The company website was rebuilt to present the company’s range of products in a clear manner – whist giving the client the ability to quickly attach documents and media to product pages whist a mobile site was developed to present the site in a simplified form for small screens – whist retaining full functionality and the full product range.

The company also required a bespoke exhibition stand and advertising collateral for a range of new products launched into the UK market.

Kestrel Ophthalmics desktop and mobile website – Click to visit

Exhibition stand design and production management

Exhibition stand design and installation management

Product launch advertising campaign

Immaculate were appointed to assist RSMG Insights to deliver a brand harmonisation strategy and communications roll out to launch their new global positioning.

RSMG Insights provide the data, insights and intelligence needed by clients in every area of sports marketing and sponsorship. They help clients to understand their consumers better, track the activities of competitors, optimize marketing and protect rights to make the best informed marketing and sponsorship decisions.

Paul Cutmore, Managing Director at immaculate comments:

‘When we first met RSMG Insights, they were a holding company for a number of sports sponsorship marketing research brands around the world who each had fantastic attributes, skill sets and delivery mechanisms. Our first job was to look at the market and understand how to align their offer in a way that maintained both client and employee loyalty and created an offer that raised awareness, changed perceptions and delivered growth.

As an agency, but more importantly as a group of individuals that consume sports and thereby sports sponsorship, we had to find the essence of what brought us together with the Brands, Rights holders, Broadcasters and Agencies who were the clients of RSMG Insights.

As a company, it became obvious that RSMG Insights understood the business of sport and how sports fans engaged with it – and this was a sensory discovery. One that was simple to understand and communicate:

We help clients reach their commercial objectives by providing the data, insights and intelligence they need in every area of sports marketing and sponsorship.

We understand the DNA of the sports fan – what they hear and see, how they react, and how their behavior is changing over time. This knowledge is at the heart of making great marketing and sponsorship decisions in a crowded and increasingly costly market.

The knowledge and analysis that we offer can help you know your customers better, track your competitors more effectively, optimize your marketing and make the best informed sponsorship choices.

We now had a unified story for the global offer, but no consistency of the delivery of of it from the many brand faces within the group. Our next task was to harmonsise and migrate each of the brands to one global presence and tell the world… We are REPUCOM. We watch. We listen. We ask ’

Thomas Zimmermann, Global Director, Marketing & Communication at RSMG Insights comments:

‘Immaculate helped us to formulate and deliver a strategy that positioned our combined businesses. And as REPUCOM we offer a single, global source of independent market insights and consultancy.

Our experts in more than 20 offices around the world monitor media, conduct market research, observe the activities and distil the opinions of fans every day to provide the knowledge you need to achieve value in marketing and sponsorship.

We are the data provider of choice for over 1,000 of the top brands, agencies, clubs, rights holders and broadcasters across the sports industry.’

Click here to see website >

To find out more please get in touch with immaculate

The Old Post House

Heath Road

Weybridge

Surrey KT13 8TS

United Kingdom

immaculate.co.uk | +44 (0) 1932 268 899

Online retailers are divided in their opinions of customer reviews. There are those who have yet to add this feature to their site, fearing a flurry of negative reviews that will put other customers off buying the product or service in question.

Customer reviews however should be viewed as an essential part of e-commerce if you hope to be successful, and the benefits hugely outweigh the downsides. Here’s why your site needs this small but hugely impactful feature right away…

Increase Sales

First and foremost, reviews do increase sales, something that has been proven time and again. 63% of consumers state they’re more likely to buy from a site with user reviews (iPerceptions, 2011).

Why is this? Well, according to eMarketer (2010) consumer generated reviews are almost twelve times more trusted than the product descriptions you have on your site which is only normal if you think about it – you can wax lyrical about how fantastic your product is, but visitors know that you’re saying that because you’re trying to sell it to them!

Reviews from ‘real’ people without a vested interest in whether you purchase or not are much more likely to reflect the product in its true light. If your customers agree that your product really is amazing, it will encourage others to buy from you too.

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Improve Trust

What of negative reviews though? Luckily, it’s not all bad. For starters, if you clicked onto a product and saw it had sixty or seventy fantastic, ‘5 out of 5’ reviews, wouldn’t it strike you as odd? Would you not suspect that these reviews might have been faked, or at the very least that bad reviews had been censored and removed by the company?

Having the odd neutral or even negative review in the mix makes all those positive reviews look all the more reliable and trustworthy.

