Business Blogs

A corporate tool for communicating with customers or employees to share knowledge and expertise.

Business blogs are sweeping the business community. Blogs are an excellent method to share a company's expertise, build additional web traffic, and connect with potential customers. Contact Design Chef Studios about starting your blog! www.designchefstudios.com

What does Blogging Provide to Small Business?

Blog software is easy to use. Simply write your thoughts, link to resources, and publish to your blog, all at the push of a few buttons. Blog software companies such as: Movable Type, Blogger.com and Typepad all offer easy blogging tools to get started.

Blogging is a low-cost alternative to having a web presence. For small business owners without the time to learn web html or the money to hire a designer/developer, blogging offers an inexpensive method to get your company's name out on the Internet.

Updating the weblog is a much quicker process than contacting a web designer with changes or doing the coding and uploading yourself.

Business blogs provide your small business with a chance to share your expertise and knowledge with a larger audience. A powerful benefit for consultants and knowledge workers.

14 web design trends in 2010!

Web Design Trend
#1

Over sized Logos/ Headers

Splash pages are so yesterday. To make an unforgettable impression on the visitor, the trend for 2010 will be over sized logos on an equally over sized header. These types of headers can take up the entire screen, but with one important note. Visitors will not need to click anything, just scroll down. Visitors often having a clicking phobia (due to years of poor navigation), so big headers do the job of a splash page without forcing your visitors to click anything.

Main Idea: Huge headers that make your visitors remember you.
http://designchefstudios.com/about.html

Article by Jacqueline Thomas on www.WebDesignLedger.com

The Psychology of Color in Marketing

http://www.designchefstudios.com

By June Campbell

What colors have you chosen for your marketing materials? What were your reasons for making that particular choice? Was it because you liked those particular colors, or did you have a particular marketing message in mind? While visual appeal is an important consideration, your color choices could be sending a specific message to the people who view them. Are you sure you know what that message is?

You'd be wise to consider the psychology of color when designing your marketing materials. Be it business card, brochure, web site, posters or other material, you'll be making color choices. Colors not only enhance the appearance of the item -- they also influence our behavior. You will do well to consider the impact that the colors you use will have on your target audience.

For instance, have you noticed that most fast food restaurants are decorated with vivid reds and oranges? It's no accident that these colors show up so frequently. Studies have shown that reds and oranges encourage diners to eat quickly and leave -- and that's exactly what fast food outlets want you to do.

It's also no accident that you see a lot of reds and blacks on adult web sites. These colors are thought to have sexual connotations.

Ever notice that toys, books and children's web sites usually contain large blocks of bright, primary colors? Young children prefer these colors and respond more positively than they do to to pastels or muted blends.

Market researchers have had a field day identifying the colors and the likely effect they have upon us.

However, the effects of color differ among different cultures, so the attitudes and preferences of your target audience should be a consideration when you plan your design of any promotional materials.

For example, white is the color of death in Chinese culture, but purple represents death in Brazil. Yellow is sacred to the Chinese, but signified sadness in Greece and jealousy in France. In North America, green is typically associated with jealousy. People from tropical countries respond most favorably to warm colors; people from northern climates prefer the cooler colors.

In North American mainstream culture, the following colors are associated with certain qualities or emotions:

Red --excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger.
Blue --(listed as the most popular color) trust, reliability, belonging, coolness.
Yellow --warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness
Orange -- playfulness, warmth, vibrant
Green -- nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance
Purple --royal, spirituality, dignity
Pink -- soft, sweet, nurture, security
White --pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild.
Black --sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery
Gold -- prestige, expensive
Silver -- prestige, cold, scientific

Market researchers have also determined that color affects shopping habits. Impulse shoppers respond best to red-orange, black and royal blue. Shoppers who plan and stick to budgets respond best to pink, teal, light blue and navy. Traditionalists respond to pastels - pink, rose, sky blue.

Want to test some of this out? Check out web sites belonging to companies with marketing budgets that allow for extensive research into what sells best.

Jaguar (http://www.jaguar.com)
A luxury car with a luxury web site. There's a predominance of black (sophistication) and silver (prestige). Jaguar markets to people with high incomes who view themselves as sophisticated and look for a prestigious vehicle.

Volkswagon Microbus (http://www.vw.com/microbus/)
Check out the predominance of yellow (happiness) and orange (playfulness). Matches the type of owners that Volkswagon is trying to attract, don't you think?

So how can you put this information to use?

First, think about your target market. Let's say that you are selling books for young children, but you are marketing to grandparents. You'd probably design the books in bright, primary colors (reds, blues, yellows) to appeal to the children who will use them. However, the marketing materials (web site, brochures, etc.) would be designed with grandparents in mind. You might decide to go with blues (trust, reliability), pinks (nurture, sweet, security) and yellow (happy, playful).

Of course, you would test your ads and colors on a small market segment before rolling out a large scale campaign.

Give some thoughts to the message you want to send and to the psychology of the recipient. Then choose your colors accordingly.

Ground Turkey Sliders- recipe of the week!

1 lb. ground turkey
small chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1t tobasco sauce
1t monterey steak seasoning
1t dried parsley
1t dried tyme

mix, press in slider press (purchased at wegmans). grill & enjoy!

Ground Turkey Sliders- recipe of the week

GROUND BREAKING Press Release!

http://tinyurl.com/2g2bzb8

May Highlights

Intrepid Advertising hires Design Chef to create a new logo for FOOD a restaurant now open on the corner of Main St. and Clinton Ave in downtown Rochester, NY.

