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Marketing your business comes with a multitude of tools for your toolbelt. It’s critical to have digital elements, such as a website and social media accounts, but print collateral is equally important. In some cases, print marketing materials are considered more important than digital elements because some people don’t rely on the internet a lot for their everyday lives, which leaves print materials as their introduction to your business.
There’s something about putting your brand in people’s hands and giving them the chance to interact with it outside of your goods or services. You know you need to stand out but wonder if that’s even possible given that people have been using print marketing for hundreds of years.
The good news is that you don’t have to reinvent the print marketing wheel. Instead, you can put an original spin on what’s already been done. I know, because that’s what my team does. Here are a few things you can do to improve your print marketing collateral and better promote your business.
1. Take shape.
Many people almost always use standard shapes and sizes when it comes to print marketing materials. Instead, consider creating a piece in a unique shape or size to stand out. For example, a round business card will be easy to pick out among a stack of rectangle pieces. You could also use a shape that reminds recipients of your business, such as a camera-shaped business card for a photographer.
If you don’t want to change the entire shape of the product, you can use die-cuts to alter various elements. For example, these brochures for BMW have die-cuts on the covers to match the brand. The first is rounded to make the logo stand out, while the second is shaped like a car, which draws attention to them.
2. Use bold images.
A powerful image can make or break a design. Stock images are money-savers, but it’s important to choose images that make a statement. Select images to which people can relate, or show the benefits of your product or service. This will leave a larger impression on your audience instead of pictures of your product on a pretty landscape.
That’s what happened when we worked with a client to create a presentation folder with bold images. The images illustrate what customers can expect when they select this company to provide maintenance or janitorial services, whether it’s an impeccably kept, vibrant garden or floors so clean you can see your reflection in them. There was some information inside on the pocket of the folder, but overall, the company let the images tell the story.
3. Connect to digital.
Just because it’s print marketing material doesn’t mean you can’t add a digital element. In addition to your website URL, consider using a QR code that will send recipients directly to your website, provide them with a digital coupon or unlock some other special deal. The key is making sure your print design is compelling enough that customers want to see more.
Another option for combining print and digital is using a video folder. With a video folder, screens are placed on the cover or inside the folder. Not only does this merge both types of marketing, but it also allows customers to better interact with the brand. This is also great when you have a lot of information that might not fit in your folder. For example, a real estate agent could provide virtual tours of properties with the video and include other info inside the folder, such as tax information and blueprints.
4. Add texture.
There are two ways to add texture to your design — physically and visually. Embossing and debossing are great ways to do that. Embossing uses pressure to raise elements of the stock for a three-dimensional effect, while debossing is the opposite and uses pressure to depress elements of the stock. Both provide a textured element that recipients can see and feel.
A more cost-effective way to add texture is visually. You can use various colors or shades to make it look like your product has a wooden, leather or marble texture, for example, just as designer Candice Bondi did for Halo. The business cards and brochures look as if they were printed on various textures, such as marble, plastic or sand, making the recipient want to run their fingers over the surfaces.
5. Shine on.
Build on adding texture by using a coating. It will not only change how your piece feels but also give it some shine, depending on the coating you use. Gloss and semigloss coatings provide a luxurious luster, while a soft-touch coating feels like a smooth piece of velvet. You can cover the entire product or highlight specific elements, such as the company name or logo.
Coatings also can add protection to your product from water, fingerprints and tears. If you don’t think your piece needs to shine, you can use a matte coating and still get the same protection.
You don’t have to do all of these things to have great print marketing materials, but you can. Or, you can try one or two methods. At the end of the day, you know your audience the best and to what they will respond. The important thing is creating something you can be proud of and that will help grow your business.
Written By: Vladimir Gendelman / Source: Forbes
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Direct mail vs email is arguably one of the longest standing debates in marketing, this could be down to the constantly evolving industry and it’s audiences..
Today 70% of consumers reportedly feel like they receive too many emails, something we can probably all empathise with. As our virtual inboxes reach the thousands we have less and less tolerance for email marketing.
As the digital industry grows the direct mail vs email debate takes a turn and the death of email marketing as we know becomes apparent. The average lifespan of an email is now just 2 seconds and brand recall directly after seeing a digital ad is just 44%, compared to direct mail which has a brand recall of 75%. Whilst digital media is still a crucial part of marketing we compare the statistics of direct mail vs email.