Plus, a less-than-perfect review can be seen as a chance to show off your better-than-usual customer service. Ensure when adding this feature that you have the option to reply (visible to site visitors) to negative reviews, and then ensure you reply in a fast, friendly and helpful manner.

Potential customers will see that you are a company that deals with problems that may arise, significantly increasing the trust factor and hence conversions.

Of course, too many negative reviews are never good. If a particular product is continually receiving bad reviews, take this as a hint that it doesn’t belong on your site because including it in the orders you’re sending out is just reducing customer satisfaction and loyalty!

If you’re afraid to implement a reviews feature because you’re worried you’ll end up with more bad than good ones, perhaps it’s time to consider if you should really be selling products or services that even you don’t believe are great ones!

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 SEO Benefits

Last but not least, a user reviews feature can also have considerable SEO benefits for your website too!

After recent search engine updates, it’s all about getting fresh, unique content up on your site regularly, but if you don’t have the time or budget to do this yourself, why not see user reviews as a form of crowd sourcing?

Users will be adding unique copy to your website themselves, effectively taking a big load of work off your hands!

These are in fact just a few of the many, many benefits that adding a reviews feature to your site can bring. No e-commerce site should be without an option to leave reviews so if you don’t have this feature yet, it’s time to move it to the top of your web design ‘to do’ list!

One of the key drivers to brand success is a strong clinical advocacy and Key Opinion Leader (KOL).

The KOL mapping tool has been developed to enhance individual knowledge and help develop target lists of KOLs most suitable for further attention in any defined therapy area or country to drive sales of any brand.

The KOL information is packaged in a user friendly web based tool, which can be company branded, with integral geographical map that can be accessed by any listed members of the internal or external team (eg marketing, sales, medical, market access).

Contained within the tool is a photo of the individual KOL (where possible) and a summary (biog etc), their key research interests, all publications and contacts details (including email address).

The KOL mapping tool is interactive and additional information can be added by company staff for each KOL as new or useful information is uncovered regarding each customer. In addition a star system is in place for both advocacy and influence along with a list of key attributes (eg good speaker) thus giving the user an ‘at a glance’ knowledge of that KOL based on both internal and external information.

The tool can also be used for setting an individual objective for each KOL which can be tracked by the Marketing/Medical team. This gives all the relevant info on the KOLs prior to a company visit ensuring an informed and targeted discussion.

Lisa Hansen, Pharmaceutical Marketing Consultant at immaculate comments:

‘KOLs are generally impressed if a company representative has taken the time to find out about them and know their key achievements and key studies prior to visiting them. Our KOL Mapping Tool allows companies to enhance their perception and develop relationships with customers and in turn, leads to a strong advocate base of KOLs.’

The KOL Mapping Tool has now adopted by a number of Pharmaceuticals.

To find out more please get in touch with immaculate

The Old Post House, Heath Road, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 8TS United Kingdom

immaculate.co.uk  | +44 (0) 1932 268 899

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Now that no one uses Dial-Up and we can all watch videos without needing to buffer them for twenty minutes beforehand, it’s little wonder that video content is becoming the new big thing in online marketing.

Before you rush off to jump on the video bandwagon though, it pays to stop and think about why your business needs video content, and exactly what that content needs to entail.

After all, who’s going to sit back and watch a 2-minute video that’s disorganised, doesn’t teach them anything or is just simply boring?

In a world where the average Internet user has a very short attention span, here’s how to add video content to your website that will draw in those all-important leads…

Storyboard

Storyboards aren’t just for filmmakers and cartoonists! Planning your video out step by step will let you get a clear picture of the content, before you’ve actually spent time making it – there’s nothing worse than pouring resources into a video, only to realise at the end of it that you need to go back and re-do parts!

Define the purpose of the video – will it teach visitors about a specific service or product range? Will it give information on your company history and background? Is its purpose simply to build up a brand, much like the cool extreme sports videos everyone now associates with Red Bull!

Once you’ve got the purpose, work out what content you have already that can go towards it and what you still need to do.

Imagery is Everything

Perhaps even more important than the content (although that still has to be great) is the imagery you use. Video is by nature a very visual medium so half of what visitors will take away from watching your video is what they’ve seen, not what they’ve heard.

Even if you’re a straight-laced, corporate business, a bland, ‘grey’ video may not be the best choice for you! Choose colours, images and footage that capture both your brand ethic and the message you’re trying to get across, in as interesting a way as possible.

