Guest User
Get the Most Out of Your Postcard Mailing
Get the Most Out of Your Postcard Mailing
Managing Marketing Costs, Tradeshow Logistics
Jami Daniels
Shorten Your Travel Checklist with Trade Show ...

The North Carolina Public Transportation Association (NCPTA) hosts an annual training conference and business partner expo. It’s a time when vendors and systems collaborate to inform, update, collect new ideas and make the transit world a better place. The event offers possibilities for improving administration and operations, showcasing everything from scheduling software to vehicles of a surprising range of shapes and sizes.

Shorten Your Travel Checklist with Trade Show Management
Marketing Collateral, Marketing Strategies
Jami Daniels
The (Portal) Future is Calling

My beloved daughter, and only child, turned 34 on October 9. Her birthday took me back to 1985 when I worked in telecom. Exciting times - expanding service from 13 cable channels, i.e. the networks, HBO, CNN, Nickelodeon, ESPN and C-SPAN to an unbelievable 400-450 MHZ bandwidth of up to 60 channels.  Okay, so I’m dating myself (and loving it!).

The (Portal) Future is Calling
Managing Marketing Costs, Branding
Jami Daniels
Migraine Relief

One of the most embarrassing and gut-wrenching experiences for a Marketing Manager is to be handed a copy of company materials with the brand so disfigured it is unrecognizable. 

Let’s face it, when your organization distributes print across the State, the country or the world, you need a system that gives you the power to: (1) Efficiently organize and update content, (2) Preserve brand integrity, (3) Manage and track usage and volume, (4) Avoid obsolescence and waste from unused stock, and (5) Ensure the polished image you designed remains intact, regardless the media.

Migraine Relief
Managing Marketing Costs, Customer Experience
Guest User
The Tradeshow Jumble

In most businesses today, space comes at a premium. Desks are crammed together with co-workers close and the closet at the end of the hall is full of stuff. Add to that the jumble of materials needed to go to more than one trade show per year and you’ve got some serious space management issues. In fact, several of our print communication customers require us to call before we make any deliveries because they simply have no extra room.

The Tradeshow Jumble

Get the Most Out of Your Postcard Mailing

By Tim Bryant - Business Development

Experts estimate that we are bombarded with 6000 to 10,000 marketing messages daily. This makes the task of getting your prospect’s attention daunting. Studies show, however, that people still pay attention to their mail. Why not consider a postcard mailing to your prospect or purchased list ? A clear message with a good design can get you moving in the right direction.

 

Size Matters in the Mail –

When designing your postcard don’t go for the smallest (read cheapest) option. The minimum postcard size is 4 x 6.25 and if you want to get lost in the mail that’s your size. However, the goal is to stand out in the mailbox and the best way to do that is with a larger postcard anywhere from 5.5 x 8.5 to 6 x 11 inches will help carry your message well, and get you noticed.

 

Tempting Offer –

When it comes to any marketing piece the goal is to get the future customer to respond. With that in mind make your offer tempting and worth their time. A coupon for a “percentage off” built into your postcard can work nicely but it needs to be a discount that makes the customer want to move. Groupon requires the offer to be 50% but, depending on your product or service staying above 10% works better. Keep in mind it doesn’t have to be a discount. You can offer a small gift like an Amazon Gift Card or even a chance to win something nice – anything to get their attention and get them to act.

 

Establish Urgency –

We’ve all heard the dealerships and furniture stores say, over and over, “Sale Ends Tuesday so come in soon!” We also know the next “sale” will be right around the corner, but there is a good reason they do this. Setting an end date for your offer establishes a sense of urgency in the buyer and gets you on their To Do list.

 

Frequency Also Matters –

If possible, do a campaign instead of a one-off mailing. People are busy, and if they don’t need your service right away, they may keep your postcard for future action or reference. Another one with a similar or complimentary design and offer may remind them of what they were planning to do all along – pick up the phone and call you.