The evidence suggests we need to revaluate the way we use email, rather than thinking of it as a cheap form of marketing how we can utilise it’s strengths? If we continue to bombard customers we may risk alienating them. As the effectiveness of email marketing declines the response to direct mail is on the rise, and printed media becomes a more trusted form of consumer engagement. Looking at the strengths and weaknesses of each media it seems the rising popularity of direct mail could work to reinforce email, if used in the right combination, and may we suggest in moderation.
Source: Proactive Marketing UK
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"POP displays, short for point-of-purchase displays, offer many advantages to retail stores and business owners."
If your business is looking to invest in a highly-rewarding retail strategy, then POP displays are a great tool. It delivers a brief insight to your customers about the products of your business.
Currently, many product-based companies are working to build a brand name by making a positive impact on the mind of customers. They are fighting to acquire stand spaces and central positions at retail stores, trade shows, and exhibitions to generate awareness about their businesses and stand out in the consumer markets.
POP displays are a cost-effective marketing tool and promise the following benefits:
Bring A Store Within A Store
Making use of POP Displays in your retail marketing is just like getting your own store inside a store.
If you’re looking for effective tactics in 2020 to grow your business and promote its products, then you should think about point-of-purchase displays.
In a highly competitive environment, it is not an easy thing for brick & mortar stores to stay on top due to an increased demand for e-commerce shopping. Therefore, POP displays are an excellent option to gather more money from shoppers in retail stores.
POP displays trigger impulse buying patterns, offer you a chance to showcase items and give tough competition to your competitors.
Store-within-a-store or shop-inside-shop is a great idea to build a brand name, enhance business reputation, and appropriately position your products in the mind of consumers.
Draw Attention to Products
Have you always aimed to target a massive audience and promote your business products? If yes, then POP displays are a perfect solution to serve your needs.
It attempts to directly ramp up your sales volume. If you’re thinking “how?” Then, let me explain.
POP displays try to catch the customer’s eye when they are shopping for specific products in a retail store. With visually appealing POP displays, you can leave a significant impact on your shoppers with very little help.
Understandably, bigger mediums, such as suspension shelf signs and plastic modular displays are great to market your products, improve customer buying, and help notice your brand.
Strategically Locate Products
Point-of-sale displays are the attachments and free-standings that can be suitably placed on the shelves. This provides great flexibility to your retailers when it comes to marketing your brand and positioning your products in their retail stores.
Your products will no longer be squeezed or placed in the corners. There will be no such thing as putting your products on the low shelf.
Instead, it can be placed right in the middle of stores to attract customers’ attention. This is again a great technique to market your brand next to any complementary products.
Cost-Effective Marketing Idea
Understandably, in current times, marketing is essential in business to help you sell your products and ramp up sales volume.
The core purpose of marketing is to increase revenue and make more money. But, it is entirely impossible to generate more cash when you’re already spending so much money on expensive marketing tools.
Therefore, when it comes to promoting your business, your marketing team must consider cost-effective marketing ideas that can promise quality results. POP displays are one of the budget-friendly marketing ideas to encourage the sales of your products.
This technique is less pricey than getting an ad for your brand. POP displays effectively communicate your brand, just like publishing in a magazine and placing on a billboard, but obviously at less cost.
POP displays deliver the same ad or message by perfectly fitting in a retail store.
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Source: Let's Reach Success Written By: Lidiya Kesarovska
"Printing for Exceptional Business Results"
Getting ready in a way that gets you noticed? That’s great!
Through our Concept-to-Solution Program, you'll be turning heads your way in no time. Our account managers and team of experienced professionals will take the time to understand what you need to accomplish; they'll then work backwards through the process with you and your design team to make sure all the bases are covered and you’re on track for results. Our own creative team will make sure of it. We're here to help you get exceptional results.
Whether you’re a small business owner, a seasoned professional or the CEO of a large development company you'll find something helpful in our array of services and products.
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Consumers need to be shown that something is good value by comparison, this can be done by developing strong Value-Added Propositions.
We can add value to our services without adding anything physically to what we are selling. The perception of value is created through different things such as – decent service and also the way we present our products or packages. You can add value by creating a strong relationship with your customer, so you become more of a critical friend. It costs us very little and yet many companies ruin relationships and have to sell all the harder as a result.
