Abe, best of luck out in Pittsburgh. We’ll miss your constant off the wall “Would you rather…” questions and enthusiasm that you bring to every project!

Come check out our new location sometime!

Flint Hills Design is exploring new territories. Adding new locations. Meeting new people. Eating too much barbecue.

Well, I guess I’m the only one eating too much barbecue. I moved to the Kansas City area at the beginning of the August and after a few weeks of searching for the right office space, Flint Hills Design is proud to announce that we have a new location in Kansas City! I’m working from an awesome collaborative office space in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District near downtown Kansas City. We’re excited to expand into the Kansas City area, as it will allow us to more easily meet the needs of our clients in the Kansas City, Topeka, and Lawrence areas.

Being new to the KC area, we’re anxious to meet new people. Do you have any friends, organizations, or companies in the area that we should get to know? Whether or not they’re interested in building a new website or expanding their marketing efforts, we would love to meet them. Let us know!

And remember to check back often for updates about life up in Kansas City, marketing tips, and maybe an occasional barbecue restaurant recommendation!

I think the general direction Google is headed in is great–as designers we’re happy to know that our sites will not only be judged by their technical aspects but their aesthetic appeal as well. I’m sure there will be some rough patches as they work to figure this out, but I like the direction they’re going!

Two of us at Flint Hills Design are serious Kansas University basketball fans. Neither of us went to KU, and our only real association with KU basketball is the fact that we live in Kansas. Living in Kansas doesn’t make us fans of KU though; we could have chosen to be Kansas State, Wichita State, Emporia State, or Fort Hays State basketball fans if that was the case. We’re KU fans because of the experience, the personality and success of the team/coaches, and our belief that KU basketball represents something about us as individuals. Everyone who is a fan of a specific sports team shares similar reasons for associating themselves with the team, whether their team is the New York Yankees, the Manchester United football team, or the Garmin-Transitions cycling team.

This is also the basis for customer loyalty within most companies. However, very few companies reach this level of loyalty. I’ve been happy with the tires on my car and would be glad to buy them again, but because I don’t feel a close association to my tires I may try a different brand or model based on customer reviews, price, or the salesperson. However, I can guarantee I won’t switch my basketball team loyalty if K-State ticket prices are lower, other friends try to persuade me that Duke is a better team, or KU starts performing poorly.

This is the type of loyalty that every business should strive for, but it’s true that hardly any business achieves this level of loyalty. Apple has come close due to their buying experience, customer service, and the fact that Apple customers can associate themselves with a “different” computer company. Even so, Apple still doesn’t match the loyalty that most sports teams generate.

Businesses can begin generating a more loyal customer base by creating a unique buying experience, offering exceptional customer service, or pricing their products/services lower than the competition. However, businesses ultimately won’t reach this level of loyalty unless their customers feel a close attachment to, and want to associate themselves with, the company’s products, services, or experience. While it’s a lofty goal, and one that most businesses will never quite reach, aiming for this level of brand loyalty will help make your business stand head and shoulders above the competition.

It was fascinating to hear perspectives from all levels of the exhibit development process, highlighting challenges faced along the way and innovative solutions to those challenges. It was also great to talk with people from the institutions who host the exhibits, and to brainstorm with them about possibilities for supplemental programming and promotion.

Thanks to those who attended. And for those who missed it, give us a call–we’d be glad to fill you in!

Update:

A few days ago we received feedback from our AASLH presentation. Everyone who rated our presentation gave us an overall rating of 10/10, and one person even said it was the best session they attended while they were there. Once again, thank you to everyone who came and visited us at the AASLH conference!

I bought my iPad from an Apple store. I didn’t order it online, and I didn’t just run down to the nearest big box electronics store. Both of these options would have been easier and more convenient. I specifically held out until I could make a trip to an Apple store because every time I’m in one I have a great experience and I learn something new.

This time was no different. I learned about their in-store ordering and delivery system, which allows the “genius” who you get assigned the minute you walk through the door, to complete the order on any of the available devices in the store and get it hand delivered to you in a matter of minutes by a runner from the back warehouse. And while you wait the minute or so to get your new equipment, it leaves a perfect opportunity to ask any last minute questions or shop for the must-have accessories.

Once the equipment arrives, and you have your accessories picked out, they scan your loot with tricked-out iPhones that process the order and credit card payment. And then you’re on your way, with the sales person who guided you throughout the entire process and never left your side for one second, walking you out the door.

Talk about seamless. And reassuring. Exciting. Addicting. Profitable!

Picking peaches was great–we talked to the owner of the small orchard for awhile about what to look for in a good peach, and I of course asked about proper picking technique (which annoyed my more experienced wife). Anyway, we picked our peaches, drove to their house to pay, and had a short conversation about finding something to eat in the nearby small town. The daughter who weighed our baskets was pretty sure we could go to the cafe on Main Street, so we paid, thanked her, and went on our way to find the restaurant she had described.

As we were driving, I got a phone call from a strange number. It was the owner of the orchard calling to tell us that she had heard we were looking for something to eat and her daughter had been unsure if the cafe she had recommended really was open. So the owner took it upon herself to call all of the restaurants in the tiny town to check their hours. Sure enough, the recommended cafe was closed, but the next door pizza place would be happy to stay open for us if we were already on our way.

Wow. Talk about amazing customer service. Both businesses went out of their way to work together to accommodate us out of town strangers for no good reason. We weren’t asking for anything special and we weren’t spending much money at either place, but both made an incredibly strong impression by making a small and inexpensive but valuable (to the us, the customer) extra effort. It made me want to give them even more of my business and promote them to everyone I see for the rest of the picking season.

Pretty powerful stuff. I sure hope our company is doing one-tenth as well in serving our customers.

Oh, and if you’re anywhere near Whitewater Kansas, be sure to stop at Entz orchard off of Hwy 196 and Webb road, and then head down to Whitewater Pizza for dinner….

Today we’re proud to introduce fhdMail, a new email marketing campaign manager from Flint Hills Design.

We’ve been doing HTML email campaigns for a while now, and they’ve been great. But, being the perfectionists that we are, we started wondering if there was a better way.  And so we created fhdMail.

We invite you to read about why fhdMail is better than your standard email campaign delivery service by visiting the website.  But we’ll give you one concrete reason why fhdMail is better right now: the cute, furry little prairie dog character that we’ve affectionately named Flint.  I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy being greeted and guided by this fun little guy in the midst of serious marketing work?

To learn more about how Flint and fhdMail can help your organization do effective email marketing, give us a shout. We know you’ll enjoy it.