So many of our design firm clients are leaders in their disciplines, as well as master brand strategists, that they are intimately familiar with the concept of "touch points." When design firms collaborate with corporate clients, they are mandated to follow their standards guides. These standards guides are put into place so that corporations' touch points remain consistent and properly aligned with their brand messages. The question is: do design businesses put into practice for their own firms, those very principles they put in place when working for corporate clients?

When I work with design business principals, I always urge them to take a page from these corporate scripts. Therefore, touch points are the experiences a client has with a design firm's brand, (not just a corporate brand), that influence the way he perceives that brand. What are these touch points for design firms? 1. The core message. 2. The leadership initiatives. 3. The firm's personnel. 4. The level of expertise and industry knowledge. 5. Professional courtesy. 6. The professional presentations made to corporate clients. 7. The services offered. 8. The advertising, brochure and website content. 9. The quality of the work.

Everyone in the design firm must work to deliver the brand promise. If any aspect of the total brand experience is lacking, the perception of the value of the firm will decrease, and it will lose clients and fail to attract new ones. Leadership in every firm must challenge each person in the firm to be "The Brand."

The Core Message.
The mission statement is more than two lines in the employee handbook and the company brochure. It is a clear-cut statement about who the firm is, and what it stands for. It defines a firm that has a clear identity, and a clearly delineated business plan. This is woven into the daily operations of the business. It is the rationale behind every decision that is made and every action that is taken. It takes a Living Marketing Plan tm, and breathes life into the firm. Every business must have a solid plan in place, and it must follow that plan if it is to build the kind of business base that it wants to have. Strong management personnel are in control of the business and critically structure that business to build a secure client base and to meet future challenges.

Such a design firm has defined who its key publics are, because it specializes in a certain industry. Its employees have a stake in the success of the firm, and they know what their roles are. This is a design business that has effectively positioned itself in the marketplace. It has a brand message. This brand message must be safe-guarded and nurtured in order to be sustained, and to sustain the design business!

The Leadership Initiatives.
In this business, the entrepreneur who founds a firm, stamps it with his/her own personality, passion and vision. If this design business principal is a true leader, he/she will then define the mission of the firm, and help to develop a strong core culture that will brand the firm from the inside out. Leaders act with integrity, honesty and ethical behavior. They respect their employees and inspire respect from them, in return. Leaders set the tone for their firms. While they are not interested in the "herd mentality" that leads to conformity in theory and practice, and squelches creativity, they also challenge each person to buy into and to become "The Brand." Leaders engage and energize their staff. Leaders emphasize accountability, and show that it starts at the top! Leaders' staffs excel at servicing clients, and creativity soars because they have a purpose, opportunities to learn and grow, and a sense of personal pride and achievement. All of this leads to self-actualization.

The global design leaders I know share a few common secrets when it comes to creating strong cultures and branded organizations. These tips are well worth passing on: shared goal setting meetings with staff, brain-storming sessions, motivational meetings, and suggestion meetings for company improvements with incentives built in. If you remember nothing else, remember this: leadership is the business intangible that helps create an enduring, positive effect on your corporate culture and your brand values!

The Firm's Personnel.
The most important resource of the design business is its social capital. Even though this asset is invisible on your balance sheet, it is the largest contributing factor to your P+L statement. How the firm's principal creates, nurtures and mines this asset for its full potential is up to him/her! What goes into creating a design business's unique corporate culture? Mutual trust. Two-way lines of communication. A willingness to be open and to learn. And a willingness to change what isn't working-to go out into uncharted waters-to make necessary changes.

Corporate Human Resource managers will tell you that there are distinctive advantages to putting in the necessary hard work and focus into building and supporting your culture. By creating a strong, supportive frame-work for its employees, the design firm is building the foundation for a great work force. In the long run, this single factor contributes to the formation of a stronger, more sustainable business. In my estimation, nothing contributes more to a design firm's financial sustainability like a strong corporate culture!

The Level of Expertise and Industry Knowledge.
Those design firm principals who have heard me speak, attended my workshops or routinely read my monthly newsletter know that I have always preached the Gospel of Specialization and Differentiation. The old saying: "You can't be all things to all people" is so true. With specialization, the design business becomes all things to certain people. When the principal of the firm is a leader, he/she can clearly see where their firm's strengths and talents are, and they focus on that. Their goal is gain expert knowledge of a particular industry, or perhaps, a couple of industries. They learn all they can about it, and then, they focus on addressing that sector as specialists. This industry sector, the design business's key publics, must be marketed to with the firm's menu of services.

