Friday, October 15, 2010

Customer Spotlight: Skin Obsession

Welcome to Friday - time for a new customer spotlight!

Spotlight On: Skin Obsession
Service: New website design to match a new store name & logo
Website: http://www.skinobsession.com/

The Need: Julie recently underwent some big changes in her online skin care company, including a new name, new logo, and relocation of her shopping cart platform from ChannelAdvisor to Volusion. She needed a new look that would accomplish several goals: be appealing to women looking for a cost-saving spa experience, while still feeling comfortable for men to shop - keeping lots of homepage text and keywords for optimal SEO - and offering multiple ways to shop her specialized product line.

The Solution: We took Julie's color scheme and logo elements and blended them throughout the entire design, giving the site a very custom, professional look without sacrificing functionality or search engine optimization. She now has easily editable text areas, rotating featured item boxes to highlight her best-sellers, and features such as a newsletter signup box and links to her social networking sites - all of which will help her expand her customer base, staying connected and building trust. And that means better sales! That's what I'd call putting your best face forward.

Q & A:

Q: Do the colors used on my website really matter? If so, how?

A: You bet they do! Any good graphic designer will have some training in color psychology (sometimes called "color therapy") and will help you select colors that will best appeal to your specific target market.

There's no "one perfect color" that induces all people to pull out their credit cards all the time - if there were, the marketing world would be awash in it! But obviously, there are colors that have universal meaning (or at least, within a given culture). For example, soft colors relax and soothe, while bold colors excite. Have you ever noticed that virtually ALL the fast food restaurant chains use a combination of bright red and yellow in their logos, signage, and interiors? That's no coincidence - it's because red, orange, and yellow are colors that stimulate us to be hungry!

Q: But in your survey, you asked me what MY favorite colors are - what does this have to do with optimal design?

A: Great question! And there are a few reasons we do this:

(1) You will be looking at your own website day in and day out, probably for years. (Yes, we know your mum is uber-supportive, but will she be logging in daily? Don't think so...) We want you to feel motivated every time you see it, to feel great about your virtual space and proud of your storefront. So yes, how YOU feel about the design matters greatly!

(2) We assume that you are selling a product, line, or service about which you feel great passion. And you are probably somewhat of an expert in your line. As such, it's likely that the kind of customers you'll attract are people of like mind, who have similar tastes and interests. Yes, you could go for a generic look and try to appeal to a maximum number of people, but studies show that web businesses are actually more successful when they target a niche market directly. Therefore, your own personal tastes ARE relevant and probably one of the best indicators as to what your similarly-oriented target market will be attracted to, also.


Let us know your feedback and questions about this site design (or any of our others). And thank you, Julie, for trusting us to help you with your Skin Obsession branding online - we hope the makeover brings you oodles of new buyers!

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