It has been ten to twelve years&nbsp;that we've been able to meet providers&nbsp;from around the world with a simple search of the web. There was a push to get web coding done from India. Search generic photography from photo houses such as ShutterStock. There were logos being designed by competition on 99Designs. And there have always people&nbsp;out there that are&nbsp;eager for new business leads from&nbsp;an outside source. However, not long before&nbsp;that, it was always done face-to-face. A customer would have&nbsp;to visit several providers to see who had the skills to accomplish their goals; who had the price to fit the budget; and who had the time to fit them in. This was a serious investment of time on the part of the customer, that only now seems to be resurrected. These companies are also the ones that seem to know what they are talking about. They seem&nbsp;more knowledgeable of the process and seem know their own company and expectations better.&nbsp;</p><blockquote style="margin-top: 50px; margin-bottom: 50px; padding-right: 80px; padding-left: 80px; font-style: italic; font-size: 24px; font-family: Georgia; vertical-align: baseline; quotes: none; line-height: 38px; outline: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85098); position: relative; text-align: center;">Companies who&nbsp;do research before&nbsp;hiring&nbsp;a professional, are far more&nbsp;likely to succeed.</blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 32px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 32px; outline: 0px;">We used to say, "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur." - Now we should be saying, "It is inexpensive to hire anonymously, but&nbsp;cheaper you will&nbsp;become because of&nbsp;it."&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-bottom: 32px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 32px; outline: 0px;">If it was easy and cheap they&nbsp;wanted, why start a business at all? Companies who do research on their providers, their competition and their own marketplaces have proven far&nbsp;more likely to succeed. Those who do not, end up spending their first three to five years on the edge of failure. Most fail outright, but some learn from their mistakes, consult with professionals and turn their businesses around. But, why not start out on the right footing, with people who can offer valuable services and share in their success? Most of these "real" people, will work within tight budgets too, and will be there when you need them for the long haul.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-bottom: 32px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 32px; outline: 0px;">Let's hope business can continue this&nbsp;resurgence towards a&nbsp;face-to-face marketplace, not just for the local-to-local business interaction, but for the quality of work, done well, for people who know&nbsp;how to share in their success.&nbsp;</p>


title: The Future of Search Engine Dominance is in the STARS!
tags: reviews,star wars,search engine optimization,seo,getting reviews
content:
  <img src="http://www.creativebearings.com/blogimageuploads/search-engine-dominance-is-star-wars.jpg" alt="Star Wars - Getting Reviews for SEO Dominance"><br><br><p>Some pretty amazing algorithms exist to ensure that search engines deliver qualified results to the internet going population. The best ones validate your site by how many other sites link into yours. Others read your content for keywords that pertain to the search criteria. Location is a really valuable search criteria. Google allows you to see service providers right on a map of your neighborhood. If you like shopping locally, this is a great feature. The value of the click is important to some search sites too. If visitors leave immediately, then you could get penalized in search ranking. If visitors find what they are looking for, you can get rewarded. Lately, if you are providing mobile-friendly (sites designed for phone and desktop) you will be rewarded, or at least, not penalized, in this day and age of handheld computers in each of our pockets.&nbsp;</p><br><p>What's next you say? For internet shoppers and business services its the reviews. Reviews, those little "stars" that show up in search results, on Yelp, Google+, Facebook, Yahoo and on Ebay and Amazon. Those stars insure that visitors will get great service, support and products. Even the products themselves get ratings and really valuable write-ups.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Search engines are just starting to tie their other&nbsp;algorithms in with those star ratings. This could push stores with more ratings to the top, or stores with higher ratings to the top. What does that mean for you? It means you need ratings, and fast. The "Star Wars" have begun. Every business is going to begin clamoring for ratings, and in more than one place.&nbsp;</p><br><p>The best thing about ratings, is that they are typically unbiased. They are hard to fabricate. Each visitor has to have a social page, or unique email to provide a rating. Some SEO shops out there have tried to flood the rating systems with ratings using all kinds of different email addresses or fake Facebook accounts (you've seen them). Yelp, TripAdvisor and Expedia has cracked down on these fraudulent reviews. They have developed some amazing programs to read and identify unworthy reviews. That means that reviews will be harder and harder to forge.</p><br><p>So how do small businesses compete in the upcoming "Star Wars"? It's time to think outside of the box. Yes, you should always invite patrons to visit your preferred reviews site(s). Google shows their ratings directly related to your website. Most people have at least one Google account these days, for Google Drive or Google+, so this can be a great place to send your customers.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Here are a few more:</p><p>• Google Reviews</p><p>• Yelp</p><p>• Manta</p><p>• Facebook</p><p>• LinkedIn</p><br><p>If you are a destination-oriented business:</p><p>• Expedia</p><p>• Kayak</p><p>• Hotels.com</p><p>• Booking.com</p><p>• Orbitz</p><p>• Travelocity</p><p>• Virtual Tourist</p><br><p>Thinking out of the box:</p><br><ol><li>Consider giving your customers discounts if they post a review.<br></li><li>After each sale send a link to your review page with a nice note.<br></li><li>Get together with networking groups and exchange reviews.&nbsp;</li><li>Ask for reviews on your Facebook Page and on LinkedIn - you'll be surprised how many people will do it for you, just because you asked.&nbsp;</li><li>Revisit your testimonials. Ask those people to post the message on your reviews sites.&nbsp;</li><li>Look through your emails, you'd be surprised how many nice things your customers have said in email correspondences that were never made public.&nbsp;</li></ol><br><p>Getting stars will begin to push your company higher in search results, give your company more credibility for prospective customers and future employees, and will really make you feel more accomplished. Those stars can even help you sell your company at a later date. Those who fill out reviews are also helping the local economy, showing their expertise and showing how much they value businesses they work with. Never hesitate to give a good review. Always sleep on it before posting a poor or angry review.&nbsp;</p>


