CommunicateYourMessage

As technology progresses and new forms of communication are developed, Business Printing is one form of marketing that is standing the test of time, but to gain a return on your investment it needs to be used as part of a complete marketing mix!

As a marketer who for the past 12 years has made a living in the printing Industry you could forgive me for being a little bias towards Printing  when it comes to the Email and Web versus Print topic.  The thing is in running a business I also need to be a realist. Print is expensive when combined with distribution costs, Email marketing costs you next to nothing in comparison but you do have to have your own database of opt -in subscribers which is difficult to acquire – or is it?

It is no secret that if you want to communicate your message to 1000’s of people when you haven’t got your own database, Postcard and flyer Printing is the  most logical choice but it does cost you a lot of money and there are no guarantees. First you need to pay for the printing which is one thing, but then you also need to pay for the distribution company to get your material to your targets and that is another cost all together. There are printing companies around that have used technology to improve systems and processes to give you greater value and guarantees but there is no excaping the distribution companies. The common worries of  “have my brochures been distributed in the right areas” or “have they been distributed at all” is never going to change. And believe me, I hear these weekly!

Taking the above into consideration and the time and expense of your company you would want to make sure that you get maximium value for your investment, this is what we do to achieve a return on our Business Printing Investment: 

1. Put the time and Energy in to develop solid sales process.

By taking the  time to invest in your own sales process you are laying a foundation for a sustainable business, much easier ongoing marketing setup time and a far greater return on investment.  Tools required for your sales process are:

• lead generating tools (Business Printing, SEO, PPC, Newspaper etc)
• website to capture prosects,
• Free offer to encourage prospects
• email marketing software and schedule to build realtionship with prospects

2. Do your market research!

Market research is essential for any marketing. A simple example is For our business we deal business to business so there is no point me doing a letterbox drop to a bunch of householders as they are not my target market, I would have a far greater return on my investment if I reduce my Quantity and pay extra for Australia Post to deliver into PO boxes for business. Going to PO boxes is more expensive so I will still outlay the same amount of money fro a smaller quantity, but because I have narrowed my target I will be expecting a far greater return.

3. Think Business Printing as a lead generating tool

You want your Business printing distributed and passed through as many hands as possible and then of the people you reach you need to have your printing designed in such a way that encourages your target market to sign up int0 your database. To do this, you need to carefully research your target area and offer something which is of high value for your target market.  Once you have decided on the offer to get people into your database, all your Business Printing should have this as your call to action to continually update on your database with new prospects. This call to action will be like your logo on your marketing – it goes on your printing without saying….

4. Develope your email marketing schedule

Once people are starting to sign up for your database you need to make sure they receive information at that point of time – Otherwise they may forget who you are and why they signed up. Take the time to develope your weekly, fortnightly or monthly email campaign schedule and setup a couple of autoresponders so that new prospects receive material from you as soon as they sign up.

5. Update your website with latest products and services and helpful infromation.

In the fast paced society we live in,  statistics prove that peoples buying patterns have changed. Giving your customers and prospects the option of being able to purchase goods, services or acquire information at their leisure via the internet will give your business long term business sustainablity. Updating this information regularly gives you a reason to send an email to your database andmaybe another reason for them to buy.

6. Promote future sales and promotions to your database as well as sending out lead generating Business Printing to update database

Now that you have your database you can start to direct market to people that have shown interest in your product or service in a more cost effective way and you will start to see immediate results. But don’t rest on your laurals, you need to still get your business printing out there to keep new prospects coming into your database and then from your database contacts you can start to direct mail your customers to cross sell and upsell other products and services which will really start to see you kicking goals!

In simple terms use your Business printing as the lead generating tool to build your database so that you can start to communicate and Direct market to your customers and prospects through email and Direct mail and then use your website to maximise the original investment in your printing and convert prospects into customers.

Take the time to pull all this together and you are going to see real value coming from your business printing investment!

