Traditional methods of communication such as phone and fax are becoming outnumbered by online communication options such as Skype, Instant Messenger programs and most certainly, email.

I was thinking about communication in business today when reading over a recent study done in the U.S. which found that 24% of adults in the U.S. had used the internet to make phone calls. This has grown immensely over the last few years and it got me thinking about how many of those people had thought about integrating internet communications into their service offerings for clients. Here at Brio Group, we make use of programs like Skype to keep in contact with clients who are in different cities to us and also with each other if we are working from different locations.

Other communication avenues to consider are social media, where more often than not, clients and customers will feel comfortable to engage with your business. These could be questions or concerns as well as positive and negative feedback. All of these comments and ideas from your target audience are excellent ways of communicating your message and having a well rounded customer service effort.

Many large corporations are embracing the internet and using it to their advantage when servicing customers and clients.

How does your business communicate?

Yours in great communication,
Trish

Influenced by Lee’s original blog about fractals, I started to think about how fractals can be used for brands. I came to the conclusion that fractals are a good paradigm / framework to model your brand.

The definition of a fractal according to Hyperdictionary is:

A rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a smaller copy of the whole. Fractals are generally self-similar (bits look like the whole) and independent of scale (they look similar, no matter how close you zoom in).

If a brand is the total experience you get from interacting with a product or company, then a good brand will emanate a consistent message or culture both internally and externally. By taking a fractal point of view when creating a brand, we can design total experiences where all aspects, large and small, reinforce each other.

If your brand is a fractal, then any interaction with part of the brand will reflect the interaction with every other part of the brand, as well as the complete brand itself.

An example of a fractal brand is Apple.

As a whole, the Apple brand exudes a culture of lifestyle, imagination, innovation, quality, aspirations and empowerment through technology. Apple is a successful brand because they maintain this culture at all contact points. Their TVCs stimulate the imagination and promote the liberation found in their innovative products; the interior design of their stores give the feeling of quality and usability, as does their website; the staff are knowledgable and continue the theme of empowerment as they cheer for you when you’ve bought a product.

Is your brand a fractal? Look at ways to integrate all aspects of your brand, from your logo design through to how the phone is answered.

Yours in fractals,
Anya

(Image courtesy of Julia Map)

Whenever lunchtime comes around the dogs tend to linger. This wouldn’t be a problem if I wasn’t so hungry at lunchtime and could share my food – but by this time my tummy is always grumbling.

So….I went on the hunt for some doggy treats to alleviate my guilt and stumbled across Brisbane-based business Sweet Chops – a mecca for tasty dog treats.

All of their cupcakes and dog treats use dog friendly ingredients including gluten free flour, fruit, natural peanut butter and honey, carob, molasses and yoghurt. Their gourmet dog treats are handmade (baked and iced) and are designed to be a little piece of decadence for your four legged furry friends.

Their treats have no added salt or sugar and are free of artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. Each recipe is developed over time in the Sweet Chops kitchen and tested by their own pooch – Noogie.

I can’t wait to get some of these treats and test them out with Stella and Luby-Loo! I have a feeling they’ll be a hit!

Yours in design,

Tanya-zinosaurus

Yours in design,

Jorja-saurus.

Warren Buffett, the world’s most successful investor, now says that brand is the most important factor in deciding where to invest. The Financial Times on 11 October reports on a recent talk to investors in Germany, where Buffett asked what might be the criteria for deciding whether to buy a company. ‘Traditionally, the first criterion Is a strong balance sheet. But Buffett only put that in third place. His second criterion was a good management team. In first place, he put brand’. Even in hard times, brand is the key to long-term growth. That, presumably, is why Buffett is backing Goldman Sachs. And that’s why businesses in trouble – while of course fixing their balance sheets and clearing out their management teams – must also urgently invest in their brands.

Courtesy of Brian Boylan, 13 October 2008, www.wolffolins.com

Yours in design, Janet-eratops