General

Capability Statement Design for Women Owned Businesses

capability statement design for women owned businesses

Congratulations, now that your company has received certification as a women-owned business your work has just begun! Let’s start with your capability sheet design. In Michigan, we have regional business summits, MiDiCo meetings, and other meet-the-buyer events. When you attend networking events, conferences, etc. in your state or region you need a professional leave behind in the form of a capability statement. Capability statements are print pieces that essentially offer your company information at a glance. Your capability sheet should also be uploaded to your website for download. Similar to a product cut sheet or a sales sheet, capabilities sheets are what companies use in the procurement of corporate and government bids.

A successful Capability Statement Design Includes:

  • your company name
  • company logo
  • third party certifier (such as WBENC)
  • core competencies (brief company statement and services)
  • contact information (you would be surprised how often this is missed!)
  • differentiators – how do you stand up to the competition
  • images;  professional logos; professional or stock photos
  • past performance
  • company data:  DUNS number, CAGE, socio-economic status if you are a WBE, WOSB, Minority Owned Business, certified through WBENC, NAICS codes, PSC numbers, Federal Supply Codes
  • Key personnel: ownership, management information, or key account representatives, etc.

Do you need a professional corporate capability statement - free consultation

Optional Content for Capability Statement Sheets:

  • customer testimonials
  • partial customer list
  • credentials, licenses
  • logos and mentions of professional affiliations /memberships
  • case studies
  • Do you need help writing the copy for your Capability Statement Design?

You may know your business yet not know how to write or now how to identify which content will stand out to prospects. Consider frequently asked questions and reviews from your customers. Ask yourself:

  • What makes your company unique?
  • Why would you be the best candidate for a project?
  • What sets you apart from your competition?
  • Why do your customers continue to hire you?

capability statement sampleAs a full service branding firm we print, write, and design capabilities sheets. Our web specialist posts keyword optimized sell sheets and capability statement information to our website and our customer’s websites. Take a look at our capability statement design sample. We have included design and brand marketing service listings, print and design awards, women owned business certification, corporate logo, WBENC logo, customer case study results, etc.

Industry Specific Capability Statement Content

If your industry requires licensure be sure to include the licenses you hold. Include affiliations, reports and ratings with third parties.

  • Better Business Bureau rating
  • ISO rating
  • Angie’s List award
  • etc.

Especially relevant, do you hold a professional designation within your industry such as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP)? These credentials establish credibility and set you apart from your competition.

Capability sheet samples include one and two sided solutions. We try to keep our capability statement design one sided and customize it to each service. For instance, if we are responding to a bid for brand development services we will include specific branding experience. For magazine or publication design we include our experience highlighting publication design and production.

Do you need help putting together your capability statement design? We can set up a 10-15 minute complimentary phone consultation. Also, we will ask the right questions to get the most important content about your business on paper clearly and professionally.

Leave behinds and downloadable pdf capabilities sheets are critical. Consequently, don’t miss opportunities because your prospects didn’t remember you or don’t have enough information to hire you. Give us a call or shoot us a note today.

The Hall Charlotte Michigan Website Design

Charlotte Michigan Website design for The Hall
Connection Group recently worked on a Charlotte Michigan website design for  the newly established, The Hall. Charlotte Michigan based, The Hall, is an entertainment and group rental space located in downtown Charlotte, Michigan. The Hall proprietor, Jon Hall, recently purchased the historic building located at 127 S. Cochran Ave., Charlotte, Michigan.
Connection Group owner, Connie Sweet consulted with Hall at the venue to discuss web and integrative marketing. The historic building features exposed brick walls, original tin ceilings that tower over the wide open space. Hall plans to book personal events such as weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, showers, etc. In addition,
The Hall rental venue Charlotte Michigan logo designThe Hall is well suited for corporate business groups. Business retreats, meetings, business expos, award dinners, board meetings and more will find the space welcoming. A select group of local caterers have been chosen to serve The Hall attendees. Guests may also hire their own caterer.

