Dave Hultin Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Marketing, content, & technology to help printers sell more printing

If we were like every other business, we’d be offering you a year-end review right about now. But, you know what? Here at Marketing Ideas For Printers, we like to do things a little differently to allow for a greater vision. It looks like this. We follow a quarterly rhythm for working on the bigger projects that bring content and online ordering solutions together by asking ourselves, “What are the most important things we need to accomplish in the next 90 days?” We then create that list and get to work on those most important projects. Often, one of the first things I do when starting a project like that is to write a press release announcing the completed project. That press release is used for vision casting and for internal use only; its purpose is to help everyone involved understand what the project’s end result is supposed to look like. That, in turn, helps everyone get pointed in the right direction immediately. In the spirit of those “predictive press releases,” I thought you’d enjoy my perspective on the coming year here at Marketing Ideas For Printers and what’s coming your way to help you sell more printing. 2023: A

Owning a business can bring about a fantastic journey. Last year, my wife, Judy, decided to begin this entrepreneurial journey herself when she launched Fargo Glamping, a business built on the idea of Glamour + Camping = Glamping. So far, it’s been a successful journey for Judy, and it’s been fun to see her idea take shape. But watching my wife’s business grow from the ground up has reminded me that relying only on the products or services a business provides isn’t going to make her company grow roots as successfully as she wants or needs. In today’s online world, it’s social proof and reviews that are the new currency. For example, I can show you a pretty picture of the tent she provides for a one-of-a-kind glamping event, but it doesn’t become real until you hear about the experience and imagine what the experience could be for yourself by reading a review, such as: Thank you so much for the wonderful experience! My daughter had the best birthday and she can’t wait to do it all again next year. The tent was more than we ever expected and was absolutely beautiful! The small details that you all do make

I’m not even sure when it happened. At some point, Fargo, North Dakota, the city in which Marketing Ideas For Printers calls its home, changed from a big little city into a little big city. And that means dealing with big-city challenges, which lately, haven’t been pleasant. An Upside-Down World A few nights ago, I watched a live stream video showing violence and destruction in downtown Fargo as visiting insurrectionists used the tension associated with the death of George Floyd to bring their dangerous message to our little big city. I know we’re not the only city wrestling with this kind of violence, and I pray you’re all safe. Along with this topsy-turvy violence, our society as a whole continues to adapt to the twists and turns of the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, I know we’re not the only city wrestling with coronavirus, and I pray you’re all safe. So, how do you handle the challenges brought to your doorstep? How are you adapting to lead others well in such tumultuous times? Here are three things I like to keep in mind. 3 Things to Remember When Embracing the Challenge of Change 1. Perspective is Everything There’s currently some internet wisdom

At the time I’m writing this article, our country is adjusting to a new normal forced upon us by the Coronavirus. We’re all calibrating to this new normal by the day (if not by the hour), so by the time you read this there may be even a different version of the new normal. Here are some tips to help you survive (and even thrive!) in the new normal. Empathize with Your Message The Coronavirus update email faucet turned on wide-open once it became clear that the Coronavirus would be sticking around for a while. There are the obligatory emails from our kids’ schools and our church; those get an automatic pass through my personal “pay attention” filter. Then there are the emails that are nothing other than a disingenuous series of sanitized words carefully crafted to show the reader that a company was actually able to implement the common-sense virus-fighting suggestions and best practices. I’m sure you’ve received these emails too. The subject line is almost always a tip-off. Here are some examples of those email subjects, fresh from my inbox: A Message to Our Clients COVID-19 Action Plan Coronavirus: What you need to know Account Update: ____’s Response to COVID-19 COVID-19 and our commitment to you I understand that these messages are important (at least to the sender!) and may indeed even be necessary, but they sure are impersonal. They’re almost always

Next week, you might be one of the many printers passing through the Houston airport as you arrive for the 8th Annual Spring Conference for the National Print Owners Association (NPOA). I thought you might find it interesting to know that as you head over to claim your luggage at the baggage claim, you’re experiencing the result of some creative problem-solving. The Problem With Waiting Several years ago, passengers passing through the Houston airport often complained about how much time they had to wait to claim their bags. Airport management was concerned that the number of complaints was excessive, and as any good customer-focused business would do, executives at the Houston airport addressed the issue head-on. The Conventional Solution Additional baggage handlers were added, and the average time to wait for passengers to claim their luggage fell to eight minutes, which was a wait time well within accepted airport benchmarks. Problem solved! Or was it? Even with the reduced wait time, the complaints kept coming. The airport executives found they needed to explore the problem from a completely different angle. So, they zoomed out their perspective on the wait-time issue and learned that while the baggage typically arrived at the

It seems a day rarely goes by without our team here at Marketing Ideas For Printers fielding Search Engine Optimization (SEO) questions from our customers and prospects. I recently found myself answering one of those questions with one of our newest customers and found myself remembering the advice of Sal, the SEO Expert. Sal offered good advice almost two years ago, and it’s still relevant today. So, I thought it time to reintroduce you to Sal’s tips and expand on Sal’s recommendation to approach your website’s SEO strategy the same way you approach a book. It All Starts with the Title When you enter a bookstore, whether the physical or virtual version, what do you notice first? Of course, it’s the book covers, and the same is true with search engines. That’s because the title is what appears in your website’s home page tab or window bar, and it’s the equivalent of a book’s title. Books are known by their titles, so it’s essential to ask yourself: How do you want your website to be known? How do you want to be known to the search engines? Then, make sure the answer to those questions reflects in your website’s title.

What separates the leaders of the pack from everyone else? While there’s no “one size fits all” answer to that question, here’s one of my favorite answers: The Entrepreneurial Operating System®, or EOS®. Quoting directly from the EOS website, EOS is… a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses. Gino Wickman (literally!) wrote the book on EOS. In his book Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, Wickman details the Six Key Components™ of any business that must be managed and strengthened to be a great business. Those components are: Vision People Data Issues Process Traction® We want to help make it easier for printers like you to sell more printing, and the Entrepreneurial Operating System has the power to do just that. EOS works best for small businesses with ten to 250 employees. It’s been a huge benefit for how we do business here at Marketing Ideas For Printers, and based on our experience with EOS, I’m confident in saying that EOS could be a good fit for you, too. Here’s a brief summary of each of the Six Key Components, along with a small insight as to what that component

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