Prove Your Professionalism and Be Remembered

Show your clients you mean business, whatever your line of work with an impressive sales toolkit, which showcases your products and services.

With 70% of us believing that mail gives a better impression of a company than email, it’s time to trust traditional methods of communication.

Whatever you’re selling, sell it well. Whether you’re an SME whipping up gluten-free cakes for local villagers or a multi-national serving financial clients, demonstrate your products and services professionally and you’ll win more clients.

Often, customers aren’t turned off by your products, but the tired, predictable ways you present them. So give it to them straight. Highlight the real value of your offering with a sales toolkit that showcases exactly what you do including all of your USPs and all of your contact details.

Boom. Then it’s right there on your customer’s desk with no excuse not to get in touch. 

Consider every element of your business, and tailor packages towards your target market, focusing on what will be relevant to them. 

Ensure you include:

• Business Card
• Covering Letter
• Brochure with overview of company
• Product and sales/data sheet
• Call to action – what do they need to do next

Also think about how is it going to be delivered, personally – great; post – consider size weight costs!

We’re open to requests if you need to WOW with off-the-wall impact chat to us! At The New Fat, we can help create sharp, professional sales toolkits for businesses of all sizes across all industries.  

The benefits of a polished sales toolkit

Ensures your branding is communicated consistently throughout, building your brand and giving your sales team a focus with clear messaging.

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression but it’s not all about you. Even in the finest suit, if how you’re presenting your business is not up-to-scratch, how you present yourself is meaningless. Equip yourself with a sales toolkit from The New Fat and we’ll ensure your brand is represented in the most authentic, powerful way. 

Print isn’t dead - Embrace RIP (Really Interesting Print).

How many times have you ignored emails, simply because they sound like spam or didn’t suit your workload or even your mood on that day? Print isn’t dead; it just needs to be dynamic enough to stand out in a crowded space. It’s where The New Fat excel.

Leave your mark with something to be remembered by. With a tangible take-away, you can engage and generate response by:

• Creating brand unity and a unique brand story bespoke to your own business.

• Establish a connection by leaving your contact details. When someone’s telephone number or email address is right in front of you every day, there’s far more chance of getting in touch.

• Ensure longevity by giving them something real – in the digital age, a premium set of printed materials mean more than empty cyberspace comms. 

Read this months Case Study and find out about a Sales Toolkit we designed for Tilsatec.

Testimonials.
Don’t just take our word for it – here’s what a few of our impressed clients have to say about our work.

‘I know I can rely on swift service and honest and useful advice’ - Impact 108

‘Love your CAN DO attitude’ - The Rainforest Foundation UK

Save money on this months stationery offer, find out more here. Read this months Case Study and find out about a Sales Toolkit we designed for Tilsatec.

Your Surprisingly Popular Sales Tool – Folded Leaflets

In our fast-paced, switched-on, ultra-connected online world where brands are engaging with people, having a dialogue with prospective customers and encouraging sales 24/7, you might be surprised to discover what is actually one of the most enduring and proven sales tools.



It’s the humble folded leaflet. Surely not? What with so many innovative, fun and popular online platforms and apps around that brands can use to communicate with people and build relationships.
 

In fact, the simple folded leaflet has been around for many, many years and it’s still going strong. Through constantly changing trends in print and marketing, folded leaflets have remained hugely popular promotional items. Even in today’s online world, 
they are more popular than ever with marketers and businesses of all sizes. But why?


Choose from a range of sizes
One of the biggest advantages of folded leaflets is that they can be printed digitally for small to medium-sized print runs. This means that they can be printed very quickly to a high quality similar to litho print, with the option of personalisation if you want it. All at a very competitive price.


What’s more, with digital print, there’s no minimum quantity, so you don’t have to have more leaflets printed than you need. That reduces waste, which not only saves you money but helps the environment.


There is a whole range of sizes, finishes and papers for printing, which we can discuss at the brief stage. One of the most popular size is DL which is A4 folded to 1/3 A4. This fits neatly into standard envelopes and pockets - making it perfect for any number of uses.