We can also increase value by helping our clients save money in other areas, or at the very least, point out where you offer value compared to competitors, which could be linked to your package, price or your ease of access. Think about how this translates online. Any product or service that is bought online, saves the customer from venturing outside their door, saving time and money, so why do we offer discounts as well? Of course, digital business is the order of the day in a Coronavirus world, but you should point this saving out in the right way and at the right time.
Value for money is entirely subjective – and will be perceived differently by each individual. We often hear the phrase ‘passing the value on to the customer’ without really knowing what it means. It is marketing speak, of course. It means either they are justifying a bigger discount or showing you what ‘Value for Money’ is being offered.
Consumers need to be shown that something is good value by comparison, this can be done by developing strong Value-Added Propositions.
For example, an advert may list ten ‘bullet points’ about a product. If we take these facts, and translate them into what they mean to the customer, the selling proposition becomes more powerful.
Air conditioning for your car does not translate as ‘enjoy a cooler drive’ – the true advantage is ‘you and your family remain cooler over long journeys, so you enjoy the journey more, have less complaints from children and arrive fresh and awake.’ This may sound like we are spelling it out, but in this time of hardship, buying decisions are made on quite literal translations from facts, into advantages. If we train our salespeople, customer service teams and their managers to understand this and speak with engaging language to potential clients, then the perception of adding value becomes a reality, even though we are giving away nothing more than we already did.
Ask Yourself:
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Written By: Jeremy Blake Source: Reality Training
In retail environments, brands have just 3 seconds to make an impression on shoppers. Learn how to make sure your products catch buyers’ eyes.
As consumers, we’ve all been there: staring at a shelf fully stocked with dozens of brands’ variations on the product we’re looking for — whether it’s lightbulbs for the guest bathroom, treats for the pup, or bottles of wine for a friend’s housewarming party. It’s overwhelming, isn’t it? Even if we thought we knew exactly what we wanted, the sheer number of options in front of us gives us pause — and the way the products are merchandised may draw our eyes (and our dollars) to a new brand. In fact, research from the Shop Association reports that consumers are exposed to 3,000 promotional messages per day and a whopping 80,000 items in a given grocery store visit. How do we choose?
And more importantly, how do brands ensure their products are the ones that catch our eyes?
It isn’t easy. The same report finds that a consumer’s decision to stick with their go-to brand or buy from a rival takes, at most, seven seconds — and those competing brands have just three seconds to make an impression.
The key to ensuring your brand stands out from the rest? Powerful point-of-purchase (POP) displays. These are the end caps, shelf talkers, display stands, and other types of signage that highlights a brand’s products in order to sell customers on its benefits and value right there in the store. To ensure your brand’s POP / POS displays make your products stand out among those 80,000 competitors, we recommend following these six steps.
1. Speak to Your Audience’s Needs
Consumers generally aren’t looking for products with certain specs or features; they’re looking for products that solve their problems. Maybe that’s eliminating a pain point or making their lives easier in some way; maybe it’s boosting their self-esteem or impressing others or simply adding joy to their lives. As you create your POP / POS signage, and particularly the messaging it conveys, don’t lead with the latest bells and whistles but with the intangible value your product offers customers.
Additionally, be sure to consider the customer’s entire experience. While, ideally, your target audience is already familiar with your brand from your digital, direct mail and other advertising tactics, the shopping trip offers yet another channel to meet and engage with potential buyers during the customer journey. To make your brand stand out, devise ways to engage with consumers from the parking lot into the shelf with branded signage, POP / POS materials, and product coupons.
2. Design for the Specific Retail Location
When you’re creating display materials for multiple outlets — even multiple locations of the same store — remember that not all retail locations are created equal. Retailers will have different rules and guidelines. These guidelines could be based on space constraints. An elaborate floor display that looks beautiful in a large suburban location is likely to be a tripping hazard in a smaller store tucked into a compact, urban area.
Differing rules may also be driven by local laws. No matter how beautiful the design or how powerful the message, a store display that isn’t compliant with regulations is simply a waste of money. Consider working with a marketing supply chain partner that’s well-versed in retail parameters and industry regulations to ensure every piece of in-store signage is compliant and display-ready.
3. Keep Longevity in Mind
A torn-up, worn-out display is a turnoff to customers, so as you design your POP/POS signage, do so with durability in mind. Whether it’s a temporary display for the holiday season or a permanent installation, you’ll want to ensure it looks great as long as you need it to. Will it survive transportation and storage in pristine condition? If it’s a product display will it support the weight of the products? Will it withstand in-store traffic, including shopping cart collisions or purse bumps?
