So…I called. What happens next?
Good question. A lot of people wonder. And actually, it’s pretty painless.
First, we arrange for an initial consultation either in person, or via Zoom, or over the phone. Its purpose is to find out what you’re looking to do and to establish the nature and scope of the work that will accomplish it. That’s the first step. And you don’t have to pay for this. It’s just the way we start to get to know one another.
At this point, we draw up an agreement specifying what we’ll do for you, how long it will take, and how much it will cost. And you sign it. That’s when the real fun starts.
How About After I’ve Signed?
Well, a lot of things. And this is one of the most important. The first thing we do is to get to know you. Really well. We call it Discovery and it’s meant for us to get under your skin enough so that the outside world, who you’re trying to engage, thinks it’s you talking when they see what we’ve done for you. Discovery does that. We’ll talk about you and your company: how you got started, how you got this far, what it means to you, how you define success. We’ll talk about the look you like, whether it’s rustic and easy-going or stark and modern or something in between. We’ll also find out what communication style that suits you, whether sassy and clever, or down home and comfortable, or matter-of-fact and businesslike.
What’s the process to getting a logo?
We start with the Discovery and what we’ve learned about you and develop a visual picture of how you look at your business. For instance, a delivery service might use a gazelle or a life coach might use a serene rock cairn or a marketing company (hint, hint) might use the North Star. Then -tada!- you get to see it. This is the first reveal. If necessary, we do a few tweaks and there’s a second reveal. If, and it doesn’t happen often, you need another few tweaks, we revise it again but, by the third reveal, you’ll have a logo you’ll love and will feel like you.
What is a branding kit and why do I need one?
Your branding kit gives practical arms and legs to what we learned about you–tools we can use going forward. You’ll get:
- A name if you need it
- A logo in all its formats. Not only for letterhead and printed materials, but on merchandise, on signs, and on the side of your truck if you have one. We’ll show you how it will look.
- A color scheme of the specific shades you’ve selected and we’ve not only already used for your logo, but named and coded so we can use them going forward. You get to keep this to use for whatever you like later.
- A font library of the ones you like so that everything we create and print for you will look the same, like they belong together. You get to keep this, too..
- The Do’s and the Don’ts or brand rules so that anyone who may work with your branding in the future knows how to use it.
What if I want a new website?
This is where we bring in all the talent, where you have access to all of our writers, graphic artists, photographers, and videographers.
- First, the writing. You’ll have another (shorter than Discovery, usually) interview with a Northgate writer who will confirm the general overview of the pages of your website and discuss what should appear on each. They’ll get to know you well enough to understand how you communicate and will record this portion so they can include some of your quoted nuggets just begging to be included. Then, they’ll transcribe the interview, convert it into proposed content for each page, and you’ll get to approve it before anything else happens.
- Then, the design and layout. This is when the artists go to work. They will take our understanding of who you are and what you do, combine it with graphics, photographs, animation, and video as appropriate and decide what goes where. There will be a series of up to three reveals for this, too, to make sure we get it right.
What’s so special about Northgate anyway?
Yup. There are a million marketing companies. It’s true, but there aren’t a million that do what we do. Simply put, we listen. Across the board, our clients tell us that we’ve been able to express exactly who they think they are–express it in writing, in graphics, in photography, and in video. We spend the time up front to find out what makes you tick, then display it for everyone to see so that, through us, you can speak to the world in your own voice. That’s why we say that we use our best to reveal yours. We mean it.