AFTER: Unette’s website Today

Graphic Matter just completed a sharp new website for Unette Corporation. These images show the dramatic transformation–read on for more project details of what we accomplished and how we did it.

A Typical Story

A leader in the flexible packaging industry since 1955, Unette’s growth as a company had far outpaced its branding and Internet presence. Carol Ann Hark, vice president of Unette, contacted Graphic Matter with specific, yet not unique, objectives for the website project: update the “look”, update the content, clarify the list of services, simplify the navigation and ability to edit content on select pages. These issues are very typical to what many businesses currently experience, and many savvy business owners who entered the Internet marketing arena early are finding it’s time to hit the “refresh” button.

Client-Creative communication is key to an effective design process–and optimal results

Unette supplied sample websites that represented the type of “look” and/or features they wanted. This jumpstarted a visual dialogue with our creative team, and the resulting site is one that will promote Unette’s products and services successfully for the foreseeable future.

Budgeting for the Long Haul

Giving clients the ability to edit content not only helps to keep the site’s content current, but also reduces the overall costs by allowing them to update or add information as often as the need arises.  And every update counts: Search engines LOVE new content; each time Unette updates their site, they also improve their search engine optimization results [SEO].

Removing the cost barrier puts site maintenance in different terms: when the update is desired or needed, not “when the budget allows.” Graphic Matter offers several self-administration options, which can be tailored to meet a variety of business needs.

A Happy Ending

The client loves the new site–isn’t that the best measure of project success?

Have you evaluated your Internet presence lately? Is it still an effective marketing tool for your business? Is it non-existent? Graphic Matter’s creative team can address a spectrum of objectives–typical to not-so-typical–to meet our clients’ business needs and budget. Call us—we can answer your questions and point you in the direction towards effective marketing.

Graphic Matter also provided consulting and design services for the complete booth design, promotional items and a sponsorship advertisement in the program booklet.

Graphic Matter sponsored a booth at the Institute for Supply Management – NJ [ISM-NJ] Supplier Diversity Fair on May 11, 2011 at the Bridgewater Marriott Hotel, in Bridgewater, NJ. This event presented local companies and their capabilities to area corporate supply management executives. Amy debuted our new banner, pictured here. The banner, printed on high quality, durable vinyl, is extremely light-weight and rolls up to fit in a small carry bag with a strap—An event must-have, at a price that makes it easy to own more than one. Need one? Call us.

June’s events began with an invitation for Bev & Amy  to participate in Pitney Bowes’ Supplier Diversity Summit 2011, in Stamford Connecticut on June 13. The Diversity Summit focused on the importance of supplier diversity inclusion and the growth and sustainability of a diverse supplier chain.

On June 16, 2011, Graphic Matter exhibited at the SmallBiz Connect: Small Business Networking Showcase sponsored by the Somerset County Business Partnership [SCBP.org]. The event, held at the Bridgewater Marriott Hotel, provided the opportunity for Somerset County businesses to promote their capabilities to area businesses of all sizes. Chrys & Bev enjoyed reconnecting with clients, and were excited to see how many local businesses featured marketing collateral designed by Graphic Matter!

Vegas!

For the fifth consecutive year, Graphic Matter attended the WBENC National Conference and Business Fair, held this year at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and Resort in Las Vegas on June 21-23. Aptly called “The Opportunity Connection,” Bev & Amy reconnected with some familiar clients and opened the door to several new opportunities. Pictured here at the Tribute Dinner are Amy, Bev and the Pfizer procurement team.

Immediately following their return from Vegas, Bev & Amy were invited to participate in Pfizer’s Supplier Summit, held on June 27^th in New York City. The invitees included 20 of Pfizer’s preferred Marketing Industry suppliers; the event was designed to encourage us to create alliances and partnerships between prime- and sub-contractors in this field, in an effort to capture a greater percentage of marketing dollars in diversity spend.

Graphic Matter will be participating in several upcoming events. We love opportunities to meet new prospective clients and reconnect with familiar faces, so look for us at these upcoming events!

Visit Graphic Matter’s booth at the Institute for Supply Management – NJ [ISM-NJ] Supplier Diversity Fair on May 11, 2011 at the Marriott Hotel in Bridgewater, NJ.

