WordPress
WordPress has two versions – WordPress.org which is free, open-source software and WordPress.com, a paid for alternative with different plans to choose from depending on the requirements of the user.

Originally developed as a tool for publishing blogs, WordPress.org has evolved to the platform we know today that allows you to create any type of website you like! WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS), perfect for people to build their own website! Free to download you would need to pay an annual fee for third party hosting. It does require a bit of technical knowledge so is more suited to those who are more website savvy.

WordPress.com Includes managed hosting, taking care of the tricky technical side so that your website is optimised for speed, security, and performance. There are a variety of plans available to suit most needs and budgets. This is perfect for most users who don’t have the necessary skills to build their own website from scratch.

WIX
WIX is a really easy to use, intuitive website builder. Perfect for even the most technophobe among us, WIX can help you create the perfect website for your business. It has loads of options depending on your requirements, you just need an email address to get started with the free plan. You can personalise your website to suit your brand – choose from a range of templates or use the AI options!

Its main downside is that once you’ve picked a template you can’t just switch it out when you fancy a new look! WIX allows you to have as many sites as you want in your account so you can choose a new template and then import over elements and pages before transferring your domain name and plan. 

Weebly
Another user friendly website builder, Weebly is another great option for beginners. Its drag and drop features make it a breeze to use and the affordable plans make it easy to see why it’s such a winner with many small business owners. Their ecommerce side is fantastic for any budget conscious small business.

Squarespace
We can’t talk about website building software without discussing Squarespace. It has gorgeous designs to wow any visitor to your site, it’s intuitive to use, great analytical and e-commerce tools and free SSL certificate. On the downside, Squarespace doesn’t offer a free tier, unlike the majority of its competitors. You can try it for free but you only get two weeks to see if it’s right for you.

With drag and drop features, this is a super easy platform for beginners. Like Wix, it has an AI tool which allows you to input a few details about your brand and business so that Blueprint AI can generate design suggestions.

As you can see there are loads of options when it comes to building your website and you can be as hands on as you like. 

If you need more advice and support on building your perfect website we can help you – from advising on the right type of website for your business to offering bespoke design, domain name registration, website hosting, one page websites, Content Management Systems (CMS), e-commerce websites, website optimisation, email hosting, bespoke website functionality.

Take a look at fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King or KFC – it’s no coincidence they all opted for bright red in their branding as red is well known to make us feel hungry!

So what do your brand colours tell us about you and your business? Let’s take a look at some popular colours and see if you’re giving you the right message to your customers:

Red
Well known as a colour that acts as a warning for danger, red can also be a sign of anger, pain and aggression. Conversely, red also symbolises love, passion, energy and power.

Uses: as a call to action (CTA) to urge customers to act quickly. Physically, it can make you feel hungry so is a good choice for fast food brands.

Orange
Orange is associated with bravery, fun, confidence and warmth. Negative connotations include immaturity, sluggishness, frustration and ignorance.

Uses: It’s fun, adventurous aesthetic is perfect for outdoor brands. Its eye-catching hue is another great choice for CTA and is also a great way to make your print marketing stand out.

Yellow
Bright, zingy, fresh – yellow is the epitome of ‘happy’ and is a perfect choice for brands that want to stand out as positive and creative. Use with caution though as the colour is also often associated with cowardice and fear.

Uses: Independent travel consultant? Stand out from your competitors with a bold, yellow logo! The association of yellow with happiness and warm, sunny escapes is perfect to attract new clients. Yellow is also a great brand colour for fitness instructors and gyms as this colour makes us feel energised and optimistic!

Green
Green is associated with health, vitality, and environment. Often thought of as the perfect colour to portray positive health and well being. Negative connotations include envy and boredom.

Uses: Great in your branding if you want to convey freshness. People associate green with ‘Go’ making it another great choice for a CTA!

Blue
In 2015 a YouGov survey found that blue was the most popular colour in the world. Different shades of blue will elicit different reactions – pale blue is associated with calmness, clarity and serenity while dark/navy blue has connotations of trust, reliability and seriousness, making it a perfect choice for businesses such as banks and insurance companies.

Uses: Choose blue in your logo to convey a dependable, trustworthy brand.

Indigo
This colour – a deep, midnight blue – is symbolic of sincerity and integrity and is another option when you are trying to convey trust and tradition. It also pairs perfectly with bright colours such as magenta or turquoise which will help lighten the mood and energy.

Uses: Branding for traditional businesses such as funeral directors, educational institutions, banks.

Violet
Violet is often thought of as a regal colour. It symbolises wisdom, wealth, spirituality and sophistication. Negative connotations include depression and moodiness.

