But What Kind of Graphics Do You Do?

I was recently asked, “where do you work and what do you do?” I answered, “TKO Graphix.” The inquiring couple owns a small business and had some challenges with web design and banner ads. They shared their problems and concerns, and asked if TKO could help with the web graphics. We don’t provide web graphics or web design, but this misunderstanding is a common occurrence. I mean, what IS “graphics” anyway?

Graphic Arts 

Does it include all digitally created output, from logo creation and web design, to vehicle wraps and wall murals? What about typography, numbers, and icon creation? And the traditional arts like drawing, painting, etching, etc. — aren’t they considered graphic arts? There are engineering drawings, maps, charts, and graphs — let alone, info-graphics. Each type of graphic creation can be further sub-categorized. Print output can be offset, large format, or web fed, and substrate can range from vinyl or plastic to fine papers, metals or wood.

Niches

When a field is so diverse, it’s difficult to narrow down niches. For example, I interviewed a fellow the other day who had several years experience as a mechanic. In my mind, I pictured a uniformed worker under an automobile, but that wasn’t his experience. He was a trailer mechanic. He maintained those 53-foot cargo carriers traveling our highways. And he had rebuilt, fabricated, and welded every part of a trailer. He had never worked in an automobile repair shop. His niche was different from my expectations.

My point is this – had I narrowed what TKO’s niche is for these prospective customers, I would’ve saved time and maybe directed their thoughts towards projects with which we could help. This is an important part of one’s elevator pitch — qualifying your prospective customer, and being clear with your services or product. Instead of simply telling people we’re a graphics service provider, it might be better to explain, “we do vehicle graphics for large and small fleets, vehicle wraps, retail graphics, and signage for small and large businesses. What kind of services do you offer?”

This gets the ball rolling and proposes an open-ended to the prospective client for information gathering on your part. So what kind of services DO you offer?