A great way to say Thank You to our Employees, Vendors and Customers is with a gift. Of course, the gift must reflect the relationship you have with the recipient to be received as intended. Over-giving comes across as suspicious, while under-giving can appear unappreciative.
Whoever the recipient, be authentic in your giving. Don't try to disguise your marketing message in the form of a gift. It's a great idea to put your mark (brand) on your gift to remind them of who gave it to them, just keep it subtle. It's not a billboard, it's a gift.
A quality jacket with a monochromatic logo embroidered on the left chest is perfect for an employee who would be proud to sport his company's brand in a subtle way. On the other hand, don't hand them a t-shirt with a large, bright company logo that fills up the back of the shirt as a gift.
Useful gifts for Customers and Vendors are preferred because they are not too personal. Photo frames, desk clocks, Power Banks are all quality, useful gifts that convey your corporate message without screaming it at them.
Consider the gift recipient, and they will consider the source this year. They'll be grateful for your gratitude.
How your customer perceives and receives your message is just as important as the message you intend.
The telephone game shows us that what is heard is rarely what was said. We send and receive communications in many ways, depending on our personality types (Personas).
Marketing requires we make broad assumptions about our audience while targeting them enough to get them to act. The complication is that we are all a mix of 4 personas.
Get to know the 4 personas and how they buy.
Understand your customer's personality.
Talk to them the way they want to hear it.
Here are the 4 Personas and how to engage them...
Director (Competitive)
This persona doesn't have much time, wants to get down to business, and move on to the next challenge. These are the 'Natural Leaders' that are awesome at their best, and insensitive at their worst. This crowd has an eagle-eye view. You won't find them in the weeds.
Who are they? CEO's, Owners, Upper Management
What they want? Achievement, Control, Winning
Best ways to engage them?
Authenticity. Don't pretend you're not trying to sell them.
Clarity. Give it to them in bullet points.
Efficiency. Tell them on the cover of the brochure and above the fold on your website.
Challenge. Let them think it's their idea.
Get out of the way. Allow them to act fast and decisively.
Socializer (Spontaneous)
This persona is great at brainstorming. They love coming up with ideas and discussing them. Similar to a Director, they don't spend too much time on one idea. These are the 3rd shelf shoppers; they won't be searching the bottom shelf at the grocery store for items they have to reach for.
Who are they? Public Relations, Salespeople, Entertainers
What they want? Attention, Peer Appreciation, Persuading others
Best ways to engage them?
Activity. Give them something fun to do.
Ask. Get their ideas.
Specials. "Free", "Buy now", "Save" work well. Starbursts on your site.
Shine. Be the shiny object that gets their attention.
Fast & Easy. Don't make them jump through hoops to purchase.
Thinker (Methodical)
This persona does it correctly every time. These are spell checking, spreadsheet formula writing dynamos. Unlike Directors and Socializers, Thinkers take a long time to purchase while analyzing all of the information. The Director set the goal of getting man on the moon but the Thinkers got us there.
Who are they?CPA's, Engineers, Scientists
What they want? Precision, Accuracy, Dependability
Best ways to engage them?
Proof. Graphs, Charts and Research.
Solutions. Exactly how does this solve their problem?
White Papers. They will scroll down on your site for details.
Information. Feelings have very little to do with their buying habits.
Time. Don't rush them. They are a slow sale.
Relaters (Humanists)
This persona wants to know what others think. They frequent online forums and seek out groups for their opinions. Relaters look at your testimonials from other satisfied customers to support their decision. They will go out of their way to avoid buyer's remorse before they purchase.
Who are they? Negotiators, Counselors, Customer Service
What they want? Stability, Consensus, Friendship
Best ways to engage them?
Predictability. Don't surprise them with an up-sell.
Stories. Let others tell your story and listen to theirs.
Testimonials. Share feelings from other satisfied customers.
Modesty. Flashy, boasting messages are a turn off.
Time. Once again, don't rush them. They'll get back to you in a few weeks.
It's likely that you see yourself in more than one of these personas. You may be a Director-Thinker, or a Socializer-Relater.
Analyzing the titles of your current customers can reveal a lot about their personality types and how to talk to them through the sales process.
DESIGN TIP:
Your designs should include bullet-points for your Directors and an easy to understand offer for your Spontaneous types on the cover or above the fold on your site. Then for your Thinkers and Relaters, place testimonials and statistics inside or below the fold on your site because they will do their research and find them.