Uses: Stand out from the crowd with violet branding/logo. Violet is evocative of mindfulness, relaxation and well being making it a fantastic choice for Holistic Practitioners and Yoga Instructors.

It’s important to remember that colours can mean different things to different people – neurodivergent people may not react in the same way as someone who is neurotypical. Likewise, people with colourblindness might also have a different experience or reaction to the one intended.

Need help choosing the right colours for your logo, brand and marketing? Book a consultation and find out how we can help you pick the perfect palette.

We have talked before about the importance of marketing including making sure you have a marketing strategy and a budget. But in the current economic climate businesses are looking to make savings wherever they can and you might be questioning the value of marketing.

​This month we thought we’d take a look at how you can measure whether your marketing is giving you a good ROI (Return On Investment) by comparing how much you are spending on marketing with the revenue created.

How to measure marketing ROI
There is a simple formula you can use to measure marketing ROI but first you need to gather certain metrics:

• Number of leads: How many people converted to a lead?
• Lead-to-customer rate: From those leads what percentage converted into customers? Eg if 10 leads out of 100 converted into customers that gives you a lead to customer rate of 10%
• What is the average price of your product?
• How much did your marketing campaign cost? Include costs of the ads including staff costs of those who worked on the campaign.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
CLV is another useful measure of ROI – a simple formula for calculating your CLV is:
CLV = (Average value of a transaction) x (Average number of transactions) x (Customer lifespan)

CLV is a great marketing analytic because it tells you how much a customer is likely to spend with you and gives you insights that will help you plan your marketing strategies.

But ROI isn’t just about financial measurements, you can also get a good indication of ROI from other sources:

• Increased brand awareness – A big marketing push is common among startups to increase brand awareness and carve a space in the market.
• New social media followers – While increased numbers alone doesn’t necessarily mean positive ROI, if the new followers are your target audience and are engaging with your content then they are more likely to become customers.
• Email newsletter signups – Email marketing is a valuable way of reaching both new and existing customers. Use email marketing to send personalised offers, deals and new products and services. Tracking sales attributed to email subscribers can help you decide whether to invest more or less time in your email marketing.

How you can Improve your ROI

• Set Clear SMART Goals: Be specific about what you want to achieve and set a deadline (and stick to it)
• Track your metrics: Google Analytics is great for keeping you up to date with important metrics such as sales, website traffic etc.
• Analyse the right metrics: There’s no point focussing on metrics that don’t help you achieve your goal. Wanting to increase revenue? Focus on conversion rates and CLV. Looking to increase brand awareness? Direct traffic and social media mentions will give you good insights.

Is your business marketing in need of a boost? Creative Remedy can help improve your ROI with a bespoke prescription for your business. Get in touch to find out more.

What is a Customer Avatar?
If you haven’t already guessed, a customer avatar is your ideal customer - not your average customer - but the perfect customer who will want to purchase from you again and again.

Once you have discovered your customer avatar you can build a strong marketing strategy and improve your user experience.

Why you need a Customer Avatar

• Tailor your marketing - email marketing will be so much easier once you know ‘who’ you are writing to. No more generic, soulless chit chat - you will be able to adjust your tone and voice to engage with your customer and create campaigns that they can’t resist!
• Improve user experience - Whether that means a slick app for shopping at your store or choosing different social media platforms.
• Product development - Once you know what makes your Custom Avatar tick, you can develop products and services that they need.
• Write relevant content - Coming up with interesting content is always a challenge if you are blindly targeting the masses but once you’ve established your target customer you should be able to come up with plenty of insightful, helpful and engaging content.
• Paid Advertisements - Your customer avatar will help you decide where you should run paid adverts. You will also know which demographics you need to be targeting which will tell you what wording you need in order to get the best return of investment.

How to Create Your Customer Avatar

Do your research - If you are an established business then you have a great starting point as you can ask your customers for feedback:

• Set up polls
• Send out surveys or questionnaires
• Interviews
• Analyse data from third party analytics

Build Your Customer Avatar - Give your fictional customer a name and try to get a picture of them in your mind. Think about their demographics ie age, gender, income etc.

• Try to envision where they get their information - Online search? Word of mouth? Instore? Books?
• What are their goals? What are they trying to achieve?
• What are their values?
• What are their pain points?
• What challenges are they trying to overcome?
• Why do they buy from you?
• What might stop them from making a purchase?

It’s likely your business will have more than one ideal customer, depending on the services and products you offer. If this is the case you will need to repeat the steps and create an avatar for each one.

Short Term Pain for Long Term Gain!
If you are willing to put in the hard work now and create your customer avatar(s) you will have much higher success with your marketing and sales. You will be able to focus your marketing spend to the right areas, improve engagement and build a strong, loyal customer base.

Need help building your avatar? Contact Creative Remedy for more information.