Call to Action

Coming back to point one, there’s no point creating a video if you don’t have a clear and specific goal in mind. This goal should be emphasised throughout the video, but just as you wouldn’t let a customer read a product description and then not find a ‘buy now’ button at the end of it, you shouldn’t have a video without an enticing call to action at the end.

Finish with a flourish – summarise your key points and let the viewer know the next step, whether that’s visiting your website, clicking a link below or phoning you up!

If you have a site that’s barren of content it can be a little daunting trying to figure out where to begin. To make it simple, we’ve put together a list of the top 4 tips to help you start your journey towards a great, content-rich e-commerce site…

1.       Think About Timing

First and foremost, consider how often you need fresh content. If you’re adding new products on a daily basis then, assuming they come with great descriptions, you already have some new content going up regularly. On the other hand, if your product range is pretty fixed then your site is at risk of stagnating quickly.

Once you’ve worked out how often you’ll be adding content, whether it’s once a week or once a day, it might be good to plan out a schedule to ensure that you keep it up long term.

2.       Give Visitors What They Want

However, don’t be fooled into thinking that just because you add new products regularly you don’t need any other form of content. If you want to convert that virtual footfall into sales, you need to make sure you’re providing customers will all the information they need to make an informed decision.

Use analytical software, user testing or customer surveys to find out what questions customers are searching for, and then answer them! This could be in the form of an FAQ page (and remember to update it as and when needed!) or even just in more detailed product descriptions.

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3.       Get Blogging

These days, everyone who’s anyone has a blog, and companies are no exception! You’ll be hard pressed to find a good e-commerce site that doesn’t have a regularly updated blog – it’s an easy way to get fresh content onto the site, which the search engines love, as well as giving you a chance to interact with your target customer base on a much more personal level.

Your blog can be highly professional, or just a bit of fun, but remember that deep down it needs to be informative. Avoid anything that sounds like a direct sales pitch, but don’t forget that the blog is there to somehow help to sell your products, even if it’s just by creating a ‘personality’ for your company that people can relate to.

4.       Crowd Source

Adding regular, fresh content to your website can be difficult to maintain, especially when you have so many other things to do such as adding products and processing orders!

If you find you’re struggling, why not harness all that knowledge the general public has and let them add the content to your site for you? You could invite people knowledgeable about your industry to guest blog for you, or add a forum or product reviews function to the site to encourage interaction.

Keeping content fresh can be a chore, but it’s well worth the effort – do it well and you’ll attract more visitors to the site, keep them there for longer and increase your conversion rate, all in one go!

But what is the benefit of such a feature, and is it really worth the effort?

Fresh content can be the key to success… if you don’t let it go stale

Image via Rachel Titiriga

Fresh Content

Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand for the past year, you’ll be well aware of the benefits of having fresh content on your site.

Google, that search giant we all have to pander to if we want out websites to be seen by its users, is loving fresh content right now, and rightly so – it keeps the internet a more interesting place to be, rather than flooding us with stale, out of date information we’ve read a hundred times before.

So you first need to ask yourself, how regularly is my site updated? As a brochure site, it’s likely your site content doesn’t change very often. You’ve paid a copywriter to write the best copy possible, so why change a thing?

In this case, a blog is almost a necessity to keep your content fresh and avoid stagnation!

If you’re an e-commerce site on the other hand, how often do you update your product range? If you add new products on a daily basis (and assuming you take the time to write engaging, unique descriptions for each) you’ve already got new content going up regularly!

Of course, this doesn’t mean a blog won’t be beneficial to you too, but read on before you dive in and set one up – if you’re not ready to blog, it could do you more harm than good.

A successful blog requires commitment – if you can’t offer that, you’re not ready for a blog

Image via Ed Yourdon

Regular Content

By its very nature, a blog needs constant maintenance and updating – it’s what differentiates it from a static webpage.

So, think about your time management. Do you really have the time to dedicate to keeping a blog updated? Remember it’s not just now that you need the free time to do it – a blog is like a child, and will need ongoing commitment from the day it’s born to, well, the day the site closes down, if it ever does.

Customers expect a certain level of dedication. They’re on your site, they’re loving your content, they click through to your blog… and they see that the last entry is dated 2010.

A blog that has been disregarded and forgotten about reflects badly on the company. It shows customers you lack commitment, and don’t see projects through to the end. And if you’re in any kind of technological or other trend-led industry, it shows customers you’re just simply not up to date.

