Banis Marketing

I’ve always considered the week between Christmas and New Year’s to be like one of those roadway scenic turnouts where you stop and check out the view. Only this year, we don’t know what’s around the next curve. Beware, it’s under construction.

Many find this a good time to reflect and look forward. Top 10 lists are everywhere. People like lists.

Well here’s a list for you right now - the top trends of 2008. It’s a list of one:

1. Permanent Change

What’s going on in our lives and our country is no short term phenomenon. Its here and its permanent. The economy will recover, but not in the way we’ve become accustomed. There are numerous reasons for this and here’s some of the big ones:

Online, Indespensible - Mainstreaming of the Internet.

History - Our first African-American President.

Oil & Gas - A new national focus on building an alternative energy industry.

Debt - As in mounting debt; yours, mine, and ours (the U.S.) - with foreign creditors.

Reduced U.S. international influence - We’re not the only big dog on the block. China, India, Russia, the EU, Brazil and a few others will continue to grow.

War as a NEGATIVE impact on the economy - Remember, spending to support the U.S. effort in WWII is what finally got us out of the depression.

Evaporation of key U.S. economic bedrocks - Centuries old banks and insurance companies; The U.S. auto industry and related entities; Airlines; Cheap gas and oil; A strong and growing middle class.

Getting older - Acceleration of Baby Boomers of retirement age.

Continued rising cost of healthcare…and a college education.

This list is by no means complete.  But it does present many of the bellwethers marking the permanent change in the life we’ve known as Americans. Sometimes it feels as if it’s all come on at once. But of course this change has been coming for some time.

It doesn’t have to be painful.

I strongly believe this nationwide transition can be a good thing. A VERY good thing.  America has been and remains the land of opportunity; historically fueled by creativity, initiative, and guts.  Here we have an opportunity that comes along only once in a lifetime. A chance to reinvent ourselves and create a new course to prosperity.

From my perspective, one of the key trends I see playing a big role in our new prosperity will accelerate in 2009 - the development of national and local community. Here are some signs to watch for:

Increased collaboration among people and organizations - New economic and social realities will bring new people together to form alliances in order to thrive.

The Internet as a catalyst to create face-to-face personal relationships - social networks will be used to encourage more personal interaction and not just with ‘faceless’ words, graphics, and icons.

A reduced focus on money as the root of happiness - People will increasingly seek other forms of ‘psychic’ compensation to add greater satisfaction to their lives: primarily a greater balance between their work, health, and personal spheres.

Growth in volunteerism - Scarcer financial resources will encourage the use of ‘human capital’ to support the things we care about; And young people will participate in numbers we haven’t seen in generations.

From a marketing service perspective, strategists and creatives will be forced to stretch further than ever. We’ll need to use our skills and imagination to directly help produce sales - and for less cost. Forget pretty pictures and cool animated graphics - marketing needs to make the phone ring.

So go ahead and catch your breath. Take in the scenery of the past year and imagine what it’ll look like in the years ahead.  You won’t be alone

Our entire country is in the midst of a major transition that will likely take decades to fully play out. Don’t fight the trends. Make the most of them and you’ll enjoy the view along the way.

Posted by: Steve Banis

We operate in a smaller market. Albany, NY, the Capital of New York is currently #57 in the Nielsen market universe. About 180 miles to NY City and 170 miles to Boston - the two nearest major markets, Albany is no bedroom community. It stands alone as an island, and as such, it is highly insular.

For mature, established firms, this market offers the advantage of being well connected, entrenched, and difficult to unseat. The downside for them is that once mature, if they are overly dependent on the local market - growth opportunities are limited. And when you stop growing, you’re vulnerable. Sharks need to keep swimming or they die. It’s the same with a business.

In this scenario, there are only four courses of action to pursue life sustaining growth:

1. Steal your competitor’s customers
2. Acquire your competitors
3. Expand your product offerings
4. Expand outside the local market

Each of these strategies warrant in depth discussion on their own. Acquisitions can offer the upsides of greater scale, a broader customer and talent base, and potential synergies along with the attendant risk of what you can’t know about the acquisition target. Expanded product offerings offer the hope of greater share of wallet from your customers, but risks diluting your expertise, and therefore your core message.

