Archive for Month: October 2011
The Keys to Successful Direct Mail
Whether it’s called direct mail, direct marketing, or mail marketing, the use of database marketing and the U.S. Postal Service can be a cost-effective way to find new customers. One major caution though, direct mail without proper preparation and a solid follow-up process may not only fail, it can be very costly.
If your printing, or related graphic arts company is like most, your customers may be scattered all over specific region or a an area no bigger than a single zip code. If you are a larger, more specialized firm, your customers may be spread across the nation. Identifying and locating new prospects and converting them into customers cannot always be done efficiently with a sales force alone. This is where a well planned, creative, and sustained mail marketing program can be very successful.
The first thing to do before considering the use of direct mail is to determine whether the markets and/or industries your company serves will respond to mail marketing. If the answer is yes, then you must identify the prospect’s “hot buttons”. In other words, what will get their attention and cause a response. This is where the creative aspects of direct marketing meet the science of direct mail. I have seen many perfectly executed direct mail campaigns fail because they lacked a creative, attention getting hook.
FREE Shipping in California!
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When ordering just enter your address and if you are in California you will get the FREE Shipping on most products and zip codes. Once you place your order, under the shipping options you will see Free Shipping. Note that free shipping cannot be combined with any type of promotion or coupons. Also Loyalty Rewards are not granted when using this option.
Business Cards, Postcards, Banners and Custom Orders are excluded. Rural routes (areas that are not urbanized) are excluded.
For complete details read Shipping and Tracking page of ColorFX.
Marketing and Consultative Selling
Although the use of marketing has increased in the Printing and related Graphic Arts industries over the last ten years, it is still not practiced to the degree it should be. There is no other industry with annual sales over $130 billion that employs so few marketing tools.
When printing companies do prepare a marketing plan and execute promotion programs, all too often it is done ineffectively, without proper measurement, or follow up. Is it any wonder that many of these companies abandon their marketing efforts complaining that marketing does not work or is not necessary in the printing field.
Unfortunately the “good old days” when a printer could simply purchase a new press, fill it with work and make a profit are long gone. Competitive pressures and the inherent challenges of over-capacity in the printing industry, require a more strategic approach.
More that ever, the printing industry must embrace the disciplines of marketing. Most important, printers need to do a better job of positioning themselves through differentiation strategies. What good does it do to invest money in sales materials, advertising, or any form of self-promotion that do not clearly communicate how the company is different or better than the competition?