Jon Hall owner of The Hall Charlotte, Michigan

Jon Hall proprietor of The Hall

In addition to being Charlotte Michigan’s solely designated event space for parties and meetings, Jon is also encouraging instructors to use the space for classes. From cardio drumming to yoga to wine and paint classes, The Hall will conform to fit each guest’s needs.
Another type of venue downtown Charlotte, Michigan was missing prior to The Hall was a dance and entertainment space. Individuals and groups can rent the hall and make use of the special lighting and sound board. From dance parties to fundraisers, The Hall is ready to rent one time, multiple nights or in regular intervals .

Charlotte Michigan Website Design for The Hall

Connection Group is proud to be a part of the The Hall launch. Jon Hall hired Connection Group to design and develop a responsive website for The Hall.  A chance meeting at a downtown networking event spurred the partnership. The Hall and Connection Group are both Charlotte Chamber of Commerce members. An advocate and strong supporter of local businesses, Hall chose Connection Group for The Hall Charlotte Michigan website design.
If you have an event coming up in the mid-Michigan area, why not check out The Hall? Visit the website for more information on venue rental and availability.
Hall also has space next to The Hall that is available for lease. A prime downtown Charlotte location, the space is well suited for retail or service businesses. Give Jon Hall a call today (517) 712-0772 for specifics on the retail space available in downtown Charlotte, Michigan.
Looking for a new responsive website to be designed and developed for your business? Connection Group provides marketing and design solutions for customers across the United States and Canada for a plethora of industries – we offer consultations and design services all over, not just Charlotte, Michigan website design services!
Please check back for future blog posts featuring customer projects  and be sure to visit The Hall in Charlotte, Michigan. Supporting local entrepreneurs who are keeping it real and saving the original character of our small town historical buildings need our support, recognition, and patronage.
Stay connected! #charlotterising

Automated Marketing Let’s You Market In Your Sleep

Internet Marketing Strategy Connection Group

The previous blog post covering automated marketing barely skimmed the service about the features and benefits of marketing automation for small business. I’m continuing here to be sure that  I communicate clearly that there is a lot of leg work that has to happen for automated marketing to get rolling.

Automated Marketing Services Upfront Planning:

  • create targeted landing pages (for each product or service)
  • develop detailed customer profiles
  • identify marketing automation database segmentation
  • determine what events / actions to track
  • create tracking methods to identify who participated in a campaign  (attended a webinar, opened an email, responded to social media post, or clicked on a Google ad)
  • view reports, determine common visitor traits or failed closings
  • design messages that are graphically appealing
  • write compelling copy
  • tailor drip email campaigns to generate attention
  • and more…

Create more leads and close more sales.

Because we are a design and marketing firm we have received sales calls from automated marketing services firms for years. We’ve tried out demos, reviewed benefits and features and inquired on pricing for each automated marketing company. Some companies were incredibly expensive and truly were designed for large corporations like GM who receive tens of thousands of hits per day. The ROI just wasn’t there for most small businesses.

Can automated marketing benefit small businesses?

The challenge we found with all of the marketing automation companies is that they all claimed marketing automation was easy. The only way marketing automation is easy is if you are a marketing firm who is already using digital marketing services like email, CRMs, visitor tracking, analytics, etc. and attempting to build comprehensive results from the different platforms. It’s a lot of work! Converting to marketing automation services is like a ride in the park after juggling all of those pieces and trying to make sense of them.  Realistically though most small business are not doing many of those pieces on their own, so jumping into an automated marketing solution is a huge undertaking.

If you are a small manufacturing firm in mid-Michigan, a craft brewery in Lansing or a commercial builder in Grand Ledge, Michigan you’re too busy running your business to be working on all of the pieces needed to create successful automated marketing campaigns. You either need a full time website designer and marketing communication manager in-house or you need to outsource it to a marketing company like ours. We have found that the small businesses, associations, and community organizations in Grand Rapids and Lansing who we have met with who attempt automated marketing on their own seldom implement it to it’s fullest potential. There are far too many steps required to get it up and running.

