Schaumburg Designers: More than Meets the Eye!

Welcome to Schaumburg Marketing Company's creative blog. 
Here you'll find a plethora of information on Schaumburg Marketing & Design, Schaumburg Graphic Design, Schaumburg Web Design and Schaumburg SEO.

We Design with YOU in mind.


At SMC, a Creative Agency, we put you first. We listen to your ideas and consider your marketing and business goals every step of the way. We take a personal approach with your projects. We get to know you and your business personally, which helps us accurately interpret your needs and integrate them into your design solutions.

Our design process is a straight-forward approach which is guided by our clients' ideas and objectives. We manage the timeline of your projects by focusing on your schedule so your business needs can be met.

Who are we? 

The Schaumburg Marketing Agency's creative marketing team is comprised of talented Graphic Designers, Web Designers, Programmers, Writers, SEO Experts, Marketing Strategists, and Photographers who work together to create design solutions that work for you and your business.

We have a simple philosophy. Hire the most dedicated and creative people who love to work in a creative environment and are passionate about what they do. The result is a team that loves to design, write, program, and market. This philosophy is what has transformed us into the respected marketing company it is today. We not only create innovative designs and brand solutions, we love having the opportunity to build relationships with our clients.

Our proven track record as a leading Schaumburg Graphic Design Firm and Creative Agency lets us take pride in our ability to create and implement the most strategic and creative marketing solutions for you and your company.

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Chicago Marketing: 5 Phases of Logo Design

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The best logos in existence did not simply pop into existence when the graphic designer put his pen to the paper. They went through a process. This process is sometimes rigorous and takes years to perfect. The Apple logo went through many different phases and took 30 years to get to the stage they're in now! Take a peek at the following process and see if you're going about it the right way.

Research! Research! Research!

Research is the most important phase of a logo design process. Research includes asking the client questions about their likes and dislikes when it comes to graphic design. It should also include research of top competitors logos and creative styles. In addition, researching your client's target market comes in handy and helps you tailor your design to their specific needs. The most important reason you've been hired as a Graphic Designer is to help your client and their business become easily recognizable.

Development

Everybody handles this stage in their own way. Creative Graphic Designers like us prefer to take the information we've gathered, start with word association, brainstorming, a play on graphically describing words on paper and then move into Illustrator. This process is the most time consuming or SHOULD be. It will be greatly affected by how much time and effort put into the research phase of the Logo Design process. 

Proofing

This is the first presentation to the client, where you will show them what you've been working on all this time! The presentation is half the battle, as you need to sell your design even after doing so much work on it. Graphic Designers all around the world have spent ages on a design that is not only beautiful but inspiring and could have been the next great Apple Logo, but the client hasn't liked it. Don't get too attached to your designs because they may end up in your rubbish bin.

As a Creative Marketing & Design Firm, we have a lot of competition. But we know that when we sit down with a client, our sales techniques are going to win the day. If you feel as if you're not on the up and up on Sales Techniques, look into getting a class or forcing yourself to give more presentations. It will only help!

Completion

It's finished finally! After all the time and effort put into the design, time spent with the client, and finally finalizing after your hard won presentation, you've arrived at the point in time where you deliver your product. And preferably get PAID too. Be sure to give your client multiple file types to work with as most printers take .jpgs, .ai, or .eps files.  They may also ask for .pdf, .png, or even .gif and .tiff files. Be sure to have a copy of each. This makes both yours and your client's life much easier.

Follow Up

The best way to lose clients is to not follow up with them. Make sure you follow up with your client, as this might be the connection between you and your next gig! 

Tips

1. Dont be lazy - do your research!

2. Don't rush!

3. Don't shortchange your client on proofs and designs

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Chicago Marketing: Reasons Advertising Fails

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Advertising exists to influence behavior. Period. Much of it doesn’t. Here are the most common reasons why:

Super Bowl Syndrome

Have you ever recalled a funny TV spot but forgot the advertiser? Many marketing consultants get so caught up in being entertaining they forget to sell, as is the case with many Super Bowl spots. Ad creative should be inextricably linked to the selling proposition. 

Lots of Explosions and No Plot 

That’s how some movies are reviewed, and the description fits many ads too. A special effect is a thin disguise for the lack of an idea. Technology has placed numerous bells and whistles at our fingertips that may distract our audience from the message. Resist the urge to apply elaborate dissolves, exaggerated graphics, and overwrought sound effects. (This applies to PowerPoint decks too!) Simple communicates better.

