Marketing BEEP

Promotional Calendar Tips for the Amateur Designer

The appeal of promotional calendars is irresistible. With promotional calendars, you are creating a functional, year round advertising tool. Customers love them and you benefit greatly from them. If you have never before designed a print calendar, though, it may seem like a difficult task. The truth is that you can create your own promotional calendar and you can do it well. Here are a few tips for designing a professional looking calendar with ease.

Ideas for Generating New Customers

It is a lot easier to keep your current customers than to draw in new ones, but every business has to generate new customers at one point or another. If your business is needing to expand your customer base, here are some ideas for making your business irresistible.

Offer Something New
Brainstorm about what you are not offering that would make your customer's lives easier. Think about related services that you could combine to make your business a one-stop shop. Then offer packages of services or products at a lower price than each would cost individually. Make sure you advertise these new packages all over the place, and you will probably steal plenty of clients from your competition.

Market to Prospects with a Great Introductory Offer
To get new people to take a chance on you, make them an offer they cannot refuse. Offer your services or products at a greatly reduced price for the first X weeks. Then give customers a guarantee that if they are not satisfied, they can get a refund. Tell people about this offer through telemarketing, when you hand out business cards, and on your website.

Use Testimonials from Loyal Customers
Ask your loyal customers to write out testimonials of how your business has helped them in the past. Include the customer's name and occupation along with the testimonial so people know it came from a real person. Put these testimonials on your print brochures, business cards, and posters to make your business look more credible and attract new customers.

Sell Static Inventory Online
If you have stuff just sitting in store rooms, get it to generate cash by selling it in online auctions. With a world-wide pool of people, there is bound to be someone who can use your unwanted items.

Attend Trade Shows Armed with Materials
Go to every kind of trade show, business expo, job fair, and community event you can find. Prepare ahead of time by printing business cards and brochures to take with you. Practice what you want to tell people about your business. Be sure to include information about how your company benefits people because people are only looking to do business with those who can improve their lives.

6 Marketing Materials Every Small Business Needs for Start Up

Before you launch your small business, you should have several marketing materials ready to go. If you generate interest in your company before it even opens, you will have a strong beginning to build on. If you are already doing business, you should get these materials as soon as possible to help your business thrive.

How to Market Your Business with Calendars

Calendars make great gifts for customers and prospects. Most people will be happy to get an attractive calendar because they are very useful. Not only will people be grateful for the free gift, they will be reminded of your business on a daily basis as they use your calendar. To make calendar printing as effective a marketing tool as possible, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Make Your Calendars Attractive
Do not just put your logo and some dates on your calendar. People will only want to use your calendar if it looks appealing to them. You can hire a professional photographer and have pictures taken of any number of subjects. Local landmarks make good calendar pictures that people in your area will appreciate. You can also take pictures of nature or animals, which are always popular themes. Just make sure you also include your logo and contact information on every page to keep it a marketing tool.

2. Create Calendars for a Specific Audience
Think about the people you will be giving calendars to and create one that will appeal to each group. Calendars are a pretty inexpensive way to advertise compared to doing large newspaper ads and TV commercials, so you can probably afford to do a few different calendar printing projects. When people are interested in your calendars, they are more likely to use them; therefore, your business will get more exposure.

3. Use the Calendars for Direct Marketing
Within the calendar, you can print coupons that people can cut out. Coupons are a good way to generate business and also to keep track of how well your calendar printing is working as a marketing tool. You can also print special sales events in the appropriate date squares on your calendars to help get people into your store.

4. Have an Online Calendar
Another great way to promote your business is to have an online calendar for people to subscribe to. You can have a calendar of local events, little league game nights, national sports events, politically important dates, or anything else you can think of. Just match your business and the type of customers you have and go from there. The more that people use your calendar, the more it increases brand recognition and keeps your business in the minds of consumers.

6 Keys to an Effective Advertising Poster

Great posters are like effective sales people. They attract an audience, dazzle them with pretty images and fancy talk, and get the viewers to come into the store and exchange money for goods and services. A great salesman once told me that the key to selling is to make the thing you are offering seem more valuable to the customer than the money in their pocket. Below are six keys to doing just this with your poster printing piece.

1. Research the Competition
Look at marketing materials created by your competition. See what they are offering, and then think of something you can offer that's better. It might be a lower price, faster service, better quality products, or more expertise. Just be sure that you can follow through with your offer.

2. Come up with an Over-all Theme
Once you know what you can do better than others, make that the theme of your advertising. Your print poster should tell about it loud and clear in terms that describe how this can benefit your customers. Remember, everyone who looks at your poster is going to be thinking: What's in it for me? It's up to you to tell them, or they won't even read your poster, let alone visit your store.

3. Use Eye-catching Images and Colors
The colors of your poster as well as the pictures are what will draw people to look at your poster in the first place, so make sure they are stunning. One large image has more impact than several small ones. As far as attractive color choices go, it's best to choose two colors along with some neutrals. Or, if you are brave, you can use all of the colors of the rainbow. Either combination works, but not something in between.