 

Target Your Mailing –

Finally – now more than ever it’s easy to build a custom list with the exact profile of your customer in mind. Are you looking for homeowners; single-family dwellings; household income above a certain level? When you work with a professional vendor all these things, and more, can be built into your list. We can help you find pet owners, people with children, people who like the outdoors, people with second homes or who read certain publications. There’s no need to just “spray and pray” anymore – now you can really target your best prospect.

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Shorten Your Travel Checklist with Trade Show Management

,
Shorten Your Travel Checklist with Trade Show Management

The North Carolina Public Transportation Association (NCPTA) hosts an annual training conference and business partner expo. It’s a time when vendors and systems collaborate to inform, update, collect new ideas and make the transit world a better place. The event offers possibilities for improving administration and operations, showcasing everything from scheduling software to vehicles of a surprising range of shapes and sizes.

,

The (Portal) Future is Calling

,
The (Portal) Future is Calling

My beloved daughter, and only child, turned 34 on October 9. Her birthday took me back to 1985 when I worked in telecom. Exciting times - expanding service from 13 cable channels, i.e. the networks, HBO, CNN, Nickelodeon, ESPN and C-SPAN to an unbelievable 400-450 MHZ bandwidth of up to 60 channels.  Okay, so I’m dating myself (and loving it!).

,

Migraine Relief

,
Migraine Relief

One of the most embarrassing and gut-wrenching experiences for a Marketing Manager is to be handed a copy of company materials with the brand so disfigured it is unrecognizable. 

Let’s face it, when your organization distributes print across the State, the country or the world, you need a system that gives you the power to: (1) Efficiently organize and update content, (2) Preserve brand integrity, (3) Manage and track usage and volume, (4) Avoid obsolescence and waste from unused stock, and (5) Ensure the polished image you designed remains intact, regardless the media.

,

The Tradeshow Jumble

,
The Tradeshow Jumble

In most businesses today, space comes at a premium. Desks are crammed together with co-workers close and the closet at the end of the hall is full of stuff. Add to that the jumble of materials needed to go to more than one trade show per year and you’ve got some serious space management issues. In fact, several of our print communication customers require us to call before we make any deliveries because they simply have no extra room.

When Was The Last Time You Stopped To Say Thank You

When Was The Last Time You Stopped To Say Thank You

It may seem a bit “old fashioned”, but, if you really want to stand out in your marketplace take a minute and say Thank You with a handwritten note. People are busy like you. They get hundreds of emails every day – just like you. Their business mailbox, however, is full of bills and “junk mail” from people they don’t know. If you put a handwritten note in that box you will be memorable and you’ll stand out above your competition for sure.

Speed Up Your Communications

Speed Up Your Communications

You need to communicate a special deal, share event details, send out invitations, notify customers of an address change, and of course, it has to be done yesterday. There are some things you depend on others to help you with, mail lists, graphic design, copy, budget approvals, and more, but you still have crazy short deadline to deal with and you have to get this message out now. While there is a lot of organization and coordination required to get the project ready for printing and mailing, there are things that can be done well in advance that can help you be better prepared for the communication emergency.  

The Power of Touch

The Power of Touch

Haptic marketing has been a buzzword for a few years now.  Marketers are applying the importance of touch.  “Haptic” is to touch as “Optics” are to vision.   Touch is incredibly important to grabbing the attention of your audience.

Increasingly, haptics have invaded the digital space. Also called tactile marketing or sensory marketing, digital ads employ haptics to engage the user.

Vendor Portal or Marketing Portal?

There is a lot of talk in the marketplace about Portals these days. Many websites offer a space to set up and account and login so you can check on orders and track your shipments.  Libraries want you to use your library card to sign in on their website to access more of their services. Heck, your Urologist probably has one he wants you to use. But is the portal your printer offers good for you or good for them?

