Stylescapes: what are they and why do we use them?

Stylescapes are a way of exploring your brand’s look and feel and can be a huge asset when designing your website.

Stylescapes are samples of how your brand can look and feel. In each stylescape you can show options for the colours, logo, photography, typography, icons and how page layouts might look.

Stylescapes are also based on your branding attributes, or the keywords that describe your business. For example: premium, calm, trustworthy, fun, empathetic.

When first designing your brand or website, the idea is to take these attributes and create 3 different stylescapes that each have a different tone: Something wild, something mild, something fun. [show quick samples]

[graphic overlay showing examples from stylescape to website]

Thrive Online uses styclescapes because it allows us to identify what designs and styles work and don’t work.

Each stylescape is designed to get a reaction out of you. We take that feedback and create a final stylescape that can be used as a starting point to develop your brand or website.

Stylescapes have become a big part of our design process and have really helped us in developing some incredible brands and websites.

Tip: Spend some time discovering your brand attributes. Using a series of questions you can narrow down what your company values are and how you want to be perceived. Once you have these keywords use them as your guidelines for creating your brand or website. If you are interested in learning more about your brand attributes, click the link below and we can help you get started.

If you have any questions, please reach out us or book a free 30min strategy call where we can talk about your business. We want to see you Thrive online.

Setting the right goals for your website

Having a website is great, but only if you use it to its full potential..

We see so many websites that are basically just a information and contact tool, with no real thought into how the website can actually benefit your business.

Setting the right goals will help you create the right content, design, and user experience. Creating a website that can be a big part of your overall business success.

It’s like this: you can have a website with your logo and company information and services, information about your team, a cute little photo of someone’s dog, a blog and a contact form, which is all great to have, but what’s going to make your website really thrive is designing it around specific goals, that will help convert users into customers, and in some cases, simply move them to the next step in their customer journey.

Example: One of our clients was putting on a retreat and their goal was to show the essence and feeling of the event through the website, with the intention of increasing ticket sales from the previous year and selling out the retreat.

With this goal in mind, we designed the website with a specific flow that used storytelling to really describe the appeal of the retreat. By using specific positive testimonials, bright, bold, energetic colors, messaging that explained all the benefits a person would get out of the retreat and visuals that showed the vibe and what it would look like if you attended, we were really able to connect with the audience and in return ticket sales more than doubled from the previous year and the retreat was sold out!

The best approach: Do a goals exercise where you list your top 3 website goals and 2 ways you are going to accomplish each of these goals through your website. This will help you create the right user experience for your website, and take you in the right direction when it comes to creating your web content. If you need help, download our Formula on how your business can Thrive Online. It contains a section on goals. Click on the link below.

If you have any questions, please reach out us, because we want to see you Thrive!

The importance of discovery

At the beginning of any project we do, we always start with a discovery process. In most cases Thrive’s customers are pretty good at knowing what they want, but knowing what they want and creating something that works for them can be two different things. The point of our discovery sessions is to go through a series of interviews to figure what to do and what not to do. They also help to really understand your business, your competitors, your customers and what the best route to success is. We want to get the key insights that are really going to make you Thrive!

Example: Working with a food supplier company we discovered that their customers were very busy chefs and that the website was really for the reps of the compnay. They were the ones who needed a tool to take orders when dealing with their clients. This insight led us to create an easy to use ordering system that was optimized for an ipad that the reps would carry with them.

The best approach: Go through a facilitated discovery session and learn about your business. Take time to ask the right questions and research what’s been working and not working for your competitors, learn about your customers and figure how to connect with them. In the end you end up with a solid game plan to thrive online.

If you are interested in going through Thrive’s discovery sessions, click the link below.

If you have any questions please reach out to us, because we want to see you Thrive!

Identify your customers’ pain points

Identifying pain points will require you to dig deep and really understand the needs of your customers. Going through the right process and asking the right questions can really help with identifying these pain points.

If you focus on the pains your customers are having, you can then create an experience around solving their problems. You can tell your story in a way that convinces them they’re in the right place and you’re the right choice. You can also provide with the right solutions and speak to them in a language that will connect with them. These insights will also help you with what messaging, visuals and content you will need to have on your website, social media, newsletters and so on.

Example: You’re a yoga studio. Your customer is a mom in their late 30’s with kids. Her pain point is that she needs to wake up early and go to class. With this insight, you now know to offer early morning classes and promote that front and center on your website and across your social media channels.

To start, ask the right questions. What does my customer like? What problems are they having and how i can solve them? What are their days like? Do they have a stressful job? Are they active? Are they social? Where do they hang out? It’s really up to you to ask the right questions to dig deep and find those pain points

The best approach: Create an avatar that represents your audience. It will allow you to hone in on who they are, their needs and their pain points. If you’re not sure what an avatar is, download our Formula on how your business can Thrive Online. It contains a section on avatars. Click on the link below.

If you have any questions, please reach out us, because we want to see you Thrive!