Additionally, you’ll want to ensure the display is easy to restock. Shelf-talkers that get in the way of shelf access or endcaps that are too complicated to easily refill may look great at first, but as product dwindles, they may not get refilled as often as necessary, leading to missed sales opportunities. (Remember, too, that if a display is complex to restock, it’s probably hard for shoppers to access as well and they may pass it by.) A durable, easy-to-maintain display will showcase your brand in its best light for a long time.
4. Ensure Prime Placement in Store
The real estate adage, “location, location, location” applies to in-store signage and displays, too. Once you’ve invested in high-quality, beautifully designed marketing materials, it’s important to ensure those materials are displayed where customers will see them. For example, the Shop Association notes that the sweet spot for signage height is between shoppers’ shoulders and knees. A sign that’s close to the floor isn’t likely to be seen, nor is an in-aisle ceiling dangler.
Also consider unexpected places to grab shoppers’ attention. Research says six in ten in-store purchases are impulse buys, so it may pay to place your displays in strategic places to pique those impulses. Place your products near the cash register to inspire last-minute buys, or near items they pair will with to entice customers. (For example, showcase your salsa on the chip aisle or package your spirits with fun bar accessories and coupons for popular mixers.)
(Note: Make that prime placement easier for everyone involved by ensuring your signage is delivered on time and easy to assemble.)
5. Minimize Production Costs
With tight marketing budgets and high ROI expectations, it’s important to ensure the costs of the POP / POS materials don’t outweigh their value. A savvy marketing partner can help find ways to minimize costs without sacrificing quality or effectiveness. Some of the levers you may pull to streamline costs include material selection, manufacturing techniques and complexity of design. Choosing a partner that gangs orders through “buy windows” and has a proven network of production facilities helps maximize economies of scale, saves costs, and minimizes risk. Knock-down displays — the kind that are shipped disassembled or flat and popped up in store — can save significant costs on packaging and transportation. The more creative you and your partner can be about design, materials, shipping, and ordering windows — without sacrificing quality — the more valuable in-store marketing will be for your brand.
6. Follow Best Practices for POP Display Design
Finally, to create POP / POS materials with maximum impact, be sure to follow the design best practices that are most likely to catch shoppers’ eyes and encourage them to choose your product. Select bold colors that both showcase your brand and evoke the feelings (comfort, safety, impulsiveness, etc.) you want buyers to feel. Select unique shapes that will stand out on shelves and against other displays, and ensure any interactive elements are intuitive for shoppers. Keep your messaging clear, simple, and easy to digest — and be sure your brand logo is on full display. Above all, keep the audience’s needs and experience at the forefront of the design process.
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Written By: Casey Rush Source: One Touch Point Blog
The psychology of colour is based on the mental and emotional effects colours have on sighted people in all facets of life. Did you know your surroundings may be influencing your emotions and state of mind? Well, there’s a good chance that the colours in those spaces are playing a part.
What is Colour Psychology?
The psychology of colour is based on the mental and emotional effects colours have on sighted people in all facets of life. There are some very subjective pieces to colour psychology as well as some more accepted and proven elements. Keep in mind, that there will also be variations in interpretation, meaning, and perception between different cultures.
Applying Colour Psychology to Everday Life
Did you know your surroundings may be influencing your emotions and state of mind? Do you ever notice that certain places especially irritate you? Or that certain places are especially relaxing and calming? Well, there’s a good chance that the colours in those spaces are playing a part.
In art therapy, colour is often associated with a person’s emotions. Colour may also influence a person’s mental or physical state. For example, studies have shown that some people looking at the colour red resulted in an increased heart rate, which then led to additional adrenaline being pumped into the blood stream.
There are also commonly noted psychological effects of colour as it relates to two main categories: warm and cool. Warm colours – such as red, yellow and orange – can spark a variety of emotions ranging from comfort and warmth to hostility and anger. Cool colours – such as green, blue and purple – often spark feelings of calmness as well as sadness.