Recognizing the difference between Spot Color and Process Color will help you spec your printing projects to your printer for accurate cost estimates and job planning.
Starting with definitions of the two options, we can then discuss other determining factors to guide you in making the right choice.
Spot Color This color is created by mixing ink using the Pantone Matching System (PMS) before the ink is loaded into the press. Hundreds of different ink colors can be matched by mixing specific formulas using 14 standard colors. A very basic example of this is that Blue & Yellow make a Green ink color. The formulas are precise and can sometimes rely on 4 or 5 different mixing colors to achieve the exact color. This is a solid color of ink and you will not see anything but that color when you view it with a magnifier.
Process Color Printing 4 standard colors of ink on the press creates this color. Every Process Color project is printed with the same 4 colors - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black, also referred to as CMYK (the K is Black). The press does not mix the inks, it simply prints a percentage of small dots for each Process Color to achieve the desired color. You have to use a magnifier to see it but the Green color you see on your printed piece is actually very tiny dots of Blue and Yellow. That's how the press can print green without having green ink on the press.
Spot Color vs. Process Color
SPOT COLOR
PROS
Precision color reproduction
Only one pass through the press
CONS
Cannot reproduce color photos
Cannot print on digital press
PROCESS COLOR
PROS
Unlimited color options
Digital reproduction available
CONS
Some colors do not reproduce accurately
Cannot reproduce Metallic or Fluorescent colors
Many other considerations can help determine which way to reproduce your color for the best result. If it seems overwhelming, give us a call. We can talk about this until we're BLUE (PMS300) in the face.
The lines get blurred when discussing Digital Printing and Offset Printing. With the improved quality of digital and the technological evolution of offset, deciding which manufacturing process will be best for your project is not always easy.
Digital printing is a broad term that includes processes as simple as using the black ink laser printer sitting behind you, and as complex as full color reproduction with changing photos and text.
Here are some basics to help you decide what's best for your project:
Quantity - Offset printing has more cost to set up a job than digital so as the quantity increases, costs drop. Digital, however has more of a constant cost per piece that doesn't allow for much saving with higher quantities. This is not a hard rule but compare prices at around 1000 pieces, depending on the project size, and you'll start to see the difference.
Paper - Digital processes are evolving but the choices of paper available to print on can limit your ability to have ultimate flexibility in your paper choices, while offset printing allows for any substrate.
Color - The digital manufacturing process prints the same four colors to create all color, CMYK. Offset uses the same process but has the option to print spot colors to match colors exactly. The digital process limits your ability to get the color exact in some projects. To understand more about Spot vs. Process Colors read this article from our newsletter archives.
Variable imaging - The digital process is the only process that allows for variable images to be different on every piece. You can change pictures, text, colors, etc. Offset printing does not allow for changes from piece to piece. Direct mail addressing must be applied during the mailing process.
Digital printing has been a great addition to the printing industry allowing for short run affordability and variable imaging that was never available prior to its introduction. Digital printing is not taking the place of offset printing, it's allowing for creativity in marketing efforts that have not existed until now.
If you attempt to be a liaison between your printer and your designer you'll feel like you're translating German to Spanish while you only speak English.
Designers that specialize in design for print already know how to submit their art files but frequently we get files from web designers who live in the world of JPGs or even Do-it-yourselfers who love their Publisher, or Word Docs.
Even when the designer submits the native files, you get a call from your printer asking for the fonts, or to have them embed the graphics. Seems like there is no pleasing those demanding printers.
Here is the universal answer to the age-old question about art file submission for printing – PDF!
PDF (Portable Document Format) has been around for a while and we all recognized the icon. It's a means of saving the file so it arrives as intended by the designer.
Advantage to saving as a PDF:
Fonts and images are embedded (no need to gather them)
Views the same on all computers
Smaller file size for easy emailing
Sending any file saved as a PDF does not mean it's good for print, however. It's just a means of saving a file. The original file must still be created in a proper graphic program (like Adobe Illustrator) then saved as a PDF.
For a good print file:
300dpi at 100% of size to print
Provide graphics as scalable vector art
Add crop marks
Include fonts and graphics
Save as PDF
Follow these steps every time and you will not receive any confusing calls from your printer about your files.
