- Design Council carries out all the major research into patterns of employment ad income in the Design Industries
- They publish loads of reports on the issue that affect all of us
- www.designcouncil.org
There are specialist subject TRADE journals which give ideas inside our areas - on trend or not
SIZE MATTERS
THe design industry and the way it employs people has totally changed. There used to be lots of large design agencies - advertising, graphics, fashion etc. But these large angencies are very expensive to run e.g. heating, cafe, offices, electricity - in those days it was too expensive. The larger the company, the more people needed to be consulted about changes, so the slower the changes
Now 87% of businesses are those who employ 10 people or less
11 % employ 50-100 people
only 2% of angelicas are on the pay roll of BIG agencies
The big agencies employ those in small angencies meaning they don't have to train, pay for travel etc - they can just employ and use the skill of the smaller, specialist skills on a free-lance basis
ARTS COUNCIL - tough area
This also carries out research into people in the Visual Arts are doing
They are getting income - 35% from workshop and teaching, 20% commissions by public bodies, only 9% from private commissions
The level of income is very low - 40% of people in the Visual arts are working in a loss
MARKETING
What is it?
- "The management process responsible for the identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably"
- Successful designers ALWAYS give their clients more than they need
MARKETING ROLES
- Identify customer needs to develop new products - the niche market
- Develop pricing strategies - discovering what the customer is prepared to pay for what you have to offer/what your comtetetors are doing and what is the going rate and seeing if you can work within that
- Promote products to target market - focus in on 2 or 3 markets and serve them really well, help people to know which area you work best in e.g. graphic designers = graphic design in the financial services industry, or for food, or for housing - target those customers that you know their market and they will come to you
- identify distribution networks - working out where to put the product, where to situate the practice, where to find distributors and target customers effectively
- add value to your product through customer benefits - giving them more than they expected every time
- monitor the performance of the product - see how well they are doing against the target that you set yourself and against your competitors.
Identify customer needs to develop new products
- understand needs
- develop concepts
- test concept
- refine concept
- market product
- get feedback
- then start again (take another approach)
(online strategies are ESSENTIAL to communicate - get feedback and spread the word, it is free etc - helps makes the product even better as you have a larger range of feedback at hand immidiately)
Add value to your customer through customer benefits
Jeff Bezos - worked with something virtual so he wasn't limited by space - he had the idea of selling books online - AMAZON (the platform on which everyone can sell books)
He added value by listening to his customers all the time - added services
- 'look inside' - see before you buy
- rate and review
- bundles - 2/3 book discounts
- second hand books - amazing value (no one had every done this before, even in a book shop)
- discussions - interactive buying and available opinions immidiately
- range of books - collectable books, antique books,
He came up with a value/mission statement (aim)
- to offer quality productd and services using the best technology available and at a reasonable price
- customer satisfaction and operational frugality
- to help people discove exactly what they're looking for saves them time and improves their lives.
VALUE PROPERSITION
- Services
- quality
- on time budget
- measurable
- reliable
- Technology
- cutting edge
- business process enhancement
- interoperable
- reliable
- Methodology
- quality process
- tested procedures
- industrail experience
- global delivery Model
- Products
- State of the artValue for Money
- Low TCO & High RIO
- Scalable
- Solutions
- Innovative
- Customizable
- End-to-end
- Secure
- Alliances
- People
Some tips for your value proposition
- Make it short
- Be specific
- Use your customers language - 2 types of lang (what i am developing now, to be used with tutors, peers, shows you understand processes, techniques etc) but customers WONT understand this lang, so you use basic and accessible language
- Pass the 'guy feeling test' - make them want to be associated with this
PAST
- skills
- personality
- ambitions
- key interests
- key interests
FUTURE
- marketing plan
- key objectives
- opportunities
- collaborations
- Resources
FUTURE INTERNAL
- Customer needs
- Social trends
- New technology
- Political Pressures
- Economics
- Environments
EXTERNAL PAST
- Awards
- Competitions
- Testimonials (will set you apart when you leave UNI
- Press articles
- Exhibitions
They want to know - where are you going, what are your key objectives - once they know this they will do everything they can to help you get there
NETWORKING - what's your future, whats your potential, what do you want to do next?
- Trade shows
- Gallery Openings
- Craft fairs - great places to pick up contacts, there are the most resourceful events of people
- Art Markets
Network of friends and associates
- We have approx. 200-250 friends
- you can be associated with their network
- apparently we are only 6 steps away from 'knowing everybody' (Seth Godin - Social Network publish)
EXCHANGE WORTH WILE IDEA - networking is always important when it is real, and always an useless distraction when it is fake. It is very easy to get seduced by
Keep track of who would you go out of your way for and who would do it for you - those are the connections which are worth while
NEGOTIATE AND CLOSE THE DEAL
- those who negotiate really well, they do it with confidence
- you have to have in every sector of your working life or home - you have to have some PERAMITERs - have to have a deep understanding of how much it is going to cost you to do the job and if the experience is worth it.
- If your gut reactions says the job isn't right - then your instincts are probably right
- Don't do a job just for anything, have some standards and know how much your time is worth
- Once someone is in a negotiation with you, they are normally willing to compromising
2 TYPES OF CUSTOMERS
- CONSUMERS - the ones who pay VAT who buy music, car, clothes etc
- BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS - doing business with other businesses e.g. a photographer working with an advertising agency, graphic designers do business with small, medium, large business who help the communicate (this is the more important world for us)
SERVICE ORGANISATIONS
- companies who only offer services e.g. Banks, hair dressing, dry cleaning, career development, graphic design, photography, car wash.
- we are likely to be service providers working
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING - the 4 P's
- PRODUCT - The service you offer, the work you produce, your creative input
- PRICE - relative pricing level, daily rate, royalty, free
- PLACE - the best locations to sell it, the sales environment, the services you offer, competitive advantage?
- PROMOTION - marketing methods, branding, your value proposition
sell something unique - how do you stack up against your computer, have a POINT OF DIFFERENTIATION and that is noticeable to people who don't understand your industry
PROMOTE, PROMOTE PROMOTE - outstanding offering, and promote it so that you make sure everyone knows about it
If you are not out selling and promoting it, then your competitors are out taking the slot in the market
5,000 adds per day - what people see. make sure that you make sure you things stands out
give them a reason to stand out
SHOWCASE YOURSELF - people like to buy from people rather than companies, see picture, hear story and talk to them - put a picture on your website, explain why you are so proud of your business and why you are so different from everyone out there
P T BARNUM
THey have done something really quirky or so different - their personality shone through, something about they way they promote themselves made people draw to them - start to notice what they did because of this