The concepts of colour psychology can also be applied in everyday life. For example, maybe you’re planning on re-painting your walls or redecorating a house or room with a new colour scheme. Well, you might want to consider some of these suggestions about colorus and how they might affect your emotions and mood:
Psychological Effects of Cool Colours
Need to be creative? Want help getting those brain synapses firing? Try utilizing the colour purple. Purple utilizes both red and blue to provide a nice balance between stimulation and serenity that is supposed to encourage creativity. Light purple is said to result in a peaceful surrounding, thus relieving tension. These could be great colours for a home or business office.
Are you looking for a peaceful and calming environment? You might consider using green and/or blue. These cool colours are typically considered restful. There is actually a bit of scientific logic applied to this – because the eye focuses the color green directly on the retina, it is said to be less strainful on your eye muscles.
The colour blue is suggested for high-traffic rooms or rooms that you or other people will spend significant amounts of time. Another cool colour, blue is typically a calming and serene colour, said to decrease respiration and lower blood pressure. The bedroom is a great place to use these colours as they should help you relax.
Psychological Effects of Warm Colours
Want to create an environment of stimulation or whet people’s appetite? You might consider utilizing the colours yellow or orange. These colours are often associated with food and can cause your tummy to growl a little. Have you ever wondered why so many restaurants use these colours? Now you know why even after people watched the movie SuperSize Me, they said they were hungry.
You do want to be careful about using bright colours like orange and especially yellow. They reflect more light and excessively stimulate a person’s eyes which can lead to irritation. You also probably don’t want to paint your dining room or kitchen these colours if you’re a calorie-counter.
Pyschology of Colour for Marketing & Advertising
Marketing and advertising are well-known for utilizing colour psychology. The fact that some companies have heavily invested in this type of research and many others have followed through in its use shows they have at enough belief in the concepts of colour psychology to implement them in their advertising.
Colour is consistently used in an attempt to make people hungry, associate a positive or negative tone, encourage trust, feelings of calmness or energy, and countless other ways.
Most marketing and advertising executives will likely agree that there are benefits to understanding and utilizing the psychological effects of colours. Now let’s take a look at some of the more common traits of colour psychology, by some common colours.
The following are some common psychological effects of colours in the Western Hemisphere. Keep in mind that certain shades or tones may result in very different meanings. Also, the context around the colour, and even surrounding colours, can have an effect. Think of this as more of a beginning guide to colour psychology.
Colour Psychology: The Colour White
purity
innocence
cleanliness
sense of space
neutrality
mourning (in some cultures/societies)
Colour Psychology: The Colour Black
authority
power
strength
evil
intelligence
thinning / slimming
death or mourning
Colour Psychology: The Colour Gray
neutral
timeless
practical
Colour Psychology: The Colour Red
love
romance
gentle
warmth
comfort
energy
excitement
intensity
life
blood
Colour Psychology: The Colour Orange
happy
energetic
excitement
enthusiasm
warmth
wealth prosperity
sophistication
change
stimulation
Colour Psychology: The Colour Yellow
happiness
laughter
cheery
warmth
optimism
hunger
intensity
frustration
anger
attention-getting
Colour Psychology: The Colour Green
natural
cool
growth
money
health
envy
tranquility
harmony
calmness
fertility
Colour Psychology: The Colour Blue
calmness
serenity
cold
uncaring
wisdom
loyalty
truth
focused
un-appetizing
Colour Psychology: The Colour Purple
royalty
wealth
sophistication
wisdom
exotic
spiritual
prosperity
respect
mystery
Colour Psychology: The Colour Brown
reliability
stability
friendship
sadness
warmth
comfort
security
natural
organic
mourning (in some cultures/societies)
Colour Psychology: The Colour Pink
romance
love
gentle
calming
agitation
Source: Art Therapy
Uber and Lyft drivers are just 1 click away, Amazon offers free same-day delivery, and Deliveroo can get us food from our favorite restaurant in under 32 minutes… Gone are the days in which consumers agreed to invest effort and wait to be served. In a fast-paced world, we look for consumption that is time- and labor-saving.
What matters to consumers is the time and effort they have to expend – the less, the better. ‘Fast’ and ‘easy’ are keywords that should be high on any marketer’s agenda. Take the example of Uber. Its success is not based on a strong emotional connection with customers. What makes the platform so successful is captured by a single word: convenience. Uber’s interface is intuitive and user-friendly. You open the app, type in your destination and immediately receive pricing information. Upon agreement, a driver is immediately connected to you and knows where to pick you up. Reaching your destination, you just get out of the car and Uber charges your credit card automatically.