The design firm must qualify potential clients in their chosen area of specialization and create a database for these clients. Then, the design business must make certain that its collateral materials, that is, its brochures, advertisements or promotions and its website, directly address its key publics. These are all facets of a carefully executed marketing plan. Within my Living Marketing Plan, I go into significant detail on all of these points, in order to walk my clients through the process.

There is one more essential aspect of this touch point, and it is a crucial one. Differentiation. Obviously, in every design discipline, there is considerable competition. How much the principal of a design business can accentuate the strengths of his/her firm; can point to the uniqueness of its process or procedures, its additional services offered, or its profound understanding of trends, can serve to make it look more desirable to potential clients than its competitors. It is perceived as a "value added" firm, provided all of its other touch points are equally strong. Remember the old Tom Peters adage: "Perception is everything!"

Professional Courtesy.
This starts at the top. If courtesy is exercised between the design firm's principal and staff, because a high level of professional decorum is expected, it is likely the same courtesy will be extended to the firm's clients. Of course, not every employee has that winning telephone voice. Not every employee has the grammatical skills or deft skills with language, to write letters or send e-mail queries or responses out. Not every employee has the correct body language, diction and delivery skills to assist in making the presentations to would-be corporate clients. It is mandatory to match the person to the required skill set for these positions in any design firm. These staffers will create the first impression your clients and potential clients receive. Will it be the right one? Will it be the brand image the firm seeks to relay?

When choosing someone on the design firm's staff to perform various marketing functions, it is critically important for the principal to identify the person(s) who have the talent to express in word and deed the all-important brand image to both clients, and potential clients. Many firms are too small to be able to assign anyone to perform these vital tasks. That is why my firm, Design Management Resources, offers a full menu of marketing services. We know how to create the right brand image for our clients as we qualify clients for them, build databases, write letters of introduction and speak to their potential clients over the phone.

In my experience, there are many mid-sized and larger firms who have yet to budget the resources of personnel, time and budget for vital marketing functions. I counsel all of them to correct this deficiency.

Competition for design firms across all disciplines, across the globe, is intensifying. If your design business is specialized, well-differentiated, and is projecting "the Brand" as it should, but is not marketing itself, you should be very concerned for its future! Whether you're sitting in Chicago, London or Singapore, there are design firms competing for the very same corporate clients that you are (no surprise!) and they do not even reside in your state or your country (big surprise!)-they are all over the world!

The Professional Presentations Made to Corporate Clients.
In my work as a marketing and public relations consultant, I have the on-going opportunity to speak with global corporate buyers of creative services. I also have the on-going opportunity to speak with global design leaders. This has given me a unique perspective. It has also enabled me to give design firms invaluable insights into the corporate world. There is a certain amount of "disconnect" between design firms and their would-be corporate clients in the way of perspectives and procedures. My ultimate challenge and goal is to bring these two divergent paths together!

It is critically important for the design firm principal to have the necessary tools to be able to deliver professional presentations to would-be corporate clients. Corporate buyers have informed me that many of the presentations made to them by design firms have been poor, fair, indifferent or average. The points that they have often cited as having led to this perception? Poor preparation. It is apparent that a lack of knowledge about the corporation and its targeted needs does not make a favorable impression! Too many presenters. Some design firms feel that several staffers should be involved in the presentation. So, the principal brings his group with him. Corporate buyers have stated that the best presentations are made by one or two presenters. Period. Poor delivery of content and distracting body language. Some presentations are not clear, concise or to the point. An appropriate mix of media can be used if it assists the presenter in making his point.

The only thing the corporate buyer wants to know is this: does the design firm principal understand my needs, and can he meet them? Can he save some valuable time, and deliver a meaningful presentation in a relaxed, confident and professional manner? It is distracting when a presenter uses too many hand gestures and speaks too quickly without adequate pauses. If the presenter fails to make eye contact or smile, he is seen as uncaring, disinterested, and disingenuous. The presenter must learn to manage his behavior, verbal and nonverbal, if he is to be effective. Taking courses in public speaking and practicing one's delivery help the presenter to make a thoughtful, effective presentation. One that is memorable to the potential client!

