Direct Selling : Creative Makeovers

When and why to give your effort an overhaul

May 2008 By Lois Boyle-Brayfield

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• Do you really know what a customer sees first when receiving your piece? If so, have you done everything within your power to use this element to grab attention?
• Are your photography and graphics powerful? Have you considered an interesting image, crop or color?
• Are you using copy that is powerful and relevant to a customer's world?
• Do recipients immediately know who the piece is from?
• Are you using brand elements that customers immediately recognize?
• Are you offering solutions to relevant problems?
• Is your offer clear and compelling?
• Is there a single focus, or have you bombarded them with many messages and images that only confuse and detract?

Once you have the customer's notice, don't think the need to grab attention stops on the outside of an envelope or the cover of a catalog. Every component should engage the reader. Are you using hot spots effectively? Are you staging the different components for maximum effect, or-if it's a catalog-are you paginating to fully take advantage of how customers process information?

Present Your Brand
The No. 1 reason most companies' marketing communications are in need of a creative makeover is that they have never fully understood their own brands. It's impossible for a creative piece to enhance your brand when the designer does not have a clear understanding of what you stand for. A brand is the customer's perception of your product or service. Too many companies think of brand in tactical terms, such as the logo, color palette or masthead. In this scenario, companies tend to flounder for years, changing logos and constantly coming up with new looks. Your brand, or your reputation, is the most valuable element you own. Consider the following questions when grading your brand delivery:

• Does your company have an articulated brand promise that identifies what you are able to uniquely deliver? Does it indicate a specific target audience that can be visually identified?
• Does your creative team understand your promise and use it as a foundation for your creative efforts?
• Is your brand evident throughout your creative efforts?
• Are you using words and images that create an experience reflecting your brand promise? Is it consistently relevant to your audience? Have you used non-selling space to editorialize your brand or let others tell your story via testimonials?
• Is your brand image-e.g., the logo, color palette, typography-clearly defined and consistently presented so brand recognition is possible?

Efficiently Explain Your Offer
Whether selling a service, product or catalog of products, your creative efforts must clearly and efficiently explain what you are selling. This includes all of the pertinent need-to-know information, but, more importantly, creative must communicate why the product is special and what higher-order benefit it provides. All of this information must be conveyed at a glance. The ultimate crime is to engage customers only to lose them with too much confusing and irrelevant information.

Do you understand how customers process information? Every format is processed uniquely. With a catalog, consumers look at the picture first, then the price point, then the body copy. With a postcard, they are interested in two things: Who is it from, and what's in it for me? Even a Web site has rules for how a page is processed. Is your team educated on these rules, and is it taking advantage of them?

Have you used graphic elements and other attention-getting elements to convey features and benefits quickly? Are they used sparingly so as not to overwhelm the customer? Does your copy use the same language nuances that customers might use? If there is a specific offer or incentive associated with your product, do readers see the offer, and does it quickly convey the value?

Lastly, you should always sell a concept, not an item or a series of items. Ultimately, you are selling a brand; one that customers will come back to repeatedly. If you are selling products through a catalog, use creative themes that tie back into your brand. If you are marketing a service, tie selling copy back into your brand promise.

Create an Easy Selling Process
Have you ever let an outsider order from your direct marketing effort? It is a cheap and easy exercise and, in most cases, quite humbling. Wouldn't it be a crime if your customers were ready to buy but abandoned the process out of frustration? It happens all the time. Statistics cite that once consumers set a direct mail piece aside, they rarely go back to it. Do you consider the following questions when trying to create an easy process?

• How easy is it for customers to find and configure your pricing scheme? Do you explain and show all options, including shipping variances?
• Do you help customers through the process of "good-better-best" when multiple options are presented?
• Is contact information easily found, especially your company's customer service number?
• Have you made the ordering process easy to navigate?
• Is your creative presented with "design hygiene" in mind? Have you overwhelmed the reader with too much color or too many attention-getters?
• Are you using good typography standards, making sure that all type is easy to read and easy to track?
• Have you organized the information in a hierarchy that guides customers to a decision? Is it clear what copy goes with what image? Have you used "signposts" like "Steps One, Two and Three" to guide them through complicated information?

The Verdict
The list could go on, but the basic principal is to present the information as clearly as possible. Present it as if you were trying to sell to a fifth grader-and never assume anything!

So, how did your creative effort stack up? Perhaps you do not need a creative makeover, but a few tweaks might improve overall response. Don't be dismayed. All creative efforts should be routinely critiqued and tweaked. Challenge your creative team to look for ways to strengthen each role mentioned above. If this becomes a part of your culture, you may never need a complete creative makeover again.

Lois Boyle-Brayfield is president and chief creative officer of Mission, Kan.-based, direct marketing agency J. Schmid & Associates. You can reach her by e-mail at loisb@jschmid.com.