Size Doesn’t Matter. Your Customers Do.
The size of your print business is not a predictor of its success. In fact, there’s really only one thing that will help you know how successful you’ll be — your customers! Think about it: Whether it’s a large business like Google or Amazon or a much smaller, local mom and pop shop, customers are the one aspect that tie all businesses together. Your customer base is the greatest treasure you’ll ever hold, so it’s important you treat it as such. Consider that: “47 percent of customers surveyed have switched companies after a single instance of poor customer service,” according to 24/7. “A customer who is “totally satisfied” delivers 2.6 times as much revenue as one who is “somewhat satisfied.” So, how do you go about maintaining your customer base and still make your business stand out from others? The answer is: Go the Extra Mile. “Yeah, I get that,” you say. “But how?” Communication is Your First Step Not everyone is naturally a great communicator. It’s important to remember that communication is a learned skill, and you need to take the time to train your Customer Service Representatives on what to ask. For example, train your staff to run through these five
3 Steps to Finding the Sweet Spot of Small Business (Print Business) Success
Ever Eaten a Beehive? Have you ever gone out on a limb? You know, scooching a bit too far, feeling the limb start to sag, but reaching…stretching your fingers until your joints hurt? That honey is all you want. It’s all you dream about. Right? That honey is your Holy Grail. But, no matter how far you reach, that hive of honey is just too far, too elusive, too hard to grasp. The Business of Bees Stretching for the unattainable is what being a small business owner is all about. All small business owners dream of that honey, of hitting it big. We think that when we open our doors, life will be a vacation, but that’s not how it works. Small business owners get “stung” by a million problems every day. It can be relentless. How can anyone manage through that? Execute, Execute, Execute If you want to learn to push through to reach the impossible, there are three really easy steps. Although these steps will help you, remember, it’s always about the execution. Execution is the key to success. Don’t tell me how you are going to be successful, SHOW ME. Everyone wants to sell their company for millions, but in reality,
3 Steps to Crafting A Marketing Message Your Ideal Buyers Will Love (Part 2: What)
In part one of “3 Steps to Crafting A Marketing Message Your Ideal Buyers Will Love,” we talked about how your messaging is the core that will drive your entire business. You learned that the first step to great a message is the “Who.” To whom is your message directed at? If you haven’t created a buyer persona, you’ll want to go back and make sure you complete that step. After all, if you don’t have your “who,” you won’t be able to move on to the “what” of your message. First Come Who, Then Comes What Once you’ve gone through the persona process, and you have a good idea of who your audience is, you’ll want to figure out what it is exactly that they need to hear from you. When you’re able to craft the right message at the right time, and to the right people, you’ll get more leads and, ultimately, more sales. There ain’t nothin’ better than leads and prospects that proactively reach out to you to buy. So, how do you do that? The Power of Empathy First, you’ll want to learn how to have and show empathy. Empathy is the art of putting yourself in
Copywriting For Printers: Why Your Tagline is the Most Important Content You’ll Ever Create
It’s the most hard-hitting copy you’ll ever craft. Guaranteed, hands down. Your tagline can provoke attention, accentuate your abilities, and make you irresistible to prospective customers. Conversely, it can confuse prospects, increase bounce rates on your website, and even cost you money because confused buyers don’t buy. Your tagline is a huge advantage when in competitive situations. So, when you fail at it, you end up losing an opportunity (that you probably won’t get back) to communicate your value. Here’s why your tagline so important, and how you can write a tagline that can ultimately help your print business sell more printing. 1. Make it about your customers’ pain points, and not about you. Your customers and prospects don’t want to only hear about you and your business. It’s true; they don’t. It’s the most common mistake to make, and it happens because we assume that everybody cares about our business the same way that we do. Your prospective customers want to know four things: How your business will help them solve a problem. How your solution will meet a need. How your product or service will save time. How your service will make your prospect money. In other words,
The 80/20 Rule in Reverse
The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, says that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. You’re probably more familiar with the business version of that rule which says roughly 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients. BUT DON’T FORGET THE 80%… The other 80% of your clients that remain are important too. You won’t want to ignore them! Why? Because that 80% of your customers are providing 20% of your sales, and: 20% is still a big number; big enough that you’d miss it if it were gone! Those customers that provide the 20% of your sales may not command the full attention of your marketing budget, but they’re still driving sales your way. What if a high-value customer leaves you? You’d have to scramble to fill the gap, and if you’ve ignored your replacements (or the other 80% of your customers), they may not be too willing to step into that group of 20% for you. Remember, your competitors are focused on the 20% too. That leaves a big, untapped market with the 80% that remain! REVERSING THE 80/20 RULE So, don’t ignore the 80%! Social media marketing is
Get Your Social Media Going [Part 2]