4. Tell About Complementary Products
On your print poster you should describe a few products or services that compliment each other. For instance, if you are advertising printers, you might also tell about the high quality ink you sell. Knowing they can get everything they need in one place can draw more people in to your store.

5. Use Customer Testimonials
Ask your satisfied customers to write testimonials for you to use in your advertising materials. Include one or two of these on your print poster. Be sure to get the customer's full name and some kind of identifier, like "Sally Smith, teacher at Northside High," so people will know it's a real person. For more privacy, you could use the first name and initial of the last name, or vice versa. Ask your customers with what they are comfortable.

6. Include all Your Contact Info
At the bottom of the print poster be sure to include all of your contact information. The poster can't bring customers into your shop if they don't know how to reach you. And make sure that the most important contact information, whether it's your location or your web address, easily stands out from the rest of the poster so that viewers know exactly what you want them to do after walking away from your ad.

Practical Tips for Better Business Cards

Business cards are a marketing tool like posters or brochures; they are highly customizable and portable. As such, business cards should grab attention with professional looking design and build on the branding power of your business logo. Here are some design and printing tips for better business cards.

 
 

Professional Help or Do-it-Yourself?
The first question that arises when it comes to business card printing is should you design your own or hire a professional? Some companies would benefit from hiring a professional graphic designer to create a business card. Many others will do well using the company standard and adding their own information. Designing your own business cards can be fun and simple whether creating your own from scratch or using an online business card printing company’s template.

Stunning Design Tips
The key to getting a business card noticed is eye-catching design. Some ideas for creating business cards that do not get thrown away are:
 
• Use full color – it does not add much cost and the results are worth every penny.
• Print on both sides of the card – once again the added cost is negligible and the benefits are many.
• Use your business logo to take advantage of your brand identity.
• Keep the look of your business cards consistent with your other marketing material.
• Use red if you can, it really stands out among other business cards.
• Do not clutter your card design.
• Keep the design simple and easy to read.
• Include helpful information on the back of your business cards that customers will want to reference.
 

Professional Printing Benefits
Online business card printing companies offer easy to use ordering and printing services with technical help only a phone call away. If you are designing your own card and have questions or need guidance, their representatives are available to assist. Their websites also offer many design tips and ideas for creating business cards that will be noticed and kept.
 
Although online business card printing companies are a great choice for your printing needs, do be sure you shop around to find the best deals with the highest quality printing results. Avoid “free” business cards as these are generally not of a professional quality.
 
Find a company who will send you a sample of their printing for reference. Any online business card printing company you choose should offer a guarantee and have a simple online quoting tool to accurately price your order without hidden fees. With the use of quality paper, ink, and presses, an online business card printing company can have your order of memorable business cards to your doorstep in a matter of days. 

5 Tips for Advertising with Posters

Posters are great advertising tools for a wide variety of audiences. Poster printing can be customized to advertise any product, service, or special event. Here are the top five tips to remember when advertising with posters.
 
#1 Know what you need to tell viewers – Decide the main point of what viewers need to know and stick to it. Do not lose focus or your poster will lose impact. Whittle your copy down to the essential information that the viewer needs in order to know who you are, contact you, find your shop/event, choose you over the next guy. Remember: keep it simple.
 
#2 Organize info – Organize the information in a way that will make sense and get viewers from one point to the next. Draw them through a chronological order of events: statement of problem/issue, statement of solution, statement of why you provide the best solution, how they can reach you.
 
#3 Sell with benefits – Sell your product, service, or event with the benefits to viewers in mind, whether they will benefit as your customers, by the entertainment value of your event, or perhaps there are environmental benefits to be gained. Let viewers know the outstanding benefits that you provide in a way that no one else does. Or how you are working together with other organizations to provide benefits. Your stance will depend on the nature of your product, service, or event.

5 Keys to Effective Catalogs

Whether you are an old pro at printing catalogs for your business, or you are a catalog printing rookie, there are some things you need to know.  Here are five essential items for your mental toolkit.

Catalog Success Key Number One: Ask for Action!

There are far too many catalogs out there that do not include a call to action.  The best catalogs in the world will not be very effective if it does not tell the customer what he needs to do next to buy your product.  Always include several calls to action in your catalogs.  Whenever a customer sees a product he likes, you want him to know exactly how he can buy that product.  So make it easy for him to do just that.  Include your phone number or email address and the specific way to make an order.

Catalog Success Key Number Two: Contact Information

This pretty much goes hand in hand with key number one.  If the customer does not know how to contact you, she can’t order your products.  And if she can’t order your products, she can’t give you her money.  And if she can’t give you her money, your business is going to fail.  Make sure you clearly display your contact information (phone numbers, website addresses, email addresses) in several prominent areas in your catalog.

Catalog Success Key Number Three: Emphasize Your Company

You often hear about your “brand”.  Your brand is (or should be) incorporated into all of your marketing materials, including your catalogs.  Once you design an effective brand, and blend that into an attractive logo, use them!  Put it on the front of your catalog, and find a way to mix it into the contents of your catalog in an appealing way.  The more times a customer sees your logo and the “brand” that you are presenting, the better the chances that it will stick in his brain.