In the intermediate and longer term, I would argue that a mature company might pursue growth outside the local market as the most prudent strategy - perhaps by acquisition. Our Burst Marketing approach, however, disciplines us to focus on shorter term victories at the start of a campaign - and in a recessionary economy (which we believe will hang around for longer than anyone wishes) - short term victories breed hope and build momentum.

So when you’re huddling up around your strategy table this Fall, put on your battle armor and think about one thing - stealing your competition’s clients.

Albany, NY is a zero sum market for mature companies. To add a new customer, you must take one from someone else. You can use Albany as a metaphor for any smaller market. Or for any tight industry sector for that matter. Non profits and other charitable organizations are experiencing this royally as donations and public funding are under extreme pressure. So are certain trade associations that are fighting for relevancy to their existing and new members.

The best team usually wins

On our Burst Marketing blog I wrote about the critical role community plays in success - especially right now. So rack your brains and come up with a list of those you want to recruit to your team. You assume the role of captain, and you’re back on the playground choosing sides. In this game, the team with the greatest commitment, persistence, and loyalty to the overall goal wins. The prized goal is growth, not merely survival. Seek ways to align around the ‘Buy Together, Sell Together’ mantra.

Your team will win by building what the Japanese call Keiretsu, with a slight modification - a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and a common agenda and strategy (instead of shareholders). Now its back to the same marketing foundations; message, plan, and offer. Hone your common message to resonate as a benefit to a customer. Look for common customer touch points to tell the story judiciously. And ask the customer to do something that allows one of the team to win them over.

Achilles had his heel

Every competitor has a seemingly small (and sometimes not so small) but crucial weakness. The key is to find the moments when those weaknesses are most acute and then to be prepared to strike while the iron is hot.

I know, it’s not very sporting of you. But, this is about your growth, your survival - both in and beyond this recession. Look for key indicators that signal when your competitor is vulnerable. Signals like these:

• - Layoffs or loss of key personnel
• - Turnover of sales people and/or account managers
• - A Sudden excessive drop in your competitor’s pricing
• - Addition of several new products
• - Competitors focusing almost exclusively on existing customers

When you see a competitor showing one, or better yet, two or more of these signals - you know it’s time to focus like a laser on their key accounts. Put someone on researching your competitor’s customer base and build as thorough a list as you can so you’ll be prepared with your target list when you get the right conditions.

Cover all bases

You’ve got your team and you’re monitoring your competition. Now it’s time to assume leadership. Let’s show your team how it’s done.

First, get in front of your customers and show them how much they mean to you. If you’re one of the mature companies in the market, then you’re vulnerable too. Protect your customers. Build a moat around them. Everyone’s panicking a little bit, and that’s going to lead to a higher rate of customer turnover. Don’t get caught by surprise - launch a thorough customer loyalty campaign now.

Next, get out there. Leverage your sales and customer relationship team wisely. Use targeted marketing strategies to reach out and surround the market with your message and pepper them with offers. You should have a list of your targeted demographic - now let your marketing plan do the legwork. Execute a communications plan that integrates numerous tactics to touch your entire list as often as possible. Give them an opportunity to raise their hand. Once they do, your sales team can move in to make your case.

Build your team and assume a leadership position. The fight for growth and survial is just beginning in markets like Albany, NY.

Posted by: Steve Banis

It’s raining cats and dogs all over the economic landscape. Since it’s impossible to ignore the 800 pound gorilla in the room, spending a good deal of time planning your marketing message for this uncertain period is essential.

While listening to a discussion on my local NPR station with a well known psychologist, I was reminded of a key element in crafting a successful marketing message. The topic was the effect of extreme stress on people brought on by all this worldly chaos. It’s true. You feel it, I feel it - and our customers feel it.

And with these emotions running so close to the surface, we need to factor in the very real - but often-overlooked - link between marketing and human emotion.

There are two Holy Grail emotions of direct marketing: Fear and Greed. To trigger immediate action, nothing beats the extremes of fear and greed. But you can’t build long term relationships based on extremes. In the darkness, people need light and leadership. They need hope.

So the emotional appeal in your marketing that will nurture a long term customer relationship today is soothing and appealing: Comfort. It’s that good feeling you get in your gut when you know you’ve got a friend - like warm soup on a cold winter day.

M’m M’m Good!

Think of some of the classic advertising campaigns and their human approach. Campbell’s Tomato Soup - such soothing comfort in that simple red-and-white can. M’m m’m good! And Coca-Cola - that sweet, satisfying taste, gulped from that funny-shaped bottle. And Frosted Flakes - like Tony the Tiger says, “They’re G-r-r-r-eat!”

