We love our local customers!

Here at Ajalon, we take pride in providing local businesses and customers with quality print, web and social media services at attractive rates. We’ve been in business for over fifty years–since 1957—ensuring that Sonoma County’s printing needs are met!

We immediately fell in love with these little local graphics created by the City of Santa Rosa! We couldn’t agree more that staying, eating, playing, and shopping local is the way to go.

To celebrate 50+ years as a local Sonoma County business, as well as 25 years with the same owners, we are giving away 500 free business cards with your orders of 500 business cards or more!

Place your order today with a truly local small business!

10 Ways to Keep Business Flowing in 2012: Part 2

Last week we went over five ways to keep your small business on track in 2012. Here are five more:

Know the How-to

Employees are bound to procrastinate if they are assigned a priority that they do not know how to do. Be sure you equip your employees with the tools, resources and support needed to complete their tasks.

Build Accountability

Making employees accountable for the work that they do will definitely boost productivity in 2012. If you employ people who do not do what they are paid for, it’s time to reinvent your workforce.

Celebrate

Take time to celebrate a completed goal or job well done.

Reward Employees

“A paycheck is not a reward.” This is one of your 2012 mantras! “A reward is something given in recognition of service, effort or achievement,” says Mitch Evans in Quick Printing magazine. Reward your employees for the good work they do. This will build accountability, workflow and improve attitudes.

Communicate

In order to set goals and follow through with priorities, communicate with employees to keep goal completions on track!

10 Ways to Keep Business Flowing in 2012: Part 1

How are you going to keep your business afloat in 2012? Here are a few tips to keep your boat from slowly sinking.

Create a Purpose

What is your small business all about? While you have yearly, quarterly and daily goals, the main purpose behind your small business should be in the back of you and your employees minds at all times. Solidify your mission statement and business values in 2012 if you have not already.

Make a Road Map

Your small business workflow is successful because of your employees’ hard work. And while there are several aspects of your business to be monitored, everyone should recognize communal goals. Be sure everyone is on the same map, even if they travel on different roads.

Prioritize

How are you going to reach that communal goal? Communicate with employees what needs to happen, and when, to achieve goals.

Create a Sense of Urgency

Setting deadlines is an excellent way to get things done. Without deadlines or direction, employee workflow can slow tremendously.

Follow Through

Don’t assume your employees are following through with their priority. A daily or weekly check-in will keep priorities in balance and work flowing.

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Stay tuned next week for five more ways to keep your small business on track in 2012!

We know envelopes are a vital part of your day-to-day business routines. That is why Ajalon is pleased to offer 10% off your envelope orders this winter!

Envelopes work wonders for:

• marketing goods and services
• sending out invoices
• connecting with consumers through newsletters

Offer expires March 31, 2012

Rebranding Your Business in the New Year

Have you heard the rumors about the approaching apocalypse in 2012? We have, and while we’re not quite buying that “the end” is coming, we certainly do anticipate change.

A new year is the perfect opportunity to rebrand your local Sonoma County business. Updating business cards and stationery with a new logo will work wonders to attract new clients, as well as let your current customers know that you are a growing brand.

While a lot of us were raised to oppose change, 2012 is surely a time to embrace it! Contact Ajalon today to begin your rebranding efforts.

Why your local business needs a business cards…

If there is one thing I have learned from my boss while working at Ajalon, it is this: when giving your business card to a prospective client, be sure to give them two cards—not just one. That way they have one card to give to a friend as a referral!

Business cards are essential when spreading the word about your business. A great business card will leave a lasting first impression, so be sure to take care when designing your logo, picking out your font and laying out your type.

If you need help designing the perfect business card for your local Sonoma County business, contact Ajalon today!

The benefits of the business card are endless. Don’t forget to take advantage of this great marketing tool.

SEO helps Santa Rosa customers find your business!

Most small business owners have a simple website set up. It used to be that a few simple pages containing the business background, location and contact information was the norm for all business websites. Even though they thought that is all their site needed to get their customers through their front doors back then, they could not be more wrong today.

If a new customer cannot find your website to begin with, any page you publish will be rendered irrelevant. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is going to get your small business website seen on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Titles

Your webpage title is the most important aspect of your SEO. The keywords you use to title the pages of your website will bring you to the top, or the bottom, of search engine results.

For example, Bob’s Towing originally used the title “Bob’s Towing” on their homepage. This was great when customers of Bob searched for “Bob’s towing” on Google, but what about all the people out there who don’t know about Bob?

When Bob changed his title to “Bob’s Towing – Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Towing and Automotive Services,” he started to reach customers who were searching for things like “santa rosa towing” and “towing sonoma county.” By adding a few relative and local keywords, Bob reached a whole new customer base.

Tags

Title tags are important to how your business website is presented to customers within search engine results. This would be a good place for Bob to condense his page title, creating a transparent link that no one will be afraid to click. Ex: “Bob’s Towing – Santa Rosa Services”

Descriptions

Meta descriptions are also important to how your website is presented to customers within search engine results. When a meta description is not provided, the search engine will select content from the page and display it for your customers. By providing a crisp, clear and complete meta description for a page, a customer is more likely to trust and click on your site.

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Are you utilizing SEO within your small business website? Adding simple things like page titles, title tags and descriptions will help bring you to the top of search engine results everywhere.

Holiday newsletters keep customers connected to you!

Keeping in touch with your customers is a great way to build a community around your local business. Constant communication will keep your customers returning for your goods and services, and increase your authenticity as a brand. Sending out a monthly or quarterly newsletter is an excellent way to do all of these things and more.

Whether you have been sending out newsletters to your Sonoma County clients for years or are just seeing the benefits of this marketing tool now, there is no better time to send out a newsletter than during the holiday season!

There are several things you can do to create the perfect holiday newsletter:

• send warm greetings and well wishes to your valued customers

• tell customers about your updated holiday hours and/or vacations

• market holiday deals and specials

• tell customers what your local business has in store for the New Year

No matter what kind of information you are trying to spread, we have trouble thinking of a better way to do so than within a newsletter. Don’t forget to work with your graphic designer to work a little holiday cheer into your newsletter design!

Selecting a Graphic Designer for Business Endeavors

Whether you are creating your business’ webpage or producing top-notch printed materials to market to your customers, choosing a graphic designer that works for and with you should be the first step in your endeavors.

A great graphic designer should work with you and your company to understand your needs, and create killer visuals for you to utilize within your business. We know the search can be overwhelming. Here are a few tips to help you find the graphic designer of your dreams:

• Keep local. Search local business listings and reviews on sites like Yelp. It will be easier to determine which graphic designer will work best for you based on others’ experiences.

• Ask for referrals. Trusted friends and businesses will guide you in the right direction. If you see a piece of graphic art from another business that you are drawn to, don’t be afraid to ask who their designer is.

• Search design directories and browse designs from contests and competitions.

Your designer will help boost your brand or business by implementing your business persona within your business graphics. Awesome websites, mail pieces and more will draw your customers in and keep them coming back for more!

Local Businesses Need A Letterhead!

Do you have a local Sonoma County business, but lack a letterhead? Your business stationery is one of the most important elements in your marketing endeavors. A great letterhead will work wonders to show professionalism and keep your brand in customers’ heads.

For those of you who just opened up shop, letterhead is the heading at the top of your business stationery. An awesome graphic, along with contact information should be included on the printed material that ends up in your clients’ hands.