Get the lighting right for great photos

by Jason France

When photographing something indoors, it’s important to focus on the lighting to create visual impact. Shooting motorcycles, vehicles, construction equipment or other large, shiny objects can be a challenge if you aren’t prepared. With a little experimentation and some time, you can get great results.

I was asked recently to photograph a Chevrolet Camaro for some promotional pieces for a client. The client wanted a warehouse-type shot with dramatic lighting. This worked great since shooting a modern muscle car outdoors in Wisconsin in January just isn’t ideal. The lighting set-up for this shoot consisted of five lights as shown in the diagram below. The car was positioned about 50 feet from the back wall of the building to create attractive bokeh (soft focus). The camera was a tripod-mounted Nikon D7000 with a Nikkor 80-200mm F2.8 shot at 200mm with the aperture wide open (F2.8). Once the white balance and exposure were dialed in, I started shooting. You can see the result at right.

Reflective surfaces can pose a challenge once you introduce bright lights. So creative light placement is necessary to minimize hot spots and glare. Be creative! Experiment! With digital cameras, feel free to fire off 100 shots to get one “keeper.” With a little practice, you can get great indoor shots too.

Better photographs? Shoot, it’s easy

by Jason France

With any given subject, a photographer could capture an image of it literally a million different ways. And chances are pretty good that no two photographers would capture the exact same image. Photography is an art form and should be treated as such. It’s OK to improvise. It’s OK to try new shooting techniques. To me there is no right or wrong when it comes to shooting an image. But capturing an image is only part of the equation.

What makes a truly interesting photograph? Subject matter, lighting, visual impact, technical execution, composition, crop, and angle can all help create a stunning image. But what really separates a good image from a great image? Why does an award-winning photo…umm...win awards? Can a novice create a “great” image?

Today’s high-tech, digital equipment makes everyone a better photographer. But it takes more than a good camera to shoot a great image. Think of your camera as a tool. Can you replace a shock absorber on your car with a crowbar? Maybe. But without the right tools, the job is more difficult.  Sure, a 24 megapixel Canon professional digital camera can capture a great image. But I have also seen great photographs taken with camera phones, $90 point-and-shoot digitals and Holga plastic film cameras. So it’s not solely the camera.

The thing to remember here is that as long as you have a camera (the tool), you can capture a great image with a little thought and practice. And don’t be afraid to use it! Memory cards are cheap, so fire away. But in order to see progress with your photography skills, you have to take the time to learn your particular camera’s settings. Having a $5,000 camera does you no good if you don’t know how to change the white balance setting or the ISO. Make sure you shoot on your camera’s highest quality setting also. You can always shrink a photo in Photoshop or iPhoto but you can’t go the other way.

Don’t rule out the little guy

by Jason France

It’s often assumed that large corporations rely on lots and lots of outside help for marketing. That’s why many marketing firms tend to go after those big fish. But often overlooked are those smaller companies that really need marketing help.

Think about it: large companies usually have established branding guidelines, a website, a product catalog, accompanying photography, etc. An outside marketing vendor will likely be left picking up the leftovers. A small company probably needs lots of expertise to help them establish their brand, create marketing objectives, shoot product photos, design and execute a website, write press releases and many other tasks.

Here is a perfect example: A friend of mine needed help marketing new capabilities after the company he owns purchased $50,000 in new equipment. He sees tremendous value in marketing this new capability to the public and needs photography, a brochure, website updates and maintenance, a press release and help planning an open house for his clients to unveil this new machinery. I was able to put together a plan for him and some deadlines on how we will execute these items.

So, just like that, I have my hands full working on all these pieces for his business. A small client, like my friend, needs your help. They might not even know where to begin to advertise a new capability or have the means to photograph a new product. Smaller clients will usually value your professional opinion, so make sure you outline the best way to promote their business with a written plan. If you are willing to help the smaller guy out, I think you may find future business with them or other smaller businesses as well!

