Tactics or Strategy?

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You’ve probably heard the phrase “tactics vs. strategy” countless times.

People love tactics. Tactics can be fun and exciting. They’re relatively easy to pick up and seem to have magical quick results (at least for a short time). Social media in the form of a few tweets is a classic example of a tactic.

But there’s a critical part most businesses seem to miss, and it’s why tactics often fail in the long run. To be successful, you have to put all the tactics together in a logical and cohesive way to make it all work.

That’s where strategy comes into play.

Without a well thought-out strategic plan, all tactics will ultimately fail. It’s not the fault of the tactic that it didn’t work. It’s the fault of the person behind the tactic who thought it would be the magic pill it didn’t turn out to be.

A strategy is a plan to get you and your business where you want to go. Without a strategy, you are lost in the Sahara with no compass and no water. Once you have your strategy in place, the right tactics will fall into place where they need to be.

Overwhelmed by Your Marketing Efforts?

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Marketing your business can be a nonstop, exhausting task. Here are a few ways to avoid feeling overwhelmed and get the most out of your marketing efforts:

  • Create a SWOT analysis, which is a strategic planning method to evaluate your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By identifying and understanding these four areas of your business, you can more easily create a strategy that will distinguish your company from the competition, so you can compete successfully in your market.
  • Hire a talented assistant. An assistant can help you manage your workload, get things done faster, and relieve the stress of looming deadlines. Even a part-time assistant can help you free up time to focus on more important tasks.
  • Find a marketing intern. Interns can provide a lot of value… if you let them. Interns are best utilized to help you reach business goals. For example, consider assigning interns to manage social media accounts, write articles and other blogs to increase your web presence, develop creative campaign ideas, etc. Interns can help relieve capacity issues and “test” new hires before making them official.
  • Remember to delegate. It often seems faster and easier just to do something yourself, but you also risk not having trained backup when you really need the help. If you’re nervous about trusting others with key projects, be sure to frequently track progress, give feedback, and help people solve problems.
  • Communicate with other departments in your business to gather new marketing ideas. For example, your production crew may suggest highlighting a new product feature, while your sales team may receive suggestions from customers about requested promotional ideas.
  • Learn from others. Collect examples of marketing materials or creative ideas that caught your attention, and organize them in an ideas binder. Combine your favorite traits from each into marketing ideas that are customized for your business.
  • Create a wish list of marketing initiatives, as well as a list of necessary projects with realistic deadlines. Schedule a weekly or bi-monthly meeting to review your progress, identify issues that are holding you back, and reassign tasks or projects.
  • Consider outsourcing projects if you or your team doesn’t have the time or resources to complete an important project. Freelance writers or designers can also be a great solution to keeping up the pace without hiring permanent staff. One great way to use freelance writers is for customer case studies. As an outside party, freelance writers can often ask sensitive questions and may be able to get customers to open up more as a result.

Whatever you do, don’t forget to put a professional finishing touch on your marketing efforts by choosing a printer who can offer helpful advice, creative ideas, meet tight deadlines, and provide a quality product you will be proud to distribute. We’re here anytime your business needs help putting your best foot forward.

Positive Steps for Handling Negativity at Work

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We’ve all heard the saying that one bad apple can spoil the bunch. The same is true of negativity in the workplace. A single employee’s negative attitude can bring coworkers down and hurt morale. So how can you combat it?

  • Confront the offender. While it may seem easier to ignore a problem and hope it goes away, that rarely works. In fact, the problem usually just keeps getting worse until you have no choice but to act. When you see someone displaying a negative attitude (or hear about it from coworkers), sit the person down and let them know their attitude is not acceptable.
  • Get to the root of the problem. In your meeting, try to discover the cause of the person’s dissatisfaction. Perhaps they feel slighted by something that happened at work. They may think someone else received preferential treatment over them or that what they do goes unnoticed and unrecognized. Whatever the case, hear them out and acknowledge their feelings, even if you disagree. Share your own thoughts, discuss the issues, and try not to be too confrontational.
  • Seek solutions. As you’re discussing issues, look for ways to resolve them as best you can. Keep in mind that not all grievances can be easily solved and not all negativity is completely work-related. However, approaching the situation with a solutions-oriented mindset should help at least let the person know you’re taking their well-being seriously.
  • Hold your ground. No matter the outcome of your meeting, make it clear that the employee is responsible for their own actions and that continued negativity will not be tolerated. Spell out the consequences and stand firm in your resolve.
  • Reward positivity. Hopefully, your meeting and the solutions you devise together will trigger an attitude shift in your employee. As you notice changes, offer positive reinforcement and encouragement. Of course, even if you don’t see changes in the employee, try not to get too discouraged. Instead, focus on the more positive members of your team. Reinforce, reward, and encourage their attitude and its positive influence on those around them.