So whip out your calendar and pencil in a schedule to update the blog. If you’re not sure you can stick to it, you shouldn’t be blogging.

Can you provide content people actually want to read?

Image via Ed Yourdon

Interesting Content

Of course, posting ten articles a day won’t help you either if no one wants to read them.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re blogging for Google – with recent updates focusing more on user-friendly content as well as social signals such as high levels of interaction, it’s truer now than ever that blogs need to be written for human eyes, not search engine spiders.

Perhaps you’re Apple and people go crazy for your products around the globe. Then again, most likely you’re not, and people like your products but don’t want to sit around all day reading blog after blog on your new product launches.

A blog that’s purely self-promotional is like a magazine but without the articles, just the classifieds at the end. Would you read that? I thought not.

Before you set up a blog you need to be sure that you have the time and the commitment to researching your industry and writing about topics that people want to read.

By all means blog about the latest products in store or a new service you’ve launched, just don’t make it the be-all-and-end-all of your blog.

Image: Adria Richards

Everyone knows that one of the main keys to online success is bringing in a large amount of traffic to your site, but it doesn’t end there.

Reducing your bounce rate (the percentage of people who land on a page and then leave the site without clicking through to any of your other pages) and keeping customers on the site for longer are imperative to success, giving you more chance to get your message across or make a sale.

Oh, and a low bounce rate also helps you to rank higher in Google search results too, bringing in yet more traffic – get it right, and it’s a wonderful upward spiral of success!

Here are the top 3 tips on how to get your website visitors to stick around for longer…

1.       Use Video

Everyone’s talking about video as the next big thing in marketing right now – whether you believe the hype or not, one thing is for certain and that is that videos keep users on your site for longer.

The Web is full of words, but sometimes people just don’t feel like reading! Video benefits you because whilst people can skim through an article, but a 3 minute video takes 3 minute to watch, every time.

If you’re in e-commerce, video opens up a whole new method of showing your products key features to customers. Just remember to keep it balanced – long enough that it engages and interests users, not so long they get bored and stop watching.

Image: Adria Richards

2.       Use Page Breaks

One simple trick to reduce your bounce rate is to spread your content out over two or more pages. Sure, those people who don’t find what they’re looking for after reading an article will still leave the site regardless, but at least they’ll have clicked onto at least one additional page since landing on your site.

The average Internet user has a very short attention span – everyone knows that breaking up big blocks of text into bullet points is beneficial, but go that one step further and split a long article into 2 or 3 pages as well.

3.       Link Wisely

To keep users on your website for as long as possible, you need to think strategically about the links you use.

Firstly, linking between content is a great way to encourage users to look at more pages. If you’re blogging, link to something you wrote earlier that is relevant to the topic, and if you’re selling products add features such as ‘similar items’ and ‘customers who bought this also bought…’.

You also need to review your external links. If you use affiliate links it’s easy to think that the more visible they are, the more clicks they’ll get and the more you’ll earn.

By having prominent outbound links however, especially from your homepage, you’re encouraging people to leave the site the moment they see it. Bury those links a little deeper – your bounce rate is sure to go down.

Immaculate were appointed to assist SPORTSDNA to develop brand identity and communications collateral to launch and position their new business venture.

Katie Baggott, Client Services at immaculate comments:

‘Creating a brand for a new product within a newly created market sector is always challenging. We explored the USP’s of the offer was and how they aligned with the potential audience – then exploited the business name to deliver key messages that would resonate and stimulate actions.‘

Part of IFM Sports Marketing Surveys, SPORTSDNA deliver regularly updated insight on how fans consume sports and their opinions of events and sponsorship in key markets around the world.

Providing full service capabilities including media analysis, market research and consultancy – IFM Sports Marketing Surveys are pioneers in sports marketing and sponsorship research as the first entrants to the marketplace in 1984. Part of RSMG Insights since March 2012, IFM Sports Marketing Surveys have a global network of more than 1,200 employees in 20 international offices worldwide and are currently working with clients in over 170 countries.

New brand identity, website & support collateral

Val Benyon, Marketing Manager at IFM Sports Marketing Surveys comments:

‘It’s been a real pleasure working with the team at immaculate. Great to find a group of people with the creativity, passion and drive (and sense of humour!) needed to make a real success of our projects on time and within budget!.’