So, what is convenience then exactly? Academic research by Len Berry and colleagues in the Journal of Marketing suggests that there are five different levels of convenience.
1. Decision Convenience
The first is decision convenience or the time and effort needed to make a purchase/consumption decision. A great example here is Netflix’s recommendation system, driving more than 80 per cent of content watched on the platform. To avoid subscribers getting lost in the vast library, the company goes to great lengths to serve up its content in the most fun and easy way possible. The success is undeniable with Netflix being the dominating streaming platform of the moment.
2. Access Convenience
Second comes access convenience or the time and effort needed to get hold of what is desired. Chinese Hema Fresh puts strong emphasis on this dimension. Being part of Alibaba’s new retail concept, the highly popular grocery chain seeks to integrate the best of offline and online. Hema, among other things, has an in-store on-demand kitchen (just like Whole Foods), is able to deliver any order under 30 minutes within a specified delivery radius (just like Instacart) and sells pre-packaged meal kits to make consumers’ lives easier (just like Hello Fresh). At the basis of this model is a sophisticated and data-driven logistics systems, setting the example for the entire retail industry.
3. Transaction Convenience
Third is transaction convenience or the time and effort needed to pay for products. A prime example here is Amazon that put an easy and transparent payment experience at the core of its business. Its new Amazon Go stores even go further and remove any checkout hassles by automating the payment system, completely eliminating the cashier and waiting lines. The successful concept is set to grow to as many as 3,000 new U.S. stores in the next few years, while also expanding to other countries worldwide.
4. Benefit Convenience
Fourth is benefit convenience or the time and effort needed to consume the product. Consumers today are looking for simple and efficient consumption experiences, allowing them to make the best of their time. The popular navigation app Waze, owned by Google, offers its users such a simple and intuitive user interface, providing highly contextual information like traffic, obstructions and other hazards to minimize travel time. In 2016, Waze partnered up with Dunkin’ Donuts, a U.S. coffeehouse chain, and integrated an ‘Order Ahead’ function. Wazers, as Waze calls its user base, may order coffee within the app and speed past the line when picking up their order inside a DD restaurant.
5. Postbenefit Convenience
Finally comes postbenefit convenience or the time and effort needed to deal with such factors as product maintenance, exchange or failure recovery. One example here is Tesla’s mobile service teams allowing cars to be serviced when and where customers are in need. More recently, the U.S. carmaker introduced an automated service feature allowing Tesla cars to order parts that require replacement on their own. Doing so, Tesla reduces the time needed for car maintenance and proactively prevents any failures.
To successfully interact with today’s hyper-connected and impatient consumers, marketers should be obsessed with delivering ‘fast’ and ‘easy’ solutions to customers. But how?
Regular audits to understand improvement points along the entire customer journey are recommended. A strong customer mindset should be driven by questions like What is it that customers are looking for? How can we further enhance/simplify the customer experience? What levels of convenience matter most? A deep understanding of customers based on solid metrics and a thirst to experiment in search for better customer solutions are key to any organization seeking success. Netflix is well-known for its continuous use of A/B-testing to optimize the platform’s interface. Any major change to the Netflix experience is preceded by extensive testing. Nothing is left to chance.
Artificially intelligent technologies now allow for cost-effective real-time service delivery, 24/7. Despite clear limitations still there, the growing occurrence of chatbots, personal (voice) assistants and humanoids at the service frontline is rapidly making real-time service delivery a minimum requirement to compete on the market. It is imperative for any organization to look into this exciting new world of possibilities and to see where technology can be used to enhance the customer experience. KLM, the Dutch airline, is fueling its customer service with AI to automate over half of all inquiries through Facebook, Messenger, Twitter and WhatsApp. The result? A doubling of its case volume and service agents freeing up time to focus on cases requiring a human approach.
While some marketers would argue this thinking does not apply to their industry, nothing could be more wrong. Take the example of Lemonade. The U.S. insurance platform is rapidly transforming a seemingly rock-solid industry. Their approach? The promise of a zero paperwork and instant everything. Lemonade uses AI to sign up customers and to evaluate claims, boasting it takes a maximum of 3 minutes from approval to payout. The result? A four-year-old startup valued at $2bn.
It is clear, no organization is free from the push toward higher convenience. Time to become ‘fast’ and ‘easy’! The Uber’s and Amazon’s of this planet won’t wait for you to catch up.
