Everyone says they are the best. The term has lost nearly all its credibility, in a sea of aspirant pretenders, a virtual battle ground to prove one’s worth. Marketing is a catch 22; to earn clients one must have successful case studies, but how does one accomplish this – leading by example. Rather than tell others how great, or “best” one is, true marketers and web designers use their own brand and digital presence as a walking, live billboard of excellence. “Best” can then more easily be verifiable, objectified; who is truly on the cutting-edge of technology, receiving awards, and garnering the lion’s share of lucrative, contested web traffic. One agency leading the field is a small, growing agency in Red Bank New Jersey, Splendor Design Group.
Businesses Are Powered by People
The owner doesn’t fit neatly into a box. He is as much artist as shrewd businessman. As an elite member of MENSA, Adam Taylor went to school because he loved design, and saw the intricate relationship inherit in form and function. Much the same way Steve Jobs prophesized computers could be art, Adam understood websites didn’t have to be ugly, difficult to use, or a business expense. With a small team, Adam was determined to build custom websites and marketing materials to not only separate himself from other web designers in New Jersey, but more importantly, separate his clients from their competition.
While everyone was trying to lower the cost of a website, while lowering its value, Adam took the opposite approach – transform a website into a business asset. As an award winner for Web Design by Communicator, and dozens of other accolades, the agencies work speaks for itself. Much the same way someone shouldn’t have to tell you they workout, the agencies mission statement of client success is supported by dozens of live case studies and client portfolio from their website.
Rise of Part-time “Fake” Gurus
Script kiddies and part-time web designers relying on templates and premade coding frameworks have saturated the web design market, lowering barriers to entrance, and significantly decreasing perceived costs. However, this has proven to be a disservice to most small business owners, as their website and marketing plans are often given to the lowest bidder. The end result is a barebones website, lackluster user experiences, and zero brand identity across the internet. Worse, the websites receive little to no traffic, as they are neglected, poorly marketed, exposing the fallacy, “If you build it they will come”.
Location is an after-thought with virtual goods and services, but the physical storefront gives Splendor Design Group identity. The team doesn’t rely on outsourcing or skype meetings; they face each other and clients eye-ball to eye-ball, where their word and action plans showcase sincerity, a trait often lost in the profit first mentality of marketing agencies.
From their Red Bank NJ location, they are close enough to the city, yet far enough away to remain free from bloated overhead, and artistic freedom to choose clients. All agencies start off desperate for work, but through the last decades Splendor Design Group has built an impressive local, national and international clientele, which has afforded them the ability to hand select only clients who truly are committed to excellence, and passionate about growing their brand and digital presence. The agency has worked for local governments and entrusted with sensitive healthcare data, a role they do not take lightly. Because of the growing demand and trust entrusted with Splendor Design Group, new applicants are required to either be referred by a family member, friend, or fill out a detailed questionnaire to avoid clients who “just want a basic website”. Basic is newspeak for “average”, which is business suicide, and the land of mediocrity.
Proper Branding, Visual Appeal and Story Telling
The Medium is the Message
Marketing is transparency in all phases: who are you, why do I care, how much is this going to cost, and have you done it for others? Buying ads, creating brochures, and crafting websites is becoming commoditized by big box, one size fits all do it yourself platforms. The notion of becoming a part-time web designer and marketing expert, in addition to running a full-time business is disingenuous to say the least. The cookie-cutter templates, like a Siren, singing their alluring song, entice business owners to attempt to beat the competition, ironically by building the same basic website, or worse, doing less.
Juxtaposed, marketers, now viewed as replaceable by a robot-web platform, have unceremoniously been thrust into an odd position of middle man advertising agency; earning revenue based on ad spend percentages to major platforms such as Google Adwords, Facebook, or Direct Mail. Splendor Design Group knows price and value are intricately connected, yet there is a vast difference between an agency who is principle based, and one who is out to only make a profit for themselves. For this reason, Adam ensures every brand understands the value added by his agency, and will never sign off on poorly planned campaigns, even if it means losing potential profit for his own agency – the reputation and repeat referrals from his happy clients are worth more than any one-hit-quitter campaign.
This long term approach is echoed by the great businessman, Warren Buffet “Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.” By viewing marketing as big picture and small, as samurai philosopher Miyamoto Musashi taught, a Rats Head and an Ox’s neck, Splendor Design Group knows marketing is not simply one task, or list of checkboxes, but rather a synergistic symphony of action, which yields a positive ROI for clients.
