The Captain’s Blog : Archive for July, 2007

Most of our clients come to us with an initial understanding, or at least a feeling like their brand, website or marketing strategy needs a change. What they are experiencing is a term in Psychology known as cognitive dissonance - the tension resulting from the disparity between one’s beliefs and one’s actions. It’s better known as that gnawing feeling in your gut that comes while sitting in a 2 hour business meeting after scarfing 3 chili cheese dogs and a basket of curly fries for lunch…

Well, almost. Either way, you come to an accute recognition that either your beliefs about yourself (your brand equity, perceived value, etc) or your behaviors (ad campaign, website, eating habits, etc) need to change.

That’s where the hard part begins. Just as you begin seeking resolutions to your frustrations, a whole new kind of dissonance hits you. The easy part is asking someone for help, and even paying for it. Actually taking their recommended changes and running with them, not so fun. Now it’s not just your branding or marketing issues under a microscope–it’s your core products, services and values.

We’re all creatures of habit. For better or worse, we almost unconsciously stick with the familiar and safe. Once we see what potential change will look like we almost immediately start to back pedal and think, “That’s not what I was expecting.” That’s because we realize that making things look better on the surface (what branding and marketing attempt to do in part) doesn’t really solve the real issues behind the scenes–the stuff that really matters. Improving products or services, changing business rules and practices, or simply coming to grips with the fact that maybe you’re really not as good as you thought you were is painful, time consuming and often costly.

For example: let’s say you’ve got a fairly successful business, but sales are slumping in recent months and you decide you need a fresh ad to boost the brand. You go to an agency with your business rules and a few ideas and express the desired outcome. To your surprise, they come back to you with a recommendation to drop the print ad altogether, modify your flagship product and go with an edgy website and campaign that attracts a new market segment while attempting to reinvent and revive brand equity with existing customers. And, it costs a lot more money.

Now you’ve come to the point where your uneasy feelings were trying to take you in the first place. It is what dissonance is meant to do–drive us to make real, effective change that lasts. It may look painful and costly upfront, but that is why you are paying professionals to help you realize the right change. 

The alternative is no longer a viable fix. Simply covering up the mess with a pretty face and sweet talk is glaringly transparent to the majority of today’s consumers. Much more will be lost down the road by way of credibility and patronage if you go that route.

So, when you feel the need for a change, be prepared to do what is best to achieve maximum results. Otherwise, you might as well get used to uncomfortable situations.

I need to apologize to everyone that has been awaiting a new blog post with baited breath since late December of last year. The rest of you may now chuckle to yourselves at will.

No, Eli Kirk has not dropped off the face of the map. Yes, we have simply been so busy that, like many companies, we’ve not paid the kind of attention to our own site and portfolio that we should have. I know, I know… should’ve, would’ve, could’ve. I hereby make pennance for my sins and heretofore will make regular blog postings. OK, moving on.

Since about, oh, January 1 of this year we’ve had a steady increase of both clients and employees. We’re fortunate enough to be a part of a healthy Utah County economy, and our work and reputation have made some great in-roads with new and existing clients. Growth is good, but with growth have come some growing pains.

As we grow we are continually looking for ways to improve our processes and proceedures to help meet our clients’ needs in both a quality and timely manner. We use a third party software solution to track and manage our projects, but the downfall of all processes is people. Our own quirks and tendencies keep some of us from simply remembering to input data or track the minutia of the day (guilty as charged).

That said, we are finding a lot of success working together as a team to find solutions we agree upon. We meet regularly and go over project scope, time lines and customer issues. We support each other and encourage usage of our systems. At the end of the day we are each one step closer to perfecting our imperfect processes.

If anyone else has had success with a certain type of process or management style in the web and design industries then I’d love suggestions. After all, the better we perform the more our customers reap the benefits. Your feedback is much appreciated.