PATISSERIES, WEBSITES AND BRAND IDENTITY

Recently, while in New York City, I decided to stop by my favorite little French “patisserie.”  I wasn’t even sure if it was still there, because it had been a while. Much to my delight, it was, looking pretty much as I had remembered it, right down to the lettering on the sign outside. But when I entered, it neither smelled nor looked the same. The fresh, yummy pastries I fantasized about (the brand promise, if you will!) were replaced with pre-packaged Danish cookies. I left, never intending to return.

I know…you’re probably thinking, “huh?” But please hear me out. My patisserie experience reminded me of a disappointing website visit, where you arrive expecting one thing, and get something totally different. Sure, the unexpected can be a great strategy, but not so great in terms creating a brand identity. And once you lose a website visitor, you may never get him/her back.

DON’T LET THE “PATISSERIE EFFECT” UNDERMINE YOUR WEBSITE AND YOUR BRAND.

So why do websites experience the “patisserie effect?” And why don’t they fully embrace their brand identity? One reason is because, even in this digital age, websites are often considered afterthoughts. All the brand messaging, brand voice and brand identity design get implemented at one stage, and the website gets the crumbs. This may happen because web design services are provided by firms that are not true brand marketing agencies. Their websites tend to be more driven programmers than by marketers. It’s sort of like allowing your plumber or electrician to serve as your interior designer. Yes, you need a functional website, but it’s the user experience that becomes the customer brand experience. Fact is, website design and marketing visions are inseparable.

STAND BY YOUR BRAND, BUT ENABLE CHANGE.

Another reason is that websites cost time and money. Companies make investments and don’t want to reinvest. They check their websites off their “to-do” lists and move on. Unfortunately, websites are not simply “set-and-forget” resources. They are organic and must be designed to accommodate some degree of change. They evolve with the technology. (Remember when Flash sites were all the rage?) They have shelf lives. And like corporate logos, they need to be reexamined, refreshed and fine-tuned. Unless a company is totally repositioning itself, because of a changing customer base or other market factors, much of the brand-building investment should still be leverageable.

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READY TO MAKE CHANGE?

If you are considering a new website or perhaps, want to redesign a current one, we offer a limited number of complimentary website design consultations each month. Since this is a valued service we offer at no charge, we can’t do this for everyone. We do have some basic qualifiers for this:

• You plan to launch or relaunch a site in the next 90-120 days
• You allocated a budget of at least $5,000.00 for this project

If both of the above work for you, please fill out the following form and one of our website design specialists will contact you soon to schedule a complimentary, no obligation review.