  • customer persones
  • segmentation identified
  • campaigns are built
  • website enhanced for automation
  • communication and call to action copy developed
  • graphic design elements created
  • review of reports
  • sales department actions

Once all of the above are complete, you can monitor campaigns, traffic, and reports and your website marketing will truly be automated and leads will be forwarded to your sales team.

Do you think your company is ready for marketing automation services? Give us a call, we can talk about your goals and whether marketing automation is a good fit for you at this stage in your business. Connection Group can provide assistance setting up your automated marketing campaigns and turn it over to you or we can set it up, manage and provide input on the data and reports. We can help you rest easy and keep your business on track.

Marketing Automation Services [Cruise Control for Websites]?

Marketing Automation Services by Connection GroupMarketing automation services are essentially an expansion of digital in-bound marketing tactics. A customer expresses an interest in your product or service, they come to your website for more information and marketing automation tools spin creative webs to capture the prospect. From pop-ups, to forms, to email buy-ins, automated marketing is created to capture your virtual visitor.
Traditional inbound marketing is found in brick and mortar stores through the use of signage, in-store specials, packaging, point of purchase displays and customer loyalty programs. The customer comes into the store and posted specials attempt to convert their interest into a purchase. The addition of suggested customer loyalty memberships work to solidify the relationship and opens up more touch points for current customers.

Be one with the traffic

In most cases a visitor to your website is a hot prospect, the right time to sell to them is when they arrive, or when they perform a specified action. Marketing automation services answer this need by tracking, reporting, identifying, capturing and noting actions of each visitor. Each action on the website, whether clicking on an individual product page, downloading an ebook, or viewing a video, is noted. This information helps to identify what that visitor is interested in and helps to target follow up information. With automated marketing we can determine if the visitor has been to the website before, what pages they viewed, actions they took, etc.
Marketing automation is synced with a customer relationship management (CRM) tool. Visitors can be segmented into specified lists depending on triggers set for each action you want to track. For instance if a visitor comes to our website and downloads our print marketing ebook the download form requests their name and email. This can then feed the CRM into a segment we have created for print marketing. Someone who purchases the internet marketing ebook could be entered in the internet marketing prospect segment.
Marketing automation can also be designed to provide suggestions to the visitor through popup windows or notifications. As an example, if a prospect we recently met at a Lansing or Grand Rapids event comes to our website and lands on a  blog that talks about website maintenance, we might suggest they check out our website maintenance plans page. If they go to the website maintenance plan page we can create a pop-up or notification that suggests they call us for an instant quote during office hours. All of these pieces can be automated for prospect follow-up and to trigger numerous campaign actions based upon activity.

So are marketing automation services like digital cruise control for your internet marketing?

Did you ever hear the story that was spread around the time cruise control was first offered? It was said that a driver of a van turned on his cruise control and then got up to change his vinyl record. (Yes, cruise control is a vintage feature along with record players and 8-tracks.) Snopes has informed us renditions of that story are urban myths, but it illustrates my point. Cruise control helped alleviate one action required to drive a car but the driver still needed to be present and attend to other driving tasks. The same with automated marketing, although it eliminates a task or two, you still need to steer the prospect in the direction you want them and that takes time, planning and attentive follow up by your sales department.
If you’re ready to to drive up sales, give Connection Group  a call today to see if marketing automation services could be the best route for your company.

Rid the World of Outdated Website Designs [with WordPress]

How to Rid the World of Outdated Websites

We are designers and marketers to the core. Bringing  outdated website designs into a fully functioning attractive website design gets our hearts pumping.  We know design, we know code, we know CSS, PHP and  java script and a few other web language tricks. What we are not are high priced write-from-scratch-mathematic-genius- coding-geeks.  Thank goodness, the majority of small business websites no longer need us to be code crunchers.

 The days of web developers holding small business customers hostage with inflated hourly fees over months and months of undelivered promises are in the past. When high end custom web programming is required or clean and simple small business website updates are needed, talented web programmers who are ethical, affordable and a pleasure to work with are just an email away.

