Here’s an article about “Thank You” from Go-To-Market Strategies:

When did you last say “Thank You” to a Customer?

“When you  Sincere gratitude- have you expressed it? Wanna make people like you? Wanna see clients gravitate to you? Try it.

Here’s an article about “Thank You” from Go-To-Market Strategies:

When did you last say “Thank You” to a Customer?

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears” ~ Tony Robbins

It shocks us how many companies do not thank their customers. When is the last time you’ve been personally thanked by someone you’ve given your business to? When’s the last time you officially thanked someone whose done business with you?

To be clear, we are talking about a genuine, heartfelt, official thank you. Not a quick thank you in passing!

Saying “Thank You” is very important! Particularly with how far a simply “thank you” can take you! A thank you shows appreciation. A thank you shows respect. A thank you puts you “top of mind.” A thank you sets you apart.

• Look for opportunities to express your gratitude. Obviously when someone books business with you, a thank you is in order. Also look for other opportunities such as for referrals or time given to hear your pitch, watch a demo, etc.
• Make it personal. You should hand write it. We know…UGH. That’s a lot of work. You may be tempted to email your thank you…and maybe you should do that too. BUT, a handwritten, old fashioned thank you note, will take you farther. Why? Because NO ONE else is doing it in today’s business world. Also, be as specific about what you are thanking them for, as that makes it much more relevant and genuine. But do not ask for anything in your “thank you.” Just be thankful!
• Take it one step further. The person who sells the product/service should say thanks. The person who delivers the product/service should say thanks. And the executive of the company should say thanks! You may want to stair step how the thank you is handled. Maybe one verbally, one by email, and the final by mail. Mix it up and hit them from several angles, but make sure the thank you comes as quickly after the action you’re thanking as possible.

Saying thank you is powerful. But you have to make it a habit. Again, since no one is taking the time to say thank you, you WILL stand out!

http://www.gtms-inc.com/tip_thankyou.htm

If you have any problems viewing the presentation, please contact us.

Every seven years, Stefan Sagmeister takes a year off: The Seven Year Itch. He talked about this at the AIGA Make/Think Conference.

As humans, we spend the first 25 years learning, next 40 working, and the final 15 retiring, 

Every seven years, Stefan Sagmeister takes a year off: The Seven Year Itch. He talked about this at the AIGA Make/Think Conference.

As humans, we spend the first 25 years learning, next 40 working, and the final 15 retiring, and then we die. So take five of the years you use retiring and put them into the working phase (big cheers for that).The first time he took his year off and stayed in New York, but this time he wanted a change of scenery. He picked Bali for its beauty and because he didn’t know Asia as well as other places like Europe. But there is actually some science to this madness of time off, he says. The restaurant El Bulli, open only 7 months a year, and widely regarded as the best and most successful on the planet. Companies at 3M give out 15% of their time to do personal projects—Post-Its and Scotch Tape came from this time off—and Google gives their employees 20%. (Stefan, in comparison, only takes 12.5% of his time off. The hardest thing about it,” he says, “is putting it on the books.” Ain’t that the truth.

Some incredible work that came out of his last sabbatical: A beautiful identity for Casa de Musica in Portugal, the book Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far, as well as the zillions of paid projects that had their origins in that time away. This time in Bali, he made beautiful typographic films which were created by animals (you can see these at TED.com). And apparently we are also the animals in his next experiment, as he gets all 1200 designers to rise and sing along to the tune of “Ode to Joy”: “All my clients drive me crazy/Never show no guts at all” and then later…“Stefan always shows the same stuff/See it all on TED.com” (which is not true if you watch the TED video, he wrote this “high end karaoke” experiment just for us!). It’s a pretty great moment, and we sound good! During the Q&A with Kurt, we learn a very little known fact: He actually said no to designing the Obama campaign because he was already planning his Bali sabbatical.

One of Fluid’s client, Orbit Irrigation Products, Inc., recently sponsored the Farmington Junior Tennis Tournament.

Fluid assisted in creating the banner for the event.

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Top row left to right: Andrew Eyring, Zachary Delbos, Michael Bargeron, Carson Lord, Blake 

One of Fluid’s client, Orbit Irrigation Products, Inc., recently sponsored the Farmington Junior Tennis Tournament.

