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The Impact of Typography on Website Readability and Branding

A pile of various keys used in typography, showing how hard it can be to pick the right font for your branding.

Fonts can easily be overlooked when it comes to web and branding. No one bats an eye at a suitable font, but the wrong font can get a lot of unwanted stares. As a result, the right typography is an important decision for a business’ website and branding. We’ll explain the impacts of typography, why font choice is important, and how you can start to pick the right font for your business.

Typography and Communication

Typography is an art dedicated to communication that is nearly a millennium old. In fact, some of the major fonts used today are age-old standards. Garamond dates to the 15th century, Baskerville is about 250 years old, Times New Roman was designed in 1931, and Helvetica (which you’re reading this in) at 67 is enjoying a surge in popularity. Some other standard fonts are more recent and date to the digital age such as Arial and Georgia, but the reason all of these fonts have become standard is because of their legibility and accessibility.

Why Pick a Font

While there are certainly a set of well-established favourites in typography, there’s still the task of choosing which is suitable for your business. This is an important decision because it guides the appearance and design of its website and all other forms of communication including social media, emails, ads, etc. Picking a single font for all of these is essential for building your brand’s consistency. That visual consistency in the same typography naturally increases a sense of trust for your business.

Furthermore, certain fonts also have associations and tones. It might seem odd that some text on a page or screen can cause certain emotional reactions, but some people respond negatively when they see something written in Comic Sans or Papyrus. You not only want to pick a font that allows your website and business to effectively and accessibly communicate, but also accurately reflects the character of your brand.

Font Readability Comes First

Of course, communication is a primary factor in all typography. You will want to pick a highly legible font for your branding. There are certain aspects that will help you consider the right typography for your website and branding.

Weight

A font’s weight refers to the thickness of its outlines. For example, a bold version of a font has a greater weight than the thin version. Most fonts offer multiple weights. This is beneficial because you can use the same typeface to visually organize information. For example, the Rosewood website is using bold weight for each heading along with a larger size for visual distinction from the medium regular text. Your website design should set out these typgraphy styles and your branding should outline which weight is appropriate where. Remember that thinner weights can be much harder to read.

Serif vs Slab Serif vs Sans-Serif

Serifs are the small lines attached to a letters’ large strokes in some fonts. Times New Roman and Georgia are two fonts with serifs. Slab serifs also have these strokes, but are thicker, such as Rockwell or Courier. Helvetica is an example of a sans-serif font, i.e. one without any extra strokes. These are also sometimes called grotesque fonts (referring to the time of their origin rather than an aesthetic judgment).

The argument about whether serif or sans fonts are more legible is still a matter of debate. However, the general rule is that those with full vision can read serif fonts faster, but sans-serif fonts are more legible for those with visual difficulties. As a result, sans-serif fonts are typically considered the more direct and accessible choice, slab-serifs are recognized for their modernity, while serif fonts have an air of sophistication or elegance.

Script and Decorative Fonts

Script fonts are those that imitate handwriting. Some of these are cursive, where the letters in a single word connect. While these might seem elegant or sophisticated, they are also less legible than typical fonts. Casual script fonts (e.g. Comic Sans) are a more recent development, imitating non-cursive handwriting. As a result, these typography have a non-serious tone and are rarely used by businesses in their official branding.

There are also famous decorative fonts such as Arnold Böcklin or Curlz. These are more often found in logos and titles. Decorative fonts have an impact, but they prize form over function. Keep in mind that highly decorative typography can be harder to read and undermine clarity. Therefore, use these sparingly for only a few words in a large size. They should never be your brand’s font for its usual typography.

Picking the Right Colour

Along with font, colour is a critical element of your brand’s typography and web design. While you will likely pick a primary colour that connects to your logo or other branding, you will want to pick a set of secondary colours. This ensures that you will have suitable colour contrast in all instances. For example, your business may have a blue logo and regularly use materials with white and purple backgrounds. While the same colour of blue will work for type on a white background, it will have much less contrast on the purple, especially those with colour deficiency. Pick a suitable set of colours that matches your branding while ensuring legibility.

