Make yourself and your differences seen

One of the biggest problems in business today is the intense competition caused by our ability to produce things faster than we can consume them. Because of computers, almost every task can be done faster and more efficiently. Fewer workers are required to do any task. So you have more products and services available than there are people who can afford them or even have time to use them.

Take movies or books for instance, how many can anyone possibly see or read? How many other things are competing for our time and attention? We're all very picky then about where we spend our time and money, so you have a situation where a few products and services do very well and the rest don't.

If you want your business to be one of those few that do well, you have to stand out and be different. You can't look like everybody else. You have to be visible and communicate your unique benefits very quickly (people are in a hurry).

Photos that are strategically created to communicate your story can give you that winning edge that tips the scale in your favor. They communicate the advantages of what you provide far faster and in a more convincing way than words alone, words that may not even be read. Don't just tell them what makes you the better choice, show them.

How to convey quality

Here's a link to an excellent article in Entrepreneur magazine by John Williams - "6 Ways to Convey Quality". He has some very good advice. (Although I'm in total disagreement with him about the use of stock photography. Stock photos and communicating quality don't go together, no matter how good the photos look - they don't ring true.). Check it out.

Quote of the day

"It takes half your life before you realize that life is a do-it-yourself project."

Napoleon Hill

Learn from Apple

Apple has some of the best marketing and branding (and products) on the planet. Learn from them, study their website - www.apple.com.

They understand that people buy based on their emotions and then look for logical reasons to justify their purchases. They get people to pay a premium for their products (premiums which I happily pay myself). Look how they use images to communicate their message.

They use beautiful images and almost always combine them with a caption or headline. (They understand that people are busy and that photos communicate much faster than words.) People also read captions on photos much more than body copy.

They use large photos on each page. Photos that make their products look great.

They have more photos and less words - only increasing the amount text as the viewer is drawn into learning the details about the products benefits and features.

They never, never, never use stock photos.

Almost every selling point is reduced to a few lines or a paragraph and has an accompanying photo or illustration. They say less and show more.

They communicate beauty and simplicity with everything that they do. Their products, their marketing, their packaging, their instructions, and their software. All of these things strengthen their brand, increase their sales, allow them to have higher profit margins, and improve their customer's experience and satisfaction.

They get it.

Quote of the day

"There are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, those who do not see." Leonardo da Vinci