Source: EDHEC Vox Written By: Arne De Keyser
Running A Small Business? Find The Benefits Of Signage...
Running a small business is already complex enough and it never seems that you have enough time to get the work done. One of the major things that can help to take down on the amount of time that you will spend answering questions at the business is by getting the right signs in place. By knowing about the benefits of getting the proper signage it will be very easy for you to see this is a great way for you to run your business and start to get the return on your business investment that you want to have.
#1 Helps People Find The Business
This is one of the things you should realize this can do without being spoken about. However, sometimes people will forget the signs that are up at the road will help people start to find the business. So you will want to make sure you have a sign at the road, but also on the building. This way people are able to find the business and know which building it is located in. If you are in an office building, then you will want to make sure your business has a label on the board by the elevators that can help to guide the customers or clients to the office that you are going to be working with.
#2 Guides People Around The Business
This is one aspect that a lot of major retail stores have started to take advantage of and that is the hanging signs are going to help guide people to the different sections of the store. However, even in a small business, this will help people in getting to start to learn their way around the location. So you will not have to be concerned about the customers coming up every five seconds to ask where something in the business is located at.
When you are using these signs to help guide the customers around the business, you need to make sure they are in a location that is easily visible. When it is easy to find the items, you will notice that people are going to be able to get from the back of the store or the entrance way to the area they want to be at without going to the desk and asking the employees who may already be busy taking care of other customers.
#3 Can Provide A Catchy Logo Or Color Pattern
A sign that you are having installed can start to provide you with the information that can help in getting a logo or color that can stand out from the rest. This is going to allow you to have a great time because people will start to see your name and logo, but also the colors and know exactly what they are talking about. What else is nice about the signs is some of them will allow you to add some characters onto the signs as well, which is going to help out in getting the great look you want to have and have an item that will set you off from everyone else.
#4 Helps With Branding Of The Company
We mentioned briefly on the logo and image of the business that you can have on the signs. What you will really like is this is going to help you start to build your brand. This will make it easier for you to have the right feedback for your business and know that people will start to recognize it and the name that you have for your business will often start to become associated with the logo and colors.
#5 Helps Announce Specials or Sales
When you are properly using the signs, you will notice that some of the uses can be to help you announce a special sale or a special you have going on in the store. So this will help you in getting the extra draw of customers that you never would have thought about reaching before for your business. So, this is going to be a great thing for your company and it will help you out in making more money than what you normally would.
A good example of this would be the sidewalk sales you see some stores doing. These sales are fairly obvious when you are walking up to the store, but not all the stores are located where you would be walking up to the store. So you will want to make sure you look at this because it can help you draw in crowds from the road if you have signs that are announcing the sales properly placed by the road.
#6 Provides A Warning To What Is Going On
When you think about the safety of your customers you need to realize one of the major concerns will be a wet floor. When your customers are on a wet floor and slip and fall, then you will be at fault normally. However, if you have the proper notification out about the wet floors and to use caution or even a watch your head type of sign you will be able to alert your customers about the hazards that are here in the business. You will not have to be concerned about the customers not being aware of the hazards that are in the area.
With a new year upon us and no sign of the pandemic slowing down anytime soon, now is the perfect time to refresh and replace the signage in your business... We have the Physical Distancing Signage you need! No job is to big or small.
Source: BusinessBlogshub.com
"...should we be concerned about the possibility of a downturn?"
Avison Young - Trends You Need to Know About for 2020
#1 Lower for longer
How investors are dealing with a low inflation, low interest rate world – and
whether they should be concerned about the possibility of a downturn.
#2 Power to the people
Landlords, developers and occupiers need to pay increasing attention to local
political activism, as today’s street protests increasingly signal tomorrow’s
policy initiatives.
#3 (De)globalization
The pace of globalization is slowing, and in some areas is starting to reverse as
nearshoring and the localization of supply chains gathers momentum.
#4 Building resilience
Cities across the world are leading the charge in responding to climate change,
to ensure economic, social and environmental sustainability.
#5 (Place)making an impact
Placemaking creates great environments for people, organizations and
communities. It is becoming the focus of
#6 The rebirth of retail
Urban design initiatives, an explosion of technology-fuelled experiential retail
and the emergence of new omni-channel strategies give an insight into the
future of physical retail.