To find out more please get in touch with immaculate

The Old Post House

Heath Road

Weybridge

Surrey KT13 8TS

United Kingdom

immaculate.co.uk | +44 (0) 1932 268 899

If you’re new to the e-commerce world, check out my guide below for the 3 most basic elements your store must have if you want to convert those visitors into paying customers.

Image via Daniel Broche

1.       Good Search and Navigation

There are two types of customers – those who browse, and those who search. If you only cater to the one type, you’re missing out on potentially half of your customers – actually, if you have bad navigation you’ll probably be losing almost all your custom, as far more people browse for products than search for them.

Start with the navigation – work out some broad top categories and then split them down into more specific sub categories. Try to get into your customer’s mindset and think about what they would click on to find a particular product, then make it as easy as possible (i.e. as few steps as possible – even skip those sub-categories if your product portfolio isn’t huge) for them to find it. Then ensure the navigation menu is displayed clearly not only on your homepage but on every page of the site, such as across the header bar under your logo.

Unlike navigation where simple is best, when it comes to search you want to give customers as many options as possible. Allowing them type in a generic search term and then narrow it by a variety of features such as price, colour, size and so on will make it quick and simple for them to sort through all those products and pinpoint the one they want to buy. Again, think about the different synonyms (plurals and spelling mistakes too) that customers will use to find a product, and then test your search to ensure it appears for every one of those terms.

2.       Clear Product Details

I’ve lost count of the number of otherwise highly-professional websites I’ve been on that have fallen short when it came to displaying the details of the products they were selling. Just the other day I was on one website trying to sell a £5000 grill that didn’t even have a description!

In store, customers can see and touch the products they are thinking of buying. Girls can feel the fabric of clothes (or check the label) and guys can read the product specifications on the boxes of games and gadgets. Just because your store is online, this should not be any different – write a great description that persuades the customer to buy, then show details such as size, weight, fabric and anything else that is relevant in a clear, easy-to-read format – a simple table always works best. If people don’t know what they’re looking it, they certainly won’t be paying for it.

Image via Creative Tools

3.       Easy Checkout Process

The visitor has found a product they like, put it in their basket and now they’re going to pay, right? As anyone who has used Google Analytics or other software to monitor basket drop-outs, a significant percentage of people put items in their basket only to change their mind and leave the site. You don’t find piles of abandoned shopping trolleys littering the aisles of your local supermarket, so why does this happen so often to e-commerce sites?

The Internet allows you to present your product range to a huge number of people. Unfortunately, it also allows those same people to compare products from a huge number of websites. To avoid losing a customer to one of your competitors it’s vital to make the checkout process as quick and easy as possible to encourage those ‘impulse buys’.

The key rule to remember is that the fewer pages there are between the product page and the order confirmation page, the higher your conversions are going to be. A single-page checkout is by far the best option if possible. Many people also find it frustrating having to create yet another account and remember yet another login, so whilst offering a ‘create an account’ option is always good (you’ll keep hold of their precious customer details after all) it’s wise to also offer a checkout option that doesn’t require registering an account.

There are plenty of other things you’ll need to work on to make your ecommerce site a success, from web design to marketing, but these three pointers make for a very solid starting base!

Red Hat vs DataPortability WorkGroup – a victim of logo copying?

Image via AndWat

With the innumerable businesses that exist in the world today, it seems inconceivable that there are enough logos to go around, so of course there are going to be similarities – just check out these top 10 similar logos for example. It makes you wonder whether the similarities were really coincidence, or if one designer was slightly more than influenced by the other.

Having a logo that is unique to your business has obvious benefits – you will stand out as a company that is individual and people will come to instantly associate that logo with your company – but, especially for smaller companies, it can sometimes be tempting to see a fantastic logo and think “I want that!”

The law differentiates between ‘copied’ work, which is self explanatory, ‘derivative’ work which is a copy of the original used as a basis for something new, and ‘influenced’ work which is inspired by and similar to the original, but is not the same. Under copyright law, the artist of the original piece of work also has rights over any derivative work.

For example, let’s say company A’s logo is an image of an eagle on a branch. Company B copies the image outline exactly and fills it in black, creating a perfect silhouette of the original. This is a derivative logo and company B needs permission from company A to use it. Company C however likes the idea and picks a similar logo, but uses a different bird that is uniquely drawn for them by an artist – their logo is certainly influenced by the original, but is not directly copying it in any way and so does not require permission from company A.

