Forget Me Not!

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Just because a customer buys from you a few times doesn’t mean they’ll immediately think of or even remember your business again the next time they need the kinds of products you sell. Here are a few ways to increase front-of-mind awareness for your company in the minds of consumers:

  • Educate your audience about the ways your products are better than the competition. Consider creating a comparison chart to make the differences stand out in people’s minds.
  • Send thank yous for past purchases, and offer future discounts or coupons that are too good to ignore. For example, one might read: “Use this coupon anytime during December to receive 50% off any single item!”
  • Encourage customers to reorder supplies before they run out. A reorder form placed near the bottom of each package you ship is one way to accomplish this. Periodic email reminders and promos based on past order history are another.
  • Provide knowledgeable tips, tricks, and other industry-related information in a newsletter or periodic mailer that will leave recipients asking for more.
  • Invite customers to open-house celebrations, hands-on training classes, or exclusive customer appreciation events.
  • Create a customer loyalty program that rewards visitors for repeat purchases.
  • Offer promotions or giveaway contests that spark interest in the products and services you sell.

Let us know if we can help you create direct mail pieces that will help ensure your business isn’t forgotten!

Promote Your Company’s “EST” Factor

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In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s important that you determine your company’s “est” — the differentiating factor that gives you a competitive edge. Whether your business strives to be the biggest, fastest, strongest, lowest, or oldest at something, the “est” factor will help you push to be the best and become the go-to business for that area of expertise.

Here are a few ways to find your “est”:

  • Ask your customers. The customer voice is a great way to pinpoint areas where your business truly shines. Encourage customer feedback through comment cards, surveys, testimonials, or simply by asking customers their opinions when you meet with them.
  • Identify and enhance your strengths to add greater value to your business. For example, if your business is known for the fastest delivery services in town, you may consider opening a second location, adding additional delivery drivers, or upgrading your computer system to ensure you continue providing the fastest services possible.
  • Accept your weaknesses, and don’t become discouraged by areas where your business falls a little short. For example, if your prices aren’t the lowest, you might say, “We may not have the lowest prices in town, but we offer the longest warranty in the industry to provide greater value for your dollar.”

If you’d like help spreading the word about your “est” factor, we’d love to help. Our professional team can help create some of the greatEST marketing materials with the fastEST service you’ve ever seen!

Sometimes Less Really is More

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“There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your mother probably admonished you as a youngster: “You need to finish that plate of food because there are children in Africa starving right now.” So we have been conditioned to eat even when our stomach is full or even if we don’t really like the taste of the food. The negative side effects surround us everywhere.

Living in this age of access to unprecedented amounts of information, we must be careful not to overindulge there, too. Just as it is harmful to overeat, it is perhaps even more detrimental to consume the incessant amount of unrelated and useless information that fills the web, the airwaves (TV and radio), and print. Just because it’s free to access doesn’t mean it comes without another kind of cost.

This type of cost is more precious than the monetary kind. It’s your valuable time. Unlike money, time can’t be replaced once it’s gone. Like the youngster who becomes conditioned to eat too much, we are becoming conditioned to consume too much information, most of it the useless variety. Many of us need to go on an information diet! How many minutes and hours are wasted daily on email, Facebook, and various news/entertainment websites? Too many.

“Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” -Albert Einstein

Not all reading or information is harmful, of course. But it is time to stop reading negative and time-consuming information that is not helping you advance toward your goals. If you start reading an article that turns out to be less useful than you thought, no need to keep reading it. Do you have to constantly check your email? Not really. Start taking your time back by going on an information diet today. You will be much more productive and will like the new you the next time you look in the mirror.

Be a Drama Queen!

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Yes, being a drama queen is typically a negative. But there is one instance where it is actually a big positive.

Imagine you are in a stadium filled with your most ideal prospects. You have one chance to present and pitch your product or service. Say the right thing, and every one of them will become a client. Say the wrong thing, and you’ll lose them all. That’s the potential power of communication.