The economic meltdown has created opportunities for us all to look at our business and see where we can improve. Experts have also advised that now is a great time to market your business as competitors are probably pulling back, but it is hard to market when you dont have the sales to fund the marketing and cash flow is tight.

Fortunately,there are tools that can help boost your sales, build stronger customer relationships and increase the return on your marketing efforts that wont cost you an arm and a leg.

Here are some ideas: 

1. Build a blog - Blogging is one of the least expensive methods to building a professional presence.
The only investment you need is your time to schedule and research your particular topics and learn the blogging software. Blogging gives you the opportunity to add value to your customers experience when dealing with your organisation and gives you a platform to grow your social networks.
2. Participate in other Blogs by reading and researching other blogs within or related to your industry you are becoming more knowledgable. By commenting on these blogs with valuable input you will gain respect as a person of professional importance and authority and you will also recieve a link back to your blog or website which gives you more “traffic” and more leads.
3. Write a book When talking of authority in your industry what else does it better then a well researched and written book. Providing a book to your target market is a great way to generate leads and offering it to prospects in return for their contact details is a great way to build your database.
4. Email marketing When you have your blog and website providing quality information and have built your database through marketing techniques, you can now start your sales process and direct your database through email marketing to specific areas in your business that will be of interest. These could be new articles or pieces of information that your clients and prospects will find useful or it could be your next major promotion. Just remember to nurture and not always sell to your prospects, it is best to give twice as much as you wish to receive.
5. Order postcards from a low cost supplier Postcard marketing like all good things has stood the test of time. With the introduction of the internet, you can get high quality postcards for upto 50% less then traditional methods. The beauty of these postcards is that you save money through efficiencies and not through a reduction in quality. Postcards are great at: building your database, driving brand awareness, Advertising current and upcoming promotions and nurturing your exisiting customer base. When teamed up with your website, blog, a free offer such as a book or voucher and email marketing, you will start to generate a higher return on your investment. Dont forget to have a strong headline and call to action on your design for maximum impact!

Q: How do you stay in touch with someone who is not ready to buy off you at this point of time? How do you stay in touch with a customer who just made a purchase and is not likely to make another one for a few years?

A:To keep at the top of your prospects mind the answer to the question is Drip marketing.

Drip marketing is the process of sending repeated, relevant and informative messages to your prospects and customers until they are ready to buy. By collecting your prospects contact details through your website and other marketing channels you can then begin to communicate to your audience. The information that your provide to your prospects and customers should be material that is of value to them, this will be a lot easier if you have done your market research and when delivering the information you want to be thinking stage two of your sales process “Nurture”.

By adding value to your customers and prospects through information, they will start to see you as the expert in your field and when they are ready to buy you will be at the top of their mind.

To start putting this process into action, you need to build a foundation.

The foundation being your:

• Website: to build your database and make sales.
• Blog: to provide quality information that adds value to your customer and prospects experience and links to your email marketing.
• Database : This is your audience that you email and direct mail. Once you get your information strategy sorted, all you need to worry about is stage one of your sales process ‘”Generate Leads”.
• Email Marketing Software: so you can easily manage and report on the success of your email marketing.

So what information do you provide to your database?  Here are some ideas.

• New Product Announcements
• Article Reprints
• Blogs (Email a link to recent posts, think information not promotion)
• Brochures
• Case Studies
• Holiday greeting cards
• Customer Satisfaction Surveys
• Emails (Informative, not promotional)
• Invitations (to a trade show or customer event)
• Letters
• Media clippings (Articles written about your firm)
• Newsletters (Print or email – if you are wanting to be different, a traditional printed newsletter is the new black.  Try it in an envelope with an addressed letter as part of your direct mail.
• Special Reports

Do you ever have thoughts of “is it all worth it?”

In tougher times many of the poeple you speak to will be feeling the stress one way or another. Business People are concerned with sales, retirees are concerened with their investments and younger people new into the work force find it difficult to find employment.

The thing is, things can change quickly and we never know when it may be our opportunity. If we are are working hard and doing the rights things, each of us will have our opportunities.