[Note: On September 29, 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777.68 points and the only member of the S&P 500 to post a gain was Campbell Soup]

Studies have shown that people connect to these products on a deeply emotional level. These are quality products for sure, but customers first tried them because of their great brand personalities. And once they were in, those products became friends for life. Coke drinkers rarely switch to Pepsi, or vice versa. Not gonna happen.

Why? Because they love their product. They’ve made a strong emotional connection to Coke or Pepsi or Campbell’s soup, one that engenders not only passion, but fierce loyalty as well.

Get Comfortable

So how can you get customers to connect comfort and leadership to your company? From a marketing message perspective, it begins by being friendly, plain-spoken, and honest in all of your written communications. Don’t be too professional. It’s distant. Few customers want to do business with someone who comes across as cold and institutional.

Go easy on the jargon. Forget the big, 25-cent words. Use contractions and personal pronouns like I, Me, You, and Us. Make it sound like actual living, breathing people wrote those sentences. Employ a simple, me-to-you, almost personal letter-style of writing. It welcomes the reader, instead of turning them off. Use images to convey comfort - with real people, families, and team members. Focus on the human side of technology. Depict how customers will see an improved quality of life by getting to know you.

Get face to face. Be sure your email and social marketing campaigns ultimately create an opportunity for personal interaction. Relationship building phone calls and workshops - ones that are helpful and add value - will be welcome if they aren’t hard sell.

Finally, while hammering home your company’s message - what you stand for (what some call your Unique Selling Proposition or USP) - build your company’s unique personality. It’ll be your friendly, approachable ‘something special’ style that attracts new customers and builds loyalty with those already on board.

In the topsy turvy world we live in right now, think long term. Fear and greed may get people to jump, but comfort will get them to sit down beside you. Use your marketing to provide hope, and surround your audience with it. Hit those feel-good emotions and pave the way to a satisfying and profitable connection with you and your target audience.

Posted by: Steve Banis and Rich Hallett

The Fall of 2008 is one for the record books. Week after week of market ups and down, hardcore negative campaigning, and talk of “the greatest financial crisis since The Great Depression has pushed people to the point of overload.

People are scared and angry. But despite all the pressures, business owners I’ve spoken with recently are heeding the need to keep their businesses in front of customers. But they ask, what will work in this environment?

There is no magic bullet. The principals for marketing success remain the same in all market conditions: A core message that clearly states who you are and why customers should choose you; a communication plan that aims to put your message in front of customers and potential customers consistently over an extended period of time; and a series of periodic offers that call for a desired action from your target audience.

Made you look

Your core message and plan for communicating it are the result of careful planning and a longer-term perspective. The offers you make to encourage action are more short-term in nature. As a result, they must be both timely and interesting, and the current recessionary climate offers an opportunity to create highly effective offers.

Take this recent offer that came into my email box just the other day.

How to Make Millions in a Bad Economy

OK, I bit on it. I clicked and learned that InfusionSoft, a CRM vendor I’m interested in, is offering me an “Economic Stimulus Package”. Seems they’ve helped hundreds of small businesses, and to help me in these tough times, they’ve established a package that only 19 businesses will qualify for. Then, an email 2 days later, offered “Proof: InfusionSoft Doubles Sales in Any Economy”. It’s a pretty good email campaign.

Here’s a look at the first email:

Did You Know…
More Millionaires Were Created During the
Great Depression Than At Any Other Time in U.S. History?

Hi ~Contact.FirstName,

As you already know, the economy has slowed down, house prices have plummeted, and the government has just bailed out a handful of corporations for $700 billion!

But, as frustrating and frightening as this may seem, YOU might not have anything to worry about.

Let me explain. In each economy, there are individuals that find ways to prosper…and prosper big. For example, the Great Depression turned out more millionaires than any other era. The Great Depression!

Well, if businesses could grow in a time like that, you can certainly grow now.

Find out more about the Infusionsoft Economic Stimulus Package!

In fact, the recession might be the best thing to ever happen to your business. It is times like these that divide the survivors from the rest of the pack. All you need are the right tools to keep your business running AND prospering!

Now, because we know times are tough…because we know optimism must be combined with reality…Infusionsoft has developed an Economic Stimulus Package.

