Some firms may adopt an accent to reinforce their brands identity.  National businesses can create the impression their business is local to the area.  Consequently, regionalising your audio brand could be perceived as keeping up-to-date with current trends, thus creating a fresh image.

Conversely, an accent could be used to create a strong national or international identity.  Choosing the right accent could dramatically change the way the client perceives the product or service being offered.

It is clear that the “voice of a company” influences the consumer, but can the accent alone evoke a cognitive and emotional response?

• Well, the Geordie accent is renowned for its positive public perception as trustworthy and legitimate.
• A Manchester accent is perceived as creative and industrious.
• A southern Irish accent is seen as friendly and open.
• And Scottish accents are thought of as reassuring.

So it would appear the accent alone can create an instant picture of a company.  The perspective client has formed an impression of the business before speaking to an employee, an extremely powerful tool.  Combine this with ability to assert a stronger sense of identity and audio branding suddenly seems to be a no brainer.

Does your business need to start thinking how it sounds?

A major factor in creating this impression, particularly in an increasingly on-line market place, is owning and utilising your own domain name.

Letting as many people know who you are and what you do as possible is vital and the best place to start is a website. By hosting this site using your own domain name you will show you mean business and may provide your potential customers the confidence required to become actual customers.

Purchasing a domain name is an easy and low-cost process. The most difficult consideration will be what domain name to purchase from the pool of names available. For most UK based businesses a .co.uk domain is perfect and cost as little as a few pounds per annum. An international company may require a .com, or a charity .org for example and depending on this suffix the price may vary – but in all cases still remain affordable. Once you own a domain name then the services relating to it (such as website hosting and email) can be accessed and managed with a hosting package. Again this is a low-cost service starting from a few pounds per month depending on your requirements.

Having consistency with your online presence by matching up your web address with email addresses that relate to your business will add credibility and make you easier to remember and identify with. Crucially you also have control over what email addresses you want, forwarding, blocking and allowing addresses, filtering junk, mailbox sizes and so on, rather than relying on limited capabilities of a free or “home user” type service.

And yes, you can still use an established email address – simply forward this to your new email address as appropriate. So if you’re clinging on to an old BTConnect, Blueyonder, Yahoo or other unrelated email address it’s time to take steps towards owning your own domain name, taking advantage of the services this provides and presenting a professional image. It’s not as hard as you may think – any reputable domain hosting company will be able to guide you through the process and start you on your way.

The Bear Inn in Bradford on Avon is under new management and the owner was keen to make an eye-catching statement on the buildings exterior whilst  keeping the exterior within the constraints mentioned earlier.

The solution that we came up with was to use a new high-tack vinyl which can be heated onto most uneven, awkward surfaces. Using a matt black finish gave the impression that the text had been painted directly onto the brick and the use of a traditional font (Copperplate Gothic in this case) makes it look like the hand-painted signage of yesteryear! This solution is also as low impact on the building itself as any solution could be. Simply reapplying heat to the vinyl enables it to be peeled off without a trace of residue on the brickwork.

I think that you’ll agree that the results are great and the locals thought it had been hand-painted so we achieved the desired effect!

There are two ways of creating the image for heat seal:

1. An image or design with lots of different colours is printed on to a heat seal vinyl.  The image would then be put through a plotter which cuts  around the design.  Printed Vinyl has the glue on the under side of the image so needs to have a sticky transfer vinyl placed on top of the image so that it can be lifted off of the backing and placed onto the garment. This an extra process and an extra  material  is needed .
2. An image that is a simple design of one colour or bold text is plotted out of coloured vinyl. Plotted Vinyl has the glue on the top side of the vinyl so this is always cut in mirror format, so that it can be flipped over and placed directly onto the garment.

Once the image has been created the next process is called “weeding”. This is the process of removing all the excess vinyl that is not needed in the design. There is no easy way of doing it, just a knife or weeding tool is used to pull away all the pieces not required. It can be a very time consuming and complicated task, especially when weeding small text, which adds to the overall cost, so we do not recommend very small font or numerals.

After the vinyl has been weeded it is put onto the garment ready for pressing.

Once the design has been placed in the desired location it is pressed  onto the garment using very high temperatures ranging from 150 – 180 degrees. The backing is then pulled away from the garment leaving the design firmly embedded onto the garment.

Many people think they have a bad telephone voice. While it’s true that not every one’s voice sounds like a radio announcer’s voice, very few people have a terrible voice. What they have is a badly produced voice. A good voice requires lots of power. A voice with not enough air becomes monotone or sounds small and unfriendly. Also, the ends of statements fade, and there are lots of ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ as the person drags in a quick breath of air.

To keep a voice sounding good for the entire conversation, take frequent pauses to breathe. It will improve your voice dramatically. Pausing also creates clearer articulation since you will have time to enunciate every syllable in the word. Pausing also eliminates ‘erms’ and ‘ums’ that make a person sound unsure.