Find Your Business’ Type

You should now have a sense of why picking the right font and typography for your website and branding is important. It’s a big decision now, but like the rest of your branding, picking that suitable font is something that should last for a long time and even multiple iterations of your website’s design for that trusted consistency. If you’re looking for further assistance in finding legible typography or finding a font that matches your branding’s character, be sure to contact Rosewood’s marketing team. Our web team will also be happy to help you update your website’s design with a new font or improve its accessibility.

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Creating a Customer Loyalty Program: Rewarding Repeat Business

A woman smiling as she receives rewards from a customer loyalty program.

Every business, large and small, succeeds when they have returning customers who provide repeat business. In order to keep those customers returning, a business needs to foster loyalty. Quality products/services and excellent customer service are fundamental to creating that loyalty. However, a customer loyalty program is an effective way to help further encourage customers to return to your business rather than a competitor. We’ll explain what kind of customer loyalty programs foster true dedication and encourage repeat business by rewarding your customers.

The What and Why of Customer Loyalty Programs

Today, customer loyalty programs aren’t something new. In fact, they are fairly common, being offered by many businesses from your major chains to your local café. Their profusion is simple to explain: customer loyalty is important. 57% of customers and clients spend more on brands to which they are loyal. 71% of customers say loyalty programs are an important part of their relationship with businesses and brands. In turn, businesses that show the most loyalty can grow their revenues at 2.5 times the rate of their competitors. Loyalty programs are especially effective in e-commerce for their convenience, where they can increase average order quantity by 319%!

Quality is Key for Building Loyalty

Before creating a customer loyalty program, we should understand what true customer loyalty means. Many businesses today offer loyalty programs which often provide rewards such as discounts or exclusive items. The average customer is enrolled in just over 14 loyalty programs, but they are only active in less than half. They might be enrolled in multiple loyalty programs, but they are only loyal in their actions and business to a few. So while a loyalty program helps to secure that repeat business, customers say that price, quality of services/products, and trust are the essential basis for generating real loyalty.

True Loyalty is a Reciprocal Relationship

Offering a loyalty program means little if customers don’t feel that you are loyal to them in return. Customers only feel true loyalty if a business shows as much care in what they offer customers or clients as what the customer wants. True loyalty, including customer loyalty, is built on a reciprocal relationship of trust. That trust comes from honesty, reasonable pricing, an intuitive and accessible website, and quality services and products. Other critical strategies include being personable and engaging with your audience as well as listening to them to develop personal connections. The loyalty program is that extra incentive that reminds customers of their loyalty for that quality. It fosters dedication because a loyalty program acknowledges the support it receives from those customers’ repeat business.

How to Create a Successful Customer Loyalty Program

Not all customer loyalty programs are created equal. Some are cumbersome to use. Others are just not rewarding, leaving them unused. With many loyalty programs out there, you want to create one that customers feel truly rewards their continuing relationship with your business. This will help ensure you see an ROI as customers keep returning to purchase your products or services. There are a few essential guidelines for creating an effective and rewarding loyalty program that helps encourage repeat business:

  • Points Based Systems – Overall, customers prefer points-based loyalty programs. These systems give customers points for every purchase they make, possibly offering further points for certain kinds of purchases. Customers can then use their points to receive discounts, exclusive offers, or even redeem free products. Customers like points systems because they can see the reward in each purchase, and they can track how close they are to their next discount or offer.
  • Balanced Rewards and Redemption Offers – Even if a points system is encouraging, the rewards or redemption offers need to be substantial. They will stop engaging with the program if they rarely or never feel rewarded. However, you do not want to reward so much that your loyalty program starts costing your business more than the repeat business is generating. This is a delicate balance. You will need to determine by looking at current customer behaviour and other industry standards.
  • Frictionless and Intuitive – Be sure that your loyalty program is easy to use, understand, and redeem from. If it is confusing or cumbersome to redeem a reward in process or restrictions, customers will simply not engage with it.
  • Personalization, Curation, and Customization – Surveys have shown that personalization is extremely important to customers for them to engage with loyalty programs. This includes curated or customizable offers as well as personalized communications that might include such curated offerings.
  • Offering Experiences – Customers are no longer just interested in products or services. Instead, many have become interested in brands and businesses offering experiences. Loyalty programs are an excellent way to offer such experiences to your most dedicated customers. For example, rather than receiving a discount or free products, rewards can also be lessons or attending an exclusive event. Such offers also help to foster a community among your loyal customers and can be a great way to encourage user generated content on social media.
  • Loyalty Tiers – Lastly, loyalty tiers help to further reward repeat business. Depending on how frequently a customer purchases products (usually based on the previous year), they go up in the loyalty tier. The higher the tier, they receive better incentives or rewards. For example, the highest loyalty tier could receive free shipping or flat discount. These provide your most loyal customers with extra rewards. It also also encourages others to seek the rewards for their repeat business.