Make Unsubscribing Easier

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In the world of email marketing, many companies are so focused on encouraging people to opt-in or subscribe to their emails that they overlook the wishes of recipients who may want to unsubscribe.

If unsubscribing to your messaging is not easy, you run the risk of increased spam complaints and ISP blocking, annoyed customers, and a weakened brand image. More than 40 percent of email recipients click the easier option (the spam button at the top of their email) rather than searching for an unsubscribe link. This occurs most often because many companies hide the link, push it down to the bottom of a message, or purposely blend the “unsubscribe” text into the background.

One way to make unsubscribing easier is to place an “unsubscribe” button at the top of your email. In addition to making your unsubscribe button more noticeable, you may also want to offer other options (change email address, change/reduce message frequency, choose different types of messages to receive, change message delivery to RSS/direct mail, etc.). Consider adding a survey, too, that asks why the recipient chose to unsubscribe (I receive too many emails from your organization, emails are not relevant to me, I did not subscribe to these emails, etc.).

Overall, the unsubscribe button isn’t always a bad thing and doesn’t have to mean goodbye. It can not only help reduce email complaints, but can also clean your email list, ensuring that only people who are truly interested receive your message.

Good, Better, or Best

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When it comes to upselling your product line, a tiered marketing strategy can accelerate the research-buying process for your customers, give you a competitive edge, and increase your bottom line through increased revenue. Here are a few tips to help you take advantage of a tiered selling technique:

  • Provide a comparison chart that outlines various differences and focuses on the most importance benefits to motivate buying.
  • Describe product differences using an emotional appeal rather than technical verbiage.
  • Use descriptive headlines or titles that distinguish between the product service levels. For example, try basic, premium, and ultimate; or fast, faster, and fastest.
  • When displaying in your store, group your products in close proximity to one another, making it easier for customers to comparison shop.
  • Provide upselling options in sales proposals, especially if an RFP asks for minimum or bare bones specifications. You may be surprised how many organizations choose higher price points after understanding their benefits.
  • Even if you offer a large variety of products or services, select a few of your best choices as a starting point that won’t overwhelm your audience. When possible, note that other options are available as well.
  • Draw attention to the most expensive option with extra benefit statements and intriguing visuals that will resonate with readers and support the additional expense.

Tiered marketing can not only paint your product line in a positive light but also help your customers make educated decisions based on benefits that are most important to them. The result is a win-win for you and your customers.

Circle of Trust

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In the movie Meet the Parents, Jack (Robert DeNiro) explains to Greg (Ben Stiller) his philosophy which he calls the “Circle of Trust.” Greg is planning to marry Jack’s daughter. He’s an outsider who desperately wants to be included in Jack’s Circle of Trust.

Greg tries to fit in, but every effort is met with failure and ridicule because he tries to be something he is not.

In an effort to impress our prospects, we sometimes make the same mistake of trying to be something outside of who we are. But if you really want to get inside a customer’s Circle of Trust, you must have integrity, and you must show that you truly have their best interest in mind at all times.

Above all, be yourself.

With all the mishaps and disasters that happen during the movie, Jack is convinced that Greg is not a good fit for his daughter. But at the end of the movie, Jack realizes that Greg really loves his daughter and has her best interest in his heart.

To enter and stay in a customer’s Circle of Trust, always have their best interest in mind and show them that you truly care about them and their business.

Now, here’s a short and funny compilation of the Circle of Trust scenes from Meet the Parents. Enjoy!

Don’t Forget the Finishing Touches

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Even if your marketing document is coming together perfectly — with compelling copy, a stunning layout, and quality photos — remember it’s not complete until it’s “finished.” A document’s finishing touches help portray its overall quality and importance and can take it to the next level.

