Joseph Casagrande Archives - Marketing, content, & technology to help printers sell more printing

How would you describe working in the world of print today? However you describe it, you can make your print company a great place to work when you focus on these key areas: Solidifying Your Structure Creating Positive Morale Improving Communication Within Your Company Here’s how: Solidify Your Structure Every print shop has some form of structure, but the critical question to ask yourself is, is your structure efficient and worker-friendly? In today’s print world, companies tend to have workers that wear a variety of different hats and do a multitude of tasks. While this structure may be cost-efficient, it also tends to leave those workers feeling overwhelmed by the weight of all the different responsibilities they’re carrying. Gloria Mark at the University of California, Irvine claims. “It takes an average of about 25 minutes (23 minutes and 15 seconds, to be exact) to return to the original task after an interruption.” Think about the impact of that on productivity and efficiency. It takes almost the length of one episode of a television show to regain focus and continue on the task that was originally meant to be accomplished. Even throughout one, single day, the effects of this lost productivity

With the release of Avengers: End Game this spring, many Marvel fans find themselves wondering how they even ended up joining this superhero bandwagon. Before Marvel released their characters onto the silver screen, they began by creating comic books that were seen as a unique art form appreciated by only select few. Which begs the question: how did Marvel become so popular amongst such a diverse collective? The answer is branding. What’s the Big Deal about Branding? Branding is a necessary (and ongoing) process that helps businesses thrive. As printers, it’s crucial for each of us to establish our own identity (or brand) to help us securely develop and grow our print businesses. It’s not uncommon for people (even printers) to think when it comes to branding, creating a logo is the only step. This is far from the truth. While creating a logo does help with the visual aspect of your branding, it’s important to think bigger. Many things encompass the idea of branding and what needs to be done to create the foundation of your image. Branding Means Culture Before jumping into logo creation every time someone mentions the word branding, keep in mind that good branding is

Easy design process, tips, Marketing Ideas For Printers

The design process can be extremely fun to be a part of when done right. There are some challenges, however, that will pop up along the way within the design process, and it’s essential that you’re ready for them. Challenges like: Communicating with the customer Understanding the size or orientation of the piece Ensuring that the design layout is successful As simple as these concepts may seem, executing them is a whole different story. Here are three easy tips to help you streamline the design process for your team and your customer. 1. Know What Your Customer Wants Before starting any design, you must fully understand what the customer wants or has envisioned for the piece. Many customers know what they want and aren’t afraid to tell you. When this is the case, your primary job is listening. Once you’ve gathered all of the information from the customer, confirm and confirm again. Not only will it save you precious time and money later by making sure the piece is correct, but it also shows the customer that you are listening and that you care by taking the time to gather the information correctly. Other customers do not know what they want

Have you ever wondered how your print business impacts your community? If you think about it, print businesses have been impacting communities for centuries. What started as simple cave drawings to tell stories has evolved into the invention of the printing press and a continually effective way for people to communicate with each other. It’s important that we, as printers, continue in that legacy to bring people together through powerful communication. So, how do you build that legacy within your community? Focus on the Residents Being the local print company in your community is beneficial to residents, so set your sites on getting your name and work in front of them. Every day, your print business can (and does) provide a personal touch across multiple print projects within your community: greeting cards, stationery, posters and banners, and much more. By working hard at meeting local residents’ needs, you’ll create word-of-mouth marketing for your business and alert other residents to use your business in the future. Your print not only communicates your residents’ message, but it also broadcasts to your community that you can deliver. That is a surefire way to ensure your business grows. Focus on the Residents’ Connections Since many residents

Communication has been one of humanity’s greatest feats since the beginning of time. The learned ability to communicate has been instrumental with everything from hunting during the early ages of man to producing the world’s greatest inventions. If communication has been such a valuable asset in the past, it’s even more critical today, especially for the life of your business. “Good communication can be the deciding factor for keeping and acquiring customers for your business.” Creating a Smooth Process When customers engage with your business, they want a painless process, not an aggravating one. A typical speed bump that anyone in society has experienced is miscommunication. The unfortunate truth is that our brains are not all connected within society. We all need to communicate with each other to exchange ideas or instructions in order to receive a full understanding. Being that you work in a professional environment, your customers expect you to understand what they want and execute it as such. To ensure that you avoid miscommunication, here are a couple of things to remember: Become an active listener to your customers. “Slow to speak. Quick to listen.” Make this your mantra. Ask questions and confirm what your prospects and

Social media marketing allows you to share articles, links, or images on numerous different platforms all for the sole benefit of connecting with your audience and increasing your presence in the minds or your current and future clients. As a printer, it is important that you jump on board in the venture of social media marketing. Why? Because building your social media presence will help your business grow. Online Etiquette Matters Before you fully use social media as a marketing resource, you must learn and understand the etiquette of using it correctly. Keep Your Opinions to Yourself Avoid getting yourself into trouble by not posting your opinions or commenting on potentially controversial topics. When you are quick to speak and slow to listen to your audience, potential customers that have opposing views to your posted content may be deterred from using your services. Keep Yourself Off the Hook Remember, the person or company who is responsible for posting controversial content may receive negative backlash that could be incredibly consequential. You don’t want to put your business at risk by losing customers or creating an uproar online. The Why Behind Building Social Media For Printers Now that you’ve been reminded of

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