We obtained estimates from seven web design firms. Not only was Enrico Design competitively priced, they also saw the big picture with regards to our marketing strategy and then fit our web site into that.

Larry Yu
Income Research and Management

 

Case Study

VoiceWare, Inc.

Problem:
VoiceWare, a small telecommunications distributor located in Wakefield, MA, was unhappy with their web site. VoiceWare sells the products of telecommunication giants, such as Samsung and Avaya, and wanted their web site to reflect this association.

Chick Chickering, President of VoiceWare says, "We looked at other designers' but we didn't like what we saw. Enrico Design had done other work for us in the past. Linda gave us a quote that was competitive, so we used
their design services for this project."


Solution:
Enrico Design designed and implemented a "front end" to the corporate web site that is unique for the distributor, but carries over elements from the existing sites of the international brands. Users can click on "Product Line" to view VoiceWare's product lines. Clicking on "Samsung," for example, then takes users to a complete listing of products for that maker ­ which also includes photographs and accompanying product copy.


Result:
Reports Chickering, "We've received great feedback on our new site. Enrico Design completed the project on time and within budget. By working with Enrico Design, we got high-end design services and a results-driven solution to our web site dilemma.

 

 

 

 

I've been collecting e-newsletters from various companies for about six months. My intent was to showcase one or two in my own e-newsletter, but I realized early on that many of the newsletters I received weren't really that good – and in fact, a few were downright bad. If I hadn't been saving them, I would have trashed them.

What are some of the reasons people delete e-newsletters without reading them?

1. Irregular schedule.
If you're like many companies, your newsletter's publishing schedule is supposed to be monthly or bi-monthly but in reality it's "whenever we get around to it."

TIP: One reason for publishing an e-newsletter is to remain top of mind with prospects and customers. If you publish infrequently, people will forget who are you – and will be more likely to delete your newsletter when it does come in. If you can't keep up, consider hiring an outside writer to help keep your newsletter on schedule.

2. Too much content.
Companies who publish infrequently tend to overcompensate by overloading their newsletters with content. One e-newsletter I received had 19 articles: eight feature articles, six event descriptions, four product blurbs, and an application note.

TIP: Everyone is overloaded with information. Rather than posting so many articles in one newsletter once every six months, increase your publishing frequency to monthly or bi-monthly and spread content over several issues.

3. Content focused on products only.
A number of the newsletters I received were well designed and easy-to-read. However, the content focused solely on the company's products. Sales oriented copy aimed at getting people to click through and buy on the Web site does nothing to build relationships with customers and prospects – which is the whole point of sending out an e-newsletter (or should be anyway).

TIP: Yes, you want to sell your products and services, but you must give people information they can use. One company who did this well is Accent Technologies. In their newsletter, "Presentation Directions," they had an article on how to choose vendors by the quality of their PowerPoint presentations. 3M Touch Systems featured a helpful case study showing how they solved a problem for one of their clients.

4. Sidebar clutter.
Have you noticed how media "white space" is being filled with unnecessary clutter? News scrolls, weather information, graphs and charts, and station ID logos fill our TV screens. It's happening to e-newsletters too – with many newsletters using the left and right hand margins to list additional information.

TIP: At a conference I attended, Steve Krug, Web usability expert and author of "Don't Make Me Think," showed a video of a person's eyes traveling over a Web site looking for information. It looked like the person was on speed as his eyes rushed over the computer screen, looking for the one thing he needed. Even though information is mostly electronic these days, we still read left to right, top to bottom. Help your audience read online content by eliminating unnecessary clutter and following standard formatting and design guidelines.

5. Not formatted for printing and saving.
Are you one of those people who print newsletters for reading later? I am, and I know a number of others who do the same. If your company publishes an e-newsletter, do the following: print it out. Did all the information make it to the page or was it cut off on the right side or not included at all?

TIP: Make it easy to print information to be read later. For example, Planet Ocean, publishers of Search Engine News, have a "Print and Run" feature where you can print the entire newsletter from one Web page.

Don't let your newsletter get trashed. Give readers valuable content, keep the design clean, make it easy to read (and print!), and stick to a regular publishing schedule. You'll see a noticeable increase in click-through rates – and over time, an increase in leads and sales.

(This article originally appeared in Mac McIntosh's "Sales Lead Report" which can be found at www.salesleadexperts.com and was written by Dianna Huff.)


I hope you enjoy celebrating the Winter Solstice as much as I do. On December 21, the days start getting longer again. Let's hear it for the sun!

Cheers and Happy Holidays,

Linda E.

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Enrico Design will help make your next communications project meaningful to your audience, project your values and ensure your company makes a lasting impression. To find out how Enrico Design can help you keep your e-newsletters, web sites and print materials from getting trashed, visit http://www.enricodesign.com/, call 781-631-2520 or contact us by e-mail.

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