The Name of the Game is SELLING!

So! Are you in this for the business or do you just want your ego stroked? Speak now, or forever hold your peace!
Yes, the name of the game IS Selling!

In some circles, selling had become a dirty word. But consider this - whether you are selling to a customer, or another business, selling an idea to your friends or teaching your kids, or especially if you’re trying to convince your wife on the wisdom of buying that new Porsche – you are always SELLING!

In order to sell effectively, you need to present your material in a way that is not only sensible and understandable, but in a way that makes it easy for your information to penetrate the inner reaches of the target mind.

This is where good design comes in.
The best argument in the world will not work if the other person does not hear it. The most convincing logic is worthless if your audience won’t look at it.

Good design includes not just the visual aspects (the pretty images and the nice formatting) but also the way in which your material is organized and laid out – the way in which it is presented.
Imagine a scenario where 2 salespeople are competing, trying to sell the exact same product to a customer. Who do you think will make the sale? Why the one with the best presentation of course! After all, their products were no different – it was just the way one of them presented his material better, that did the job. And that is your job too. Good design will ensure that that not only does your product stand out more and is more memorable, but more importantly, that your argument reached your customer, allowing them to make that all important purchase decision.

Imagine a scenario where 2 salespeople are competing, trying to sell the exact same product to a customer. Who do you think will make the sale? Why the one with the best presentation of course! After all, their products were no different – it was just the way one of them presented his material better, that did the job. And that is your job too. Good design will ensure that that not only does your product stand out more and is more memorable, but more importantly, that your argument reached your customer, allowing them to make that all important purchase decision.

Different audiences demand emphasis on different aspects of presentation:

TO SELL – you have to excite and stir emotions.
Remember, that most buying decisions are to some extent an emotional response – even when there is logical decision making involved. Use layout, color, size of text, even sound, to create the excitement that will make it easier for a customer to make that all important purchase decision.

TO INFORM – you have to tell a story.
This is where blocks of information need to be arranged in a logical way, leading the viewer in a sequence which presents the whole picture. Text formatting is vital in this regard, with the intelligent use of white space to reduce eye fatigue and the use of images to illustrate the text. A story can be told entirely with images – however, once again, the order in which those images are presented is the main point to bear in mind.

TO TEACH – you have to paint detailed pictures
Here is where text may be enhanced by visuals, not only to illustrate, but possibly to actually demonstrate the point being explained. Video is a powerful tool, since it actually ‘paints the picture’. Remember, that more people are audio-visually inclined. Text can be tiresome to read unless the viewer is fully engaged and interested in the topic under discussion. This is not to say that text should not be provided – rather, it is important to provide the text in easily visible, readable chunks, enhanced by visual elements.

TO MOTIVATE – you need to inspire with images and sound
This type of presentation lends itself perfectly to a fully audio-visual experience. Music, beautiful images – whether still or moving, and small portions of stirring text or speech. Less is more. An open layout with as few onscreen distractions as possible will motivate by stirring the emotions of your viewer.

TO PERSUADE – you need to force a single choice – yours!
Here again, the logical presentation of your argument is a vital element. The arrangement of your material in a sequential fashion – point by point, ending in the choice you wish to force, is key. Text blocks – one leading to the next; Images attached closely to that text for illustration of your point; A clean layout; Logical and intuitive navigation links arranged in the correct order.

WHY DO I WANT TO STREAM?

Because, according to Arbitron/Edison Media Research, seven out of ten Internet users in the U.S. say Web sites would be more enjoyable if audio and video were included more often.
Enterprises are reaping the benefits of streaming now.

More than one in every four is already a “Streamie” (someone who has listened to streaming audio or watched streaming video online).

Offering numerous case studies on their Web site, Microsoft shows that enterprisecustomers such as Aetna, Fujitsu, and Hewlett Packard are already gaining remarkableROI (return on investment) for their streaming initiatives.

The Aberdeen Group, an independent consultancy that prepared the Hewlett Packard case study, reports...
“[HP] was able to streamline product introductions, increase the effectiveness andreach of its communications, and significantly reduce the costs of key communications.The cost savings—derived primarily from reducing the use of multi-city road-shows,audio bridges, and satellite links—were approximately $1.2 million in the first yearand generated an ROI of over 1800% and a one-month payback.

Therefore, Aberdeen concludes that the business benefits are sufficiently compelling that enterprises should seriously investigate deploying streaming media technology.”

The three most common ways enterprises use streaming are for corporate communications, electronic learning, and sales & marketing.

Enterprise customers should consider using streaming technology to:

• Send e-broadcasts across their corporations
• Give remote presentations to employees, customers, and partners
• Deliver end-to-end training to the sales force or retail locations
• Enhance professional development and communicate HR policies
• Conduct pre-sales demos
• Provide customer service

Streaming media attracts high-value e-consumers.