Enjoy unbeatable flexibility

The range of sizes available for your folded leaflets means they can be used anywhere and in a huge variety of ways including:

• Direct mail campaigns - choose a size like DL which fits easily into envelopes and letter boxes

• Hand-outs - A5 and DL size leaflets are ideal for handing to prospective customers as they fit easily into pockets and bags

• On tables and counter - you often see folded leaflets in shops, bars, restaurants and in business premises showing offers, products, services and events

• Inserts in other publications - folded leaflets can be nested into magazines, brochures, newspapers and catalogues

In short, you can use folded leaflets to advertise your products and services, promote special offers or events, or simply to boost awareness of your business, shop or store. You can include coupons with offers or add QR codes to drive online traffic to your website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest page.


Don’t forget, with digital print your leaflets can be personally addressed to each one of your customers too – a proven way to build and strengthen relationships, and boost response.


Choose from a range of formats

You can have your leaflet folded in a whole range of ways with these four being the most popular and economical:

• Half fold leaflets are folded in half along the centre like a greetings card
, see this months case study - great leaflet for Bedford Insurance
• Roll fold leaflets are divided into three sections, with the outer two sections folding over one another

• Z fold leaflets have panels that do not overlap. They fold like an accordion or Z-shape, so that you can see three panels of artwork on each side, which are viewed in sequence

• Gatefold leaflets have their outer flaps folded in to meet in the middle

Choose from a selection of papers and finishes
Silk coated paper has a smooth feel with a discreet surface sheen. It offers excellent ink to paper contrast, and the printed colours look sharp and clear. Recycled options are usually available too.


Gloss coated paper has a shiny surface and very smooth finish. The colour is distinct and stands out well. The ink dries quickly and there is less need for lamination.


Uncoated paper is absorbent and easy to write on, making it a great choice for leaflets that need to be written on. The print appears flatter due to this absorbent quality and the paper has a soft finish which is pleasant to the touch. Recycled uncoated paper is also available if you’re looking for an environmentally friendly option.


Once you’ve chosen your paper you can add the finishing touch. Matt lamination gives a soft, modern, high quality effect, while gloss lamination gives a higher quality shine finish than gloss card. Lamination is great to enhance the vibrancy of solid colours or images, or where you want to protect your printed documents. Recently, soft touch laminate has become very popular as it gives a lovely soft, smooth feel to the leaflet.


All in all, folded leaflets have a more tactile, physical quality than emails or social media posts, and they don’t disappear after a few hours. They can be kept on a mantelpiece, stuck to the fridge or in a drawer and referred to later on, and they can be used to drive business to a shop or store in an endless variety of ways – the only limit is your imagination.


Unlike social media too, they can be targeted extremely accurately – to a town or city, an area, a few streets, one road or even one house! So, are you making the most of folded leaflets?


Throughout September we are offering over £100 off the design and production of a leaflet. Want to find out more? Go to our offer page or for ideas have a look at our leaflet portfolio.





7 Factors to Consider When Designing Websites

Web design is not only creative, but includes much more – from copywriting and typography to layout and graphics, coming together to create an interface that not only looks good but, one that communicates to its audience and delivers a good user experience.

A successful website project is a big task. Everyone wants their project to be successful, but this doesn’t happen magically and needs a strong plan.

1. What are your goals?

First port of call before starting work on your web design is to have a clear understanding of your business goals, or your client’s goals. What are you trying to achieve with the new website or redesign? What is the main reason or purpose of the website? Speak to your client, your manager or ask yourself what they are.

What is the function of your website? Are you selling products or services, creating entertainment or delivering information? Ask why you want the redesign: are you looking to grow the number of registrations, decrease the bounce rate or maybe increase user participation like downloads? The function will predetermine your website design and platform. Goals are equally important if you are considering redesign. 

2. Identify your audience

Knowing your audience is fundamental in how your website will look, feel and function. There are several demographics to consider that will have some effect in the design of your website, e.g. age, gender and occupation. A gaming website for a younger audience requires a different design than that of an entrepreneur. Usability is extremely important for senior and less technical audiences where small detail factors like font size and navigation should be considered.

3. What is your brand image?

Many website designers get excited about using the latest trends without considering the image they should be conveying. Glossy buttons, gradients and reflective floors may work for some websites, but they may not be right for your brand.

