5 Tips for Refreshing Your Design

No matter how effective your direct mail, marketing collateral, and emails have been in the past, every marketing toolbox needs a refresh now and then. Is it time for yours? If so, here are five tips for giving your projects a fresh look.

1.   Update your colors. There are few things more important than the colors you choose. While some colors are perennial, such as white, navy blue, gray, and black, “trendy” colors and palettes change over time. Every year, PANTONE puts out its “color of the year,” as do the leaders in markets such as paint, fashion, and interior design. Use these to inform your color choices.  

2.   Go heavy on the visuals. It has been said that people only read 20% – 28% of the words on any given page. That’s why photographs, illustrations, and graphs are so important. Not only does the brain process images 60,000 times faster than text, but when relevant images are paired with text, people remember that information 65% of the time.

3.   Keep it short. Keep your text to a minimum. According to Who’s Mailing What!, an online database of nearly 150,000 mailpieces, the average amount of text on a direct mailpiece is 25% less than in the past. People are busier than ever, so keep it short and sweet. Use your mailings to drive people online or to call for more information.

4.   Add more white space. When it comes to marketing, white space is a good thing. Let your text and images “breathe.” Keep your information punchy. Tell your story in lists and bullet points to make your message even quicker and easier to absorb.

5.   Tap into social proof. Buyers trust each other more than they do brands, so incorporate what is called “social proof.” Add Google or Yelp! Reviews. Work in testimonials from social media. Add official logos and badges such as PayPal Verified or McAfee Secure to ensure credibility and trustworthiness.

Your marketing materials are your "face to market." Customers and prospects will judge the quality, credibility, and trustworthiness of your brand based on what they see. So keep your face fresh. Make sure that your face to market represents who you are and everything you stand for today.

Relevance: The Key to Success in Personalized Printing Campaigns

The ability to tailor documents with precision, incorporating variables like gender, income, and geographic location, holds immense potential in print and email marketing. But savvy marketers know that data points, by themselves, don’t make communication effective. So what does? Relevance.

Relevance is the secret ingredient that transforms a personalized document from simply compiling variables in a database into a compelling communication piece. So how do you create it? By getting to know your audience on a deeper level. Go beyond surface-level data and delve into their habits, preferences, and aspirations.

Say you promote women's all-natural health and beauty products, personalizing direct mailings based on name, age, and life stage. Despite experimenting with different variables, the response needs to be higher. At this point, it might be tempting to think personalized print doesn’t work.

Rather than abandoning the approach, however, you decide to dig deeper. You conduct a print or email survey to learn more about what motivates your audience. You discover that a significant percentage of your prospects are single moms. While they appreciate the value of natural products, budgets are tight, and time management is a greater priority than personal pampering.

Armed with this newfound knowledge, you can adjust the marketing pitch. Instead of focusing on the personal appeal of all-natural products, highlight their cost-effectiveness compared to commercial alternatives. You might emphasize how these products can boost energy levels, enhance sleep quality, and provide long-term health benefits for growing children.

The marketing pitch becomes more persuasive and relevant by tailoring the message to address the audience’s unique circumstances.

We’ve all heard the saying, "Knowledge is power." That holds in marketing, too. The power to understand customers profoundly and deliver relevant messaging enables you to unlock the full potential of personalized printing. When documents resonate with recipients personally, their impact is amplified, leading to higher response rates, increased engagement, and, ultimately, higher profits and revenues.

 

 

Harnessing the Marketing Power of Summer

When is the best time to get your message in front of a potential customer? When no one else is in their ear! This is what makes summertime marketing so powerful. Many businesses slow down their marketing during this time of year, making it a perfect time for you to get even busier.

 

Let’s look at ways businesses can leverage this season to maximize success.

 

1.    Seasonal themes and trends: From beach vacations and outdoor activities to barbecues and festivals, summertime brings a host of seasonal themes and trends that provide a perfect backdrop for captivating campaigns. By aligning your marketing messages with the season, you can tap into the excitement associated with summertime and create unique experiences and a sense of urgency.

 

2.    Outdoor advertising opportunities: With the arrival of warm weather, people spend more time outdoors, providing unique opportunities for outdoor advertising. Whether it's billboards, banners, sidewalk signs, or experiential marketing activations, broaden your reach through strategically placed advertisements in parks, beaches, outdoor events, and popular tourist destinations.

