I have two buddies that hunt, Jeremy and Jeff. They get up at the crack of dawn and trek out into the Arizona desert to shoot some animals. I am not a hunter and have a better chance of bring struck by lightning twice than shooting a deer, so I am not invited. Maybe it's best that way, I kind of side with the deer anyway - hunting just isn't my thing. Well this article isn't about hunting, but I've seen the gear they have and preparation these guys go through in order to go after their target. To my surprise I started to see some very strong similarities between how they hunt animals and how I "hunt" prospects for clients when designing their projects. Stay with me, I promise you'll see… Personally, I'm not a hunter, but they've got the right idea when it comes to attracting and honing in on a target. Instead of doing what they think will work, hunters try to get into the mindset of their target. They adapt their clothes, smell, behavior and thought process all to the targets they are going after. If they are going after deer, they try to think like a deer; a pheasant, think like a pheasant. Designers can learn a lot from hunters. If a hunter knows little or nothing about his targets, he starves. If a designer knows little or nothing about his targets, he wastes the client's time and money. Think about it, if your designer knows everything about the groups you're targeting: their age, their family life, income, likes/dislikes, voting preferences, where they shop, how they shop, etc., how much more focused and effective do you think your marketing message will be? When you meet with a design firm about doing some work for you don't be surprised if they interview you, in fact you should demand it. At the end of your meeting you should have a solid idea of what the designer can and will do for you. And they should be able to articulate (among other things): Your business objectives for the project The target markets you are looking to focus on Your business' core competencies How your business compares to others in the industry Finally, like the hunters we talked about, designers better know everything, I mean everything about what makes your targets tick. Do you want to get the mos

t out of your marketing and design investment, make sure the designer can say what I say to clients, "The only person who knows your clients better than me is you". Here's the deal, you as a business owner have clients you have to reach, that's what marketing and design does - it's outreach. If you hire someone who knows how to reach (or hunt) for these groups of people, your business will grow, if you hire a designer that doesn't understand marketing or how to hunt for your customers…well, your business starves. Does that make sense? Thanks for taking out of your day to read this article; please contact me at 480-391-0704, or email me at comments@candographics.com and let me know how this helped you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a gunny suit to try on. Happy "hunting"

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