Intrepid LLC

I am really jazzed about this new client, which includes designing the book cover for their new book. Here it is, and more to come on this exciting project:

Popularity: 2% [?]

Here is another logo that we’ve just completed. This was a tricky one. This is for Video Dust Jacket from the High Velocity boys. Video Dust Jacket is a project where the High Velocity team travels to visit and interview business authors and bring their thought leadership and written works to light…

Popularity: 8% [?]

We had to produce a new logo for a concept about building community, serving others, and bringing profitable business and people of influence into your CIRCLE. The concept is called CircleNomics…

Popularity: 9% [?]

A new client proposed a fun challenge. Create a logo for a new blog entitled Southern Catholic Chicks. This blog is the journey of two southern ladies who converted to Catholicism. The goal was to appeal to younger folks, demonstrate their southern origins (thus the glass of iced tea), and also maintain the dignity of their religious seriousness.

Popularity: 9% [?]

A colleague recently told me he wasn’t expected to be creative, since that wasn’t his department. I told him he was wrong. He replied, “Oh please, give me one example over the course of a typical day how little ole me can be creative…”

1. When a customer calls with a problem.
2. When a sales call is stalled.
3. When a prospect asks “what makes you different?”
4. When you think you need to cut prices to be more competitive.
5. When you find yourself wanting to blame the economy for things being slow.
6. When you train new employees.
7. When a prospect says “Hmmm, I’m just not sure, let me think about this a bit more…”
8. When your store has a changeable marquee.
9. When an employee says “I just don’t have enough time to get all that done.”
10. When you think you have competition.
11. When your “competition” offers a new product or service.
12. When you don’t have much money in your marketing budget.
13. When your latest innovation is still popular and bringing in massive sales.
14. When you copy other people’s business ideas too often.
15. Whenever you have a chance to deliver a thirty second elevator speech.
16. When you design your next business card.
17. When you answer your business phone.
18. When you grow tired of networking with the same people at every networking event.
19. When someone asks you “So, what do you do?”
20. How you ask for referrals.
21. How you greet customers when they come into your shop.
22. When you record the message for the company voice mail.
23. When you have the chance to record some audio and/or video for your web site.
24. When you need to update your pricing.
25. When you decide to support a local charity.
26. When you need to upgrade the signage outside your shop.
27. When you can’t understand why blasting spam email just doesn’t seem to be working.
28. When it’s time to determine a new niche market to target.
29. When you have to create a mailing list for your next direct response program.
30. When it’s your turn to treat for lunch, where should you take your client/prospect for a memorable experience.
31. When it’s time to expand your service or product offering.
32. When you need to write the next post for the company blog.
33. What to talk about if you offer a seminar to the local market.
34. When you add a new tactical option to your marketing program.
35. Who you invite into your community with your company’s social media program.
36. What local event you choose to sponsor for your next PR outreach idea.
37. What to write about if you are invited to share thought leadership in a local newsletter.
38. What to give away at the next trade show.
39. What music to play when folks are on hold on your phone system.
40. When it’s time to rearrange your store floor plan.
41. How to acknowledge new customers. Old customers. New prospects. Referral partners.
42. What you can give away for free.
43. What to do when things are slow in the shop for an hour or two.
44. What to do/where to go on the next company retreat.
45. How to reward employees for remarkable work.
46. When you are working to improve internal communications.
47. How to make your web site ridiculously easy for customers to use.
48. When you are coming up with a process for customers to provide feedback.
49. How to organize and communicate to company prospects.
50. Oh yeah, how to be creative when designing new fancy schmancy print collateral…

Get the idea? Please share more ideas! Be Intrepid.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Be An Intrepid Marketer – Recommendation No. 28

If you are not currently seeking real, honest feedback from your customers, you are missing out. Big time!

There is no better way to learn ways to improve the customer experience – than to ask the customer what worked, what didn’t, and what can be improved. And the amazing thing is? It is so easy to do. And yet so many don’t do it.

Why? Are they afraid to receive negative feedback? If so, then it’s time to quit.

As readers of this blog know, I do the marketing for FuegoMundo Wood-Fire Grill. We just opened our doors last week. So far, we are thrilled with the traffic and the early reviews!

But let me tell you something, there are two clear reasons why we are getting strong early reviews:

1. The FuegoMundo team worked hard to begin building a place where we could deliver a good customer experience.

2. We asked a lot of people for feedback. Before we opened.

How did this happen? We had SIX separate events where we invited people to the restaurant, allowed them to live the experience, and then when done, gave them a detailed form to collect feedback.

And man did we get some, and it improved the way we do things. What resulted from the feedback from about 250 people was menu changes, staff procedure changes, messaging changes, and strategic marketing changes.

It made us better.

[Do you know how easy it was to get people to participate? Just get on Twitter and Facebook and invite them to participate. Easy - if you define "easy" as working for months to build a community online using social media...]

And now that we are open, we are still aggressively seeking feedback. The artwork seen in this blog post is the very customer feedback card that rests on each table in the restaurant. You can’t imagine how many cards were filled out just in the first three days…

We want to hear from you. We want you to tell us what we can do better. Sure, we like hearing good stuff, which helps us know we are on the right track. But seriously, we need to know the bad stuff. That’s the only way we can improve. That’s the only way we can, together with our community, create something that people will want to talk about and share.

And that’s how we will grow. That’s how we will succeed. That’s how we will build momentum to start a second location.

And it all starts with asking your customer for a little feedback.

Be Intrepid.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Be An Intrepid Marketer – Recommendation No. 27

Some say that in the age of social media, direct response marketing is dead or dying. While I agree that DRM is changing, let me proclaim loudly:

They are wrong. In fact, if done right, DRM can still be a very important piece to your overall marketing strategy.

An Intrepid client just sent out the first of a four-piece direct mail campaign. We are launching a new restaurant, and trying to build awareness of the new joint in surrounding neighborhoods.

To have a successful program, you need THREE things: a compelling message, an easy call-to-action, and a good targeted mailing list. That’s it!

That said, you have to do a lot of work to be sure you achieve all three things. And even then, there are no guarantees. On the FuegoMundo piece (shown above) we simply let people know a new place was coming soon, and that to learn more about it and to receive discounts and promotions – all they had to do was sign-up to join our e-newsletter. Simple.

The response exceeded our expectations! Now, there was nothing exceptional or frankly, unique, about our mailer. But it was simple – and the call to action was clear and easy. And our mailing list was carefully put together. It was sent to precisely who we believe our target audience to be.

I will admit, it was gratifying to see this response. Not because it proved to me that this restaurant concept has a great chance of succeeding. But more importantly, that direct response can still work – if you practice the fundamentals.

What about you? What does direct mail have to offer you for you to take some sort of action?

Be Intrepid.

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