June 17, 2005

In this issue:

Big Bevans Group News!!
IDEA: Getting What You Pay For
Even More Bevans Group News
Come and Get It

Big Bevans Group News!!

Email Ann

This whole Bevans Group thing keeps getting better and better! I am delighted to announce that graphic designer Kelly Farmer has joined the Bevans Group! Kelly has a fantastic eye for design and a unique style that really rounds out our creative team. Kelly is a graduate of McDaniel College, which means that she is, by definition, an exceptionally bright and otherwise admirable human being (Go Terror!).

And, as if that isn't enough, it is also my duty to announce that we have moved to a very cool office in Laurel. We are planning an open house for a little later in the summer - details to follow in the next edition of IdeaBook!

Meanwhile, please update your records:

Bevans Group
309 Main Street, 2nd Floor
Laurel, MD 20707
301-604-5195
Fax 509-267-0945
www.bevansgroup.com

Now, without further ado, a fresh IDEA:

IDEA: Getting What You Pay For

Email Mike

Hi there, Faithful Supporter. It’s time again for another spellbinding IdeaBook. We’ve gone round and round about this month’s topic and, after an undetermined number of Twinkies and many heated Nerf ball battles, a phone call gave me the solution. I recently spoke with a gentleman who was determined to spend as little as possible on his website, marketing materials and promotional items. I asked him why he thought this was a good idea.

“Content sells, not design,” he said. “And anyway, I just don’t want to spend that much money.”

So let’s take a few to address that objection head-on.

Picture two companies. Both companies sell the same widgets, are located in the same area, and target the same customers.

Company A invests in creating a strong, professional image, including a professional logo and business cards, quality signage for their offices, two or three print ads that they place in the local newspaper, nice displays for their widgets, and an attractive, interactive website with lots of informative content about the types of widgets that are available and how to select the best one.

Company B decides to market on a shoe string. They hire a neighbor’s kid to come up with a logo (he’s good at drawing!), design a flyer on their home PC and run them off on a library copier, bring in used displays they got here and there, and use a template to create a simple web page with their contact information and a small blurb about the company.

Now, there’s nothing technically wrong with getting your neighbor’s kid to draw your logo, but will it really convey what you’re all about as a business? Will it help you stand apart from the other widget companies around town? More to the point, consider it from the customer’s point of view. If the price were the same, do you believe you would be more likely to buy your widgets from Company A or Company B?

This is not a trick question. You already know that your marketing materials, including your logo, business cards, brochures and website, are an investment in future revenues. When you take marketing seriously, you are saying, “I care about my company…and I will take the same care with yours.”

If you ”just don’t want to spend that much money,” you run the risk of getting exactly what you paid for. Very rarely do you get something for nothing. There is an old adage that bears repeating: “you have to spend money to make money.”

Relax. No need to break out the pitchforks and torches and come after me for suggesting that you spend everything you’ve got (or more) on amazing marketing materials. That’s not the point. What I am suggesting is that you consider what marketing materials you will need and budget accordingly. Work closely with a professional firm that you trust and whose portfolio you admire (even if it isn't us).

In closing, if you look at your marketing materials, from your business cards to your website, as an investment in future profit, then “I just don’t want to spend that much” will be replaced with “what I’m putting out now will come back to me with interest.”

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

Until next IdeaBook!

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In case you need to know where to find us:

Bevans Group
309 Main Street, 2nd Floor
Laurel, MD 20707
301-604-5195
509-267-0945 fax
info@bevansgroup.com
www.bevansgroup.com