Fluid assisted in creating the banner for the event.

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Top row left to right: Andrew Eyring, Zachary Delbos, Michael Bargeron, Carson Lord, Blake Harris
Middle row left to right:  Sara Marple, Ashley Eyring, Ben Smith, Nicholas Lebaron, Spencer Hafen
Holding sign left to right:  Kristine Smith, Haleigh Downing

The Farmington Junior Tennis Tournament 2009 was held June 23rd – July 2nd at the Knowlton Elementary School Courts in conjunction with the Farmington Festival Days (July 6-11).  The sponsors for this year’s tournament were Farmington City, Orbit Irrigation Products, Inc., Smith’s, & Lagoon.   The participants, both male and female, ranged from 12-18 yrs old.   All players received a gift bag and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place entries received medals.  First place winners received a Lagoon Day Pass, 2nd and 3rd place also received prizes.

This tournament has been held in the past but just started up again after a several year hiatus.
Medal recipients were:
Spencer Hafen
Nicholas Lebaron
Zachary Delbo
Connor Carlini
Andrew Eyring
Blake Harris
Carson Lord
Ashley Eyring
Haleigh Downing
Sarah Marple

I recently came back from the National AIGA retreat in Portland Oregon in which the issue of spec work has again been revisited.

This is a very important topic right now and the web has had an big impact 

I recently came back from the National AIGA retreat in Portland Oregon in which the issue of spec work has again been revisited.

This is a very important topic right now and the web has had an big impact on traditional business practices. The internet has always meant freedom. Freedom to share, find and explore information. Freedom inherently implies free. We have seen more and more free music, free advice and free software.

While freedom is important aspect of the internet, and the freedom of creative expression is always important, offering free design embodies inherent risks in our profession.
There are implications on the quality of the outcome, intellectual property rights and economic fairness.

AIGA has released it’s official position on spec work to inform the public, business and design community of these potential risks.
While this is a very broad topic and will continue to generate discussion, I felt it important to post the AIGA’s position on spec work and the link to how the ethical standards are determined.

AIGA, the professional association for design, believes that professional designers should be compensated fairly for the value of their work and should negotiate the ownership or use rights of their intellectual and creative property through an engagement with clients.

AIGA is committed to informing designers, students, educators, clients and the general public on the risks of compromising the design process though information, materials and services that can help in forging a healthy working relationship between designers and their clients.

For AIGA’s position on spec work, types of uncompensated work, risks to clients and designers, the history or restrictions and policy, and other resources, see AIGA’s position on spec work

The BBBS widget was created to help the Utah Chapter raise donations, find volunteers, and create a  Fluid recently completed a social media widget for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah to assist in giving back to the community.

The BBBS widget was created to help the Utah Chapter raise donations, find volunteers, and create a greater awareness for the great work they are doing.

This widget is currently featured on their website at http://www.bbbsu.org and is being distributed through an email and social media campaign.

To help assist with the “viral” effect of the widget, feel free to click on the “SHARE” button in the lower right-hand corner of the widget.

It can then be embedded into Facebook, MySpace, other social media sites, a blog, or even e-mailed to associates!

Spec work (sometimes called “proof of concept”) has often been frowned upon by the design industry, and for good reason. It often undermines others’ efforts in trying to get work and creates unfair advantage as many groups and individuals 

Spec work (sometimes called “proof of concept”) has often been frowned upon by the design industry, and for good reason. It often undermines others’ efforts in trying to get work and creates unfair advantage as many groups and individuals are bidding on the same project.

It only takes one design group to work for nothing, and the playing field suddenly isn’t level anymore.

Take an example:

A $10,000 project is up for bid. Five different agencies are invited to submit an RFP. All five create great responses to the RFP, but one actually spends an additional 30 hours creating new creative assets showing how their ideas would be put into effect if they were chosen by the client.

Suddenly, one group has a huge leg up on the others.

However, is this really unfair, or does it just reward one group that puts in the hours and extra effort?

In his post “Designers: Why Spec Work Is Not Going Away–How You Should Respond,” Jeremiah Owyang makes a strong case for why spec work is not going away, and also how it will continue to increase during the current recessionary period.