For accurate translations contact us. We Sprechen Sie Deutsch so you get excelente impression.
When we were visiting my hometown of Niles, Michigan, we went on a tour of the French Paper Company's mill with 6th generation paper maker, Brian French. It was an exciting field trip while Brian showed us enormous vats of pulp and huge hot machines all powered by hydro.
Established in 1871, French Paper is a sixth-generation, family-owned American company. French Paper Company has been manufacturing paper for more than 140 years in the same community of Niles, Michigan. In an industry known for corporate acquisitions and shutdowns, French Paper has persevered, emerging as one of the strongest, smartest, and most consistent paper brands around.
Remaining as one of the last, small, independent mills in America, French Paper has learned to take their direction from customers, not corporate consultants. They keep their eye on the bottom line by improving their product lines, and when they talk about stock, they mean papers, not shareholder value.
Here's a video tour where you can see how paper is made:
When you combine the internet, television, radio, billboards and direct mail we're exposed to 14,000 advertising messages every day but only 5 of them stick with us for more than 24 hours.
Summer is the season for outdoor activity that brings more pedestrian meanderers, road trips and outdoor events offering some new possibilities for marketing your business. Street side flags, sidewalk signs and promotional canopies are some ideas that may apply to your business.
Here are 6 tips for designing a sign that will be remembered.
1) SIZE & SCALE
The biggest difference in designing a sign is scale. Considering that a brochure is maybe 8 1/2" x 11" and a business card is 3 1/2" x 2", large scale design requires a different mindset when designing it.
Signs have to be read and understood from a distance; often by people who only have a few seconds to look in that direction. Everything should be big and simple for maximum impact.
Billboards can be 14' x 48' so art file resolution is paramount and vector art is required to avoid a blurry image when enlarged.
File Resolution
Graphic Clarity
2) LOCATION
Designing for location can be tricky if a single design is going to be used for different environments. If you design a sign with a sky blue background that will have the sky behind it, it will blend in too much and not get noticed.
A sidewalk sign or street-side flag, however, may have lots of different colors behind it, so a bold solid color may be your best choice to break through the clutter.
Environmental Clutter
Viewing Distance
3) COLOR & GRAPHICS
Generally graphics and color should be bright and saturated. Avoid light colors or pastels and opt for colors that will stand out - especially between your text and background.
For images and graphics, pick a single element and go big with it. Your design has to catch the viewer's attention in a second and a single, simple focal point will help.
Color can be one of the most important decisions you'll make in designing an effective sign.
Go Big and Bold!
Keep it Simple
4) TYPOGRAPHY & MESSAGE
Aside from the company logo, pick a single typeface. A san serif font works best for signs.
And make it big! Think about lettering in terms of 10 to 100, that's 10" tall for every 100' of viewing distance.
Bold lettering can increase the readability from a distance but avoid italics as they confuse the view.
An industry standard is to keep your message at 15 words or less and use the 3 x 5 rule. That's 3 lines of 5 words or 5 lines of 3 words. Less is better if you can make your point.
Simple, Bold Type
Simple, Short Message
5) CONTRAST
While contrast is an important consideration of any design project, it is especially important when you only have a couple of seconds to get someone's attention.
Every focal point must be clearly distinguishable.
With type, size and simplicity as key factors, selecting colors that stand out from one another will help get your message noticed.
While I'm personally not a fan of using borders in design, the use of a border can help to create a contrast between your sign and the background environment. Of course, using a border on a street-side flag will not make much sense.
Bold Colors Create Contrast
Borders are OK
6) SUBSTRATE
Substrate is the material that your message is being printed on. Knowing the material and method of printing can help in your design process.
Whether it's a vinyl banner, fabric flag or a graphic-wrapped bus, consulting with your manufacturer can help you provide the appropriate art files for best results.
Knowing if your sign will be for indoor or outdoor use can help you select the appropriate substrate to print your message on.
Select Lasting Material
Environmental Exposure
Most designers don't spend their day designing signs. Typically it will be the same person who creates brochures and business cards and only asked to design a large format graphic for special occasions like tradeshows, outdoor events or special promotions.
Reaching out to your manufacturer before you begin designing for large format graphics can help you avoid the headaches that may come after the design is finished.
Why do your customers buy from you? Is it because your company provides the Best Price, Quality & Service? Blah, blah, blah...snooze.
