Odyssey Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Marketing, content, & technology to help printers sell more printing

Odyssey, MIS, Marketing Ideas For Printers, NO-DATA-CUSTODY-BATTLES-HERE

Recently, I published a blog post to make the case that Odyssey and Marketing Ideas For Printers are built for the long haul. You’d expect to hear nothing less, right? But what if you’re not using Odyssey for the long haul? Smart businesspeople make decisions influenced not only by the adoption of new software, but also by the departure options provided by that software. That’s why a question like this comes up sometimes: I like what I see in Odyssey. What if I get started now, but in a few years decide I want to move on? How do I get my data? Let me first start by saying we have no intention of running some “data extortion ring” here. We’re not going to hold your data hostage; that’s just not who we are. It’s your data, and we’re honored you entrust us with it! If, for some unknown reason, you find it necessary to part ways in the future, it’s still your data, and you’re entitled to it. Export Your Data That’s why you’ll see plenty of export buttons in Odyssey. As long as you’re a subscriber, you’ll always have the opportunity to export data from Odyssey’s reports. How About a Different Format? In a perfect world, software

Odyssey, MIS, Marketing Ideas For Printers, How Do I Know You're Print MIS Will Be Around

For those discovering Odyssey (our new Print MIS) and learning about Marketing Ideas For Printers for the very first time, it’s not surprising to have questions like this: How do I know Marketing Ideas For Printers will be around for the long haul? How can I be assured that Odyssey will be viable in the future if I choose Odyssey as my Print MIS? Those are good questions, and not too difficult to answer. It Starts with Our History The answer actually starts in the late 1980s with the birth of Ink Inc., which at that time was the name of the company that started the direct mail service provided by Marketing Ideas For Printers. Just click the history link at the bottom of any page on our Direct Mail For Printers website and you’ll see the story of how Ink Inc. began. Over time, we’ve added Websites For Printers (2001), Social Media Marketing For Printers (2009), and Email Marketing For Printers (2009) to the services offered by Marketing Ideas For Printers. Each service was quickly embraced by both new and existing customers, and each service quickly achieved sustained profitability. Each service has stood the test of time, and each service has adapted to continue to be relevant.

Odyssey, MIS, Marketing Ideas For Printers, How Much Does Odyssey Cost?

If you’re a “just give me the facts, please” type of person, the price for Odyssey is as follows: a recurring monthly subscription fee of $499 (USD), plus a $2,999 (USD) one-time setup fee to get started. Currently, Odyssey requires a website (with the Ecommerce Suite) from Marketing Ideas For Printers. That means you’ll have not only a forward-thinking Print MIS under your fingertips but also a world-class website! (Later, Odyssey will be available for use on any website.) Odyssey’s Pricing and Benefits So, I know what you’re probably thinking. “How does Odyssey help me sell more printing and pay for itself?” Or, there’s this one, “Switching to a new MIS is a huge headache. What’s so different about Odyssey that I’ll know it’s really worth it?” Finally, “I’m thinking about it, but why hurry?” Well, let me answer those questions for you with three of the benefits I believe will be the most impactful for you: Question #1: How does Odyssey help me sell more printing and pay for itself? By eliminating double-entry and creating a more efficient hand-off from your customers to your team. Just think of all the time it takes your team to copy the information from an online order and paste it into

Odyssey, MIS, Marketing Ideas For Printers, The Personal Touch is Gone. Now What?

Gone are the days when you could count on a friendly smile with your purchase. Sure, you can still get that warm smile, but these days we head to the self-checkout line and intentionally choose to skip the opportunity for that friendly smile altogether. That’s a topic I explored in a recent article published on LinkedIn entitled, Connecting People to Process. (If we’re not already connected on LinkedIn, please take this opportunity to connect with me while you’re there reading the article. Thanks!) Who’s In Control? You don’t have a self-checkout line in your print shop, but your print-buying customers probably feel like most Walmart shoppers. They don’t always want a personal touch anymore! They want control – the control to regulate their buying pace, the control to access and change their order whenever they want, and the control to not wait for you. The Easiest Process Wins If your customers are exercising their control and choosing to skip the personal touch, that means they’re going online to order printing. Today, over 70% of buying decisions are made before a conversation with a real live human even occurs. 70%!!! And all signs point to that number going even higher in the future. Let’s go back to the

We will soon be relaunching the ezMail website at EmailMarketingForPrinters.com, and with that relaunch, you’ll learn about the new path of email marketing offered by Marketing Ideas For Printers. Spoiler Alert: ezMail is being phased out to make way for the more robust marketing tools planned for the all-new Print Management Information System (Print MIS) from Marketing Ideas For Printers, code-named “Odyssey.” Not only will Odyssey manage the day-to-day activities of print production, but it will also include a marketing suite to connect you with your prospects and customers at every stage of the print-buying cycle. When the ezMail website relaunches on Thursday, December 8, 2016, all free ezMail plans will be discontinued, and ezMail will be removed from all Grow and Conquer website bundles. However, ezMail will continue to be available for all current ezMail subscribers with a paid subscription, as well as for all active users of an ezMail account included in a Grow or Conquer website bundle. (“Active” means the ezMail account has been accessed between January 1, 2016, and November 28, 2016.) With ezMail subscriptions soon to be no longer available (except for our existing customers with active ezMail accounts), it’s time to check out Odyssey, the future of email marketing for printers! CHECK OUT ODYSSEY