The Infusionsoft Economic Stimulus Package is an exclusive opportunity for 19 small business owners to explode their profits during this challenging economy. We’re looking for individuals we can provide with the right tools and coaching to grow their businesses.

This package is designed to do the one thing the government failed to do…help out the small business owner.

Find out more about the Infusionsoft Economic Stimulus Package!
But you must act soon as all applications must be received by Midnight, October 28th.

I’ll bet lots of targets on their list were intrigued, and at the very least, some took action. They made me look - and that’s the highest compliment I can pay a direct marketing campaign.

But, oddly enough, it was the next email that got me to act. Notice the address line at the top of the first email? It looks like a mistake, doesn’t it. Now I’m not so sure:

The Headline was: Oops

Hey Steve,

I’m sorry! I got so EXCITED about the Economic Stimulus Package that we’re offering to small businesses that I sent a “batch” email and screwed up the intro (you may have noticed that my last email said ‘Hi Contact.FirstName’).

Oops.

So, now I’m reaching out to you directly to let you know that I think your business could be a great fit for this program. We can only let 19 customers in through the Economic Stimulus Package, so make sure you act fast.

Click below to find out more about the Infusionsoft Economic Stimulus Package!
https://crm.infusionsoft.com/link/bc674f4560/15a5fe0

Sorry again. Good luck.

Either a stroke of good luck, or very crafty. The communication is more personal. And now…seemingly more exclusive. Most importantly, however, this campaign is interesting and timely. The exclusive nature of the offer - without ever really mentioning what they’re really offering - is also very deft. You should note that this email went to their internal prospect list to whom they’ve been sending communications regularly.

(In case you’re wondering, turns out the offer was a significant discount off their product)

To polish off the entire seduction, after clicking on the offer link, you are brought to a screen where you are asked a few detailed questions about your business and, get this, asked to write a note as to why you should be picked to participate in their “economic stimulus program”. Brilliant!

The moral of the story here. Play off current events in the economy, your business environment, a recent customer success, an event at your competitor’s operation - something timely and titillating. What’s timely in your business? What’s the biggest objection your sales effort is running into? Can you craft an interesting offer that addresses that main objection and is relevant?

Remember, people may be extremely cautious right now, but they’re not in hiding. They’re looking for good ideas and certainly value. Now, more than when times are good, give them what they want.

Author’s note: If you’d like a pdf of the elements in InfusionSoft’s campaign, please email me at steve@banismarketing.com.

Posted by: Steve Banis

But Smaller Clients May Face Higher Prices, Less Service

“It doesn’t matter how big you are, you aren’t big enough.” was a telling statement from Eric Mower when he discussed his firm’s takeover of Sawchuck Brown in the August 15 edition of the Albany NY based Business Review. (Eric Mower folds Sawchuk Brown into his rapidly expanding firm,)

The real question is: does Mower and company’s appetite for growth help the area’s PR and marketing clients?

While creating a single PR goliath may be wonderful news for EMA and for the region’s largest PR clients, here’s what it could mean for most Marketing and PR clients in our market:

Higher pricing - Bigger brands in the communications field typically increase their prices as they focus on bigger, higher priority clients and weed out the lower paying ones they deem less important to the bottom line.
Getting the boot - Larger firms try to avoid conflicts of interest by serving only a single client in any given industry, and a merger may send some local businesses scrambling for a new provider.
Off the shelf solutions - To control quality, larger firms maintain a fairly standard cookie-cutter approach to serving their customers. This can mean more ‘off the shelf’ tactics, thereby diluting local angles, flavors, and relationships. Think big box vs. the corner shop.

In New York’s Capital Region, this new EMA qualifies as a goliath that can obscure the constellation of local voices making up the the Region’s marketing and public relations community. It also has the potential to further push talented creatives out of the area. This at a time when the Creative Class continues its exodus.

In Sam Walton’s autobiography, he described how main street businesses could beat his giant chain. While smaller local merchants can’t compete with Wal-Mart on price, they can whip them with local market knowledge and excellent personal service. EMA now has a bigger mountain to shout from, but in the long run, their bigger name will mean higher rates and likely less personal service for accounts that aren’t on their “A” list.

Some clients need the cache of a big name to open the right doors, and they will be willing to pay the freight. However, most Capital Region clients would do well to pursue another alternative - taking stock of their choices and examining other local firms that know our market best. I think they’ll find more personal service, better responsiveness, and more competitive pricing to go along with top-notch work.

