networking Archives - Kropmark Design

If you network, you will certainly hear the phrase “a good referral for me is…” more than once. Networking is, after all, a way to help other businesses to succeed and to be helped in the process. I rarely bring referrals up in my own networking, as I prefer to allow leads to grow naturally and organically. However, this topic does give me an excuse to discuss who my clients tend to be and what to look for in businesses that might be helped by Kropmark Design.

Customers of Kropmark Design typically come to us for the following reasons:

You are starting a new Business

Most folks starting a new business today realize the necessity of a website and will make it one of their first priorities. The downside of this is that new businesses rarely have a lot of capital, causing some owners to make the mistake of getting a cheap (and cheaply done) web page design. Which leads me to my next type of client…

You are unhappy with your cheaply-made website

Although a website built through a free website builder will work in a pinch, most business owners realize quickly that there are significant drawbacks to these types of sites. For one, they rarely look as professional as a web page design should be in order to bring in finicky (discriminating?) clients. Second, many of these hosting providers will include only the most basic functionality in your website. Adding a blog, e-commerce or other advanced functions will often increase your monthly rate. These nickel and dime style charges begin to accumulate, and your “inexpensive” website becomes significantly more pricey. This process leads me to my next type of client…

You want to upgrade to a more powerful, flexible and functional website

The restrictions of a non-cms (content management system) website eventually will frustrate most business owners, forcing them to look at better website options. Why would any business pay a monthly charge for blog functionality on a cheap website when they can get a powerful and flexible website with an integrated blog for a one-time fee? Businesses that come to this conclusion will discover that a cms website provides the balance of good looks, adaptability, ease of use and power that other web page designs lack.

You are not getting found by the right customers

Many business owners have great websites, but they are not tapping into online clients as much as they should. These businesses ask for help with their search engine optimization, Google Analytics, or Google Places accounts. Some businesses need help creating quality print advertising or coupon offers.

You ARE getting found by the WRONG customers

Some businesses receive scathing online reviews that they previously did not know existed (Note: you can run your business with top notch customer service and still recieve bad reviews). These businesses realize the damage that negative online reviews can have, or they realize the positive impact that five star reviews of their business can have and ask Kropmark Design to help monitor their online customer feedback.

You want to market your business in other ways, but don’t have the resources

Many businesses want to tap into social media but don’t have the time or knowledge to do so. Some businesses come to Kropmark Design because they want professional print design and layout for their presentations, but they don’t have the proper software or ability to design it themselves.

So then, who are the customers of Kropmark Design?

Business startups
Growing businesses who need web page design or advertising help
Businesses who have at least ten customers a day and need their reputation monitored
Business that have a storefront, especially restaurants and retail

Kropmark Design enjoys working with other designers, marketing agencies and programmers who need additional design help but don’t want another full-time employee. Kropmark Design has also worked with many publishers in need of design, pre-press or production help.

We help other businesses to succeed. It is not just our mission statement, it is what Kropmark Design does and who we are. If you can relate to any of the above descriptions, trust us to provide a quality, high value product that is made with creativity, integrity and precision. We look forward to working with you.

Image by Comstock

I do a lot of networking, and as you might expect I have run across many other businesspeople who are in the field of web design. Most of them are quite friendly, although I get the feeling that they wonder if I might take food off of their children’s plates some day. Although I have a great deal of respect for my competitors, these encounters have made an impression on me of the vast differences between competition and collaboration.

Those who are focused on competition see their counterparts in the same occupation as a threat. They may try to “one up” their competition at networking events when discussing their businesses, or even secure clients that are already in negotiations with other designers. They may not be receptive to working in collaboration with another business that they consider a competitor.

It’s my philosophy that in a town of 500,000 people there is more than enough web design work to go around, so I don’t really feel threatened by other Colorado Springs website designers. But there is an even greater desire within me to do something more than just make a buck, and that is to steadily increase my impact by expanding my network, my influence and my power to help other people. In other words, I believe in the power of collaboration rather than competition.

It is a basic premise. I once heard that one oxen can pull with only it’s own strength, but two oxen yoked together can pull significantly more than double the strength of just one ox. There is power in collaboration, whether it is on the football field or the archaelogical dig or in the world of web design. Because of this, I am always looking for other web designers to team up with who are talented and who share my view of collaboration. I also look for businesspeople who are open to strategic partnerships where we can work together on projects, and I’m developing some great relationships with other businesses because of this.

Ultimately, I believe that website designers who are collaborative are better at what they do. After all, isn’t design itself a collaborative effort between the client and the designer? The best designers are GOOD LISTENERS who hear what you have to say about your business and your marketing goals and put their own agendas aside in order to serve you. They will think about your competitors and your customers, and their designs will cater to the likes and dislikes of your market rather than their own personal biases. Designers that are prima donnas or who don’t comprehend that graphic design is driven by customer service miss the point and ultimately fail their clients.

Once, when I was employed full-time as a book designer (although most of what I did was art direction), we contracted out an illustration to a local Colorado Springs design company. The designer was given the text of a children’s book and asked to come up with cover illustrations based on the book concept. The result was an illustration featuring a cute little bee, which unfortunately had absolutely nothing to do with the concept of the book. When asked do justify the choice of a bee in the design, the designer responded by saying, “Well, I like bees.”

At Kropmark Design, our greatest satisfaction is helping other businesses to succeed. We do this by listening to what you have to say, by examining what your competition does well and does poorly, by analyzing what your customers are looking for and how to appeal to them, by communicating with you at every step of the design process, and by revising and refocusing until the final product is just right. It is a COLLABORATIVE process, not a competitive process. If you want to buy a widget, you go the the store and pay the price of a widget. No collaboration is needed. However, good web design and good graphic design grow from a working relationship between professionals striving to attain the same goal. Great Colorado Springs website design is what we do at Kropmark Design.

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Competition versus Collaboration

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