Proper training of your staff helps keep customers happy

by Kris Matz

Unfortunate but true; a dissatisfied customer is more likely to contact you than a satisfied customer. This contact provides you with an opportunity not just to solve a problem but also to gain the trust for standing behind your product or service. The key to success is a properly trained staff that will politely and effectively handle and resolve customer complaints. Here are a few ideas to help prepare employees to turn negatives into positives:

1. Have an established protocol for handling upset customers so employees know how to react and avoid escalating problems they cannot resolve. Role-playing and practicing can help to build confidence handling these kinds of calls.
2. 2.     Make sure that customer service personnel are informed about all identified quality problems as well as the company’s plan for resolution. Customers will be more trusting of well-informed and knowledgeable representatives. Chances for successful resolution at the first call will be increased.
3. Empower and authorize employees to take action.

Identify what a customer service representative can offer a customer without managerial approval. For example, a couple of years ago I ordered some clips from an online office supply store, they were supposed to hold 50 sheets of paper. When they arrived, it was obvious that 10-15 sheets would be the maximum. I called to complain that the product wasn’t what was advertised and to find out how to return the clips. The customer service rep immediately refunded my money, replaced the clips and asked me not to bother with returning the incorrect ones. I learned that she had the authority to take actions like this without managerial approval if the total value was $25 or less. I was impressed. The result: a satisfied customer that has remembered the experience several years later.

A manager needs to set expectations

by Kris Matz

If you’re a supervisor, have you asked yourself: What exactly do I expect of your employees? If you can’t tell them, how would they know?

1. Start with a job analysis – identify the person you believe is your best performer. This should be a task-oriented analysis. Who does the job best?
2. After identifying your top performer, ask them questions and watch them do their job for a while. Expand your research to other employees if needed to make sure that you have an opportunity to see them work through the most common scenarios of their day-to-day work.
3. Develop a job description from what you’ve learned during your analysis. This description can include qualitative and quantitative elements.

 Provide the document to your employees as a ‘living’ document. It should be revisited and changed regularly to best serve the current situation and capabilities. A well-written, accurate job description that includes clear standards and expectations provides guidance to the employee and a tool for consistent and fair measurement by the manager.

Identify and follow best practices. While growing up, most of us heard our parents say more than once—‘you need to learn from your mistakes’. Obviously we want to avoid repeating less-than-successful actions and decisions—and our customers want that too!

But we should actively strive to learn from our successes as well.

Ask: What did you do best today, this week, this year?

Then ask: Can I apply this to common standards and practices to help provide better service all the time? What other situations can I apply this success?

Ask: What problems have you solved for a customer – or what need did you fill for a customer?

Then ask: Do we have other customers who might benefit from this as well?

Best practices can also be identified from outside sources—even from companies outside your industry. Who do you think of when considering superior service? Maybe Disney, maybe the Ritz Carlton, maybe someone less well known that provided a great experience?

What matters most is identifying what makes the customer say “Wow!” and then making it happen repeatedly.

Listening is key to customer service

by Kris Matz

Most customer service personnel are trained to discuss products or services and the company itself in order to answer customers’ questions. But they aren’t trained to listen to customers. I believe that listening is the most underutilized communication skill, and the most critical to providing great customer service. You can’t give your customers what they want if you don’t know what it is. Sometimes a simple question or statement is all it takes to get a customer to provide great information.

How is that A-4400 that you bought last month working?

Additionally, customers can provide great feedback about the product category and the market; after all they are the ones that are actually using what you’re selling! Given an opportunity, many customers will give great feedback. Possibilities include: improvements, new or modified uses, advance insight into upcoming opportunities, and information about competitive products.

It looks like you’ve been buying more lately; things must be going well for you!

I have read Disney teaches their employees that they have two ears, two eyes and one mouth— and they should use them in that ratio!

With an upgraded smartphone, I hardly touch my laptop

by Jack Burke
Here's an interesting take on the power of smartphones--and how marketers might be missing a chance to make a pitch: MinnPost - With an upgraded smartphone, I hardly touch my laptop

Taking control of your own message

by Jack Burke
This article underscores something we've all been seeing: Companies aren't relying on old-line publications to get their message out--they're doing it on their own.

Improving customer service starts with you

by Kris Matz

We hear it over and over again:

A bad experience is retold many times over, but a good experience is retold only to a few.

The investment required to gain new customers by far exceeds the cost of keeping current customers happy.

Considering this, why do we continuously experience such poor customer service? What management techniques and considerations can enhance the performance of customer service?

