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In a sea of competitors you are one!
We make you Number One! |
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| Greetings! |
 As the month of July is quickly coming to a close, we are reminded that yet another change in season is rapidly approaching. For those of you with organizations or businesses which have a change in your operations linked to a change in season, now is the time to talk about making sure your website and marketing materials still are an accurate reflection of you. Give us a call to discuss any upcoming changes, needs or requirements.
This month, we are not only happy to share our latest releases and some new news in the world of social media, but also address some recent questions regarding our studio's operation and philosophy.
We thank you for your business and allowing us the opportunity to exceed your expectations. As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you might have.
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| Welcome! |
Since our last newsletter, we would like to welcome the following new clients to our growing family...
We are happy to have you on board!
Bermuda Kinesiology
Pagent Parish, Bermuda
Kermidas Dance Company
Endicott, NY
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| New Releases from Grey Goose Graphics... | |
Since our last newsletter we have released several new projects...
Websites:
www.TheSaltSanctuary.com 
www.MapleLogisticsSolutions.com 
www.HighPeaksEnergy.com Video:
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| | Zarni DeWet & Alex Smith - Slow Dancing In a Burning Room |
If you are looking for a video solution... contact us... we can help!
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We are back!
| Vacation is over and we are back... Refreshed, Recharged and Ready to Go!
We had a great time along the east coast from July 4th through the 13th! Highlights included seeing 80 foot / 45 ton whales about 50 yards off the rail of the boat, a trip to Freeport and some browsing at the outlets and LL Bean and of course the traditional stops at Bob's Clam Hut while heading in and out of Maine.
We also did a little lobster fishing... (If you are from Maine it's Lobstah Fishing... and they said we talked funny!?) We played with a new camera and thought we would share the adventure with you.
 | | Lobstah Fishing in Maine 2011 |
A special thanks for your patience, understanding and support during our absence!
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Reflections
| In February of 2006 we opened our studio with the goal of establishing a successful web design studio that was based on three principles: Exceeding client expectations every chance we could, delivering a quality product and maximizing our clients return on investment for each and every transaction.
 As with any basic business plan, we established goals and performance measures and defined checking points to evaluate our success.
We obviously came up with the right formula as by the end of year three, we surpassed our five year goals and markers and quickly found ourselves re-evaluating our direction and charting a new course.
As we were preparing for our vacation and time away from the studio we received two phone calls which really hit a soft spot and caused us to reflect on where we came from, what we do today and where we want to go in the future.
While both calls were simple inquiries about our business activities and specific issues to their respective accounts, we soon found ourselves discussing not only our philosophy, but explaining a little more about how we got to where we are today, why we do what we do and more importantly why we continue to evolve. At the conclusion of both calls we felt better connected with these clients.
We thought it might be of value to quickly summarize these conversations as the may provide you with some additional insight into our studio, why we do what we do, and why our studio continues to evolve in some non-traditional pathways.
As we mentioned above, we began as a small web studio focusing on web design. Although several studios, companies or individuals in the region provide similar web services, there was, and continues to be significant deficiencies in their work. In fact, today, we still hear horror stories of extensive production time lines, delayed content updates, excessive hourly rates and/or billing practices and the use of antiquated technology and methods. As we worked hard to develop our studio, addressing these issues, word spread and our growth began.
As we began exceeding expectations with web development, many of our clients began seeking our assistance to address their other marketing needs. From print and multimedia design and development to general consulting services, we found our service offerings were quickly expanding into other areas. To meet these challenges we expanded. We expanded our physical studio space, our software collection, our IT systems to support the new software, and most importantly our education and general abilities. We developed collaborative relationships with other creative professionals throughout the East Coast and our growth continued.
In 2010, we had become a successful studio offering web, print, and multimedia solutions to well over 100 clients throughout the East Coast. During the summer of 2010, we were approached by several clients to provide them with photography and video creative services. At the time, we felt it best to refer them to others within our collaborative network. While most clients came back with their needed products, we quickly realized that not everyone in our network shared the same values which contributed to the growth of our studio to this point.
In 2011, we completed the largest formal expansion of our studio offerings with the addition of in house photography and video services. This expansion required a very significant investment in capital as well as a personal commitment of our team. We began working with individuals on the cutting edge of the industry, attending national conferences, and completing endless hours of studying, course work and training to be able to confidently offer these services. While still in their infancy, we are already slowly making progress on obtaining a return on this investment.
We were recently asked about the diversity of our offerings. During these conversations the following specific topics were discussed.
1.) Our extensive service offerings have not resulted in a dilution of the quality of any individual service.
We understand that "a jack of all trades" may end up being "a master of none". There is absolutely no way anyone today can be an expert on everything. Again, our studio has grown to meet the requests of our clients and provides the services required for their individual company or organization. We have specialists in the area of web development, print & graphic design, photography, and video acquisition, editing, and production. Our studio is a well organized team that can collaborate on the big projects, manage the little products and handle everything in between. Our owner continues to hold the reins on just about every project to ensure our actions are consistent with our goals, philosophy and routinely exceeding client expectations. 2.) The new services, while diverse on the surface, are closely related and will become even more important over the next few months.
