SP Blog

Beverly Hills Essentials

Brad Mardis — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Beverly Hills Essentials a local retail store with two locations here in Oklahoma teamed up with StonePillow Design to create an online retail store. The results were amazing! Richard and Regina have a great love and passion to make there store successful and this online store shows that. We were able to create a store where they can manage and update all the content themselves.

Congratulations to Beverly Hills Essentials on the launch of your new and now third store.

Visit their site at www.beverlyhillsessentials.com

Psycle for Families

Brad Mardis — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 05:00:00 GMT

We are excited to announce that StonePillow Design is one of the many great sponsors for this years "Psycle for Families" on Saturday, April 16 held here in Edmond, OK.

This is a new venture for the company and we are pumped to say the least to be a part of the community in such a way that helps many people. Follow the links below for more information.

Article

Edmond Family Counseling

When your BEST is your WORST

Brad Mardis — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:00:00 GMT

April Fools to you all!

What do you do when your best is your worst. As a designer it is not very long until you realize that even when your work is solid and thoughtful some clients are just not seeing it. And this is no slight to the client. Design and Art are in the same boat when it come to subjectivity. But what happens when you and the client do not see eye to eye? The best thing is to keep the communication door open.

I have been terrible when it comes to this but I have learned when the communication is open and honest then the job will get done. Yes you might have to change the design (product or service) but what is important is that you and your client see the process through. This will build the trust between you and your clients now and in the future.

So go out there and do your worst!

How is Business?

Brad Mardis — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 06:00:00 GMT

How is your business doing? Mine is sloooooow still and it makes me wonder and ask “How is my marketing?” Marketing is a tricky part of your business. Just ask all the companies that paid millions to just get seen during the Super Bowl last night. Some of those ads have been on the table since the middle of last year. If you are a small business like mine, spending money on advertising and marketing is a tough pill to swallow but you know it is essential for growth. Like myself sometimes it is time to revaluate what your strategy is and how to execute it. There are two main marketing tracks: Inbound and Outbound.

Inbound consist of

Marketing Research
Competitive Analysis (What is your competition doing right or wrong)
Pricing of my goods or services
Positioning (How do I get my product in the hands of who is looking for it)
Naming and Branding (Am I up-to-date with my logo or look of my company)

Outbound consist of

Advertising and Promotions
Media relations
Sales
Customer Service
Customer Satisfaction
Social Networking

Like most I can get caught up in the Outbound Marketing thinking that it is all about the advertising but when you do the right research from the Inbound side and align yourself with knowledge then the advertising and sales come much easier. And you are able use your advertising budget with more focus and precision.

Be Consistent

Brad Mardis — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

How much do you get bombarded with companies wanted to sell you something. If you live here in OK then you get hit with 12 Car Lot commercials every 2 min commercial break during the evening news. My point is not car commercials but information overload. If you are a small business how in the world can you compete with some of the big dogs and even the medium dogs out there. One way is to be consistent. Use your brand to its full extent by incorporating your colors and theme throughout your promotions of any kind. If it is a print campaign run the print campaign under a theme not once but many times. You may think you are not being creative but in fact you are helping your potential client base recognize you as a legitimate business. I always think of McDonald’s when this topic comes up. When they first started the big yellow “M” was not on every street corner and they certainly couldn’t run a commercial and just the “M” like they can today. It takes exposure over time to establish your brand. Use some of the same colors in your logo in any campaign it helps consistency and drives home the brand. With all the “noise” out there it is tough to stand out. But being constant and letting your client see you over and over again will help with credibility and ultimately with your bottom line.

So you got and iPad for Christmas?

Brad Mardis — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

With all the talk about the iPad and now all the competitors coming out with their own version of a digital tablet, what does the print media have to offer? I have to admit that the iPad and all the other gadgets coming out really do open up a new way and in many respects a better way to deliver some material. Like a magazine for example, you can deliver it digitally along with live links to the advertisers websites and even blogs concerning the same subject. This will and has really been a plus for the industry but to say that the iPad and its cohorts will take over and even kill the print industry is absurd. I would like to think that the digital media and print will work well together in fact help support one another. There are very few time when I do get a printed piece that does not directs me to more information on their website, twitter or Facebook pages. What I think is funny is to walk into a tiny restaurant and see "Follow Us on Twitter!" Even though that sign was not a highly produced piece it still was printed and used to communicate something. What I love is when you see a commercial and it states "See our ad in such and such magazine" which in point helps my point. A highly thought out designed printed piece can be very useful along side your website in help promoting a special event or a product. If you are a service based company developing a brochure or one sheet to hand out to your customers with bullet points of your services offered can really help drive business to your website where you can then be a little more lengthy in your description. What I love when I design a business card these days is that I can fill it up with design not description. Which brings me to a revelation of sorts…the more digital we become the more we print designers can use the space more efficiently. I can now say a lot with just a "www". Use both to help your business because in a sense they both help each other.

New Year! New You (and Me)!

Brad Mardis — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Did you know that a website can become stagnant even if you change the content all the time? The look and feel of your website is just as important as what you say. Your website is a great tool but if you never change the content or even worse never change the look - people quit looking. This goes for me as well. My website has been sitting here for probably 6 months or more without any new content. Its not like I haven't been working. I have just not put the time into it. Now I don't want to get into all that New Years resolution mumbo jumbo because all that is just meant to be broken. A website typically has about a two to three year life-span if that. After that the look needs to be updated. Just watch and see on some of your favorite big boy sites. They are always updating to new technology, look, and feel. Try it out this year. And maybe I will too.