As a business, you may have ideas on what you would like your logo to look like so it is a good idea to do some research and find out if logos like the one you want already exist, and then steer clear of anything that is too similar. It may mean a little bit of compromise on your ‘perfect’ design, but it will be well worth it to avoid problems. Always check out the artist you plan to work with and make sure they have not been sued before for copyright infringement, and if necessary ask them about their design process and how they would go from images of logos you like to creating something brand new and unique.

Once you’ve got your logo, make sure you copyright it to avoid being at the other end of the copying ladder – you certainly don’t want to see that image you paid out for being stolen by someone else! All original work is automatically copyrighted, but taking out an ‘official’ copyright is not expensive and will give you that extra power and backup should you ever need to prove in court that the image belongs to you.

Facebook has been busy rolling out timelines not just for users but for brands too. You can switch over to the new timeline already (just look for a message at the top of your brand page) and it’s a good idea to take a quick peek now even if you don’t confirm the change just yet, as Facebook has made it very clear that the timeline will be compulsory for all pages, and soon – the new layout becomes mandatory at the end of this month.

Easy-to-Find, Backdated Content

So, what exactly is this new timeline? To put it simply, it is the most radical change that Facebook has made since it was first made available to the general public in 2006. The new design allows visitors to the page to easily scroll back to the beginning and find posts that you made months or even years ago.

True to its focus on all things chronological, the new timeline also allows you to post backdated content. So, even if you launched your brand a decade ago but your Facebook page six months ago, you can let your fans know all about your brand history by adding in highlights such as the company launch date, key product launches, press features and more.

Large Cover Banner

However, probably the feature with the most ‘love it or hate it’ response is the new cover photo. Gone is the large profile picture of the past, replaced by a much smaller, square image (a little like Twitter) that overlaps a large, rectangular banner across the top of the page.

Facebook’s rules are clear – no advertising, no promotions and no asking users to ‘like’ your page. (On a side note, the old landing tabs are now gone too which has caused a bit of a ruckus, as almost every brand to have one had a ‘like us now‘ call to action on theirs). Instead, the new cover image is supposed to be a representation of your brand’s personality, a pictorial summary of what makes it so special and unique. So pick out some stunning visual imagery relevant to your brand identity, as it will be the first thing people see when they land on your page.

Fan-to-Brand Private Messaging

The other key feature to point out is the new messaging system that allows fans to contact a brand directly by sending a private message from the fan page. Whilst most brands probably don’t want yet another inbox to check, new messages show up as a notification just as other page interactions do, and allow your fans to feel closer to the brand. By using this message feature to interact with them about product enquiries for example, you will be building up trust and showing that yes, there really is an actual person behind that anonymous Facebook page.

Overall, the changes are not small and are going to take some getting used to, but the idea behind them is great – creating a much more interactive, friendly feel that helps fans to really get to know and love your brand.

1. Illegible Type

As a web designer, it is your job to make it as easy as possible for your client to get their message across. They might have written the most amazing piece of copy but if their website visitors can’t read it, it’s worthless. Choose the right font, make it large enough to read and check that it stands out against the background – nothing gives visitors more of a headache than deciphering dark red words against black. And never make the copy too small (see image below)!

2. Overuse of Flash

Flash allows you to add some great features to your website, but add too many and the load time will be so long that only the most loyal of customers will bother waiting until the end.

3. Auto Playing Music

Have you ever clicked on a website only to hear an unwanted piece of music start to play? Or worse, start to mix in with the music you were already listening to? This is one of the top pet peeves of Internet users so avoid it at all costs.

 4. Welcome Intros

You might think your fancy intro page or video looks great. Website users, on the other hand, will see it as a barrier between them and the ‘proper’ website. If you must have an intro, give the user a clear option to skip it – return visitors especially will be grateful for this!

5. No Contact Details

By making it difficult, or impossible, for users to find contact details you are giving off an unprofessional image and lowering trust. Display a link to the Contact Us page clearly, such as in the footer.

6. Browser Incompatibility

IE used to be the browser of choice but nowadays Firefox, Chrome, Safari and other browsers will likely account for a significant proportion of your daily visitors. It is a common mistake to perfect the website’s design in your usual browser and forget to check that it appears the same in others, too.

7. Pop Ups

Never. Ever. Use pop ups. Even a friendly message inviting users to subscribe to your newsletter will look spammy in pop-up format. Instead, ensure that users can find whatever they are looking for quickly and easily through a clear, Flash-free navigation system.