Choosing Your Medium for Most Impact

Choosing Your Medium for Most Impact

Some projects are best suited as a digital communication while others really should be printed. Some programs could benefit from both printed pieces and digital resources. With ever-increasing sales targets and tight marketing budgets we need to get this right. These tricky questions can be answered more easily by breaking the decision down into smaller parts.

Killing A Brand: Are You Putting Water In Your Whiskey?

At Sara Lee, we had this brand called L'Eggs. A pair of pantyhose that came inside of an egg that was sold in the grocery store - just a great brand.

“Nothing beats a great pair of L'Eggs.” 

It was a 500 million dollar brand in the 80s with an interesting concept. You could buy your pantyhose in a grocery store. 

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Power Of Questions - Learn To Listen To Your Customer

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Understanding the customer’s needs is critical to moving them through their customer journey in their relationship with you. Like any relationship, it's based on communication - a two-way conversation with your customer. Let's face it. We’re not very good at it. And that's because we aren’t that good at listening. Discovering their pain points, and challenges as well as communicating your ideas, or solutions requires not only hearing but actively listening to the customer. 

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Ask the Pros – with Elaine Fogel

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In this interview with Elaine Fogel, marketing and branding expert, she answers a few questions about her work, her experience and gives us some practical tips.

  • What is the most difficult or unusual thing you have tried to do marketing for?
  • What do you love about what you do? What do you enjoy doing marketing for?
  • What can you tell us about the importance of printed marketing materials?

Input Overload: Managing Mountains of Marketing Data

As consumers, we have never had access to as much information as we now have. Whether buying a car or selecting a service provider, in just a few clicks we can evaluate costs, benefits, features and reviews and then make good choices quickly. All this product information is readily available, easy to interpret, and quick to access. For consumers, more data typically equals better decisions.

For marketers, not so much.

Why Print Marketing Materials Are Still Important in 2016

Print marketing materials? Remember those? The ones you can touch and feel?

Well, printed materials may have lost some luster since the advent of digital marketing, but, know this…. they are experiencing a resurgence. Marketers are realizing that branded print collateral can be an integral part of a sound marketing mix.

First of all, check out these surprising stats about print:

10 Questions To Check If A Portal Is Right For Your Organization

Marketing portals help businesses control their brand, support their sales teams, and better allocate company resources, but they aren’t right for every company. Answer the following questions to help determine if portal is right for your organization.

  1. Does your company have a marketing department or people assigned to marketing?
  2. Does your company have a sales team, reps, agents or dealers?

7 Steps to Deliver Better Customer Experiences

A surprising thing happened during a recent brainstorming session I led for a retail client. We were supposed to be coming up with ideas for improving the company’s customer experiences, but the head of operations could not think of a single new customer service idea to explore. And the development leader failed to identify any new ideas for store layout or building features. And the merchandising vice president had difficulty understanding why “product” was one of the categories we were discussing.

Making Obsolescence Of Print Collateral Obsolete

Boxes of stationary under the stairwell with the old logo; shelves in the warehouse with outdated catalogs; pallets with posters promoting last month's event; all good material - none of it useful anymore. As circumstances and strategies change, branding and messaging evolves, marketing collateral often needs to be updated. All these improvements are important to the success of the company so having a plan can help reduce obsolescence and keep waste down to a minimum.

Does Your Brand Have A Gender Identity?

It's an odd question when talking about a brand. Considering that brands are things, not people, it seems silly to assign them a gender identity. And yet, research shows that we do see gender signals from branding. Consumers clearly like thinking of brands as male or female and there is a strong motivation for marketers working with a brand to use gender classification to connect more clearly with their customers. 

Aligning Print and Digital Marketing Strategies

Specialization in marketing teams often leads to print and digital marketing strategies becoming misaligned. Tech savvy, data-focused marketers managing digital media including social, paid, content, etc., and designers, wordsmiths, layout-conscious artists preparing catalogs, brochures, and other print items. Centering the strategy around the customer experience makes it easier to keep strategies aligned.