Set the example for your employees to follow. Have you ever heard the idiom ‘The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree’? 

This is true beyond the usual association with the parent-child relationship. As a manager your job is to set the example for your employees in the work that they are doing for you, your company and your customers.

Treat your employees the way you want them to treat your customers. Don’t be shy; tell your employees what your strategy is. Your purposeful efforts to be patient and respectful will likely pay dividends with reciprocated actions, both to your customers and to you.

Recognize that every employee plays a role in providing value to the customer. Don’t be fooled into thinking that only employees with direct customer contact are important to your client’s satisfaction and perception of your business’ customer service. The person who packages an order, making sure that everything is correct and complete will probably never talk to the customer, but the customer will notice if the order is wrong or arrives in poor condition. This is also true of the people who update your website, run your accounting system, etc., they may not talk to the customer directly, but they play an important role in serving the customer by keeping your company running properly.

Many times employees who provide ‘background services’ don’t think about the importance of their roles in serving clients. As a manager, stressing the importance of the individual and collective efforts of your staff proper function and their significance in creating the overall perception of the team can be empowering and motivational.

Good content sells

by Pete Kennedy

Let’s assume you’ve made the commitment to good content and taken the following steps:

• You’ve sent out quality print materials that have been well received.
• You’ve updated and improved the words and videos on your website. That’s led you to new prospects people you didn’t even know about it.
• You’ve also positioned your sales and customer support team as experts to both those new prospects and your existing customers. (They have more faith in you than ever.)

The good content has engaged the customers, has connected with them. Now you need only put a specific sales call to action near that content.

In the case of a print publication, make an offer for a product or service. If your content is good the pages will be turned until that offer is encountered. Offer a deal available only through that publication and measure the response.

Metrics are even easier at your website.

First, surround your really good content with links to your products. For example, if you’re posting a video on “How to test a widget,” place a link to “Check out widget specs” or even “Buy a widget.” If you’re in a more complicated business that requires more sell, “Contact us to learn more about widgets.”

Placing purchase links near related content isn’t rocket science. Yet it does take work because the content has to provide valuable information. The visitor needs to spend time with it in order to spot your links. The call to action—typically a link—also has to be well thought out and written.

In addition, consider how the visitor might navigate the site. You have to be sure the appropriate product offerings match the content or you’ll be missing opportunities.

As for proving the impact on sales, you can trace the path of the purchaser. If someone bought a widget, you can backtrack to see where they clicked from, and how they entered your site. If you know the customer’s e-mail address, you can go way back. Did they originally register online after receiving a print publication, a tweet or visiting Facebook or Flickr?

The analytics obviously go into much greater detail. The point is that just a few basic measures can prove your point. If your content is good enough, the metrics will take care of themselves. That includes the most important metric of all: Sales.

Watch that number climb and the skeptics will become supporters.

Can we be of help? You can reach the author here, or call him at 262.544.6600.

Good content reduces your marketing costs

by Pete Kennedy

Ah, costs. It almost always comes down to price, doesn’t it? But done right, spending on content can actually save you money on marketing costs.

The key is providing materials so compelling that a customer or prospect is willing to surrender something in return for viewing it. That something is information—including an e-mail address. And e-mails enable delivery of your message at a low cost.

You can capture e-mails by attracting customers to your site with good content. (That goes back to SEOs, and even having others send visitors your way.) Attract them with good content, and then ask for the e-mail during their visits.

Good content also helps you convert postal addresses to e-mail addresses. The most obvious e-mail conversion method is to develop a quality printed piece and offer an incentive for a customer to go online and register.

Key to the process is the print publication. It must be so compelling—the content must have such value—that customers turn the pages. Those pages contain your message, including that offer to receive the magazine electronically. Premium content itself can be the incentive for gladly supplying an address in anticipation of receiving future quality content.

Speaking of value, an e-version of that print publication also can be posted on your website. Customers can download it, which is, again, spreading your message. You also can offer a portion of the content to attract their attention, and then simply ask them for an e-mail address to provide the rest of the content.

In the end you’ll convert postal addresses, gather some entirely new e-mail addresses from prospects you weren’t aware were out there—and keep your costs in line.