Harried Soccer Moms and Chimps 

Some marketers continue to develop ad concepts based on clichés, such as talking babies, pets that are smarter than their owners, and men who would rather watch football and drink beer than be romantic. How can an ad stand out if it looks like so many others? (Enjoy a parody here of clichéd PSAs in which spokespeople finish each others’ sentences and endlessly repeat key phrases.)

Committee-Sourcing 

Even if an ad agency starts out with a solid concept, its potential effectiveness is often watered down by too many “experts” in the kitchen. Advertisers who feel obligated to address every opinion offered by every member of every focus group, committee and board often miss the mark with external audiences.

Egos at Play 

When you see a business owner appearing in his own advertising, you know he’s likely more interested in personal celebrity than advertising effectiveness. Few CEOs are good as spokespeople. For every Frank Purdue and Lee Iaccoca, there are thousands of car dealers and roofing contractors who are pathetic in front of the camera and don’t seem to know it. Even less effective: featuring their own kids’ in the ads.

“Lowest prices! Highest quality! Best service!” And most claims! 

So many that it’s hard to believe one organization can live up to them all. When building a logical case for a sale, screaming promises at the prospect sounds desperate. Pick one brand advantage to stand for — it’s more believable and more memorable. 

Lack of Differentiation 

Most advertisers tout product features. Few tell you why they are a better choice than their competitors. Apple did it 66 times over four years with its Mac Vs. PC campaign. See a sample TV spot below and watch the whole campaign here. It’s a textbook example of brand positioning.

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Chicago Marketing Firms Helps Establish Your Brands

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The Chicago Marketing Firm, Integraphix is committed to help your business succeed in your respective markets. Their main goal is to establish your product brand and trademark in the market. We will help you stand out among your competitors. The designers and marketing specialists at Integraphix are not satisfied that you are on the mediocre end of the spectrum. The Chicago Marketing Firm, Integraphix, will help you place your products in your own unique position. We always go beyond your expectation to help you become more successful in your business.

It is not surprising though that many are satisfied with the marketing efforts of Chicago marketing firms which are all for the benefit of the clients and their respective market. We know far better what is excellence and customer service is all about. Our clients motivate us to continuously excel so that we can help the clients survive in the competitive world of sales and marketing. But we are not only that; we also assure that the consumers are satisfied with the product to maintain loyal customers.

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Chicago Marketing Firms: When designing Web Navigations...Simple is Smart

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We all recognize the web page in this posting. It's Apple. It's the iPhone. We're on the iPhone navigation button. Easy right? That's what you want. Simplicity.

Choice are a wonderful thing in website navigation, but having too many options on your menu can lead to confusion and a frustrated customer, or worse, a lost sale. Often, business owners are stuck in the mindset that giving customers lots of options is a good thing, but there is such a thing as giving too much!

When you go to the salon, you don't get a menu of hairstyles to choose from, your stylist works out what you like and what works best for your face shape, hair type, etc. If you were to go to that same stylist and she gave you a 30 minute survey to complete before she started cutting, you'd probably walk out right? Again...right.

This is the same concept in web design. You need to choose FOR your customers what will work best for YOUR company and the services/products you offer. You don't have to put every type of product in your navigation. Keep it simple, because more than likely, your customer base is web savvy enough to navigate a website.

Example: You're selling rings online. You've got diamond rings, gold rings, rings with gems in them, rings for men, etc. You wouldn't put all of these options in one menu bar! You have a simple 'Rings' button that your customer can then follow to find the type of rings they want through either a drop down, or a form that narrows choices on the other side of that button.

The bottom line: think broadly about your services and products, and bring this ideas to the table with your web designer and they'll be able to tell you which option will be the best for your market and type of website. Most web designers will have enough experience, especially if you use a Marketing Firm with Web Design services, that they can use effective sales and marketing techniques to help your customers make decisions.

Here are some ways your website might be confusing your visitors:
Poor Navigation

Your customer as to figure out where to go on the website and most likely ends up going elsewhere.

Too many choices

There may be no clear choice or too many choices without a clear indication of which one is the page they want to visit.

Way too much copy

We didn't like reading essays in high school and nobody likes to do it today either. Keep your web copy between 400 and 1000 words per page so your customers aren't getting fed up with trying to find the information they want.

Requiring Registration before purchase

Internet users hate this. Have an option to check out as a guest on your website. The less hoops a person has to jump through, the more likely they are to finish the transaction.

Are you guilty of any of these web crimes? If so, contact Integraphix today for a FREE Consultation on how we can improve your website traffic and boost your sales.

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Integraphix, the top Web Design Company in the Chicago land area.
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