A few basic things to consider are colour and how you want visitors to feel when they land on the website and what emotions you want to evoke. Your design should bring to life the personality and character of your brand. Your website will have a feel that makes an impression on your visitors. Think about what that impression should be.

4. Do you have the right team in place?

If your strategy and direction is clear and you have the right team on board for the project, then trust that they will deliver. Communication throughout the website design is important so check in regularly and give feedback, ask questions, but at the same time micromanaging them isn’t necessary if you have the trust. The team will take ownership in pride of the website too and will want it to be a success.

5. Don’t expect a lot for a little

Website budgets are like a seesaw with factors like function, technicalities and design needing careful balance along with the work effort to build a successful website. The application of a budget should be common sense, but all too commonly not. Best practice is to base the budget for the website design on the value you expect to create and budget accordingly.

6. Quality takes time

Give your team sufficient time in regards to budget and timeline of your website project so they are able to complete the job the way you want it. Rushing generally means important and small steps are skipped and the website may not be the best it can be. Rushing means things will be overlooked.

7. Measure

Once your website has been designed, created and deployed, it’s time to measure your success. This is very important because until you test how well your design performs, you won’t know how effective it is in fulfilling your goals e.g. if your aim is to increase the registration numbers to your service, keep tally and measure it and see if your changes are making the impact you wanted. If your goal is to increase subscribers to your blog, check your RSS stats. If it is better user participation take note of comments or forum posts, etc.

Another way to measure the success of your new website is to ask people for their feedback. They will delight in telling you what they think and it's a great way to check you are on the right path, however, be mindful of every suggestion made – they may not be practical or relevant. Look out for regular patterns and common issues – deal with those.

Measuring website analytics is a science unto itself and beyond the scope of this article, but the important thing is you have some method of measuring in place keeping you on track of your key objectives.

Successful website projects aren’t an accident and are a result of a strong process, clear direction, a great team and much grafting and hard work.

Make the most of our latest offer and save £100 on e-shot design. Click here to view our website portfolio or e-shot portfolio.

Fat Focus: The Impact of Emojis

Defined as visual communication, graphic design embraces a huge spectrum of styles, formats and interpretations. With this in mind we thought we would investigate the origins of one of the newest forms of communication…emojis!

The humble smiley face has opened up a whole new culture of cute and crazy icons adorning text messages, emails and social media platforms around the world. But where did emojis come from and why are they so popular?

Where did they come from?

Although a recent craze, emojis were first launched in Japan in the late 90s as a way of enhancing messages. Filtering their way around the world through messaging platforms such as MSN Messenger. Over a decade later Apple launched an iOS update introducing the emoji keyboard and the icons really took off.

2012 saw a massive surge in popularity, catapulting them into everyday life. Now dubbed the fastest growing language of all time, emojis comprise of over 1,600 icons and the list keeps growing! Spanning eight topics, they are now available in the form of smileys and people, animals and nature, food and drink, activities, travel and places, objects, symbols and flags. The most popular emoji being ‘tears of joy’ with over 1.5 billion uses on Twitter alone.

The word ‘emoji’ even made its way into the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013, and if that isn’t crazy enough, there will be an emoji movie released this year starring none other that Patrick Stewart and James Cordan!

So why are they so popular?

One theory is that they are personal. Emojis add emotion to an otherwise impersonal form of communication. It can often be difficult to judge the tone of a text message or a post on social media, but emojis seem to bridge the gap. Adding fun, creative elements to messages that help to express feelings better than written sentiments. They do say a picture is worth 1,000 words.

Emojis provide a human side to digital communication. Studies show that once we learn the meaning behind the symbol we start to relate to the emotion much like we do when we recognise it in a face.

Emojis can also help establish a personal or emotional connection that can be useful when promoting brand awareness. Used in advertising campaigns and on social media, big brands such as Mcdonalds, Dominos, Ikea and WWF have all implemented emojis, with Ikea and WWF even creating their own set. Audience connection is key when using social media, and the human element that emojis provide could be the difference between a like, a share or a scroll past. Many might think that emojis are limited to the younger generations but you would be wrong. Emojis are used by a wide demographic with studies showing a positive response to brands using emojis in their marketing with big increases in click through rates.

Emojis may be a passing craze that will eventually die out but for now they seem as popular as ever and here to stay.