Shooting photos in cold temperatures

by Jason France

Shooting outdoors during the winter months can be a rewarding experience. Snow scenes, wildlife and winter getaways can all be great subjects. Besides bundling up to shoot in the cold, there are some things you need to consider before venturing out.

Your digital camera is an electronic device. Electronic devices need to be handled appropriately in cold weather. Keep the battery warm to maximize shooting time. Handle your camera with gloves or fingerless gloves. Avoid changing lenses in rain or snow. You don’t want precipitation to get onto the mirror inside your camera. When you are done shooting, place your camera inside your camera bag. Then when you bring your equipment indoors, allow the camera to remain inside the bag with it closed up and consider placing it in the basement or somewhere where it can have a chance to gradually warm up to the ambient temperature inside your home. You want to minimize excess moisture or condensation inside your camera as much as possible. A hot chocolate or latte helps YOU warm up.

If you follow these few pointers, shooting outdoors during the winter can be a lot of fun.

Failure isn’t an option—it’s predestined

by Jack Burke

Businesses fail. That is a basic economic truth. Businesses tend to fail more frequently when the broader economy hits a slump. That, too, is basic. But not all small businesses fail, even in bad times. Somehow, some way, they keep the doors open when competitors are closing theirs.

What is the difference between the winners and the losers? This list highlights 10 reasons small businesses fail. The bottom line is that many small businesses are running to a great degree despite of themselves. Take a look at the list. If you see your company, you should be worried.

Too much to do? Not enough time to get it done?

by Kris Matz

Take the time to create a realistic ‘to do list’ and prioritize it. This simple yet effective organizational technique can help you identify critical items and allow you to fit the less-than-critical items into your schedule as time permits. 

Consider the list a roadmap to effective use of your time.  If you follow it, you’re likely to reach your destination more quickly—it will also help you deal with the detours (to-do items that pop up suddenly) along the way.

1. Write down everything that you should accomplish. 
2. I suggest entering this list into Excel so that you can automatically sort your list and easily add or delete items.
3. Once you have a list compiled, consider each item. Is this a ‘must-do’ or a ‘nice-to-do’ item? Does this item have an assigned deadline? Is someone else depending on you to get this done to be able to finish his or her own work?

Assign each item a priority level.  I use the ABC method.  Things that are ‘must-do’, have an imminent deadline, or that someone else is depending on me for have a higher priority level—these are mostly ‘A’ items.   ‘B’ and ‘C’ items are things I’ve identified as ‘nice-to-do’ or have deadlines that are further away. Prioritization of the items can be tricky at first—wanting to make many things ‘A’ items makes the list seem overwhelming. It will get easier to divide the items into effective priority levels as you continue to use the technique.

Sort your Excel document by priority level.  (See example below.)  The ‘A’ items should move to the top.  Now you know what needs to get done first—but you still have a list of the less critical items as well as a good reminder.  You can fit those in around the higher priorities.

This can be a ‘living document’ for ongoing use. 

Finish an item?  Simply delete the row from your Excel list.  If you want to keep a record of completed items you can also change the priority to ‘D’ (for done) and when you sort they’ll move to the bottom of your list.

Need to add more items? Add these items to the bottom of your Excel sheet and resort.  Now they will fall into the proper place by the priority you assigned.

Also, don’t forget to ‘SAVE’!!!

A new year, new opportunities for business

by Jason France

A new year often means new budget money for businesses. This is a great time to revisit clients who may have cut spending at the end of 2010.

Be proactive. A simple e-mail to customers and potential customers highlighting what your business is working on, outlining new capabilities or offers might spark interest—and give you a leg-up on competitors who are less vocal. Don’t forget to be creative in your message to them. You may only have one shot at that budget pie! Be catchy and crafty in marketing your business or services. You want to stand out, not be a “me too.”

Good content connects with existing customers

by Pete Kennedy

You’d want your competitors’ customers to check out your site, wouldn’t you? But face facts: If your competitors’ customers are looking, it’s likely many of your loyal customers are checking up on your competitors.

Are they close to jumping ship? Only they know that. But why raise a doubt in their minds? Why settle for clearly inferior content?

This doesn’t only apply to a website. Print publications can be more active, can deliver your message without waiting for the prospect to come and find you. Reach out to your customers with quality content—with words that help them improve their businesses and ultimately make more money—and you’ll strengthen the bond.