Posted by: Steve Banis

Clifton Park, NY - August 12, 2008 - Steve Banis, CEO of Banis Marketing, announced today that Mason Tolman has been named a principal of the firm.

As a principal of the company, Tolman will oversee the integration of all the marketing tactics, provide creative innovation, help oversee the Banis Creative Network, and support clients’ marketing programs.

After a 15 year career with Young and Rubicam as the senior vice president in New York City and then serving as Executive Director of the Key West Innkeepers Association, Tolman moved back to the Capital Region to successfully launch Sawchuk, Brown Associates’ marketing group. He has also helped Zone 5, a graphics services company, become a full service marketing communications company and worked with Star Advertising and Promotion on sports and event marketing initiatives.

He lives in Slingerlands with his wife.

For more information, visit www.banismarketing.com. For more information about Mason Tolman, please visit his profile.

About Banis Marketing (www.banismarketing.com)

Based in New York’s Capital Region, Banis Marketing is the area’s first and only marketing firm to specialize in Burst Marketing^TM campaigns - short-term lead generation and business development programs to stimulate sales and growth. The firm offers an essential alternative to high cost advertising and marketing agencies to businesses and non-profits nationwide.

Working seamlessly with the Banis Creative Network, the Company pulls from its growing “toolbox” of 19 low cost, high impact marketing techniques. By combining the right mix of promotional tools to achieve specific objectives, big results can be achieved in little time.

In addition to sales lead generation tactics, Banis Marketing and its Banis Creative Network also has extensive experience in managing all aspects of marketing including web design, advertising, direct response, video and audio production, public relations and publicity, media buying, and sales collateral design and printing.

###

Contact:

Steve Banis / Shannon Cherry, APR, MA

Banis Marketing

518-877-4888 * shannon@banismarketing.com

Posted by: Shannon Cherry

Clifton Park, NY -August 4, 2008 - Steve Banis, CEO of Banis Marketing, announced today that Laurie Boyce has been named a principal of the firm.

Boyce will be overseeing client management and marketing communications activities for the company.

Boyce has more than 12 years of experience in graphic design, marketing and publishing. She worked for several years with an international publisher. Prior to joining Banis Marketing, Boyce was the publisher of Violet Magazine for Women and the owner of The MarCom Lab where she had provided marketing strategy, graphic design, web design, and copywriting services to National and local clients since 2005.

She lives near Saratoga Springs, with her husband.

For more information, visit www.BanisMarketing.com. For more about Laurie Boyce visit her profile.

About Banis Marketing (www.BanisMarketing.com)

Based in New York’s Capital Region, Banis Marketing is the area’s first and only marketing firm to specialize in Burst Marketing^TM campaigns - short-term lead generation and business development programs to stimulate sales and growth. The firm offers an essential alternative to high cost advertising and marketing agencies to businesses and non-profits nationwide.

Working seamlessly with the Banis Creative Network, the Company pulls from its growing “toolbox” of 19 low cost, high impact marketing techniques. By combining the right mix of promotional tools to achieve specific objectives, big results can be achieved in little time.

In addition to sales lead generation tactics, Banis Marketing and its Banis Creative Network also has extensive experience in managing all aspects of marketing including web design, advertising, direct response, video and audio production, public relations and publicity, media buying, and sales collateral design and printing.

Contact:

Steve Banis / Shannon Cherry, APR, MA

Banis Marketing

518-877-4888 * shannon@banismarketing.com

Posted by: Shannon Cherry

Way back in 8^th grade, I’m not sure my social studies teacher Karen Leshin knew that she was a marketing guru.

When one of her students asked how long a particular essay had to be, she would tell them: “well, it’s like a girl’s skirt – it should be long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to make it interesting.”

Successful marketing is that simple – and that hard.

It’s been over 20 years since I read it, but I seem to remember David Ogilvy, a founding father of the ad business detailing something he called the “three hit theory” in his landmark book Ogilvy on Advertising. His theory basically went something like this –

All marketing messages must be received at least 3 times by a target audience member. The first so that he senses that you are communicating. The second so that he understands your message. The 3^rd so that he decides what to do.