Some of the points he makes in the article are:

• Spec Work and Proof of Concept is a Common Business Practice.
• Crowdsourcing isn’t anything new, and will only increase, especially during the recession.
• Crowdsourced Design Meets the Needs Of Long Tail Market–But May Lack Quality.
  
• Designers should not embrace No-Spec–instead, know the right and wrong time to do spec work.
  

I am still a strong proponent of avoiding spec work whenever possible. When spec work occurs, the client is the big winner and there can be a lot of potential losers on the agency side. As the old saying goes, “Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?”

However, I am not such a hardliner that I feel it should never occur. There are times when just seeing an agency’s portfolio is just not enough. In these times, it makes sense to do some things to impress and go the extra mile to let the prospective client know you are serious about becoming a partner. This, however, should be the exception and not the rule.

On a related note, an agency needs to be savvy enough to copyright all concepts before showing them to avoid the unscrupulous folk who are out to pirate ideas and just use others for their creativity. Unfortunately, this does happen, and agencies should take the steps they can to prevent their intellectual property from being taken without due compensation.

How do you feel on the subject of spec work? It is hotly debated. I would love to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment below.

How familiar are you with social media?

Have you ever felt left out of a conversation or didn’t even know about the conversation because you haven’t been able to wrap your brain around where to start with social media? 

How familiar are you with social media?

Have you ever felt left out of a conversation or didn’t even know about the conversation because you haven’t been able to wrap your brain around where to start with social media?

Does hearing about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, MySpace, Digg, blogs, and other social networking sites make you want to crawl into a hole because you don’t know what’s going on?

If so, this seminar is for you!

Fluid Studio is excited to offer a Social Media Educational Series for Utah and help you become orientated in the ever-changing and exciting world of social media!

The first 90-minute class in the series will be on Thursday, March 26th at 6:30 pm in the Salt Lake City Library (210 E. 400 S.).

Businesses or groups that wish to maximizes their marketing dollars and not get left behind in social media, Fluid is only charging a nominal fee of $29/person for the education series. If you sign up now, we are offering a discounted rate of $19! Click HERE to register.

Why are we doing this?

Because we believe social media is such an effective marketing tool for you and your business with its cost, reach, and return on investment (ROI):

• Cost—compared to traditional marketing, social media is relatively inexpensive and can be created and deployed quickly and efficiently.

• Reach—social media has the ability to directly reach target audiences and demographics down to their specific current interests and past experience.

• Analytics and Return on Investment (ROI)—Using social media tools, you can create, distribute, and track web, video, e-mail, and other social media marketing tools immediately.

About the Presenter:

John Dye, President of Fluid Studio, has been a longtime participant in social media realms and has helped numerous companies effectively incorporate social media into their overall marketing strategy. John will help businesses first understand the basics of social media before moving on to some of the more advanced features of social networking.

The Brasil Doce Lar Foundation is beginning a scholarship program for the 2009 school year to benefit Brazilian students entering ninth grade. The Foundation and educational leaders in Brasil recognize there is a need to improve the opportunity for 

The Brasil Doce Lar Foundation is beginning a scholarship program for the 2009 school year to benefit Brazilian students entering ninth grade. The Foundation and educational leaders in Brasil recognize there is a need to improve the opportunity for public university admission for students with high academic and moral standards but who are from low-middle income families.

We need your help in raising $10,000 for scholarships offered by the Brasil Doce Lar Foundation. All of this money will be used to fund high-potential students from low-middle income families during their high school years. The Foundation will work with private high schools in Joao Pessoa, Osasco, and Recife to receive a tuition discount and will also ask each student’s family to cover 50% of tuition so we can maximize our return on investment and help additional students.

Please, donate today by clicking here or by visiting www.brasildocelar.com/br and give as much as $200, $75, or even $15. For every $15 donated, a person will receive a copy of the Brasil Doce Lar DVD.

The advantages of providing these funds early in the students’ life are several. (1) It will give them a much better chance to compete for a place in a public and free university when they turn 17-18 years old. (2), it will prepare more youth with basic skills before they serve their missions. And (3), it will make it a lot easier for them to be self-reliant when they finish their teenage years and/or return from their missions.

Thank you for supporting youth in Brasil and for your donation!!