Today, small businesses have a plethora of affordable options available when it comes to redesigning a website. Web design software, drag and drop content management systems, and even free website builders offer beautiful website designs at affordable rates. Redesigning outdated websites has never been easier.

Resources That Make Updating Your Website Easier

  • Local experts – a small business in Lansing can work with a a local website designer in Lansing area. You don’t have to go to a large design and development firm in Detroit, or Chicago.
  • Website Design Applications  – from Dreamweaver, to Joomla, to blogging systems, website development is easier and faster
  • CMS – content management systems, back end administration areas. With standard WYSIWYG editors these systems are as easy as Word or Facebook for adding posts
  • Responsive – websites can automatically detect the size of the monitor or device the web visitor is using and elements are scaled to fit. Not having to constantly scrolls makes for a more pleasant web experience on any device.
  • Standardized features – reduces the need for changes and troubleshooting features. A lot of code is Open Source and free to use.

wordpress responsive website packagesHow Do We Rid the World of Outdated Website Designs?

As web design software and systems flooded the market we researched and tested nearly every industry product. The solution we embraced is the WordPress platform.  There were many reasons the WordPress platform stood out to us. First and foremost WordPress gives us the ability to meet customer needs by customizing existing themes. Instead of building CMS or custom features for every project, a superior system was ready to plug and play. Thousands of dollars and hours were saved and small businesses gained new websites they can update easily themselves.

We also needed to be able to easily customize templates. WordPress themes are like builder white walls – they don’t fit everyones style and may have very little personality. Most often we may start with a WordPress template and by the time we incorporate customer branding elements and add-on features, even the template developer could have a hard time picking out their design. Web designers, like graphic designers, are rebels – we always need to be able to break the mold!

Benefits of WordPress Responsive Websites and Blogs

  • Small business owners and their staff can easily update website content. From website copy, to website photos, to adding new pages, and forms, staff with little to no website development or coding experience can update web information.
  • Small business websites benefit from increasing their search engine optimization with each update  made. Web spiders and bots travel the net devouring information. The newer the information the more likely your site will be indexed for search engines.
  • Plethora of WordPress design themes available. There are endless WordPress design themes that offer increased functionality, built in CMS, and appealing design for your websites. Because of the amount of themes developed they are touted as a do-it-yourself web design solution…not always so, my friend… more about that later.
  •  Wordpress plug-ins eliminate the need for custom coding, add increased functionality and offer cost savings to small businesses. WordPress plug-ins can be used for web features such as adding a real time calendar, a slideshow, a shopping cart,  a feed to automatically post content to your social media networks.  Some plug-ins are free, others have a one time fee and still others have a monthly or annual license fee.

Outdated web designs be gone with do-it-yourself website design

We’ve established WordPress website themes serve as good jump off points for outdated website designs. All of the basic coding is done for you and installing a theme can be quick. Plus WordPress themes can, theoretically, be installed by any level of user. However, most people without html coding knowledge might find this to be a slight stretch.

There are still some technical steps that need to be understood right out the gate. Choosing a website hosting company, managing the domain, transferring the DNS correctly, optimizing photos fro web, to name a few. There is often a need or desire for some form of customization to a site also. If you’re not familiar with web coding, installing a theme and applying special functionality to a standard WordPress website design can be a nightmare. A manufacturing company website and a professional speaker website could take weeks or even months to complete without basic knowledge of html and web development.

Also, keep in mind when you purchase a WordPress theme you are not purchasing a service. The theme developer doesn’t help you build your website – even it there may be questionable coding issues – in most cases you are buying as-is without technical support.

If you choose to design your own website, remember to look at website themes that are responsive. Responsive WordPress theme designs will load well on any size monitor and they offer mobile website readiness. Plus, Google searches now put  a precedence on mobile sites when returning mobile search inquiries. If you do not have a mobile or responsive website your site may not come up in mobile Google searches. Search our site to learn more about responsive website design in related blog posts.