There are many ways to get your message across. You can bore them to death, or you can entertain them. The chances that a prospect will stick around and listen are much better if you do the latter.

People are drawn to those who can share, teach, and even sell something useful. They are most attracted to the ones who can entertain them while presenting.

Like it or not, we live in a society that needs and wants to be entertained. If you want to stand out and succeed, you have to be able to give them what they want.

This is where injecting drama into your sales copy, blogs, direct mail, social media presence, and sales presentations has a powerful and magnetic effect. The best drama has some action and intrigue to draw the audience in. The same is true in business communication. If you take the time to package your thoughts and ideas in an entertaining way, you will be better received. Your audience will want more. The cycle of attraction, conversion, and consumption will begin. And it will continue as long as you are able to inject enthusiasm and some drama into your messages.

Think Small!

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For many years, “think big” has been the theme for many businesses, as they try to compete in a sea of retail giants. However, the tables are turning, and large organizations realize that their audience is looking for more personalized, customer-focused attention, causing businesses to “think small.” Here are a few ways to leverage your natural small business advantages in your marketing efforts:

  • Personal attention. Small businesses are more likely to recognize their customers and provide sincere, personal attention, without customers feeling like they’re just another number in the company’s statistics.
  • Industry experts. Many small businesses develop a narrow market focus and develop a premium reputation for serving that niche market effectively.
  • The power to change. While large companies generally take several months to change company policies, small businesses usually have the ability to make decisions on the spot and implement changes quickly when they feel it is appropriate.
  • Flexibility. Small businesses are more willing to work with customers and do whatever it takes to earn their business, including filling customized requests at a moment’s notice.
  • Customer satisfaction. Because it takes more effort for a small business to build a strong customer base, they also work harder to keep their current customers happy.

When it comes to marketing, don’t hide the fact that you are a small business. Instead, take the opportunity to promote it proudly and show customers the many advantages of thinking small.

PB&J Marketing

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It’s easy to see why peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a nationwide favorite. After all, PB&J offers creamy, sweet, smooth (or crunchy) goodness that is fruity, satisfying, filling, inexpensive, and fairly good for you to boot. Sure, peanut butter is delicious by itself (as is jelly), but when they are joined together, they create a flavor-packed, winning combination that can’t be beat.

When it comes to marketing, a blend of print and electronic media can easily be compared to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. While they can both function effectively on their own, they pack a more powerful punch when joined together.

For example, print promotions — such as postcards, newsletters, flyers, or brochures — are a great way to grab attention, increase awareness, and encourage readers to visit your website for in-depth information, product ordering, survey completion, webinar and event registration, and more.

When it comes to combining print with electronic media, the options are endless. If you’re in need of unique print ideas to supplement your electronic marketing, give us a call today. You just may think some of our creative ideas are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Encourage the Customer Voice

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One of the best ways to promote your business is to get your customers talking about you, whether on the streets, via social media, or in product reviews. Here are a few ways to encourage customers to voice their opinions:

  • Create a message board, chat forum, or guest book where customers can create an online community and share their opinions and feedback.
  • Ask key customers to participate in a “customer spotlight” section of your newsletter. Use this feature to help customers promote their business and elaborate on their relationship with your company.
  • Add product review capabilities to your website that allow customers to rank and review your products or services. Send customers a link to an online opinion survey they can take shortly after making a purchase.
  • Start a blog and encourage feedback, questions, suggestions, and sharing of your posts.
  • Offer valuable incentives (coupon, discount, free gift, etc.) as a reason to fill out a survey, and keep surveys short and sweet. This will encourage customers to complete your entire survey… and to answer future surveys when you ask them to.
  • Encourage customers to contact you any time they have questions, comments, or suggestions — and make it easy for them to do so. Include your contact details in your email signature, post your phone number prominently on every page of your website, and send a business card with every letter or mailing.
  • Engage with customers every chance you get. Ask them about their experience, seek their opinion on industry-related topics, and garner their feedback and suggestions regarding your business.
  • Don’t discourage negative customer comments. Negative feedback provides credibility and tells customers the business is confident enough to show a range of customer opinions. Honest feedback and suggestions can also help improve your business.

