Harper Design, Inc.

Description

Once you have chosen a graphic design firm it is imperative that you invest time in them. This is one of the most neglected areas in the Client-Designer relationship. It is important that your chosen firm not only know what you want, but also who you are and who your company is. One CEOâ??s suggestion for dealing with key vendors is to take them on a tour of the facility, introducing them to key individuals and then take them to the golf course. Not only will you discern that many designers are awful golfers but you can have their undivided attention, and more importantly, they will have yours. In addition to the important facets of the individual project, tell them what your philosophy centers on and where your company needs to be in the future. The heart of a company is its personality. The more your chosen firm knows about that personality the more effective and satisfying the results will be. You only have to do this one time. After that a relationship will have been forged and mutual loyalty will grow with each project.

Are You Killing Your Brand? We hope not, because your brand IS your business. Think of Coca Cola: every bodies favorite brand, or Kleenex, Dom Perinion, or Sunkist. No one who does not own stock in these companies cares who owns and manages them. They care about their tissues and champagne. Translation, if your brand dies your company dies. Its proven fact. Think about companies that you know that have failed in their market? If you look close, in every case their brand began to weaken in the minds of their customers. Granted there are many cases of good brands dying calm, natural deaths when the market moves on. A good example is Poloroid a powerful brand in the instant photography business. But instant photography is being eclipsed by digital. Poloroid, as a result, owns far less of their market. In most cases however the strength or weakness of your brand is governed not by what the market is doing, but by how you are managing your brand. Your brand is intellectual property, a strange term that implies intelligence and yet delivers none.

This is pet peeve of many business owners and communication directors: graphic artists who have decided that the best way to seem successful is to act like your customers are a real pain. We have all had that happen with someone (when we call our phone company for instance) but artists have a corner on the market. So here is a note to CEOâ??s, if someone acts like the stereotypical moody artist and you donâ??t seem like a priority to them, go somewhere else. You are not dealing with this firm just once, you need someone who will take care of future projects with creativity and enthusiasm. Secure design firms are not rude. Those that lack confidence often overcompensate by being arrogant. Further, a secure design firm will insist that you provide them the same respect they afford you. This costs you nothing, give it to them.

As you grow in your market and establish a firm foundation from which to expand, an effective design firm can be a great asset. Second to a high quality product there is no area in business that returns, dollar for dollar, the amount that investment in a companies image does. Choosing a trustworthy and capable firm with whom to entrust your image, is the first step to greater market share and customer loyalty.

When you first contact a graphic design firm find out how long they have been in business. Good firms are not assembly lines for design components, they are artists. Artistic talent takes time to hone. So if they have been successful for more than a decade it is probably safe to say that they know their business. However, if you find that they have not been around for at least five years, definitely get the qualifications of their entire creative staff.

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