Check out WordPress and learn how you can bring your outdated website into a contemporary, highly functioning marketing and sales tool. If you decide you prefer spending your time building your business, give us a call – remember, design is what gets our hearts pumping!

Regular WordPress Website Maintenance

regular wordpresswebsite maintenance-no-hackers!

Responsive WordPress website designs are an affordable, versatile  solution for small businesses seeking a new or updated website they can update themselves. Those who already have a WordPress website know that WordPress works great on many levels. The biggest concern with choosing a WordPress website and managing it yourself  is that the regular WordPress website maintenance is often neglected.

wordpress feature random falling snowWordPress software is updated by WordPress programmers regularly. As any software, some updates are minor and you may not detect a difference on your site. Other updates are more robust. Some WordPress website updates offer new web functionality or a couple just-for-fun features, like falling snow in Winter. You can choose to implement all the new features or just  a few. What is most important in each WordPress update is the added security. Security updates protect from hackers and malware that can take down your website or infect others systems.

Installing WordPress updates is a necessity for keeping your website safe

WordPress is the top content management website platform across the world. It offers great benefits, especially to small businesses. For all of the benefits to choosing WordPress there is a drawback. Hackers love to target it. (Then again it’s not just WordPress that has this concern. Hackers target Joomla websites, Blogger websites and custom built content management systems also…) To avoid issues, Wordpress website maintenance is a critical practice to keeping your WordPress website or WordPress blog in optimal working order. wordpress update alert screen capture

WordPress programmers are proactive in protecting customers against these attacks.  New walls of code are built to keep predators out when vulnerabilities are detected. Once the code is developed a free update is available to all WordPress users. When a new WordPress update is available, there is an alert posted clearly at the top of the administrative area at log in. The date when it was first available is noted as well.

When should the WordPress software be updated?

We will often wait a day or so after a new WordPress version is posted before we select to update. This is because many of the responsive WordPress websites we design include 3rd party plug-ins.  Wordpress plug-in developers may need a little extra time to unsure their plug-in code is compatible with the latest WordPress version. If the plug-ins haven’t updated yet some may not function correctly. Within a few days most plug-ins have caught up. At that point we’ll update to the latest WordPress and plug-in versions. If plug-ins are not updated within a few days of the release of a new WordPress version, install the update but check your website very closely and make sure all plug-ins are working correctly.

Caution: plug-ins are also susceptible to hackers. New versions are made available and alerts are posted in the administrative area of the WordPress websites for plug-ins also. Plug-in developers may offer a new version with increased features and functionality in addition to added security protection.

We recommend updating plug-ins one at a time. After you update each one, check your website to make sure the update is compatible and all functionality is in place. If you choose to update your plug-ins all at once and there is a conflict, it can be difficult to pinpoint which plug-in is causing the conflict.

What happens if I don’t update WordPress regularly?

  • hackers can invade it
  • malware can be installed on your site
  • Google is alerted and will black mark your website
  • your website is rendered harmful to visitors
  • prospective clients and visitors will get a scary alert stating your website may be harmful to their system

What do you do if your website was hacked?

You send a frantic call to your website hosting service or website design firm that your website was hacked, it’s not live and clients can’t reach you and… worst… you don’t have a current back up. Your website will need to be taken down. Once removed from viewers, a temporary screen is posted, and clean-up begins.

What does it cost to fix a website that has been hacked?

  • your website is removed from view from all prospective and current clients
  • you will now be paying hourly website developments fees to comb through each file to find all corrupt code
  • developers clean / remove bad code
  • the cleaned website is uploaded as a  temporary page
  • website is tested
  • website is tested again… again… and again
  • once clear the new files can be uploaded
  • your web host is alerted that your website is safe to go live again
  • submission requests are sent to Google and other SERPs to remove the blocks that have been put in place for your website
  • requests are sent again… again… and sometimes a third time before alerts are completely removed and your website gets the all clear

 This whole procedure can take days or even months to resolve, it depends on how quickly you are alerted of your compromised site and the size of your website.