“Odyssey” is a new breed of Print Management Information Systems (Print MIS) that eliminates double entry and expands the scope of Print MIS to include marketing. Odyssey Eliminates Double Entry Gone are the days when your customers place an order online, and you have to copy the information they provided and paste it into your Print MIS. With Odyssey, your website is your MIS, and that means no more double entry. Odyssey Includes Marketing What if your Print MIS not only managed your interactions with your customers during the production of their print jobs, but it also helped you communicate with your customers and prospects before and after the time they were buying printing? Because Odyssey is a Print MIS with marketing automation, Odyssey has you covered at all stages … before, during, and after! Learn About Odyssey Odyssey will launch in January 2017. If you take the time to learn about Odyssey now, you’ll save $2,000 off Odyssey’s startup charge. How do you learn about Odyssey? By signing up for one of our no-obligation webinars! The webinars are scheduled every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, pick the one (or more!) that works for you. The complete schedule can be found at the bottom of mi4p.com/mis. Sign Up for a Webinar

A few weeks ago at Graph Expo 2016, we presented the alpha release of “Odyssey,” the codename for the new Print Management Information System (Print MIS) designed to end printers’ double-entry dilemma. We thought, “If a print buyer is entering order information on a printer’s website, why does the printer have to re-enter it into their Print MIS?” Removing Steps to Eliminate Print MIS Double-Entry One of our biggest sources of inspiration for building Odyssey is a yellow book titled Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal. In his book, Eyal refers to another book (Something Really New: Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products, by Denis J. Hauptly) when he says this: First, Hauptly states, understand the reason people use a product or service. Next, lay out the steps the customer must take to get the job done. Finally, once the series of tasks from intention to outcome is understood, simply start removing steps until you reach the simplest possible process. That’s it! Odyssey removes steps (the steps that are responsible for double-entry of order information) and helps you reach the simplest possible process by reducing six touchpoints in the order entry process down to two! The result? No more double entry in your Print

All-in-one Print MIS, Web-2-Print and Marketing solution changes the way printers do business. ORLANDO, FL, Sept. 25 – There was a time when taking print orders over the web meant re-entering that information into the Print MIS (management information system) and added time and errors to a printer’s day. Today, Marketing Ideas for Printers (MI4P) announced the alpha release of “Odyssey,” the codename for its new Print MIS designed to end printers’ double-entry dilemma. MI4P is previewing Odyssey at Graph Expo Sept. 25-28 in Orlando. “With Odyssey, we’re staying true to our mission to help printers sell more printing,” says Dave Hultin, President, MI4P. “Eliminating the double-entry headache that has plagued printers is important, but Odyssey will provide value all along the print buying cycle – before, during, and after the print order.” That’s because Odyssey is designed from the ground up to be more than “just” a print MIS. “With Odyssey, the website IS the print MIS,” Hultin says. “Entries made on the web form are automatically updated on the MIS side. If pricing or a schedule changes within the MIS side, the changes are automatically reflected for the print buyer.” In addition, Odyssey expands the scope of Print MIS

How many customer lists are you currently maintaining? One of your most valuable customer lists is the one in your print management information system (Print MIS). After all, that’s where you’re keeping track of everyone that’s placing orders, and everyone that’s paying you for the privilege of doing business with you. That’s a pretty significant list! When do you add people to that list? Do you add them to your Print MIS before they order printing from you? No, because that’s when they’re on your prospecting list. However, that’s also a pretty significant list because, after all, that’s where your customers are coming from. Prospecting for Print Buyers How do you turn prospects into print buyers? It starts by building relationships. Think back even further. How do you build relationships? By telling your story and starting a conversation with your prospect. Consider this: If your goal is to turn your prospects into customers, and your customers are managed by your Print MIS, doesn’t it make sense for your Print MIS to manage the marketing campaigns that target those prospects (i.e. your soon-to-be customers!) right from the start? Shouldn’t your prospect list and your customer list be managed together, as one list? We think so, which is why

We’ve heard over and over again about the challenges printers face when they receive an order online and then need to re-enter the same information into their print management information systems (Print MIS). Copy-paste makes the job easier, of course, but who wants to sit around copying and pasting all day when you could be spending that time working and selling more printing? Odyssey Changes Everything! “Odyssey” is the new Print MIS we’ll be revealing at Graph Expo, and Odyssey changes everything! Odyssey powers not only the Print MIS but also the order forms on your website. Any information your customers provide when they place an order on your website instantly and seamlessly becomes data in Odyssey. With Odyssey, your website is your MIS, and that means no more double entry! When your website and your Print MIS are two different systems, online print orders look like this: But when Odyssey eliminates double entry by keeping all of your data in the same system, the process flows smoothly, like a peaceful stream, like this: Six touchpoints are reduced to TWO! Not only is double entry eliminated, the whole workflow is streamlined, communication with your customer is more efficient, and you get more done

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