On June 16, 2011, Graphic Matter will be exhibiting at the SmallBiz Connect: Small Business Networking Showcase sponsored by the Somerset County Business Partnership [SCBP.org]. This event will also be held at the Bridgewater Marriott Hotel.

Follow Graphic Matter to Las Vegas on June 21-23, where we’ll be attending the WBENC 2011 National Conference and Business Fair,entitled “The Opportunity Connection,” at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and Resort in Las Vegas.

Also, Graphic Matter was recently interviewed by the Hillsborough Beacon about our recent award presented by the WPEO and WBENC. See the article here.

Do you have plans to attend any of these events? Reach out to us so we can connect!

We often see these two terms used interchangeably [and incorrectly] and while it seems there is a relatively small distinction between them, it can speak volumes in how you choose to spend your marketing dollars.

Brand Identity is how you want the consumer to perceive your product or brand. It helps to shape the personality of the product, service or company. It’s the voice you give your product or service.

Brand Image is the perception of your product or brand by consumers. It’s what they hear.

So many factors combine to create a brand image – some of which you have no control over. This increases the importance of the factors within your control, the strategic choices you make regarding your brand and marketing efforts.

The strongest voice you can give your product is a well-defined and consistently communicated brand identity. Teachers use this when they repeat an important concept for emphasis, and then really let it sink in. Have you given your brand a strong voice? Do you know what your next marketing initiative should be? If you’d like to know more about what your clients hear, give our marketing team a call.

We’re reserving a little bit of space in our blog to share some exciting news for Graphic Matter!

Pictured, left to right: Marsha Firestone, President, WPEO NY; Beverly Rossi, President, Graphic Matter, Inc.; and Lisa Bertrand, Regional Certification Director for WPEO NY

Beverly Rossi, President of Graphic Matter, Inc. was recently presented the WPEO Rising Star Award for the NY Region at the Women Presidents’ Educational Organization [WPEO] Annual Awards Breakfast. The event, held at The Plaza Hotel in New York City on March 4, 2011, recognized women business owners, corporations, and women’s business advocates.

The WPEO Rising Star Award recognizes a WBE that has been certified for between 1-4 years, has demonstrated past performance in doing business with corporations, government entities, and fellow WBEs, has supported other women in business, and has shown active involvement in the WPEO through volunteer service, in kind support, event sponsorship, committee participation and panelist contribution. Two winners are honored: one from the WPEO-NY region and one from the WPEO-DC region.

Beverly has been an enthusiastic advocate for WBENC certification, and together with fellow WBE Maureen Borzacchiello of Creative Display Solutions proposed a pilot program to increase vendor development opportunities for WBEs and second tier opportunities with corporations. Originally certified in 2006, Graphic Matter was also the 2010 recipient of the Done Deals WBE Partnership Award.

These organizations have provided immeasurable support to Bev and to Graphic Matter’s growth through the years. We are pleased to be able to reciprocate in kind, and proud that Bev has been recognized for her contributions.

How do you know what’s being said, and what control can you have?

1. Own all variations of your domain name. Think of the most likely errors [misspelling, plural vs. singular, etc] someone might make when searching for you, and purchase those domains if you can. Also purchase domains for your own name [not your company]. They don’t cost much and it provides peace of mind. Have you ever misspelled a web address and reached an incorrect website — perhaps it belongs to a competing business, or even one that is a bit [eek] awkward?!

2. Set up Google Alerts for your business name and product names. This FREE and easy-to-set-up Google feature will advise you when there is any Internet mention of the terms you have specified, so you can see the good, and even the bad, of what’s being said. You can even have alerts for your competitors and target clients too. Unfortunately you can’t always change what’s out there, but again, knowledge is power.

3. Use only White Hat SEO. There are good SEO practices, and not so good ones. The good kind – White Hat SEO – consists of the appropriate & ethical embedding of keywords and metadata into your copy and images. Black Hat SEO refers to sites where the SEO techniques are not in compliance with search engines’ guidelines for webmasters [Search Engine Optimization, An Hour a Day. Grappone and Couzin, 2008]. Search engines don’t like Black Hat SEO and you may find your rankings suffer as a result.