In the coming 12 months many of the experts believe there are going to be exciting opportunities, have you done the hard work and are you prepared?

A famous golfer when asked “what is your advice to upcoming golfers?”, replied ”be prepared for luck”.

We all need to stick to our plan, keep our eye on our goal and keep priming the pump and our luck will come!

Check out this Zig Ziglar video which will help put all your hard work into perspective-

Can you relate?

It doesn’t matter what type of business you are in, each of us need to generate revenue. Whether your are a charity seeking  donations, a merchant banker seeking more funds invested or a sporting club seeking more membership, sales are the core to all other business strategies falling into place. Here are some sales process tips that when planned and implemeted correctly will ensure you have a sustainable and successful business. Try implementing this into your business today!

1)     Generate Leads

It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, you need to be continually proactive in lead generation. Methods of lead generation include:

• Bulk mail-outs
• Post card drops
• Flyers drops
• Newspaper advertisements
• Radio advertising
• Billboards
• Internet advertising
• Telemarketing and building a database of your target market

From this blanket style marketing, your number one objective is to get contact details from prospective customers or “prospects”.

How? You need to have a “call to action” on all marketing material. An example of this is to offer something for free, which is of great value to your prospects. To receive the free offer your prospects have to provide their details. Then you can start contacting them on a regular basis and also measure how effective your blanket marketing really is.

 2)     Nurture Leads

Now that you have established a database of prospects you need to start proving your value by contacting them with helpful information. This part of the process should involve giving a lot more than what you get. You want your potential customers to be thinking, “wow these people are really helpful”. This can be achieved predominantly through emails as they don’t cost you anything except a little bit of time and thought. There are even some amazing software programs that automate the process for you, so all you have to worry about is devising some helpful correspondence and generating more leads. Tip: If you really want to maximize your return, couple this system with a personalised mailer.

 3)     Build the Sale

Focus on getting to know more about your prospects by offering a free consultation or having an open day. The more you know about their needs, the more you can target your approach to making the actual sale. 

4)     Make the Sale

At this stage of the process you have built a good database and nurtured your clients so they have confidence in you. It’s now time to switch into selling mode. This is where you need skilled staff who will get on the phone and make the sale for you. Make sure you have a proven sales technique for this, which you constantly monitor. If it’s not working don’t just stop altogether, try something different!

 5)     Nurture

You have spent the time building and making your sales, now it’s time to look after your new customers so cycle them back to point 2 in the process. We all know that it is far easier keeping a customer then finding a new one!

Each year Australian businesses spend billions of dollars marketing their company and communcating their message via printing and graphic design. Yet, with all this investment, many of the businesses don’t have a strategy on how print can drive their marketing campaign nor how are they going to get a return on  the investment.

To maximise the effectiveness of your print marketing you need to be working on your sales process. To have an effective sales process you need to start building a good database of leads – this is where your postcard marketing comes in to play.

Your postcards, should be used as stage one of your sales process ‘to generate leads’. By adding a killer headline to capture your prospects attention and a strong call action telling them what to do next, your postcard now becomes a marketing item with purpose. 

Couple your postcard marketing, with a free offer on your website and some email marketing software and you will have the structure to start building a quality database of warm prospects!

5 Tips to using postcards to build your database.

1. Research your target market -  To gain maximum return  for your dollar you need to understand your  audience. Talk to Australia Post and other letterbox distributors and they will be able to give you demographics which will give you a much more defined idea of your target market.

2. Print your postcard on thicker card – This will ensure your print marketing will stand out over other letters within the letterbox.

3.  Add a strong headline – You have 4- 7 seconds to capture your prospects attention, put your key selling points in the headline.

4. Add a strong call to action – A call to action is to tell your prospects what to do next, in the case of building a database, you want to direct your prospects to your website where they can sign up for free information.

5. Sign up for Email Marketing software and add a Web form to your website - The webform is the form that you put on your website that collects your prospects contact details. Many of the Email marketing software programs will give you the option to create forms when you start your email marketing campaign. Aweber.com is a very popular email marketing tool.