Woodard Accounting orders a new brand! Logo, Brochure & a Web Site! www.woodardaccounting.com is already complete... check it out.

Northern Heating and Cooling needs a facelift to their website. Thanks Carl for helping grow my business, and for all the wonderful services you've provided in my home. My energy bills will surely go down!

Harvest Moon takes advantage of my new Social Media Marketing package. Maintaining his website, blog, facebook and twitter accounts will drive a lot more traffic and business his way.

Good Karma Initiative also hires design chef studios to manage his blog.

USA Realty is getting a beautiful new website as well that will capture the investors they are looking for over seas!

Personal Branding

Communicate Like a Billion-Dollar Entrepreneur

Whether you’re running your own show or dream of a business venture, take a hint from Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff on entrepreneurial communication.

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

By Carmine Gallo

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff created a billion-dollar business and started a software revolution from a San Franciscoapartment. And he did it by telling great stories.

Benioff found success by creating software for salespeople to keep track of their customers and envisioning an entirely new software-delivery model called Software as a Service (SaaS) or "cloud computing." But his ability to communicate his vision to investors, customers and employees was the prime mover of his company's success.

"Communication is probably the most essential part of my job," he told me in an interview to promote his book, "Behind the Cloud."

Communication was also the most essential part of his personal success.

You can apply Benioff's communication strategy to drive your own success. Below are six tips that can help you communicate the vision behind the ultimate brand of all - yourself.

Be responsive. Benioff responded to my requests for an interview directly and within 24 hours (despite the fact that he was preparing for a large customer conference). He was also gracious with his time when I contacted him later with follow-up questions and always responded immediately. Responsiveness is a common thread among great business leaders and successful job candidates. Benioff said that by quickly responding to e-mail, you show your customers that you care about them and value their time. If you're a job candidate, think of yourself as a brand and recruiters and human-resources executives as your customers. Consider the image you want to project. If you can't respond to their e-mails or correspondence in a timely manner, why should they expect you to be responsive to the needs of their clients or customers?

Embrace social media. For Benioff, "the future of communicating with customers rests in engaging with them through every possible channel: phone, e-mail, chat, Web and social networks. Customers are discussing a company's products and brand in real time. Companies need to join the conversation." As a job hunter, you need to join the conversation as well.

If you perform an Internet search for "Marc Benioff," you will find him quoted in thousands of articles because he makes himself available to reporters, whether they are writing about his company or not. He made a decision early in his career to be part of the conversation. Today you can participate in your industry's conversation as well by blogging, tweeting and being socially connected. You might think it's a waste of time because "only two people" are reading your posts. Well, if one of those people is potentially your new boss who did a Google search on your name, you have just reached the most important reader of all. He or she doesn't know that the only other person reading your blog articles or Twitter posts is you!

Tell classic stories. Most reporters don't care about a tiny startup, and that's why Benioff never positioned himself as such. He told a classic David-vs-Goliath story.

"We gave the media something different. We always positioned ourselves as revolutionaries. We went after the largest competitor in the industry or the industry itself. We made our story about change."

Benioff is a classic storyteller. Stories are important and appeal to a person's "right brain," his or her emotional core. Decisions are often made by emotion, not logic. You might look equal to another job candidate on paper but will you stand out emotionally? Stories can help you cross that threshold and stand out.

If you're in a job interview and the interviewer asks you to recite some of your significant accomplishments, turn a few into good stories. Tell the story of how you landed that multimillion-dollar account or saved your company $100,000 in expenses. Every brand has a story, and so do you.

Act confident. Benioff learned several things from his former boss, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. One of these lessons was simply to act confident ...even when you're not.

Recent research shows that 63 percent of the impression you leave on another person involves body language and facial expression. That means your skills and experience - all those great things you can do for a new company - are not quite as important as how you say something and how confident you look when you're saying it.

Become a better presenter. Want a job at Salesforce? You'd better be a good presenter. Some candidates are required to give a presentation in addition to answering tough questions.

"Presentation skills are key," Benioff said. "People who work for you represent your brand. You want them to present themselves, and represent you, in a certain way. Whether employees realize it or not, everyone in a company interfaces with customers in one way or another, and their attitude will affect the brand. That's why we work so hard to make sure we have the right people representing our brand, and that everyone is in alignment once they get here."

Have a big dream. Benioff believes in dreaming big.

"I believed that all software would eventually be delivered in the cloud. I had to believe in it passionately and be ready to constantly defend it."

Inspiring communicators are passionate about their mission - they believe it to their core and speak with conviction. As a brand, you need to have a big vision for yourself and what you can accomplish. Keep that vision in mind at all times; better yet, write it on a card, laminate it and stick it in your wallet or pocket. Benioff did so for Salesforce.com, laminating cards for himself and each of his employees that read, "The end of software," which became the company's mantra. Get yourself a mantra and own it.

www.designchefstudios.com/about

DESIGN CHEF'S RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Design Chef Pepperoni Pizza

2-1/2 cups flour
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 tsp yeast (1 packet)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp italian seasoning
Hunts traditional sauce


Mix dough and let it rise, then knead it.
Or throw ingredients into a bread maker on the dough setting.

Spread dough onto a greased dark baking sheet and cover with
sauce. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with mozzerella,
cheddar, and parmesan cheeses. Add Bridgedorf pepperoni, sliced
thick then quartered. Bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.