Rarely, if ever, do we make blind purchases. For many of us, part of the purchasing process is the ability to hold the product and experience it firsthand. But with online sales in the trillions and 79% of Americans doing their shopping on the Internet, consumers are sacrificing the physical experience in exchange for speed and convenience. High quality images are now replacing the tactile experience.
An industry leader that does an incredible job at producing high quality images is Dyson. In addition to the standard product photos, Dyson engages the strategy to produce products in-use, in the appropriate environment. They change the focal point to the product they are selling. In doing so, they allow the consumer to experience the product, rather than just looking at it.
(Photo Credit: Dyson Technology Limited and Dyson.com)
Another industry leader in imagery is Apple. Apple’s strategy is to focus entirely on the product. They use vibrant, rotating images and short videos to help the consumer understand what they are buying, even though they are unable to experience it for themselves. The consumer develops an attraction with the product before they ever buy it.
(Photo Credit: Apple Inc. and Apple.com)
By using high quality images, these industry leaders appeal to the consumer’s emotions during the purchasing process.
Learn more about Incomar Services. Give us a call at 847-541-4626.
Whether it’s the reverberation of a plucked guitar string fading out to nothingness, a simple tune that evokes a feeling of floating, or a brass fanfare that brings the listener directly to attention, music has always elicited a response from the human recipient of these sounds. Although the “Hurrian Hymn No. 6” is considered the world’s earliest melody, the oldest musical composition to have survived in its entirety is a first century A.D. Greek tune known as the “Seikilos Epitaph.” The song was found engraved on an ancient marble column used to mark a woman’s gravesite in Turkey.
Incomar Services is fully aware of music’s importance as an integral element in a great video production. From the start, we work hard to determine what type of music will marry well with what is being shown visually. We spend hours listening to tracks that will provide the right emotional tone for the piece, striving to find that one musical segment that hits the right ‘notes’, much like the pairing of a perfect wine to a great meal. It is a media marriage of sorts.
Admittedly, it’s a fine line to walk to avoid repetitive, boring strains that would not be an aid to the job at hand. When deciding what piece of music to pair up with the visuals and copy, we look at tempo, the instrumental mix, the major key, the genre of music. More importantly, we analyze the content for continuity, eliminating anything with alienating or off-putting tones, keeping the music interesting but consistent, pleasant progressions with light, sometimes sparse components yet with plenty of space that easily allows the engine of the visuals, copy and voice-over to once again tell the story. A good piece matched up correctly should sound like ‘comfort music’, like it was composed exactly for that purpose.
As always, our running dialogue with our client includes a meeting of the minds, each from our separate perspectives, to brainstorm in development of a musical brand that the client is happy with, that their customers can come to expect aurally in future projects. Much like the branded major key three tones that signifies chip maker Intel, Incomar works to provide a sense of familiarity for the customers that will clear their minds for that crucial conversion-to-basket decision.
Similar to the meticulous way a film sound engineer syncs his score to a movie, in that same manner Incomar has an internal sense of pride in helping clients tell the entire story, and that includes a musical soundtrack of its own. Each product deserves it.
“I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.” — Sandy Koufax
What does that mean? In baseball parlance, the Hall of Fame pitcher started off his career by thinking his fastball was so alive he could blow each pitch by every hitter. And for a little while it worked, until the batters started timing his throws, leading to early exits from ballgames. Eventually, Koufax learned to put himself in his counterpart’s shoes by understanding what the batter wanted to see, actually working with him in a way…and then throwing him something else.
This type of communication actually bears a strong parallel to how we at Incomar Services work, except we don’t ‘throw you something else’. It’s of utmost importance that our initial analysis be accurate, capturing what most needs to be “brought out” about a product or service through a client discovery session. Call it a Vulcan mind-meld if you will, but it’s crucial to the creative process that we be on the same page with our client. In turn, everything we do is based on one final shared vision through our process. It is our responsibility through this collaboration to bring to light features, benefits and solutions to achieve the final output.
Here’s where our collaboration starts. Incomar Services works with prospective clients to assist in providing effective digital marketing content that they themselves may not have the resources to create. The essential questions are, who do they want to be seen as and how do they want to be perceived in the marketplace? This is where we work to develop a strong item level strategy, drawing upon the client’s knowledge to put those critical thoughts into spoken words and impactful images.
At various points throughout the process, Incomar audits the current content, looking for gaps in the overall message which can be filled by proven best-in-class content, image and video strategies. This is always done in close collaboration with the client—indeed, this two-way communication is critical to the process, inevitably resulting in digital assets that drive sales growth. We truly value being able to do this!
As Sandy Koufax also said, about baseball, ‘…the game has a cleanness. If you do a good job, the numbers say so.’ Certainly that also rings true in business, particularly as a result of the ongoing exchange of ideas and opinions between Incomar Services and our clients. Our testimonials and our customers’ growth are tribute to that.
“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else” – Yogi Berra
This has always been one of my favorite quotes. Why? Because it speaks to the need for knowing where you are and where you want to end up. It speaks to self-awareness both personally and for your business. At Incomar Services we live this reality every day.
Many companies we speak with are aware that they want, or need better content, but aren’t really sure what that means. In fairness, it means something different to each organization with whom we meet. The real key to understanding the journey ahead is knowing where they are today.
Understanding where their company needs to be, means understanding current content “best practices”. Not only what is being exhibited by their competitors but also by market leaders in the same or adjacent market spaces. This is where one of the most critical elements of engagement occurs, in the audit phase.
At Incomar Services we have performed many content audits for our clients. From these, and partnering with our clients, we have determined how best to create a content roadmap along with timelines for creation and integration of dynamic new, enhanced digital assets. Better assets drive enhanced sales conversion and improve the user experience!
Well-executed content audits ensure that you know where you are going and don’t end up “someplace else”. How can we at Incomar Services help you take your digital marketing to where you want and need it to be? Give us a call at 847 541-4626 or e-mail johnw@incomarservices.com.
Incomar stands for Integrated Content Marketing and we are great at creating and managing dynamic product content for our clients. But why is this important to you and your business’ growth?
Because product content – rich product descriptions incorporating features, advantages and benefits supported by multiple images and yes, even video, are the core of any digital marketing strategy. According to a comscore/UPS survey, product content is the #1 reason consumers click the “buy” button. This is followed by ratings and reviews and then by price.
Content can become a manufacturer or supplier’s competitive advantage.
Imagine, if you will, the difference between an image taken on a smartphone in the warehouse (and you know who you are!) and a multiple image strategy executed by a professional photographer. Which of these, when published to your favorite web site, would have a more positive impact on your purchasing decision? You know, you’ve been there! More and better images sell more products.
Let Incomar Services help you create a competitive advantage through enhanced content in your market space and on your resellers’ sites. Just call us at (847) 541-4626 to learn how.