Your online reputation will say as much about you as your personal reputation does. Protect it and promote it accordingly. Want to know more about the Do’s and Don’ts of Internet marketing?

Fresh content: Web crawlers love fresh content, so add it as often as you can. This can be in the form of company news, blogs posts, photos or video via mobile upload.

Relevant Design: Keep the design of your site current. Design trends, just like clothing trends, become outdated. No one wants to visit a dated site.

Online Community Participation: Is your business suited for a community forum– like a product rating by your customers [think Amazon, Target]? This fresh content will continue to work even when you’re not.

Directory Submissions: Once your site is up and running it’s important to submit it to the major search engine directories to jumpstart it’s online presence. Our team can help.

Email Signatures: Always include your web address in your business email signature. This is a quick & free way to get your web address out to your clients and make it easy for them to access your site. Suggest they bookmark it for future convenience!

Business Cards & Stationery: Your web address should be included on all of your company stationery and marketing collateral. If you don’t promote yourself, who will?

Press Releases: At Graphic Matter, we find that in the days following a press release Google Analytics shows a remarkable increase in traffic to our site. Press releases are a relatively inexpensive promotional tool that is often overlooked in the small-to-midsized business arena. Talk to our marketing professionals to get started!

SEO and PPC: You use words and images to speak to your customers; your website uses them to speak to the search engines – and it’s all going on behind the scenes. For more information about the powerful impact good SEO and can have on your web traffic look at our series of blog posts.

Blogs: Hosting a blog on your site is an easy way to generate fresh content and provides opportunities for new connections with your customer base. Your SEO advantage is super-charged if you host your blog on your custom domain rather than using free hosting by WordPress or blogger.

Newsletters: E-newsletters can carry your marketing message to your entire customer list with just a click. And while your customers are reading the words, the web crawlers are reading the strategically planted keywords and links. Be sure to create links back to your website.

Should you implement ALL of these items? ABSOLUTELY! Call our marketing experts to help you design the best Internet marketing strategy for your business’ needs and budget.

January 2010 – Launch of Our 2¢, Graphic Matter’s blog, opening a new line of communication and resource for our clients. We covered the topics that our clients asked us about the most – everything from blogs, SEO, branding, and client projects.

February 2010 – Graphic Matter attends WPEO Done Deals and Matchmaker Event in NYC and has matchmaker meetings with various corporations.

March 2010 –Mitushi Banerjee joins the Graphic Matter team as web designer.

April 2010 – Graphic Matter attends the WPEO Done Deals Challenge Reception in NYC.

June 2010 – Graphic Matter is awarded 3rd place in the NJ AD Club 42nd Annual Awards for the exercise booklet we designed for the Pink Ribbon Program, Recovery for Breast Cancer Survivors.

June 2010 – Graphic Matter designs trade show graphics for NTSG, Inc., providing visual impact for their sponsorship booth at WBENC’s Women in Business 2010 Conference, This visually compelling marketing tool is both versatile and portable for use at future events.

June 2010 – Graphic Matter renews WBENC Certification.

July 2010 – Graphic Matter attends New Jersey’s largest industry networking event sponsored by the NJ Marcom Council.

August 2010 – Graphic Matter celebrates our 8th anniversary as a Hillsborough business.

September 2010 – Graphic Matter creates a new business plan for growth in 2011 with the Haufman FastTrac Growth Venture program

October 2010 – Graphic Matter wins the WPEO/WBENC Done Deals Partnership Award for securing the most WBE-to-WBE contracts.

November 2010 – Graphic Matter designs advertisement and accompanying micro-site for Pink Ribbon Program’s Breast Cancer Rehab.org, marking our first ad placement in a national publication [USA Today].

December 2010 – Graphic Matter wraps us another exciting year and prepares for a productive 2011.

Thanks for reading our blog. Let us know what you would like us to discuss in 2011. We look forward to more rewarding project with our clients in 2011!