What is the best way to help keep websites safe from hackers?

By practicing regular WordPress website maintenance. Log in to the administrative area of your WordPress website frequently and make sure everything is up to date. Consider changing your admin password regularly also. Do not assume your web hosting company or your website design firm is maintaining your website. Web maintenance is usually an additional feature because of the time commitment. Look at your plan or agreement, or send your web hosting or design firm an email of phone call to be sure.

We understand staying current with WordPress and 3rd Party plug-in versions can eat up a lot of time. We also feel horrible getting the call “My website’s been hacked, what do I do?” from a small business. Before that happens, set a weekly or monthly timer to log in to your admin panel and keep your software updated. If you don’t have time or the due diligence to do this, you’ll want to look into website maintenance options for small businesses.. Our basic web maintenance package is a perfect entry point for most small business WordPress  websites.

wordpress website maintenance packageBasic WordPress Website Maintenance Package includes:

  • updating all WordPress, Theme and plugins
  • techies handle the technical stuff
  • website protection -security protection from Securi,
  • scheduled back-ups,
  • included Maintenance time / Email support,
  • 1/2 hour of styling and updates.
  • peace of mind

Knowing your site is protected  from potential hackers and will not be a concern to visitors or scare clients and prospects away from working with you is the best return.

Call us today to discuss which package is best suited to you or sign up for a website maintenance package..

How to [Be Your Own] Brand Consultant – It's Not Just About Brand Visuals

how to be your own brand consultant graphic
Many people confuse branding with company logos, corporate identities and websites. It’s true, consistent brand visuals are important to establish a brand identity. The company brand though begins with the intangible elements a company is built on.
Questions included below are important to ask before you start your company and well before you begin your marketing and promotions. Some of them will be easy, some may need to be honed in over time.
These questions can be used by start-up businesses or existing businesses that needs to evaluate their brand presence and definition. Grab a cup of coffee, pen and paper or open a text document and start noting answers for each section.

Brand Position

  • What unique value do you bring to the market?
  • What does your company do?
  • Who are your customers?
  • How does it benefit your customers?
  • How are you different from your competition?

Brand Promise

What does your company stand for and offer to your customers every single time? All brand decisions are based on this promise to prospects, customers, employees and partners.
Do you want to be known for:

  • high quality product or service
  • giving back to the community
  • niche market
  • 24/7 service?, etc.

Brand Personality

What are the specific personality traits you want your company to be known to provide or represent?

  • sophisticated
  • passionate
  • daring
  • sincere
  • strong
  • dynamic

What is your brand story?

Did you open an e-commerce shop with all Michigan made products to support local artisans? Did you author a book on a parenting because you want to help young mom’s and children?  Are you a manufacturing company built on a strong work ethic  and safety who has achieved ISO certification?
Share your company history here:

  • Why were you founded?
  • What value do you bring?
  • What products and services?
  • How does your story build your credibility?

Brand Associations / Visual elements

The physical assets of your brand; name, logo, website, font, tagline, business cards, print collateral, etc. When you are choosing images, fonts, colors for your brand visuals consider your market and message. Reflect your brand promise, personality traits, and support your unique selling position.
By all means be consistent! Start up companies may select brand visuals that are trending in the moment. Quickly they discover they don’t relate to their brand, they don’t stand out and are quickly dated. Take your time in this step and be sure to ask people outside of the company their thoughts on brand visuals you are considering.
You may find everything falls into place very easily. Some companies may find additional help of a brand consultant or a graphic designer with a strong grasp of brand marketing is helpful. We help companies at this stage and there are firms that have made brand consultation their specific niche. If you are a start up company without a budget to outsource a professional  brand consultant, don’t let it stop you from answering the questions. Your answers don’t  need to be award winning script others see. It is more about defining your brand to yourself first to help you to live it with your customers, staff, vendors and your community.
Stay connected! Which question is the most challenging for you? Did any of them give you new insight on your company brand? I’m interested in hearing how the process was for you.