Every amateur marketer or salesperson relies on these points to sell their services, but that's not what we buy. We buy the intangibles.
We don't buy the sweater. We buy the feeling of the fit, the energy of the color, and the experience of the texture. We invest in who we feel we become in the sweater.
We purchase pride and prestige. Having the best shows we deserve the best.
We pay for the feeling of belonging to something bigger, something popular, current or trendy.
Think beyond Price, Quality and Service. Aren't those expected anyway?
Have you ever seen an ad for a dental office touting they are the cheapest dentists in town, using the highest quality fillings while they drill into your tooth faster than any other dentist within 100 miles? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. And a little frightening.
Here's how to Design From the Heart, appealing to emotions.
Choose your words carefully and get to the point with your copy. Period. Just because you write it, doesn't mean they'll read it.
Use authentic adjectives to describe the products you're selling (Luxurious Ride, Painless Fillings, Current Styles, etc.).
Don't go overboard with the over-promising adjectives or you'll sound like an infomercial (Amazing Offer, Spectacular Savings, Unbelievable Quality, etc.).
Use pictures to provoke a thought or evoke a feeling. Prospects are more likely to remember your story if they figure it out themselves and Photos are a great tool to create a perception of your company in their minds.
Focus on the feeling and speak to the senses. You've heard it before "Sell the Sizzle, NOT the Steak".
Details about Price, Quality & Service are important in preventing buyer's remorse so be sure to reinforce these attributes on printed materials they leave with after the sale. This reinforces their excellent decision and creates confidence. Stay in touch and you'll likely land a repeat customer.
Did you know that according to legend, eBay was started as a way to locate PEZ dispensers?
Another startup seeded in promotional products is Twitter. When this early bird was still in it's nest, many other dot coms were closing their virtual doors.
When Twitter was beginning as a simple social texting platform in 2006, an employee named Noah Glass was at a party called "Valleyscwhag Hoedown" in San Francisco. With all the failed startups, there was plenty of unused swag, so the idea was to gather and gift their dead branded merchandise to the party-goers.
Odeo was one of the flailing startups represented at the party, and also happened to be the corporate parent to a little blue bird we'd all come to know as Twitter.
As the story goes, Glass shared Twitter with Om Malik, a popular tech blogger, who tweeted "looking 4 food," and then blogged about Twitter the next day and that little bird took flight.
When done successfully, branded merchandise is the strongest marketing tool companies can use to connect with their customers. These days there's hardly a website or storefront that doesn't have a Twitter bird on it.
Twitter caught the attention of one person that night, and with a social stage the next day, the buzz about Twitter spread and the curious started trying out this new way to communicate.
To think none of this would have happened if it hadn't been for some left over t-shirts and key chains. The bird was born because a bunch of people gathered to mark a milestone (or gravestone) of ideas that never took flight.
All Bulk Mail projects must be sent through a mail house to get bound and tied in a specific address order to qualify for the postage savings we've discussed in previous articles.
To add to the confusion about Bulk Mail, the Post Office has created 7 different classifications of Bulk Mail that effect cost.
Here's low-down on the USPS Bulk Mail Classifications:
1) POSTCARD
Shape: rectangular
Size: 3.50"-4.25" high x 5.00"-6.00" wide
Thickness: .007-.016"
2) LETTER
Shape: rectangular or square
Size: 3.50"-6.125" high x 5.00"-11.50" wide
Thickness: .007"-.25"
3) FLAT
The short side is > 6.125", OR
The long side is > 11.50", OR
The thickness is > .25"
4) MACHINABLE PARCEL
Height is 3"-17", AND
Length is 6"-27", AND
Thickness is .25"-17", AND
Weight is 6oz. – 25lbs.
5) IRREGULAR PARCEL
Odd shape
Larger than any category listed above
Heavier than any category listed above
6) MARKETING PARCEL
Maximum size: 9" x 12" x 2"
Maximum weight 16 ounces
Must be addressed to “Occupant", or Name plus “Or Current Occupant"
7) OUTSIDE PARCEL
Exceeds the size limits of a Machinable Parcel
Rolls & Tubes > 26"
Metal or wood boxes
Cartons containing more than 1 gallon of liquid
To make sense of all this, give us a call. We do this stuff Blindfolded.
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