In my experience, particularly when your marketing message requests action from your target audience – like in lead generation (or any good marketing message for that matter) – the 3 hit theory actually behaves more like a 3 x 3 x 3 hit theory. It takes 3 exposures for your audience to realize you are communicating to him, 3 x 3 or 9 exposures for them to grasp what you’re asking them to do, and 3 x 3 x nearly 3 or 24 exposures for them to decide whether to accept your request for action or not.

I should clarify that a bit. The 24 exposures are needed to be absolutely certain that your marketing campaign has exhausted any hope of having a citizen (Seth Godin’s word for a member of the universe) make a final decision to accept or reject your request for action.

Hurry it up will ya!

So what if you don’t have the patience to persevere until your targets have been exposed to your marketing message up to 24 times? Can’t you just add more reasons to call you in each message to speed up the process?

In a fitful quest to hurry things along, too many amateur marketers (and too many professional ones as well) stuff as much information into each message as they can. Big mistake.

More information in each message is not a substitute for the number of times a target is exposed to it (frequency). In fact, all this does is drive them away. In a targeted marketing campaign there simply is no substitute for having a simple, clear message and delivering it frequently, and in several different ways to a targeted audience.

Don’t fall into the trap and fill your marketing messages - online and off - with information on as many of your products and services as you can in the hopes you’ll touch a button that’ll generate a call.

And while we’re at it, Web designers can also be guilty of overstuffing the bird. Do you really need those wiz bang graphics and flash animation for your website to do its job or do you just really really want them?

Designers and printers do it too when suggesting that you spend the big bucks on 6 color sell sheets, brochures, or other marketing materials when 2 color may prove just as effective at half the cost. Or better yet, maybe you don’t even need printed marketing materials at all. It just depends on what you really need. Set your priorities and stick to them.

On the surface, more sounds better doesn’t it? But sometimes, more is just more. More confusing, more expensive.

An excellent marketing adviser knows it’s just as important to tell you what you DON’T need as much as what you do. They protect you from yourself. Wouldn’t you rather let your competitor’s marketing budget loaf around while your bucks are hard at work growing your business?

Posted by: Steve Banis

People who are creative for a living – web designers, advertising people, copywriters, layout artists that create your brochures – these people are from another country. They speak a different language than you do.

When you hire these people, and you tell them what you need – they nod with understanding and repeat what you said so that you come away feeling satisfied that they got what you are looking for.

But actually they only understood a small part of what you were talking about, like a visitor from France asking for directions to the local steakhouse. “You go up here another mile or so until you see the big CVS on the corner and then you hang a right, bear left at the fork, go up a bit and it’ll be on your right – can’t miss it!” They heard mile (mild?? They measure in kilometers), CVS (a government agency?), hang? Bear? Fork? (a bear with a fork?) of course they nod the entire time and you think they’ve got it. Then they’re off the go find the bear with the fork!

It takes specialized knowledge and experience to properly communicate with and manage a creative professional. It’s no different from managing the specialists in your business – accountants, machine operators, engineers, nurses, customer service people – whatever their specialty, you may not do their jobs, but to manage them effectively, you need to know how they do their jobs. Most businesspeople have no idea how creatives go about doing their jobs. All they see is what they produce.

Truth is, when you ask for something, you may not actually need it – some other solution might be a better fit for your needs – and cost less money. Like when you really want that four color brochure with pictures and beautiful engraving. But in truth, research shows that utilizing variations of 2 colors can be nearly as effective but at half the cost. If you tell your designer you want four colors, they’ll take you literally and give you what you ask for, even though you didn’t really need it.

There are examples like this in almost every marketing decision. It’s not that creative professionals don’t know these things, it’s that you don’t speak their language. You need to know how they work and the choices they can make on your behalf in order to get the most effective marketing at the greatest value.

If you don’t know these things, you need a translator.

Creative people take every assignment knowing of this language difference. And in all honestly, once they walk away from that first meeting and get to work – they live in fear – hoping that they understood enough to give you what you want in order to make you happy and get paid. They love their work and are terrific at it – but they tolerate you. They only hope that they won’t have to go through trial and error again and again, eating up their profit trying to make you happy.

They long for the day that you’ll understand the challenges they face to serve you well – and that you already have a pretty good idea of what you’re looking for before you begin while giving them the freedom to do what they do best – be creative.

That’s a good client, a great client. Most others are simply paying clients who only know what they want when they see it and complain about the cost. Even though they get paid, deep down, to a creative pro – that’s a bad client.

Posted by: Steve Banis