 

3.    Social media Engagement: Summertime fuels engagement as people share their experiences and adventures with friends and followers. Organize contests, giveaways, or user-generated content campaigns encouraging customers to share their summer moments featuring your products or services.

 

4.    Product diversification: Many industries experience shifts in consumer preferences and demands during the summer months. For example, the fashion industry sees an uptick in summer apparel and accessories sales, while the food and beverage industry witnesses increased demand for refreshing seasonal drinks and snacks. By launching summer-specific collections, you can cater to these changing consumer needs and capitalize on seasonal demand.

 

5.    Increased foot traffic and tourism: Summer is a peak travel season, with people embarking on vacations, road trips, and exploring new destinations. Businesses located in tourist hotspots can leverage this influx of visitors by collaborating with local tourism boards, offering special promotions for tourists, and creating destination-specific experiences.

 

6.    Seasonal sales and promotions: The summer season often brings a host of holidays and celebrations that you can capitalize on using seasonal sales, promotions, or limited-time discounts. Create a sense of urgency by setting deadlines and “act by” dates.

 

Summertime marketing offers distinct advantages that set it apart from other times of the year. Embrace the vibrant spirit of summertime and unleash the power of targeted seasonal marketing to drive growth, engage customers, and foster brand loyalty.

Use Print to Inspire Positive Change

Nonprofits rely heavily on donations and volunteers to fulfill their missions. While email and social media are growing in importance, print motivates donors and volunteers in a way that other channels don’t. Let’s take a look at the many types of printed materials that can move your mission forward and help you make an even greater impact in the world.

Postcards: Postcards are a great way to keep donors and volunteers informed about upcoming events, fundraising campaigns, and other important updates. They are also an excellent tool for expressing gratitude and recognizing the contributions of supporters. Even better, personalize them! Thank donors for recent gifts and update them on how their donations are being used.

Letters: While email may be a fast and convenient way to communicate, a well-crafted letter feels more personal and taps more deeply into people’s emotions. Use letters to convey a sense of gratitude, urgency, or excitement that is difficult to replicate through digital channels. Share stories of impact, ask for donations or volunteer support, or recognize the contributions of individual supporters.

Calendars: Calendars can help to keep supporters engaged throughout the year. Feature images and stories of your work, as well as key dates and events. Distribute calendars to donors and volunteers as a way to say thank you or as an incentive for making a donation or signing up to volunteer. Calendars can be sold as fundraising products, too.

Brochures: Brochures can be used to introduce you to new audiences, provide more detailed information about your programs, and promote your mission at campaigns or events. Use well-designed, colorful pieces to highlight your achievements and demonstrate the impact of your programs. Not every nonprofit uses brochures in this way, so this is a great way to build credibility, differentiation, and trust.

Catalogs: Nonprofits that sell products as part of their fundraising strategies can use catalogs to showcase their offerings and raise money for their mission. Use the larger pages offered by print catalogs as a canvas to tell the stories behind your products, highlight the artisans or communities that produce them, and demonstrate the impact that each purchase can have.

It's easy to see why print remains a valuable tool for nonprofits. The emotional impact of a beautifully printed piece, held in your hands, can’t be replicated in other channels. So use the many tools of print to communicate your mission, impact, and needs to supporters in a deeply personal way that helps you build stronger relationships and inspire positive change.

Getting It Right: The Power of Consistent Brand Colors

Have you ever wondered why certain brands instantly catch your eye and remain etched in your memory? One reason is their consistent and reproducible use of brand colors. Think Coca-Cola Red, McDonald’s Yellow, and Facebook Blue. Whether on a direct mail piece or retail packaging, buyers recognize these brands based on color alone. Highly identifiable brand colors are a company’s most significant marketing asset.

 

Do you have highly identifiable brand colors? If so, how do we, as your printer, ensure that these colors are accurate and consistent from run to run?

                                              

Steps to Great Color

We start by printing to industry standards. In the commercial printing industry, these include GRACoL, SWOP, XCMYK, and for spot colors, Pantone.

 

The printing process is complex, however, and various factors, including the settings on the press, the base color of the substrate, and the type of inks, impact your color. It is also dependent on the printing process used. Offset, digital, and wide-format presses all reproduce color differently. To compensate for these differences, we adhere to rigorous standards, use sophisticated color management software, and employ best-in-class color measurement tools.