Plant a Seed with Catalogs, and Watch Your Business Grow

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While online ordering is a must-have for many businesses, a printed catalog can provide a great supplemental marketing tool for your website. Many people still prefer perusing catalogs at their leisure without being connected to a computer. For these customers, a printed catalog provides increased exposure to a wider variety of products. In addition, catalogs can be easily shared with others and offer staying power…with a message that can be seen again and again.

Here are a few tips for creating a printed catalog that will do the selling for you:

  • Include a mix of customer testimonials that give readers a more consumer-centric look at your products.
  • “Tell your story” by including background information about your business and the history of your products.
  • Cross-sell complementary products through suggestions in the product copy, call-outs, or the placement of companion products together.
  • Feature best-selling products in the upper right-hand corner, where the eye is naturally drawn when flipping through a catalog.
  • Think small. If you have a frequently changing product line, consider a mini catalog booklet that offers a brief overview of your product line with colorful product photos to pique interest. Refer readers to your website for an extended product line or more in-depth information.
  • Include an order form. While few customers mail in their order, many will use it to organize their orders before ordering online or calling.
  • Include seasonal inserts that can be easily updated for relevant sales and offers.

Remember, the more information customers have about your products, the more confident and satisfied they’ll feel with their purchasing decisions.

Help Sales Soar with Flyers

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Flyers are a very flexible, cost-effective, and efficient way to spread the word about your company, promote or introduce your products, announce special price promotions and events, or simply educate your audience. Here are a few ways to increase sales by maximizing the use of marketing flyers:

  • Add a flyer to every mailing that leaves your office. Include them with bills, information requests, and marketing campaigns.
  • Fold your flyer, affix a label or seal, and send it as a self-mailer to your marketing database.
  • Hand flyers out at trade shows, promotional events, and other industry-related affairs, not only at your booth, but also while walking around and visiting.
  • Post a flyer on community bulletin boards, such as those found at laundromats, gyms, apartment complexes, senior centers, public libraries, local schools or college campuses, grocery stores, and the like.
  • Check with local newspapers or magazines to learn their policy and costs for including flyers as a marketing insert.
  • Ask other local businesses such as cafes, auto body shops, salons, clinics, and bookstores if you can leave some flyers in their waiting/reading area.
  • Consider hiring high school students to pass them out door to door or to local businesses.

If you’d like help creating eye-catching flyers that get noticed and produce results, drop us a line.

Marketing with Posters

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Poster marketing has been a popular way to spread the word for more than 200 years, dating back to posters for everything from World’s Fairs, recruitment, and war propaganda to bicycles and bullfights. Today, posters continue as a flexible marketing tool for publicizing upcoming events, promoting ideas, and advertising new products and services. Here are a few benefits of poster marketing:

  • Versatility. Posters can be printed on a variety of surfaces, protected with UV coating or laminating, and mounted or framed. As a result, they can be used either indoors or outdoors in any number of ways.
  • Simplicity. Because posters are created for viewers on the move, some of the best posters don’t say much. Effective posters capture the viewer’s attention immediately — often with large, eye-catching graphics, a catchy headline, and a web address that is easy to remember. You can then provide more detailed information on your website and entice readers to join your mailing list for additional updates.
  • Any size you need. When creating posters, think about where you plan to display them. While the most popular posters are 24″x36,” this large size would be overpowering on corkboard displays (which would be much better suited to an 11″x17″ poster).
  • Fresh factor. Because posters offer a high-quality, low-cost marketing solution with fast turnaround, replacing posters frequently with new content is a great way to prevent your advertising efforts from going stale.

Give us a call if you need help creating posters that will make an exciting addition to your marketing materials. Our creative experts specialize in bringing great ideas to life!