We have had many inquiries about why we become involved with video and how does it fit with the web and other projects. With the changes in Search Engine Utilization, video is becoming an increasingly important part of any web strategy. (See our May Newsletter!) In addition to our past requests for providing these services, we felt this was an important part of our strategy to grow our studio's offerings as more clients will require video services over the coming months. 3.) We have the resources to continue to grow.
Grey Goose Graphics is made up of a team! In addition to the owners of the LLC which take an active role in the daily operations of the studio, we have utilized a very talented team of independent contractors for a variety of projects. We realized early on, part our our success is driven by working with other successful creative professionals, each who bring unique talents to our team. In the coming months we will be further expanding our team with our own staff members and taking the Studio to an entirely new production level. Stay tuned for more details. 4.) Believe it or not, our growth is regulated.
We were recently accused of getting too big and soon we would not be able to provide the individual attention a client has come to know and enjoy. This can not be further from the truth. First, we have significantly slowed our growth. We have not done any active client prospecting for almost three years. Our owner reviews each prospective client before a contract for services is extended, and we have discharged clients with whom "things were just not working out..." Following our conversations and our reflection over our recent shut down for vacation, we want to be very clear: Our focus is on each and every individual client. Our Goal is to provide each individual client with a diverse offering of services to exceed their expectations in customer service and quality while maximizing each client's return on investment. It is our desire to provide additional services to our existing clients whenever possible or feasible to meet these goals.
We would welcome the opportunity to further address any questions you may have. Give us a call or contact us to set up a time to meet.
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Are you ready for Google+?
| Some new information for you from our friends at Constant Contact!
4 Things to Know About Google+Chances are good that over the last month or so, you've heard someone talking about Google+, the new social network from Google. The site works similarly to Facebook -- there's a news feed composed of status updates and shared content, recommended friends, etc. -- but the idea behind Google+ is that you can share content just with specific sets of people (called Circles) instead of publishing it for all to see.
If you're someone who has just gotten the hang of Facebook or Twitter, then we'll bet you're not excited about another social network. So allow us to tell you that as a small business or organization, you need not worry about Google+ just yet. But that doesn't mean you should ignore it completely. Here are 4 things you should know about this new site:
1. Businesses are not allowed. Yet: Right now Google+ does not allow businesses to sign up for a page, although Google has said it will be bringing a business-friendly version to market later this year. While many business pages have actually been shut down, Ford was one of the first to have a page launch legally.
2. There's been a lot of initial interest. Google+ has been signing up users at a rapid pace in the first few weeks (more than 18 million, according to reports), but it's way too early to tell if people will really care beyond the initial flurry of activity and adopt it enough to make the site a worthwhile long-term investment of time and energy.
3. Facebook still has the lead. One challenge for Google is that Facebook has captured not only early adopters, but most of the entire social media market to get to its 750 million user base. Certainly, a portion of that group is interested in using a different (or additional) network, but most consumers are likely reaching a saturation point where they're comfortable with Facebook and how it works as a social network, and don't need another.
4. It's worth trying. Google+ does have some interesting features - many that are inspired by Facebook, and many others that Facebook will likely incorporate into its own product - so as an interested consumer, we encourage you to check it out and let us know what you think . As a business, you should keep an eye out for Google+ business pages, but for now, don't spend much time worrying about it until the site has real traction
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The Snippet Section
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Our monthly contribution of snippets of information which we believe may be helpful to pass on.
- It's Here - Our Bamboo Stylus Last month we introduced the Bamboo Stylus, a new input device created specifically for use with the Apple iPad, offers an intuitive and natural way to experience note-taking, sketching, drawing, and other forms of creative expression on the iPad. Available direct from Wacom now this stylus extends the reach of the leader of tablet technology to the iPad. It's awesome! Looking for a stylus... this is a great option! They have also released a new app called Bamboo Paper which is available for a limited time for FREE at the App Store!
- Looking for a remote back up solution? Live Drive just released their new version which can also back up networked drives! This is part of the data management at Grey Goose Graphics! You can check it out here!
- Did you know Facebook, YouTube & Google should all be tied in together to maximize your search engine optimization? Need help? We can help!
Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
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Summer Hours
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 Summer core business hours
are as follows:
Monday -Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm.
We remain available outside of these core hours by
appointment only.
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 We urge all clients to visit our page by clicking on the link below. Once on our page, be sure to "like us" so communications can be delivered to you directly from our account. Like what you see? Be sure to share our page with your friends! Click here to visit our facebook page (& LIKE US) or visit our website (& LIKE US at the bottom of the home page.) Thank you for your continued business and spending some time with us today. We value you as a customer and continue to enjoy our relationship with you.
Thanks for your business!
Sincerely,
John J. Hussar Owner/Principle Designer
Grey Goose Graphics, LLC |
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