 

We measure how close we are to the target color every time your job is run, whether it’s a repeat job on the same press or a project spread across multiple presses. To do this, we use a measurement called delta E. (The word “delta” means “change.”) A delta E is the change from one color to another. If you spec a color, the difference between your proof and the final color is measured in delta Es. Although a delta E can be as small as one, the human eye has trouble distinguishing differences this small. Most customers find delta Es between two and four to be acceptable.

 

Consistent color also requires your files to be adequately produced. If there are errors in the file, it limits the ability of our systems to compensate. Great files in = great printing out.

 

Take Time to Get It Right

If you have colors that are critical to your brand identity, take the time to sit down with us and talk about them. Let’s go over your expectations and steps for proper file preparation. Working together, we can ensure that your brand colors are reproduced consistently, repeatedly, and accurately.

Harness the Power of Visuals to Tell Compelling Stories

Our brains process visual information 60,000 times more quickly than text. Hence the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” That’s why selecting the right photos and illustrations for your campaign objectives is so important.

Let’s look at a few ideas for making the most significant impact.

1. Use high-quality images. Nothing grabs your eye faster than a high-resolution, full-color image that jumps off the page. The minimum resolution for printing is generally 300 dpi. For web use and email, check with us for recommendations.

2. “That’s me!” People respond to images of people who look like them. If you are marketing to Millennials, don’t put Gen Zs on the front of your postcard. Mirror the interests and demographics of your target audience.

3. Tell a story. You can tell powerful stories with nothing more than an image. An exhausted working mother sits behind her desk, shopping list in hand, anxiously watching the clock approach 5:00 p.m. A commuter on a crowded bus looks longingly out the window at a fellow traveler cruising by on a bicycle.

4. Demonstrate your value proposition. Illustrate how your product or service will help solve the problem. A “fast, fresh” restaurant might show the working mother placing a hot, healthy carryout meal on the table for her family. A bicycle manufacturer might show the commuter now cruising on a new bike, wind in his hair, with the crowded bus fading in the distance behind him.

5. Use the real thing. Instead of a stock photo of a corporate team sitting around a conference table, hire a professional photographer to take shots of your team. Show your delivery drivers. Your customer service reps. If prospects can believe your pictures, they can also believe your words.

Images and photos are available in many formats and resolutions. Pictures that work for websites and social media may not be adequate for print, so let us help. Let us help you select the right images in the right formats to make your marketing materials resonate.

Tapping the Hidden Goldmine of Customer Retention

In today's competitive business landscape, who doesn’t want new customers? We all do! However, innovative businesses understand customer retention is the path to sustainable profitability. By nurturing and retaining existing customers, you can save on marketing costs and benefit from increased customer lifetime value and a more substantial brand reputation.

Let’s look at five strategies for effective customer retention that can significantly impact your bottom line.

1. Budget for it. Just as you allocate resources for customer acquisition, it is equally important to budget and plan for customer retention initiatives. This includes investing in customer relationship management (CRM) systems, customer support infrastructure, loyalty programs, and personalized marketing campaigns.

2. Start early. Don’t wait until someone has been a customer to start your customer retention efforts. Start the moment they become a customer. From smooth onboarding to providing helpful, relevant updates to promoting the benefits of your loyalty program, establish a strong foundation by delivering exceptional customer experiences right from the start.

3. Speak to them personally. One-size-fits-all marketing approaches need to be more effective. To engage and retain customers, personalized messaging is crucial. Leverage customer data and analytics to understand individual preferences, purchase history, and behavior patterns. By making customers feel valued and understood, you strengthen their emotional connection to your brand, improving loyalty and retention rates.

4. Bring dormant customers back. Customers who have become inactive or dormant can still hold significant potential. Rather than letting them slip away, create reactivation campaigns to re-engage with them. Analyze their past interactions, purchase history, and reasons for disengagement. Craft targeted messages or special offers to entice them back.

5. Use your customer list to upsell and cross-sell. Your existing customer base is a goldmine for upselling and cross-selling. Leverage your list to identify complementary products or services that align with their previous purchases. By effectively upselling and cross-selling, you increase revenue per customer and deepen the overall customer relationship, making it harder for competitors to lure them away.

Customer retention should be a top priority for businesses seeking long-term profitability. By creating a comprehensive plan and allocating resources to this effort, you can foster strong customer loyalty and maximize your profitability potential.