Many of your customers only know you through your voice. It is therefore important to make sure it creates the image that you want. This is also important when it comes to the marketing messages that a customer hears when placed on hold. Professional Voice Artists used for these have a naturally strong voice and they have honed their skills over many years to do this without thinking. Any voice heard is automatically associated with that brand in a person’s mind. So how your business communicates with current and potential customers is very important.

Does it apply to me and my business? – most probably. If you accept, store or transmit payment card data then you need to become compliant with this standard or risk facing a fine.

Quite how you do this depends on how you handle transactions. For example, a shop with a single card machine connected to an analogue telephone line will have a much less complicated process to fulfil the criteria; than a business with a full ecommerce website and telephone ordering system.

As a business accepting card payments, most likely you will have been asked by your merchant acquirer to undertake the compliance process. They will also have suggested an accredited partner, who will help you complete the relevant questionnaire for your business and any external security scans that need to take place.

The questionnaires are relatively straightforward, but for anybody with an internet connected card machine the process may start to become more complicated. It’s not good enough to just plug the machine in to the corporate network anymore and let it connect to the internet this way, it needs to be isolated from the rest of the network. This can be achieved either through segmenting your network or placing the machine in a DMZ (Demilitarized zone) – not something that your accredited PCI partner will help you with, it will either need to be configured by your IT department or an external support consultant. You will also need to answer many other technically biased questions regarding the setup of your corporate network.

Another stumbling block where things become more complicated is ecommerce sites. Although your third party payment gateway such as SagePay may be compliant, the server that your website sits on may not be. Many people use hosting packages that include web space on shared servers. By their very nature, these servers will allow connections on a multitude of ports and all of the admin staff at your hosting company will have root access. This will not be compliant. The only answer is to host the site on its own dedicated server or a VPS (Virtual Private Server); where you will have sole access and full control over what services are or are not running and which ports are open or closed. This will need to be addressed by your Website administrator.

Of course, the above is just the tip of the iceberg and the topic merits much further investigation. So it’s something that’s worth addressing sooner rather than later so as not to let it become a Skeleton in the closet for your business.

PCI DSS is not just a one off event; it’s an ongoing process that will require regular maintenance tasks to ensure that once you become compliant, you stay compliant. The standards required are always changing so it is in effect a moving target.

If you haven’t already, do it soon!

It is strong, durable and virtually vandal proof and graffiti resistant, this product can be cut with a saw, drilled, screwed into and routed as easily as wood.

It can withstand the elements of the weather, making it completely maintenance free, and in turn will never have to be replaced, making it value for money in the long run.

It is available in black and brown as standard, bespoke colours can be made.  This product is excellent for bridle way, nature parks, along the coast, golf courses etc, where signage is exposed to the elements and the risk of vandalism.

Not only can it be used for signage, but is available as bollards, external furniture, decking, planters and floral displays, a versatile product made from items we throw away.

Why not speak to one of the team at Sign marketing to arrange looking at a sample.

Tracey Hanman

Director

Of course there are budgetary requirements that limit what a club, business or association can afford, so being able approach the party in question and discuss their requirements will ultimately help in selecting the right garments to best suit their intended purpose.

Factors to consider when purchasing garments for your establishment are:

• Suitability of garments. If you work within an industry where your garments are constantly getting dirty and are washed regularly, then a garment that is hardwearing and contains a high content of polyester for washing purposes would be more suitable.

Similarly, if you are a sports team, then a polyester fabric that contains a moisture management system would be more appropriate in terms of comfort and practicality.

• Does your brand represent your company in the best possible way? A logo without any text does not necessarily indicate who you are. By using an in-house design service you are able to receive a variety of design options that will factor in text, colour, image, size and most importantly identity.

When selecting appropriate garments, having this type of personal service will ensure that you receive the most accurate advice to effectively represent your sports club, business or association.

Greg Bazell

Sales Manager

• First impressions count.  How do you answer your phones?  Do you talk too fast, sound distracted because you’re busy and give a bad first impression, or do you give that potential new customer your undivided attention?
• What about your website?  In an increasingly digital world, your website is now your shop window and integral to your success.  There is the potential to gain customers globally, not just locally – but that also means more competition.  How do you stand out?  Audio can make the difference between your prospective clients staying on your website and clicking on the next one in the Search.  You can direct your visitors to special offers, reinforce your brand and catch their attention; remember – people are more likely to remember something they see AND hear.
• The telephone experience is crucial – don’t make callers wait in silence; give them music, information, entertainment – make the experience a positive one and you’ll reap the rewards.
• What about visitors to your premises?  Reception or Showroom audio can not only create a welcoming atmosphere, but can broadcast useful, engaging and pertinent information.  It also acts as a screen between conversations, which can be extremely valuable and make your clients feel more comfortable if discussing prices or personal information.
• You can continue your audio branding by providing literature in a digital format.  CD (or even MP3) brochures are a modern and extremely accessible way to give your customers all the information they need.

The most obvious (and cost effective!) way to make audio work harder is simply to improve your communication skills and think about what you’re saying and how you’re saying it, across all the mediums that you use.  Don’t forget to listen too – the art is to hear as well as make yourself heard.