Getting your message across to its target audience in under 30 seconds can often be quite a challenge. We have produced TV commercials over a wide range of budgets. We can also provide up to date advice on all the latest technical and licensing requirements, ensuring a hassle free production on time and on budget.

A.J. Kohn of Blind Five Year Old has written an extensive and thorough guide to all things Google+ that is well worth reading if you run or market your business online. For those short of time though, I’ll cut a long story short and tell you that Search+, as Kohn has named it, no longer bases search results on pages that are most relevant to your search term but instead provides results that are relevant to your search term and to you, personally.

The first point to make, and one that I can’t stress enough, is to get your business on Google+! Then, implement a +1 button on your website – include it on all your product pages if you are an e-commerce company. A +1 works much like a Facebook ‘like’ or a Twitter ‘tweet’ in that it shares that page on the user’s Google+ profile. The (very important) difference here is that the number of +1s a page has will affect where it ranks in Google search results.

When signed into Google, users will see a mixture of generic search results and pages that people in their circles (think, ‘friends’) have +1’d. Having many +1s, regardless of whether they are from the user’s circle lists or not, will also bump a page up in the search results. Another point to note is that content you write on your Google+ page, whether a personal profile or a business page, can also appear in search results, especially if many people have +1’d it, which doesn’t happen with Facebook or Twitter posts.

Basically, by creating a Google+ presence and encouraging website visitors to +1 your pages, you will be increasing your search rankings in a way that may be more effective than any other SEO technique to date. With many businesses yet to cotton on, right now Google+ is offering a low-competition, high-result method of marketing which any business would be crazy to pass up on!

Google has already expressed its interest in the world of quantum computers, by dabbling with D-Wave’s Chimera chip back in December 2009.

That chip was not part of a true quantum computer, but achieved impressive results.

So, what is quantum computing, and how could it affect SEO?

Quantum computing refers to computers which rely on quantum mechanical stuff directly. It’s relatively easy to create a computer which relies on an understanding of quantum mechanics – ‘classic’ computers already do, using semiconductors.

The real trick is to make use of two quantum phenomena:

“Superposition” is the ability of an object to be in a variety of states at once.

“Entanglement” is where changes in one sub-atomic particle are directly reflected in another, linked, sub-atomic particle.

The most likely result of large-scale quantum computing, as far as SEO is concerned, would be an increase in Google’s access to computing power, and a reduction in their use of resources.

If they could focus on maintaining a smaller cluster of quantum computers, for instance, they might be able to use more extensive ‘Mechanical Turk’ methods of verifying sites.

Less likely, if Microsoft got the jump on Google, Bing could stand to make some real gains – better service for websites, and the ability to utterly revamp their search algorithms.

For SEO agencies, it’ll present a range of new challenges.

Larger computing tasks would be run through servers directly owned by Google and Microsoft, which could lead to massive conflicts of interest.

Search engines will be able to run more sophisticated algorithms, and will probably become capable of reliably detecting SEO link-building and keyword patterns. They may penalise traditional SEO.

Content and on-site optimisation might end up being the most important parts of online marketing, and the visible difference between many digital campaigns and traditional advertising will start to disappear.

Don’t worry too much. A major breakthrough is a way off, a good decade by conservative estimates.

But do worry a bit.

The advent of quantum computing will be a game-changer.

Disclaimer: This article was written by the holder of an Arts degree. Nausea, hair loss, or superpowers due to the misapplication of Science^TM are entirely the reader’s fault.

Kestrel Ophthalmics provide a breadth of todays innovations in Ophthalmic products to key clinicians who require outstanding service and support, insightful specialist knowledge and a high caliber of products, delivering successful patient outcomes.

Immaculate have been appointed to provide traditional and digital design and marketing support to help Kestrel to become renowned as the most respected distributor of ophthalmic products in the UK.

Maria Ponsford, Deputy Managing Director at Kestrel Ophthalmics comments:

‘We chose Immaculate our partner as we felt they really understood us and our aims, not only who we are now but also who we want to be in the future. Creative ideas coupled with solid design made it an easy decision. Paul and Phil already feel part of our team.’

All will become clear with the launch of their new website early in the New Year – watch this space!

Not only is the navigation organised in a more sensible way but there are also several new reporting functions that will shed more light on your data. As many of these are brand new check out these links for more information on how to find the reports and how the information can help you learn more about how your visitors are interacting with your website.