Catalog Success Key Number Four: Consistent Design

Your catalog should have a concept behind it, and that concept should permeate the entire catalog.  If you are going with a holiday theme, stick with it throughout the catalog.  Do not confuse the reader by switching up the catalog’s concept halfway through.  Come up with a theme or an idea that will drive your catalog, and use it all the way through the entire campaign.

Catalog Success Key Number Five: It’s Still About Quality

The word “quality” is thrown around a lot, and it may feel stale.  But when it comes to your catalog printing, it is still vital.  You absolutely must use quality products in the design and production of your catalog.  Anything less than quality will be noticeable to your readers, and will give them the impression that you are cheap.  It is far better to spend more money on a quality catalog than to offend potential customers with a cheap one.  Even if your products are of the highest quality, your customers won’t know it if you hand them a cheap catalog.

 

Create a Business that Stands Out

When it comes to market competition, you have to do everything in your power to stand out from your competitors, and you must stand out in a good way. As Liz Strauss says in her Sept. 7 blog post about standing out (http://www.successful-blog.com/) “The least expected often gets the most attention.” So, taking that quote as a cue, to create a business that stands out, you need to give customers what they least expect.

 

Here are a few tips I’ve found that will help your business stand out from the rest.

 

Talk to your customers. They won’t bite, I promise. Ask them what they want. Ask them to give you attributes of their ideal store. You can ask them in person when they’re shopping at your store, or you can go online to forums and chats that are related to your industry. You can also send out an email or snail mail survey to glean some info about what tops your customers’ wish lists when it comes to your business.

 

You can also ask customers why they choose you over your competition and make that your unique selling point (USP). Use this USP in all of your marketing materials so people know the difference between you and a similar business down the street.

 

Evaluate your competition. Compare yourself. What do they do better than you and what do you do better than them? How many competitors do you have? List the strengths of each competitor and see how you measure up. Don’t go head-to-head with a competitor based on their best strength, like best prices – they’ve already claimed that one. You’ll most likely lose the battle of upstaging them in the best prices category if customers already know this. Instead, differentiate yourself by playing up something your competition doesn’t have – like caring customer service. This is your USP.

 

Put that USP in all your marketing materials. As soon as you’ve discovered your USP, let your customers know about it on all your marketing materials from brochures and posters to TV commercials and newspaper ads. “Outstanding customer service” or “Rated best customer service in the industry.”

 

Add testimonials to let customers know that you aren’t just tooting your own horn. Let other satisfied customers’ quotes do the talking for you. People are more apt to believe what other people say about your business over what you say about your business. You should even answer your phone touting your USP: “XYZ Corp, rated best customer service in the industry. How can I help you?” Let everyone know your USP – don’t be shy! Your USP is what makes you stand out from the crowd.

The Chameleon Effect of Branding

I ran across an interesting blog today that got the psychological part of my mind humming (http://www.successful-blog.com). It’s a psychological post from Sept. 8, talking about whether others’ perceptions can hurt your success.  I love to think about psychology, but only in bits and pieces, otherwise I wouldn’t get anything done!

 

In this post, Liz Strauss talks about a study conducted where male students were given fake photos and bios of female students that were either attractive or not-so-attractive. The male students talked to the “attractive” female students over the phone in a different manner than they did the not-so-attractive females. The thing is, is that the female students knew nothing of the photos and bios, but they responded in a way that the males expected, based on the photos and bios. The attractive women were expected to be poised and humorous while the not-so-attractive women were expected to be unsociable and awkward. That’s exactly what the women gave the men based on how the men were talking to them.

 

This study exhibits the Chameleon Effect, which is when one person’s beliefs about another changes the first person’s behavior, but also the other person’s behavior. Isn’t it amazing how our minds can alter other people’s behavior and how other people can influence our behavior?

 

After reading this, it made me think of branding. When companies create their brands, they are creating beliefs that they want other people to believe about them so that these other people (customers and prospects) will act a different way. These customers will buy a certain company’s brand because of the brand. But then, if customers and prospects don’t react to the brand in the way that the company expected, the company changes to try to reflect a brand that customers want.

 

Obviously, everything companies do is for the customer. Without customers there would be no company, but if companies don’t control anything, if everything from product choices to branding depends on the customer, what’s left for the company to control on its own?

 

I suppose companies can control other companies they buy from and the chain just keeps going. But then again, is giving up that much control such a bad thing? At first glance, yes, it seems to be bad. A lot of people are control freaks. They like to control everything within their reach. But if it’s good for the company and good for everyone involved, can giving up control be all that bad? If it keeps customers coming back, is it bad? I would think that would be good – for the bottom line at least. But where do ethics come into play? If customers want a product at rock-bottom prices and that means outsourcing everything to India and paying peas for people doing hard labor, isn’t that bad? Where does the balance of control even out? I’m not sure.