Welcome to the fourth edition of Coffee With an Expert, a series of interviews with TSL Marketing's subject matter experts about their areas of expertise.
Throughout these interviews, you'll gain some valuable insights into our approach to digital marketing and lead generation for B2B technology companies.
Today’s Q&A is with Jamie Hill, our Graphic Designer and UX Design Expert.
Jamie, what types of B2B marketing material do you design for TSL’s clients?
Jamie:
As the manager of graphic design and user experience (UX), I oversee the design of most projects that go through TSL, whether that be:
- Websites/landing pages
- Infographics
- Case studies
- White papers
- eBooks
- Digital advertising
How has B2B marketing changed in the five years you’ve been working as a designer in the industry?
Jamie:
The role of the internet has been a lot larger. When I first began, I was mostly designing collateral like eBooks, infographics, case studies, and white papers. Now we do a lot of websites and landing pages, using our Agile website design methodology. Those have increased greatly.
What has sparked this change in B2B marketing strategy?
Jamie:
There’s a big push to give people a face on the internet, especially for SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses). Before, most of their marketing was done by word of mouth, but now there’s a push for smaller companies to have a digital footprint, where people can go to a URL and look at their website to see what they actually do.
For B2B technology marketing in particular, that would include companies that primarily deal in legacy technology, like mainframes. They’re still relevant and used frequently, but these companies need a way to give a modern voice to the product and appeal to a modern audience.
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What level of design innovation does TSL bring to B2B marketing?
Jamie:
In the last year, we’ve really pushed the envelope and explored different design tactics, such as interactive design. It’s fun and exciting to be a part of that. We’re rocking and rolling! I’m thrilled to see where we can go, and the sky’s the limit.
We’ve also been concentrating on mobile design, since more and more users are leaving the desktop behind and jumping on their cellphones to find information.
What tips do you have for business leaders who are working with a B2B marketing agency for their content design needs?
Jamie:
Some clients want to be hands-on; others want to wait to see the design mockup before they provide feedback.
When working with your project manager on a design concept, it’s important that you:
- Thoroughly understand the product and its features: Our project managers are great at explaining what we do, so our clients feel more secure about what they’re getting.
- Solicit expertise from the production team: Our clients trust us to provide expert guidance and suggestions when addressing their questions or concerns.
- Are 100% pleased with the design before it goes into development: In the design phase, we make changes according to clients’ suggested additions/improvements regarding color, images, or layout, before we develop onto a website page or finalize a piece of collateral.
What do you love most about working with TSL’s content production team?
Jamie:
We work well with each other. We all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses so well. It’s such a small team that we stay agile and are not stuck in our ways.
Learn more about Agile website design by reading the first interview in our series with our UX pro here.
Tags: design, B2B Marketing, Marketing Tips, Technology Marketing, graphic design, B2B Marketing Strategy, Digital Advertising, Digital Strategy, Agile Marketing
