Catalogs and online shopping account for a large percentage of the total consumer sales.  L.L. Bean customers shop more via the web than traditional print catalogs, but print catalogs are a big factor in generating online customers orders.

In a study by the USPS (post office), consumers who receive catalogs in the mail are more than twice as likely to make an online purchase, compared to consumers who don’t receive catalogs, regardless of household income, education or geography.

A Direct Marketing Association survey showed that 59%of catalog shoppers will keep catalogs they from at least three months or until a new copy arrives.  Catalogs are used and do help sales.  They drive business to online shopping.

Ajalon Printing has been printing catalogs for many years.  I remember when most catalogs were in black and white and we had to paste up copy with artwork.  Today most of our catalogs are in color and everything is done digitally.

We recently looked at a catalog that was made up of cards that were laminated and then bound together.  The products were sold to manufacturers and catalogs are hung in harsh production environments, so they needed to be sturdy.

So when you need to get that catalog printed Ajalon is the place to turn.  And we can help you get your products online on your website.  We have onsite photography studios and a team of skilled designers waiting to help you.  Call 707.528.0288 or email us at ajalon@ajalon.com today.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

You make more money when you use well-printed business stationery.

A printed business form or contract that spells out the work to be done and is signed is critical in businesses that provide service. The phrase, “Get it down on paper” has never been more meaningful. Having words and images that you can examine and hold in your hand, review, show to others and keep in a safe place provides a degree of reassurance that no computer screen can match.

We have covered how printed business forms are durable and easily portable. How postcards and brochures prospects receive increase sales when used with other media. There is always the warmth and beauty of printed catalogs or flyers that can lead to a buying decision. Buyers often want to see it written down before the give the final yes. All these practices contribute to making sales increase.

People love the speed and scope of the Internet, but the www’s fleeting nature makes them wonder: Am I getting the fast shuffle here? And what’s all this contradictory information? Conversely, our ink-on-paper medium is believable because print is real, print is timeless and print is focused.

An increasing number of marketers are leveraging print’s high credibility by using custom publications to get their messages out and absorbed. More than 32 billion custom publications circulate annually in the United States, according to the Custom Publishing Review’s 2006 Annual Report. Total expenditures on the medium amounted to $29.9 billion for the year. The researchers also found that 66% of people surveyed read custom publications and that 80% agree that custom publications contain useful information. They are believers because print is the credible medium.

At Ajalon Printing we use variable data printing to customize letters or to aid in addressing brochures or catalogs that are being mailed out. By utilizing these data base capacities we help companies increase the return on their marketing. When people see their own name in a flyer or a postcard there is an increase in the credibility of the offer and an easier buy in.

Print is credible. That means that all of the printed materials that you use add to your credibility. Can you imagine doing business with somebody who can’t even offer you a business card? What response would you give to a sales letter that was written out on a sheet of paper from a yellow pad and not on printed letterhead?

Using professionally designed business stationery builds confidence and helps create that important first impression, so that those who come in contact with you are more likely to feel confident to buy from you.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

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