The power of streaming is also becoming apparent for B2C (business-to-consumer)e-commerce entrepreneurs. According to a study conducted in the U.S., called “TheBuying Power of ‘Streamies,’ " and published by The Arbitron Company and EdisonMedia Research, “Streamies, those people who watch or listen to Internet audio andvideo… represent 43% of Web users and 24% of all Americans.

These are the most experienced Web users, spending 46% more time online than the average person. Streamies, are twice as likely to click on Web ads and make online purchases, spend lots of money online and plan to spend even more.”

The study concludes that when web sites integrate streaming media into their content, they will attract more of these potentially high value customers.

In an even more recent study, “Startling New Insights about the Internet and Streaming,” published in September 2000, Arbitron/Edison Media Research tell us that 56% of Streamies have made an online purchase, spending a mean amount of $768 per year online, as opposed to 33% of non-Streamies making online purchases with mean online spending at $596 per year.

The advantages of streaming far outweigh its shortcomings...

Quality concerns will continue to challenge media streamed over the public Internet,until broadband is ubiquitous.

Even now, however, streaming offers distinct advantages that other methods of media delivery do not provide:

• No waiting for complete downloads—well, not “much” waiting, anyway.
• Streamed files are not written to disk—they are processed and played as they arereceived, then discarded, leaving no residual copy of the content on the receivingdevice, and thereby alleviating copyright concerns.
• Streaming is capable of conveying live events around the globe in near real time.
• Supports interactivity, allowing content to be experienced in a non-linear manner. Video-on-demand, for example, can be chapterized, allowing users to jump to desired portions.
  

Streaming media content is an excellent way to enhance otherwise dull and static Websites.

A Streaming Factoid

Web server vs. streaming server—what’s the difference?

Earlier in this primer, we distinguished between a Web server and a streaming server. Publishing your streaming media fi les on a Web server is possible, but it results in pseudo-streaming (aka progressive download, aka HTTP streaming, aka fast start streaming in the QuickTime architecture).

For true streaming (aka hinted streaming in the QuickTime architecture), streaming media files must be posted to a true streaming server.

About Streaming Media

WHAT IS STREAMING MEDIA?
Streaming media is the convergence of broadcast and rich media, empowering both content providers and audiences with a whole new world of choices.

The primary characteristics of “streaming media”

Streaming is an emergent technology. There are many diverse, and often confusing, definitions floating around. This article deals with streaming media only — i.e., audio, full-motion video, and multimedia content — as opposed to other applications of streaming technology, such as the streaming of real-time stock quotes. For our purposes, there are three primary characteristics that combine to form streaming media:

1. Streaming media technology enables real-time or on-demand access to audio, video, and multimedia content via the Internet or an intranet. This technology enables the near real-time transmission of events recorded in video and/or audio, as they happen — sometimes called “Live-Live,” and commonly known as Webcasting. Streaming technology also makes it possible to conveniently distribute pre-recorded/pre-edited media-on-demand. In other words, media that is stored and published on the Web in streaming formats can be made available for access at any time.

2. Streaming media is transmitted by a media server application and is processed and played back by a client player application, as it is received. A client application, known as player, can start playing back streaming media as soon as enough data has been received — without having to wait for the entire file to have arrived. As data is transferred, it is temporarily stored in a buffer until enough data has accumulated to be properly assembled into the next sequence of the media stream.

When streaming technology was first available, the ability to begin playback before the entire file had been transferred was a distinct advantage. Now, however, pseudo-streaming techniques, such as progressive download, allow some other formats to begin to play before file download is completed. So, while the ability to begin playback prior to completing file transfer is a characteristic of streaming, it is not, in and of itself, a differentiating factor.

3. A streamed file is received, processed, and played simultaneously and immediately, leaving behind no residual copy of the content on the receiving device. An important advantage of streaming media (unlike either traditional or progressive download) technology is the copyright protection it provides. No copy of the content is left on the receiving device. Therefore, the recipient can neither alter nor redistribute the content in an unauthorized manner.
Streaming integrates the old with the new...

If you take away the references to the Internet and the computer from our definition of streaming media, it’s clear to see that we have been “streaming” media since the dawn of the media age. Streaming media is not new, it has been around since the inception of the radio by Marconi in 1897. We just called it broadcast. Broadcast, however, as we currently know it in the form of radio and television, does not yet provide the rich media experience that the Internet and the World Wide Web have made possible.

Like broadcast, streaming media delivers the real-time or on-demand access to audio, video, and multimedia content that audiences want, while providing the copyright protection content providers demand. But streaming media can also weave interactivity into the experience.

Unlike analog broadcasting, the digital nature of streaming media facilitates the integration of interactive capabilities such as the chapterization of segments, clickable hotspots within the video frame, URL flips that automatically launch Web pages at specific instants during playback, and the intelligent indexing of media content through the use of searchable keywords.

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