Loyalty Is What Makes You Stand Out

You should now understand how with a strong basis in trust for your products and services, you can create loyalty that fosters a strong connection. A customer loyalty program is key to encouraging and rewarding customers for that repeat business. However, that loyalty program needs to stand out by being intuitive and personable. If you’re ready to add or reinvigorate your e-commerce’s loyalty program, be sure to contact Rosewood Marketing’s web design and digital marketing teams.

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The Role of Social Listening in Understanding Your Audience

A man sitting at his laptop at a cafe while talking on his phone, working on an discussing social listening

The value of social media is forming, growing, and interacting with your business or nonprofit’s audience. It allows you to directly connect and communicate with those who are interested in your business. However, social media is not just useful for getting your message out. It also provides exceptional opportunities to learn from and understand your audience. We’ll explain what the role of this social listening is and how you can use it to better understand your target audience.

What are Social Listening and its Benefits?

Along with insightful metrics, the power of social media is the conversation. Social listening is using social media to get a sense of your audience’s thoughts about your business and its products or services. This is extremely beneficial for small businesses since it provides a fuller sense of what their wider digital community thinks or wants. That helps your business better understand its target audience and begin to make decisions about those desires or expectations. This listening and reacting also helps to foster a stronger and more dedicated community on social media as your audience realizes they are being heard.

Social Listening and Small Businesses

Social listening is an area of digital marketing where small businesses really shine. Larger businesses can be inundated with posts and comments that can be difficult, if not impossible, to sift through. Listening requires attention and focus, and that is a daunting task with a massive audience with myriad of voices. However, small businesses tend to have smaller, more focused audiences. That means it’s much easier for your social staff or digital marketing team to track and listen to most of your audience. Since at least 42% of users use social media to voice concerns about a product or service expecting a resolution, small businesses are better able to hear those customers. This focus is the same strength small businesses have on social media more generally. They can genuinely engage with their community.

How to Listen: Social Listening Strategies

To be fully comprehensive, social listening needs to employ multiple strategies to understand a target audience.

  • Listening to Direct Communications: Comments and private messages are direct communications with your business. Noting these means you are both paying attention to important comments or feedback. Responding to these communications also shows your audience that you’re actively listening.
  • Collecting Feedback: You can also foster direct communication with engaging posts. These might ask for input about what products or services they want to see offered, what their favourites are, or any other useful information.
  • Tracking Mentions, Keywords, and Tags: A lot of what you should listen to from your target audience isn’t said directly to you. For example, 96% of displeased customers don’t tell the company; they tell friends. The same goes for celebrating or recommending a product or service. Tracking keywords, mentions, and tags of your business, products, or services will provide a fuller sense of what your audience is saying. You or your marketing team can also track these for related brands or similar businesses to better understand your wider audience.
  • Attentive Listening: As you listen and respond to your audience. Be sure to listen attentively and consider the frequency of what they are saying. For example, if there is an issue with another company’s product or service, pay attention to what they say, and you may find a specific place where your business can address that issue and directly address it in your marketing. Similarly, if your audience repeatedly asks a similar question, it’s a good idea to provide a featured post that answers that question.
  • Understanding What is Beneficial: Not every comment, feedback, or impression will be informative. Not every social post or comment is thoughtful and attentive. Your marketing team will consider everything, but they will analyze and determine what is useful.

Start Listening, Start Understanding

Social listening is a key strategy for any business to understand its audience. Social media has given every user and business the unique opportunity for having a platform and communicating. A key part of communication is listening, not just speaking. By attentively and strategically listening on social media, you or your digital marketing team can begin to truly understand your audience and make effective and resonating decisions for your business. If you’re ready to start listening or want help mastering your strategy, contact the social media marketing team at Rosewood.

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