Of course it’s not just about providing good content at the time of the sale. It’s about keeping in touch, about subtly reminding your customers that you’re there—that you have expertise, not just products. It’s about building a relationship.

What if you had a sales rep, who, after making a sale, never followed up? He never communicated with his customers, never told them that new products were available—and, specifically, how those products could help the customer’s business. He never stopped by to ask what the customer needed. Never communicated—period.

It’s the same with content. What if you never touch base with a print piece, or if you never connect with an existing customer on your website? How will you be greeted when you deliver a sales pitch? If you have questions about improving your content, whether online or in print, we’ll be happy to talk to you.

Strong content can help you find new prospects

by Pete Kennedy

There are some prospects that you don’t know exist. Don’t feel bad; we’re all in the same situation.

Here are a few key ways these unknown prospects find your website:

• They are customers of your competition but want to see what you have to offer.

• They are doing organic searches, are Googling a few key words, and have found your site that way.

• Someone else sends them there.

Your competitors’ customers might visit your site because they’re frustrated with their present supplier. They’re fed up and checking out what you have to offer. (Are you ready to show them?)

The competitors’ customers also might be perfectly satisfied, but still covering their bases. They’re 99.9 percent sure they’ll go with the same supplier, but why not at least visit your site to see if there’s anything new there? (Is there?)

Whatever the reason, when they get to your site you’re making an impression. The visitors are watching video of your equipment working productively. They’re reading stories that apply to their businesses and they think, “These guys know what they’re doing.”

They’re taking a look, and you had no idea they were even out there.

Your electronic content also finds customers who don’t know about you. Of course we’re talking about SEOs, which is how a customer (hopefully) finds your site after conducting a search.

Optimizing these searches is itself a multi-million dollar industry; many businesses have been built, and books written, about how to get the name of your business higher up the list.

What any expert will tell you is good content plays an important role in SEOs.

• First, good content is fresh, and SEOs reward sites that are frequently updated.

• Having a robust site helps. You’ll move higher on the Google list by having content with key words that match a prospect’s needs. The more content on a key topic, the more searchable your site becomes.

• Outsiders link to good content, and those links are big SEO boosters. If you post a piece of content that an outsider finds compelling—and writes about and links to—you’re site will move up the list.

• Video helps with SEOs. Posting stories and videos to give your visitors the best information, and to meet their delivery preferences, has the side benefit of boosting SEOs.

Occasions when a customer is sent to you applies to both electronic and print. With the former, it’s a reference to check out a site, or even forwarding a link. With print, it’s about you creating such compelling magazine or brochure content that is so good the initial recipient passes it on. That publication includes not only your expertise, but your contact information.

Good content makes an impression

by Pete Kennedy

Content is more than just words or a video. It tells your story, it represents you in public. In some ways content is like a sales rep greeting your customers and prospects.

What if that sales rep dresses, and acts, like a slob? Maybe he (for our purposes it’s a guy) shows up in a dirty shirt. He is on the stale side—doesn’t exactly smell the best. He yawns and looks away, disinterested, when the potential customer tries to engage him in conversation.

Your content can make the same impression. And here’s where it gets really scary: Your content isn’t representing you during only one call. It’s doing so in front of every single one of your potential customers.

Content says a lot about you—probably more than you think.

• Tightly written and edited content displays your professionalism. It also prevents distractions, and helps prospects find your message.

• Interesting content engages others, keeps them looking at your message and coming back to you.

• Fresh content shows a commitment. It’s evidence that you’re on top of what’s going on around you.

Let’s go back to the sales rep analogy for a minute. And let’s say that sales rep, while a slob, had a really good message. 

Maybe he was selling a product the customer desperately needed—and at a ridiculously low price.

Even so, that product probably wouldn’t sell. The sales rep would be tossed out the door before he could even make an offer. You can have a great message, but if it’s sloppily presented you’ll still be out of luck.

Here’s one last thought: Your business already relies on content in one form or another. That isn’t a question. For example, you have sales collateral of some kind. You have a website.

Why not make it the best, why not go above and beyond? What is the cost of coming across as tired and uninspired?