In part one of “Get Your Social Media Going,” we talked about what types of content to post and how to manage it all when getting started with your social media strategy. (Did we mention that social media is a big factor in your SEO efforts?) Today, we’re going to explore some simple steps you can take to grow your social media presence and move beyond the beginner level. Choose Your Weapon When you’re just getting started with social media marketing, it’s easy to take the shotgun approach, or in other words, fire a giant spray of content and hope it connects to someone in your target audience. While there is real merit in spreading information with the intent to reach as many people as possible, it’s important you learn how (and when) to put away your fire hose and instead, reach for your bow and arrow. So, how do you know which approach will work best for you? When you have a laser-targeted audience and are focused on sales, your return on investment (ROI), and click-through rates (CTR), that’s when you’ll want to pull out the rifle approach. If, however, you’re going for maximum reach and/or brand visibility, the
Others First: A Bet Worth Making
The title of this blog post could have just as easily been, “How an NDSU Bison National Championship Football Win turned into a Salvation Army Donation,” but that title is way too long. Another way-too-long option: “How a Friendly Wager Turned into a Win-Win-Win!” Setting the Stage As the 2017 college football season reached the playoff stage, the top two teams at the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) level were the James Madison Dukes, and Fargo’s own North Dakota State University Bison. Long story short, these two teams (ranked #1 and #2) were the last teams standing and therefore met for the FCS championship game. It turns out that one of our customers, Dick Olyench of Spectrum Printing in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is a pretty big JMU fan. No surprise, because he’s the father of two JMU alums. The Deal Was Made Once Dick realized that his team was going to go helmet-to-helmet with ours, he became a betting man! The deal was made: if NDSU won, Dick would provide a pizza party for the team here at Marketing Ideas For Printers. If JMU won, we would pick up the phone and order pizza for the “Happy Printers” over at Spectrum Printing.
Google’s Duplicate Content Penalty: The Not-So-Scary Truth
Remember playing “Telephone” as a kid? You’d whisper something to the person next to you, then each person in the circle would pass along what they heard until finally, the last person announced some random statement that only had the smallest fragments of what was said initially. There seems to be a similar “Telephone” whisper going around our printer circle regarding Google’s duplicate content penalties. The word “penalty “can be scary. But, in this case, it’s important to understand that it’s not scary, it’s misunderstood. Patrick Stox, an SEO Specialist for IBM and an organizer for the Raleigh SEO Meetup explains Google’s “penalty” like this: People mistake duplicate content for a penalty because of how Google handles it. Really, the duplicates are just being filtered in the search results. So, what can you do to help beat the filter? Here are the highlights you should be aware of. Avoid Duplication (A.K.A. Customize) When you subscribe to services like our websites or social media marketing, you need to be aware that you will receive the same starter content as every other subscriber. We’ve crafted an enormously powerful and efficient springboard for you to make an impact towards selling more printing. But here’s the thing, content springboards
Succeeding or Struggling? Five Bold Predictions for Print in 2018
What does the year 2018 hold for the community of printers? Here are five of our bold predictions for what will separate successful printers from struggling printers in 2018. 1) Less Competition in Your Mailbox Let’s face it; there’s not as much mail being sent these days. In the U.S. mail volume dropped from a recent high of 212.2 billion mail pieces in 2007 down to 154.2 billion mail pieces in 2016. Same thing in Canada: The volume of transactional mail in Canada dropped from a high of 5.5 billion mail pieces in 2006 down to 3.4 billion in 2016. Successful printers will realize there’s less competition in the mailbox and see this as an opportunity to make an appearance in that empty mailbox and rise above the noise. They’ll allocate resources towards the execution of a regular monthly direct mail marketing campaign. Struggling printers will view the decline in mailpieces as a trend, and decide to participate in that trend rather than take advantage of the opportunity it offers. 2) Popularity of Shopping Online Expands The comfort of shopping without leaving your desk usually trumps the need to gas up the car and make a trip to the mall. Bumping into someone
If I Could Be Like Mike: Remembering Mike Stevens
This weekend we learned that Mike Stevens, the founder of Express Press and Marketing Ideas for Printers, is now at peace after a long battle with a reappearance of leukemia. Mike’s legacy is one that has touched thousands, including many of you reading this now. If I Could Be Like Mike We all have people in our lives we aspire to be like: family, friends, leaders in our industry, and for many in the printing industry, that person was Mike. Remember the catchy jingle, “If I Could Be Like Mike,” from the 1991 Gatorade advertising campaign? The campaign featured Michael Jordan and made every novice basketball player believe they could be the next Michael Jordan. While not many of us dream of pursuing professional athleticism, we all desire to make an impact on those around us. Mike Stevens was no exception. His days were spent intentionally engaging with others, looking for ways to pour into the lives of those around him, and making all of us better off for knowing him. Mike was able to: “…see the bigger picture” “…use his gift of seeing strengths and raw talents in people” “…inspire with unwavering enthusiasm and motivation” “…share the joy he found in
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