Another key component of a successful interchange between the design firm presenter and a would-be corporate client is the ability of the former to listen attentively to what the latter is saying. He should also be prepared to answer questions simply and directly.

Remember the object here is not to try to impress the potential client with your creativity, a portfolio of past projects and awards; unless the corporate buyer specifically requests this information, do not take up his time and go off on tangents. It serves no useful purpose. In fact, it detracts from your pitch for your services, and takes up the corporate buyer's valuable time!

The Services Offered.
Design businesses should constantly analyze their service menus to their key publics. A survey of past clients should include questions concerning the quality and perceived value of the design firm's services. Which services would they like to see the firm offer? Which ones do they deem unnecessary? Analyzing the business over the past year will yield very interesting and highly valuable information for the principal. If certain services are rarely purchased by clients, maybe they should be phased out. Which services are purchased most often? Have clients asked for services which the firm does not currently offer? What are the firm's strongest competitors' services? A periodic survey should be made to garner this information, as well. Fine tuning is an on-going process in this regard, for every design business.

The Advertising, Brochure and Website Content.
Remember that in the beginning of this article, I mentioned standards guides. Always look at the firm's brochure and website with a critical eye. Are these representatives of the firm faithful to the brand image? Are they effective? I am always asked to critique these materials, by numerous design businesses. Many times, the brochure is not clearly delineated by section. Does it clearly and cleanly break down the information the firm needs to convey to a potential client? That is the question. If it is not set up to do the following, in this order, maybe it should be rewritten. Firstly, the firm's contact information should be noted. That means full name, address, phone, fax and website. Next, the firm's mission statement should be clearly stated. Then, a short paragraph or two should summarize who the firm is and what it does. A menu of its services follows. After that, the nature of the firm's culture, its process, and examples of its work with any awards or achievements should follow.

Websites, like design business brochures, should be easy to navigate. The same logical progression of information should appear on the website, as it does in the brochure. Many times, designers love to install the latest new software with lots of bells and whistles. They load the site with lots of huge photo files. Little information. Lots of pretty pictures. The problems with that are these: with the soft economy, many of the largest global corporations have shelved plans to upgrade their computer software systems. If the potential corporate clients for the design firm's business can't even open up the website, how effective is that? And even if they can and will open up the firm's massive site with all of its high-tech pictures: what will they be able to find out about the firm's actual services? No potential client should have to go through the entire website of a design firm to access its contact information! And yet, I can tell everyone that I have had to do just that-more times than I care to admit!

Only the largest design businesses have an advertising budget. Again, if the firm is able to advertise, are the ads clear, concise, and on brand image? If not, they are a waste of the firm's money!

The Quality of the Work.
This is a very key point. Design businesses that have worked hard to really establish their brand identity put it all on the line here. If the projects the firm undertakes are not delivered on time, on budget and in a satisfactory manner, the corporate client will never partner with them again. In this business, I always say: "Under promise. Over deliver." In so doing, the design firm's perceived value skyrockets with its clients. The quality of the work will only be as good as the effort made to keep in constant communication with the client is. By asking questions early in the process, and really listening to the answers, the firm has a clear grasp of the client's needs and can effectively target them. There should be one point person within the firm communicating with one point person representing the client corporation. When design firms assign or allow several staffers into a project, confusion and miscommunication follow.

Design businesses should learn the value of following up with their corporate clients after a project has been completed to assess its success. Metrics are increasingly important in the marketplace. For example, one design firm that specializes in packaging systems, may wish to follow up with a corporate contact a few months after the new products have been positioned in the marketplace. Did the products meet or exceed sales expectations? By how much? After all, packaging plays an integral part in selling a product. Many consumer buying decisions are made at point of sale. Packaging creates responses on emotional and intellectual levels. A savvy design business principal gathers this information and uses it in his brochures to his firms' advantage. It impresses potential clients. It speaks volumes about the quality of the firm's work. This is one important aspect of public relations!

In Closing. . .
I would like to emphasize just one thing to design businesses: every touch point in the firm, that is, every aspect of the firm's brand that interacts with the clients, influences the way those clients perceive the brand. Everyone in the firm must work to deliver the brand promise. If any aspect of the total brand experience is lacking, the perception of the value of the firm will decrease, and it will lose clients and fail to attract new ones. Leadership must challenge each person in the firm to be "The Brand."

One last thought: what do the touch points of your design business say about you?

©2003, Linda Fisher