Banking At Its Best

Over the years, Heritage Bank of Central Illinois has retained its community bank culture while also remaining on the cutting edge of technology. During DLA's long-standing relationship with Heritage, this is third time we've updated their website ... each time adding new features and benefits for Heritage Bank customers.


Key benefits provided to Heritage:
• Copy written to meet consumers' needs while also achieving compliance approval in a tightly regulated industry.
• Relatable graphics and a consistent branding message throughout.
• Utilization of social media tools including Facebook and YouTube.

It's up to us to turn the economy around!

"Generations X and Y will fuel the shopping growth needed to spur an economic recovery, according to a new study."

While Baby Boomers (ages 46 to 64) were largely responsible for the retail spending that fueled recoveries from previous recessions, this time the Boomers are rebuilding personal wealth lost during the recent recession and saving for their future.

Although Gen X is only 75 percent the size of the Baby Boom generation, 71 percent of them have children under the age of 18, which is a time of great spending. In addition, these individuals are approaching their peak earning years.

Generation Y members (ages 10 to 28) have plenty of time to earn and save for the future, and react less strongly to economic conditions. With 85 million people in this group, they outnumber the Boomers. And although 10-year-old children may not have jobs, they have purchasing influence. Have you seen a tween’s bedroom these days? It’s hard to maneuver through all of the stuff—Xbox, iPod, laptop, TV and more clothes than you can imagine.

The article further explains that Gen Y has always lived a life of instant gratification, and for them, a tech lifestyle is a need, not a want. Some of this tech “need” also bleeds over into the Gen Xers. In fact, I recently overheard someone talking about delaying a dishwasher repair so he could buy an iPad—that’s how people live today! Read the rest of the article from InterBusiness Issues here.

Convenience. Efficiency. Power in Your Hands.

DLA Creative specializes in providing custom Content Management Systems (CMS). This service is applicable to both public websites and extranets.

You may be asking, “What’s the heck is an extranet?” Let me tell you. But first, let me share how it has made life easier for our clients.


KUDOS

After developing the main public website for the Center For Health – Ambulatory Surgery Center, we worked with them to develop an extranet. Here’s what they have to say:

“Our nursing staff continues to tell us how much they love the extranet and how it makes their job easier. I was involved with putting this together for our surgery center and DLA made it easy for us to get the job done,” says Debra Lee, RN, BS, CAPA.

The extranet also provides easy access to information when undergoing a Joint Commission site visit. “The extranet helped us sail through our evaluation. When our examiner was conducting his review, he told us most places aren’t able to access their information in such an organized, timely manner,” says Thomas Feldman, CEO of the Center For Health Ambulatory Surgery Center.


EXTRANET EXPLAINED

An extranet has the appearance and functionality of a website, but is password protected to provide access only to authorized users. This type of access is important to organizations that want to organize and store private company data in a way that enables appropriate employees to access their specific areas of need via a web browser – this is especially helpful for companies that have multiple locations.

At DLA, we have found that this is useful for a wide variety of businesses, especially those in the financial and healthcare fields. Some of the information that is uploaded and maintained (and only accessed by authorized individuals with varying levels of access) may include:

• Calendars
• Procedures Manuals
• Forms (employment, patient intake, loan application, disclosures, etc.)
• Emergency Procedures (in a prominent location)

The benefits to this type of web-based tool are many including:

• Improved Efficiencies
• Real-time Updates to Critical Documents
• Enhanced Communication
• Restricted Access via Password (rather than manuals and forms just sitting around the office)

While there are “off the shelf” options available, our experienced staff works with our clients to create completely custom extranets that support their overall goals and strategies. In addition to providing employees with varying levels of access (HR professionals see only HR documents, clerical staff only access forms, etc.), your extranet can include options for key vendors or clients. For example, a hospital may want to allow a physician’s office to view (but not modify) surgical scheduling or enable the physician’s staff to upload patient information.

For more information, contact Marc Lefebvre at 309.693.1975 or by emailing him here.

Five Reasons Your Advertising Shouldn't Lead With Price

Especially in this economy, small businesses are tripping over themselves to tell customers about their low, low prices. But here are some reasons why it can backfire: 

1) It is not a sustainable long-term strategy. "One of the key advantages of a sale is the element of surprise," the writer says. And the stopping power of a low price will fade quickly when repeated surprises lose their power to surprise.

2) It reminds people that they're paying money they don't want to pay. Research has shown that any price tag produces disgust in a buyer's mind. A discounted price doesn't cause positive feelings - it simply lessens the degree of disgust.


3) It shifts a customer's mind from right-brain emotion to left-brain analysis. "That's a bad tradeoff, given that everyone feels before they think," he notes. Especially when you consider an IPA study that found "emotion-oriented campaigns generate twice as much profitability as traditional, hard-sell, reasoning-oriented campaigns."

4) It undermines brand loyalty. Long-term customers will wonder why anyone walking in off the street gets the same deal they do. But that's not the only problem. "Current customers pay less for goods they were already buying (and may not buy again at full price)," he argues. "As for new customers who bought because of a deal, their loyalty is less real than the profit margin sacrificed."

5) It causes buyers to question what your company stands for. "With price-leading advertising, a company's identity becomes fuzzy," he says. "Suddenly, you are either a discount brand or you're signaling a lack of confidence that, in dating as in commerce, is not attractive."

The Po!nt: "Leading with price suggests you have nothing else to say or show in advertising," says Hill. "Price as your main attribute doesn't mean anything."

Source: Dan Hill, MarketingProfs

10 Marketing Resolutions for 10-10-10

1. Make a plan. No more random marketing.
2. Execute your plan.
3. Keep your website updated and relevant. 4. Listen to your customers.
5. Listen to your employees. They’re on the front lines.
6. Consider new media options.
7. Evaluate and modify your plan.
8. Allocate an appropriate budget to marketing.
9. Remember the Pareto Principle.
10. Hire DLA Creative. :)

How a Doodle Serves Your Noodle

Often viewed as a sign of a wandering mind, doodling may actually help us absorb information. In a study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Jackie Andrade at Britain's University of Plymouth played a rambling voice-mail message to 40 people, half of whom were given shapes to fill in as they listened.

The result: The doodlers recalled 29% more of the message than those who just listened. Andrade says idle scribbling uses just enough cognitive bandwidth to prevent daydreaming, so it may help us stay focused. One boardroom doodler, retiring GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz, says he isn't surprised by the finding. "I can look at old sketches done in meetings 40 years ago," he says, "and experience sudden recall of the room, the table, the voices." Ellen Gibson, Business Week / April 6, 2009 / pg 018

New Site Boasts Educational Animations

DLA Creative has launched an informative patient-focused website for Great Plains Orthopaedics. This site provides patients with access to details about preparing for their appointment, physician and staff bios, FAQs and educational information in the form of narrated animations. The website can be found at www.greatplainsortho.org.

This 11-physician practice was established in 1967 and provides a full range of orthopaedic care including clinical services, diagnostic services, physical and occupational therapy, ambulatory surgery and sports medicine. They are the team physicians for many high school athletes, as well as Bradley University, Eureka College, The Peoria Rivermen and The Peoria Chiefs.


DLA Creative has been providing customized marketing and website solutions to Central Illinois for more than 17 years.