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Bright Ideas

I Got A Guy…

October 22nd, 2021 by Ima Admin

bad flooring jobYup, regardless of the industry, we’ve likely all heard this, “…who’ll do it cheaper.” There’s always someone cheaper. We are a society that loves being cheap. Some big names (that you can easily name from ‘A’ to ‘W’) have built empires on being cheap. Yet being cheap doesn’t necessarily mean being smart, and paying less doesn’t always mean getting more value for the money, taking less time or getting better results.

That least expensive paint you found is more likely to NOT cover in one coat, but WILL take more time, and leave brush marks than a more expensive brand. Likewise, that cheapest window cleaner WILL leave streaks and cost you more in time to re-clean them. How’s that cheap toilet paper or doggie poop bag working out for you? Do you really want to gamble your health and future on the cheapest condom you can buy?

But its not just products, its true for services as well. There’s probably nothing wrong with the flooring product in this picture, but the execution and results are not what was expected.
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What If?

September 27th, 2021 by Ima Admin

Many of America’s greatest innovations began with the big question, “What if…?” and the solutions were even bigger. Virtually every business, large and small started with the question, “What if…?” Often one ‘what if’ leads to other ‘what ifs’.

Let’s assume that your ‘what if’ has lead you to develop a business, but your current ‘what if’ has you on the fence about the need for a website. Let me save you some time – you need one. A good one. Professionally designed to catch leads, increase sales, tell your story, differentiate you from the others – regardless of your industry. Want to know why?
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Is it Time for a Redesign?

September 17th, 2021 by Ima Admin

word graphic relating to design conceptsLike all of us, our pets, our cars & homes, websites age – some better than others. A website may become outdated, non-functional or you may have new needs/goals. Web technologies evolve, coding languages change, and site visitors expectations will increase as they become more sophisticated. Web design is a cyclic and regular process as companies change, new technologies develop and new fashions come along.

Its a smart plan to consider re-designing a site once a year, but at least once every few years. Cyber years, like dog years, are not the same as human years. An older, outdated site can look neglected and can imply poor customer service. However, the frequency of redesign depends on many site, company internal and external factors.

So, what are some common reasons for a site redesign?
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AI, Hackers and Drones, Oh My!

June 2nd, 2021 by Ima Admin

Cyber SecurityDuring the 1939 hit movie, “The Wizard of Oz”, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and Dorothy, chanted the memorable phrase, “Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!”. Today its just as likely that the things to be concerned about are AI (artificial intelligence), Hackers (those ne’re-do-wells seeking profits at other’s expense) and Drones (those minicopters that homeowners, realtors, the military deploy and Amazon may be using to deliver our orders) – Oh My!

Lions, Tigers and Bears aren’t necessarily out to eat us or the primary characters of Oz, but then neither are AI, Drones and/or (some) hackers necessarily ‘bad’.
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First Best Impressions

August 2nd, 2018 by Ima Admin

On a sad note, funeral services were held earlier this week for a friend who was a psychic contortionist, but it was OK because she had said she saw her own end.

Wow! I’ll bet that left an impression!

‘Impression’ is a funny word.. we can DO an impression, we can MAKE an impression, we can GET an impression, we can be LEFT with an impression, and we can COUNT impressions.

When you arrive at any business or networking event, you make some judgements about who you THINK everyone is and IF you want to have a conversation with them.

It’s OK, we all do it. They’re doing the same thing.
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Historical or Hysterical

July 22nd, 2018 by Ima Admin

Is your web site Historical or Hysterical?

There are a number of things that go into designing a successful website or any marketing piece, whether it’s a restaurant menu, a billboard, an advertisement, a sales flyer, or a tradeshow banner.

Its easy to point to appropriate use of colors, the fonts used, putting things (such as the logo or navigation) where people will see and use it, or using a CALL TO ACTION (CTA) to generate interest.

But all that is really informed by YOUR customers. What works best for one company and its customers might not be best for you and yours.
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Close More Business

July 11th, 2018 by Ima Admin

Some time ago I met a sales coach at a networking event and during our conversation, I asked what constituted the bulk of the requests they receive. She indicated that they get more requests for workshops on how to close more business than any other topic.

It seems that many of us are relentlessly searching for that one killer closing line or magical silver bullet technique that will compel a prospect to hire us and/or buy from us on the spot.

She had some real Bad News!
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What Makes a Great Site?

June 22nd, 2018 by Ima Admin

In 2016 mobile internet use had surpassed desktop use. Sometime in 2019, people that forecast this stuff expect that time spent on mobile will exceed time spent on TV (which is today just under 4hrs/day).

With that in mind, several designers/marketers were asked to comment on a question in Alignable, “What makes a great website for today’s time (ie what are the top 5 things for a great design)?”

It’s a good question, and there were a number of varied answers, with many suggesting mobile-responsiveness and fast loading as two of the five criteria. The most liked answer was ‘animated dancing penguins’.

However, the question is too ambiguous to answer. Here’s why…
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Going Mobile

April 19th, 2018 by Ima Admin

Driving down the road, I passed a sign that asked simply, ” Who was the first person with a tablet to download data from the cloud?” The sign was in front of a church and the answer was, of course, Moses.

Fast forwarding about 3500 years, its no real surprise that Google gathers a lot of data… A LOT. Google has been gathering data about how quickly user behavior is shifting on mobile. Not only are more users on mobile devices when using Google search, but how they browse mobile results is changing too.
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Data Breach, the GDPR and You

April 4th, 2018 by Ima Admin

DATA BREACH!!

These are two words we’re hearing more and more that are as scary as hearing “GUN!” or “FIRE!”

Perhaps not as an immediate threat as the latter two, but something that could affect our lives long, long after the actual breach.

No April Fool’s joke, on April 1st, news releases announced that hackers allegedly staged an attack on Saks 5th Ave. and Lord & Taylor to steal information from more than 5 million debit & credit cards.

The following day, potentially worse AND closer to home, according to researchers, the Panera Bread’s website was found to be leaking data potentially exposing millions of customer records – something Panera allegedly knew about in August 2017.
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