Google Analytics Real Time

See visitors interacting with your website right now, page views are reported only seconds after they occur.

Multi-Channel Funnels

This exciting new report allows you to see which channels brought visitors and the paths they used during the 30 days prior to conversion.

Mobile Reporting

With the rapid increase in mobile users this report gives you greater visibility to see the devises that people are using to find your site. Knowing this information will allow you to take steps to optimise for these users.

Flow Visualisation

This highly visual and sophisticated tool graphically shows how visitors navigate through your site. This is a complete re-imagination of the navigation tools available in the old version of Google Analytics.

Are you an Account Executive ready to step up or an Account Manager looking for the next stage of their career? Do you want to create multi-sector solutions for a vast range of businesses? Can you help provide engaging, relevant, innovative strategies and memorable creative experiences that deliver clients the best possible return on their investment?

If you think you got what it takes we’d like to hear from you

No phone calls and No agencies please

Developing product launch promotion communications

Creating tools to facilitate seminar experiences

Delivery of e-Camapaigns through HTML communications

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Presenting the product with attention to detail

Creating brand styled infographics to tell the story

Direct mail and promotional activities to get the product noticed and talked about

Tools that help to inform the patient

Product communications to raise brand profile and align perceptions

Promotional activities to drive awareness and actions

Literature detailing the benefits and functionality of the product

Communications to inform and educate the patient

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Depakote 'Postcards from the edge' campaign mailing used powerful messages from real life sufferers

Campaign pieces focused on patient insights and experiences

Data conveyed clearly and concisely

Campaign materials for psychiatrists and prescribers

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Great Ormond Street Hospital PAH patient information 'filofax' folder

A personal medical record for children suffering from PAH and their families

Detailed information & options for treatment, clearly laid out and colour coded for ease

Setting out the way forward for the brand and educating audiences to present it in an engaging yet consistent way

Brand communication tools to 'tell the Merial story'

Brand engagement activation and identity guidelines to ensure that brand messages are consistently told

Use drop shipping to minimise your risks

Drop shipping is a great way for small businesses to set up effective e-commerce sites that offer a wide range of different products. The risk factor is limited, as there is no need for a large upfront initial investment in stock and it also saves on storage expenses. When someone places an order on your site, you simply need to relay it to the wholesaler, who will post the items directly to the customer. Easy!

Top class customer service doesn’t have to cost a fortune

By simply listening to what your customers say, you can quickly build a great reputation and develop your all-important brand trust. Don’t be afraid to say sorry! A great way to apologise is to gift your customer a money-off coupon – they benefit from a reduced price and you get the chance to make sure that, next time, their experience is spot on.

Build a slick website

It pays to invest in your website, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking that expensive always equals good. An inexpensive site with great usability and a simple design will always win out over an expensive, flashy site that is difficult to navigate.

Test your usability

Usability testing and conversion rate optimisation will help you to increase conversions from your existing customers. You don’t even need to drive lots more traffic – by simply making your site secure, easy to use and a pleasure to browse, a greater proportion of your customers will contact you or complete the payment process, earning you more profits.

Invest in PPC and SEO

Internet marketing is an affordable and highly effective way to increase the amount of traffic to any site and allows small brands to rank alongside the market leaders. Once you have started to invest in SEO your traffic will begin to increase – and as you already have a slick website with an awesome design and great usability, you should have no problem converting all of these new visitors into paying customers.

Develop some awesome content

This can be a resource, infographic, video, blog, or whatever! As long as the content is unique, relevant and interesting you will find that more people visit your site, giving you the opportunity to develop relationships and build a community based around what you do.

Don’t try to run before you can walk

Your site is up and running, you have loads of traffic and a great conversion rate, your relationships and online community is growing – so what’s next? Firstly, just keep doing what you are doing. Make sure that you’re not only good at what you do, but great. Know your niche and once you are established; you can continue to grow the business from there.

Campaigns and materials were designed and developed for particular target audiences, with particular needs, but always with the products and service as drivers for success.

As a standard all pieces are produced in English, French & German, with other translations and adaptations as required.

Fluid iconography to symbolise sound described in bright color ways to appeal to the audience demographic

Giving the brand personality in on and offline environments

A place to come and explore products and enjoy experiences

Bringing it all together online and across Europe

International brand campaigning

Quite simply a place to live the brand

National and international product campaigning

‘more immaculate than immaculate – these guys deliver the goods time after time after time!’

European Marketing Manager