We live at a time where almost everything is constantly changing, and many are becoming motion-oriented. Most of the changes and flash-type productions are absolutely unnecessary, and can only lead to confusion. Just because you can change or do something does not mean you should change or do it.
Before you change your method of presenting your business, consider whether it is necessary or even if it is desirable to make the change. Try to look at your proposed change from your current and potential clients’ point of view. The kinds of changes I’m addressing here are the “look and feel” of your business, not changes in products, services or prices, which require other considerations.
Some examples of unnecessary changes may help to highlight this situation.
* My Internet Service Provider (ISP) had a great online email program. I always look at my email online before downloading it to my computer so I can eliminate the junk first. I have been with this ISP for several years, but over the past year or more they’ve kept “improving” the operation of their online email service. Even when they do not announce changes I find that from one time to the next when I log in it’s a different method. Once I do get logged in, accessing or even finding the link to my inbox and other boxes is different. I use another service, which includes online applications and email. This service, too, keeps announcing “improvements” and changing the way the service operates. By the time I get used to the most recent changes, they’re changing it again.
* Software updates: Wow, do “they” ever make a lot of stupid changes to software! If you have automatic updates turned on for programs, many update without you knowing it. Even those that alert you can lead to unpredictable operations on your computer. For instance, I don’t know which software update caused this problem, but my computer will now not remember which printer is the default printer. If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll remember I installed a new printer more than a month ago. I still want my old printer accessible (although I’d have to physically reconnect it to use it), but want the new one to be the default. Every day I have to remember to go into the computer’s control panel and reset the default printer to the new one. I updated to Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1, now every time I start my browser I get the message your last session unexpectedly ended, do you want to restart it or go to your home page? How did it unexpectedly end when I shut it down normally? Adobe Reader is another example; Adobe seems to want to update that danged program every other day! Why?
* Logos: For some reason, some organizations want to change their logos frequently. A logo is for quick and lasting identification. You should not change your logo just because you’ve used your existing one for a few months or years, or because you’re tired of it. I have a client who had a beautiful and well recognized logo for 10 years. They decided that they’d used it for too long, and had a new, more modern one designed. The new one is hardly legible, and does not really reflect well on their organization or its purpose. A legitimate logo change might be because of a change in ownership, or because the service has been expanded and a new logo is required to help encompass the additional services.
* Graphical introductions: On TV shows and opening pages of Web sites, many “cutesy” graphical CGI introductions are being employed. On TV, you’re stuck with it, and frequently the producers get so carried away with what they can do graphically you have to sit through several minutes of useless stuff. At least on most Web sites they’ll give you the opportunity to skip the introduction, but not all do this. If an animated introduction also includes navigation links, it is sometimes difficult to find the link you may want, and even when you find it, it may jump around and you have to chase it! I don’t bother with sites like that, I simply browse away to a competitor’s site.
The preceding examples are simply that, examples, and should not be considered comprehensive. There are many other things of a similar nature that could be discussed, but that should not be necessary to get this point across.
TIP: Just because you can change something or can do something, ask yourself “should I?” In other words, is the change necessary to the operation of your business, or is it because you’re tired of the old look? Don’t drive current or potential clients away simply because you’re bored!
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