Posts Tagged ‘advertising’

Getting Financially Fit:
Business Solutions with Printing

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Get financially fit.  Go for a bigger piece of the pie.  Can I king-size that.

Many businesses have experienced new competitors coming in a taking away some aspect of their traditional market.  Is seems like every time we turn around some is doing some part of what we used to do.

In the printing industry we experience this by mailing houses purchasing folding equipment and virtually “giving away” folding to get the mailing job.  Or even putting in copiers to produce the piece and then do the mailing.  So a business that used to be a partner is now a competitor.

This is becoming more and more common.  What’s a person to do?  Go expand your reach.  A few years ago at Ajalon we saw this happening and decided to expand into letterpress printing, which is actually the type of printing that was commonly being done when Ajalon started over 50 years ago.  Today the letterpress printing is helping to fill in when traditional printing gets light.

This is where keeping in touch with your clients comes in.  If you start something new, let them know.  Send out a post card to announce your new service or product.  For a carpeting business it might be going into tile cleaning as well.  Put together a brochure on your new service and send it out to your customers.

Often we actually perform many services in our business that even our good customers don’t know about.  A jewelry store sells jewelry right?  Well they may also clean jewelry or give appraisals for estates.  Remind your customers of the full extent of your services.  Regularly mention these lesser-known services in your newsletter, maybe each month having a spotlight on a new area.

Another way to increase your business is to help your customers increase theirs.  One of my vendors recently created a website add on that will help me attract more business and help them gain a larger market share.  So spend some time thinking about how you might be able to help your customers gain more business.  This will certainly increase good will and will help maintain loyalty.

We donate to non-profits that we print for and help them in their fund raising.  This strengthens them and we feel good helping someone that we are closely involved with rather than just some vague charity.

Here at Ajalon we love to strategize and plan marketing and advertising campaigns.  We have been doing this for years.  We would love to sit down with you and help you feel more in control and powerful about the future of your business.  We you have a plan and work your plan, you can genuinely feel hopeful and confident about your future, rather than just having wishful thoughts.

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Print Plays Well with Others

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Print plays well with others

Well coordinated use of printed business material increases response rate

Printing can tie it all together

Sure, the Internet is cool. What’s cooler is using a printed direct mail campaign to draw prospects to a personalized website, then following up with a printed thank-you card or closer.

We have looked at how printed forms are seen as real and permanent. How a business card is an easy, portable way to carry your information around so that you can share it.  A business newsletter can be a very cost effective way to keep in touch with your clients. Beautiful words and images can attract more people to your services.

All this does not mean that you cannot or should not use other media to reach our audience.  We learned in kindergarten to get along with others.  Business printing was a very good student in kindergarten.  No other media cooperates with all of the others  as well as printing.

Yes, the World Wide Web provides a real-time interactive environment, but so do the telephone and the television. Print enhances the impact of all of those media by providing your client’s prospects with an extra dimension. One that’s friendly. One that’s warm. One that’s inviting. And, one that they can’t very well ignore because they’re holding it right in their hands.

Consider the 2003 research published in the Journal of Advertising Research, which examined the advertising impact on weekly sales of a pizza franchiser. It found that the best combination of media in driving sales is direct mail and national TV advertising used together. The print/broadcast duo doubled the impact of using any one medium alone.

An American Business Media study adds more insight into the effectiveness of combining print with other media.

According to that research, B-to-B magazines were viewed by prospects as trustworthy and objective, websites were seen as the place where they received timely information, and trade shows were viewed as the place for interactions and to improve their awareness of alternatives. That must be why smart marketers are using all three outlets to maximize their ROI.

Big advertisers know this.  How many times have you seen something on TV or heard it on the radio and then you get a printed piece.  And then you make a buying decision.

Brochures or printed invitations to an event make it seem more real and businesslike. When you receive a business letter printed on professionally prepared letterhead with an accompanying envelope, you feel more secure in responding.

When I receive a phone call about a product or service I ask them to send me something.  When I receive a printed piece from them I trust them more and am more likely to do business with them. Printing can increase the value of any other form of advertising you do.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

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Print Drives a Higher Return on Investment!

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Print drives a higher return on investment.

Printed materials help a business make more money.

Print is valuable because it gives piece of mind.

We are all in business to make money.  When you wisely choose the proper form of printing, whether it is digital or offset, you are often choosing the best way to keep costs down and profits up.

We have discussed how business printing is permanent and for keeps, making it a valuable part of your marketing message.  We have seen how it is portable and can be referred to many times in many different settings. This leads to catalogs and flyers being a wise choice when considering how to best reach your prospects and convert them to customers so that your business is more profitable.

Printing is particularly persuasive as direct mail. According to research by the Direct Marketing Association and the Wharton Economic Forecasting Associates, print’s performance through the mail can be measured in dollars and cents.

The DMA researchers found that U.S. advertisers spend $167 per person in direct mail marketing to earn $2,095 worth of goods per person, scoring a return on investment of 13 to 1. Why? Because people gravitate toward print. A total of 38% of households surveyed by the U.S. Postal Service in 2006 found direct mail pieces interesting. That study also found that 85% of mail is either read or visually scanned by recipients.

And direct mail is also a great way to expand business relationships and keep customers loyal. A study by the Rochester Institute of Technology Printing Industry Center found that 67% of respondents like getting mail about new products from companies they do business with.

Using newsletters and flyers can be one of the most economical ways to reach and stay in touch with your customers and prospects.  Of all of the various media, print is still the cheapest.  Have you checked out how much it costs to advertise on the radio or TV lately?  And once your message has aired it is gone and not easily retrieved and dependent upon a person’s memory.  We are bombarded with thousands of messages a day and if it comes to us in a printed form it has a permanence that can make it more profitable than using other media.

When you want to reach a local market and touch local businesses here in Sonoma County there is no more valuable way than using printed material like rack cards, door hangers or postcards.  Radio and TV broadcasts are precisely that:  broadcasts.   They reach a wide audience but they are expensive.

When dollars are tight and you want to build up your profits the precise targeting of printing can be a very cost effective approach.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

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Read Your Junk Mail

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

One great way to keep up with what works—and what doesn’t work—in marketing today is to read your junk mail.

Both at home and in the office, you most likely get scores of direct mail a month. Pick up each piece and give it a one-minute evaluation. Does it capture your attention? Does it interest you? Would you consider purchasing this product? Looking into it further? Does it inspire you to take action?

You were targeted, rightly or wrongly, to get all the direct mail you get.

By evaluating its effectiveness on YOU, you’ll develop a keen understanding of what makes a successful campaign…and what doesn’t.

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7 Marketing Steps You Can Take During the Slow Season

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Traditionally, things slow down in the summer for all marketers. Rather than sit back and wait for the fall, however, here seven things you can do to take advantage of the slower pace of the summer months and come out ahead of the game.

  1. Polish your marketing plan and review your marketing calendar. Are you on target? If you haven’t written one yet, get started now.
  2. You can get cheaper advertising rates and take advantage of many promotions being offered to you from other businesses. Stock up on promotional giveaway items like pens and tee shirts, and get advertising rates, which may be lower now, from your local media.
  3. Start a “Swipe” file. You may find you have more time now to clip ideas, ads and promotions you like and keep them in a 3-ring binder you can refer to when you need new creative ideas.
  4. Try writing a press release and sending it to your local papers. Make it interesting and place a follow-up call.
  5. Evaluate and develop your newsletter. Have five objective outsiders review your newsletter and give you their comments.
  6. Review your current promotional materials. Do they need a new look?
  7. Develop your Web site and a plan to promote it.

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