Here are a few finishing touch options that will help you create a marketing piece you and your customers will love:

  • Spot varnish is available in gloss, matte, or satin finishes. Gloss varnish is often used to enhance the colors of printed photos and make ink colors throughout the piece appear more vivid. Matte varnish is used to reduce glare and improve the readability of small text. Satin varnish offers a blend of both. A contrasting spot treatment can really make a logo or other information pop (such as a glossy logo on a matte background).
  • Metallic inks are available in a variety of colors and are a great way to add interest with a shine and luster not available in standard inks.
  • Foil-stamping is an easy way to create focus on text or imagery, such as enhancing a classic, elegant logo.
  • Die-cutting is used to create a unique shape, outline, or edging.
  • Embossing involves creating a raised 3D impression using a custom die under high pressure.
  • Laminating can greatly increase durability and offer water protection. In addition to protecting a printed document, lamination can also enhance its appearance.
  • Other finishing options include (among other things) collating your pieces into sets, separating, folding, stapling, punching or drilling, padding, scoring, numbering, index-tabbing, packaging/shrink wrapping, and spiral, wire, comb, saddle-stitch, or perfect binding.

No matter your finishing need, from simple to spectacular, we can help you determine the perfect finishing touches to help your product really stand apart from the competition.

HTML vs. Plain Text Emails: Which Should You Choose?

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After seeing the visual difference between HTML and plain-text emails, it’s hard for many companies to send anything but fancy HTML formatting with every email they send. However, just because you can make HTML emails doesn’t mean you always should.

While HTML messages typically have flashy graphics that grab attention, they also lack a personalized touch and feel more “salesy.” In addition, HTML emails take longer to download, use more disk space, and often gain a bad rap for privacy threats, potential viruses, and information tracking. If a recipient doesn’t accept HTML emails (due to security, bandwidth issues, privacy, etc.) or an email program doesn’t interpret it correctly, your message will appear in plain text with random code that is extremely difficult to read.

Another reason to consider plain text is that more and more people check email on their cell phones, and many still have issues displaying HTML correctly.

Because email is a method of communication, many people believe the focus should be on the message and not how pretty it looks. But marketers also understand that sometimes the only way a message will get read is if it exudes visual appeal.

One solution may be to send emails embedded with both plain text and HTML, or to create a combination of both (an email that looks like plain text yet features basic ROI tracking, a share link, or social media buttons). And don’t forget, we’re also here to help anytime you’d like ideas for communicating in print!

Stand Out and Get Noticed With Folded Business Cards

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Everyone knows that business cards are an essential marketing tool for exchanging contact information, so why not double your marketing effort with a folded business card?

Folded business cards not only provide your standard contact information, but can also provide your audience with something useful to them, such as an events schedule, appointment card, coupon, map, menu, frequent customer discount, punch card, or response card.

The extra space can also be used as a mini-billboard, provide a list of your products or services, highlight helpful tips or industry resources, and much more.

Creative options are endless, including designs, paper and ink choices, diecut shapes, finishing touches, and even the placement of the fold. Folds can made along the top edge, short side, or even offset, where part of the card is shorter, revealing information on the panel below.

Check out your options for folded business cards next time you want to make a lasting impression and ensure your prospects and customers keep your business card on hand.

Complaints: Problem Solvers in Disguise

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While it’s hard to think of customer complaints as a good thing, most of them are actually great problem-solving tools for your business. Valid complaints expose problems that cost your business time and money.

With that in mind, here are a few ways to deal with and learn from customer complaints:

  • Offer several convenient ways for customers to express their dissatisfaction, such as customer surveys, comment cards, a toll-free number, a dedicated email address, and an online feedback form.
  • Listen to customers, and let them tell their story without interrupting.
  • Apologize for the issue they are experiencing.
  • Take necessary actions immediately to resolve the issue and re-establish rapport.
  • Ask customers for suggestions for improvement. Sometimes the solution may be easier than you think.
  • Thank customers for bringing issues to your attention.
  • Gather as much data as you can about customer complaints, and share them within your business. While all issues should be addressed, you may want to start by fixing those that waste the most time and cost the most money.
  • Follow-up with customers to be sure their issues were solved and that they were satisfied with the outcome.

Customers who complain and have a problem solved are generally much more loyal than those who are simply happy with your business. Regardless of the issue at hand, one of the easiest ways to ensure customer satisfaction is by reminding them you’re all ears.