Over the summer we realized that Prim’d Marketing had outgrown its website, and we were selling products that weren’t represented online. This is common with business owners in their second or third year of business, and as you evolve you might realize that you too need a “2.0 version” of yourself. In this 3 part blog series, we’re going to be lifting the hood to show you how we realized we were ready for a marketing revamp and how we did it (so you can too). What we did to prepare a firm foundation in Part 1, how we created a strategic site in Part 2, and how we geared up to promote our website launch in Part 3.
This first post will cover preparing our foundation: getting our messaging and images together. Lucky for us, one of the products is called The Brand Plan, which is designed to help business owners establish or define their values, their voice and core differentiators. We decided to turn the tables on ourselves and have a taste of our own medicine…
What did we find out? Something that we highly suspected: Prim’d Marketing has evolved since we started almost two years ago, and we now offer a different client experience and advanced product suite based on what our clients need. We are proud of how we have progressed but in the process we had outgrown our website.
What did this mean for the outside view of our company?
A 2.0 version of the Prim’d Marketing website.
We have been working hard over the past few of months and excited to finally share our new and improved website with a more robust suite of products (The Brand Plan, Logo & Brand Identity, Website Design and Blog & Social Content Plans). But to backtrack from this revelation at the beginning of the summer to now sharing our new website, we wanted to share with you how we did it (so you can too) in a 3-part blog series and how we help our clients turn a concept into a brand or an evolution of an existing company into a bigger and better version of themselves.
The Brand Plan
A good place to start is to create the blueprint plan that will help build the foundation to everything you do and communicate as a brand. We initially designed The Brand Plan as a guiding light for a client we were working with who was becoming confused and indecisive about what their brand stood for and who they were trying to sell to. Defining the things that are important to you and your business makes sure that you are staying true to the heart of your brand.
Jenni and I sat down and tackled the initial part of The Brand Plan process by answering worksheets that asked us, who are as people and how do we talk about ourselves.
We also reached out to clients and friends who had pretty good insights into what it's like to know and work with us, and how are we different from other marketers and creatives. This exercise is recommended in The Brand Plan as talking to others you know personally and professionally gains a deeper 365-degree view of your strengths (and weaknesses).
We also tackled questions that considered who is Prim’d today and what would we like it to grow into in the future.
Going through our own process brought up a lot of questions and revelations for us about the business and our roles that were highly valuable for moving into a 2.0 phase. It also highlighted that we needed to break the questionnaire up into smaller and more manageable chunks, with accountability reminders to make the process run smoother and make it more enjoyable for the client. Something we wouldn’t have known if we hadn’t put ourselves through our own process.
What process do you offer your clients that can potentially be tweaked to improve the client experience?
DOWNLOAD OUR WEBSITE AUDIT KIT!
We've created Primd Website Audit Kit for those of you who squirm when you think of your website. We'll walk you through all of the suggestions in this post, and help you get clarity around where you might need to make some changes.
Download it, and get started on taking your website from "meh" to fabulous!
Branded Photo Shoot
After going through The Brand Plan it was clear that we needed to create a 2.0 version of our website with new imagery. We needed to add more personality to our website, highlight the beauty of where we are based (wonderful San Francisco) and show the energy that happens when Jenni and I work together.
We have been unhappy with our existing headshots so we rubbed our hands with glee at the prospect of having new imagery for our website and social channels.
To get the ball rolling we needed something we offer our clients – a Branded Photo Shoot. These are one of our favorite things to do as we get to turn our client’s dreams into reality by working with a talented team of people. This time WE were the client and we had the perfect partner in mind.
We had admired the work of photographer Kristen Loken from afar for a while and were beyond excited at the chance of working with her on our new website! We were also a little nervous, to be transparent, as we wanted the shoot to be perfect and reflect exactly who we are and what we do in a professional and fun way.
We got to work by brainstorming what we wanted to achieve with the shoot by scouting what locations and planning what specific stories and compositions we wanted to create during the shoot. The types of props we needed, what we should (and shouldn’t wear) in keeping with our brand and messaging. All the things you need to consider when preparing for a successful photo shoot, and something we collate and boil down into a comprehensive shot list and checklist for our clients.
We are happy to say that the photo shoot went like a dream. We worked with our talented hair and makeup artist Nikol Elaine who waved her magic wand and enhanced our kickass lady boss look. Nikol is a great partner because she has a way of making our clients feel both beautiful by accentuating their natural assets, and also at ease before a shoot. This combined with our photographer's creative direction helps get the best out of our clients on the day.
Kristen Loken, who is now one of our Prim’d partners, listened to us, understood our vision and hit it out of the park. The experience on the day was relaxed and enjoyable and when we got the photos back we were over the moon with the results! Kristen captured the essence of Prim’d and the energy between us with a polished photographic look and feel. The end result provided the perfect tools to take us to the next stage of building our 2.0 website.
In Part 2 of this blog series Jenni will talk about the branding and website design process a launch, with tips on how to create the ideal user flow for your new and improved website.
If you are starting a brand from scratch or redefining your brand we are offering a special bundle price to take you from The Brand Plan to a complete website - contact us for more information.
We would love to hear from you if you are considering or currently going through a 2.0 phase of your business. Please be sure to leave us a comment on our blog or social media with any questions for us!
DOWNLOAD OUR WEBSITE AUDIT KIT!
We've created Primd Website Audit Kit for those of you who squirm when you think of your website. We'll walk you through all of the suggestions in this post, and help you get clarity around where you might need to make some changes.
Download it, and get started on taking your website from "meh" to fabulous!
Sophie Davies
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