Here they are:

1. How I Love to Follow A Blog, Let Me Count the Ways! Parts 1 – 3

2. Organic Marketing? Really?

3. Get Pushy with Your Marketing: The Difference Between SEO & SEM

4. Graphic Matter’s Fab 5 “Shout Out”

5. Graphic Matter Client Spotlight – NTSG, Inc.

We hope that you have enjoyed our blog posts and have shared them with friends. We look forward to hearing from YOU and invite you to share with us your favorite tips from 2010 as well as what questions you would like to see answered in 2011.

The team at Graphic Matter wishes everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

In recent posts, we identified the main challenge to building your brand is to create awareness and recognition of your company and brand, and we broke it down into four areas:

1. Choice of font or typeface

2. Use of Color

3. Logo Design

4. Choosing a Designer

To complete the series, we are offering some ideas about how you can promote your brand consistently with everyday or off-the-shelf items. The most important tip we can give you is to be CONSISTENT about promoting your brand.

OFF-THE-SHELF ITEMS

Many office supply stores stock business supplies and accessories that you can purchase to reinforce your brand. Will you need binders, presentation folders, envelopes, boxes, or labels? See how many of these items you can get that are consistent with the colors that you have chosen for your logo or brand. Since you haven’t invested any money in these types of items at this point, you can adjust your color choices for them as necessary. For example, instead of bright blue, you might need to switch to a light blue or a grayish-blue. Make these decisions early, before you start to accumulate materials. Consider searching online — you might get a wider selection of colors. Companies like Paper Direct and Paper Access specialize in creating pre-printed materials for small business owners.

BUILD THE BRAND

Now that you have selected your basic elements, use them relentlessly. Find every opportunity to reinforce your brand.

When you select checks, include your font, color(s) and logo. Take a look at your email; create a standard signature that incorporates your complete business name, address, phone and Web address in the footer. Use your colors, your font and if you know how, add your logo. Evaluate all of your existing support materials – not just marketing materials. What do your invoices, estimates, and contracts look like? Do they reinforce your brand and the professionalism of your company? Pick up each piece and ask, “Does this help or hinder my brand in the eye of the client?” More importantly, if prospective clients see this support material before they meet you, will it encourage them to contact you or will it send a clear message to go elsewhere?

Thinking about how both prospective and existing clients view your business is very important. You want to make sure when they have a need they think of you first and ask you to help them fill it. By branding your business, and then building your brand, you create brand recognition, which turns into more sales for you!

For more information on how to build your brand, contact Graphic Matter!

Here is a checklist for you, to help you hire the right designer for your project.

1. Experience:
Ask your designer for samples of other company or product logos they created. It is important to see that the designer can meet a client’s objectives, personal taste and business constraints. Designing a logo as a class project is not the same as meeting the needs, preferences and budget of a paying client.

2. Positive Testimonials:
Ask for testimonials. When speaking to their clients ask about the communication process, how well the designer understood their needs and how they managed the design and edit process. The design process is a translation process, where a client states their requirements verbally and the designer translates these needs into a physical object or symbol.

3. Portfolio:
Good designers have a strong and varied portfolio of work. From the simple to the complex, it should include product and service businesses, conservative and contemporary, premium and discount brands. You can view our portfolio here.

4. Design Process & Professionalism:
When Graphic Matter designs a logo, we follow a process to ensure that we understand and fulfill the client’s needs and requirements. Attention to detail, trustworthiness, strong communication skills, project and time management are all integral components for great customer service. Can your designer accurately estimate the time and cost of your project?

5. Price:
In most cases, you will get what you pay for but don’t take price as the only indication. A designer is a professional who is selling their experience and time. An experienced professional designer, with a strong portfolio is not going to give away their work when they can sell it at fair market value. They need to allow adequate time to do the necessary research and background work to make your logo unique and relevant for your target audience.

6. Customer Service:
Do you know the business behind the website? Can you call or visit the office and meet the designer – if you want to? Do they respond to your emails and calls? How do they present themselves and their ideas? Do they ask you the right questions about your business and objectives? Do they listen to you and understand your change requests? Do they respect your ideas and input? Do you get back what you expect from the designer? When you do get something back  are you “surprised”? Is it a good surprise? It should be!

Graphic Matter can help you to build your brand.

Why not give us a call today?