#7 Let’s talk about flex
Forget what you may have read in the newspapers, flexible offices are here to
stay and will remain one of real estate’s hottest growth areas in 2020.
#8 AI
Augmented intelligence? Your new best friend could be your cobot, a
collaborative robot who will make your life easier by helping you work
quicker – and smarter.
#9 Wishing well
Wellness is the new front in the war for talent, and buildings have a huge part
to play in supporting companies’ efforts to look after their staff.
#10 Heavy lifting
Logistics is currently a labor-intensive business, and the sector is facing the
twin challenges of staff shortages and a growing volume of e-commerce
product returns.
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Source: Avison Young / Written By: Nick Axford
The strategic use of psychology in direct mail can drive amazing results. Did you know that our brain is doing most of its work outside of our consciousness? If we are able to create a good direct mail psychology strategy that enables us to tap into subconscious decisions, we can generate a greater response from prospects and customers.
How Can This Work?
1. Emotional Triggers
Both men and women need emotional engagement for direct mail to work. This requires the use of both good emotional copy and imagery. Segmentation can really help you target the right people with the right emotional copy and images.
2. Overload
When there is too much clutter of messages, either copy or images, the brain cannot process it. Make sure that you leave white space and use concise copy so that the brain can easily process your message.
3. Interesting
The brain likes puzzles and humor. Keep them simple for easy understanding. They are effective, with increased engagement.
4. Women and Empathy
If your audience is women, you need to tap into empathy. Women engage with images depicting faces and direct eye contact. Women also respond to group/community activity images and, of course, babies, too. Some women will pay attention to messages that make life easier, celebrate her or allow her to do multiple things.
A complicated mail message will most likely be ignored by the brain. There are ways to simplify your copy and images to capture attention.
How to Capture Attention
Novelty — This is the No. 1 way to capture attention. Our brains are trained to look for something new and cool. A novel message or layout can really help you stand out in the mail box.
Eye Contact — Humans are social beings. Images of people or animals making eye contact with your prospects or customers grab attention and draw them into the mail piece.
When you are able to integrate a multiple sensory experience into your mail piece, you create a richer and deeper engagement with your audience.
How to use the senses:
As you can see, the brain is powerful and is very good at ignoring messages. Taking the time to consider all of these psychological factors can really help you drive your response rates up. As always, focusing your messaging with targeted segments to really reach the right people with the right message will increase the success of your mail campaigns. Are you ready to get started?
Source: Target Marketing / Written By: Summer Gould
It’s an age-old debate: direct mail versus email marketing.
Supporters of digital media will say why drain your marketing budget on direct mail campaigns that nobody reads when you can contact your customers using the channels they prefer — television, social media, and mobile?
However, the latest data makes a strong case for printed direct mail. Sure, social media and mobile marketing are on the rise. But that doesn’t mean that customers aren’t responding to direct mail or that this channel is losing its effectiveness. That’s just plain false.
The reality is, direct mail remains a critical part of the mix. So the next time someone tries to tell you direct mail is dead, remember:
1. Direct mail doesn’t require opt-in
Unlike email and text messaging, you don’t have to get a recipient’s permission to send them direct mail. This means, even if a customer doesn’t subscribe or unsubscribes from your email list, you can still get in touch with them. (Which is why it’s always a good idea to get physical addresses from those on your email lists!)
2. Direct mail never stays in a spam filter
"Yes, your message may be picked by someone else," notes Roger Buck, former director of marketing and product development at The Flesh Company. "But the chances are small - and direct mail never has a virus."
3. Direct mail stays effective longer than you think
Direct mail is a bit like a note on the refrigerator door. "We sometimes hear from customers that our mail stays on their desk for weeks," says Andre Palko, president of Technifold USA. "They may not immediately take action, but our brand lingers until they are ready to contact us. An e-mail does not last as well - and is far less striking. "
4. It’s still effective when the target recipient has moved on
“If you send an email to someone who’s no longer at a particular company, it bounces. If you send a postcard, the new person in that job sees it — and you’ve just introduced yourself as a vendor,” says Palko.
5. With direct mail you do not have to fight to get attention
E-mail is effective, but also overwhelming. In 2014, The Radicati Group concluded that the average business customer sends or receives 121 emails per day. In 2018 there are probably 141 in all likelihood.
Larry Bradley, owner of Proforma Sunbelt Graphics, writes: "The overwhelming deluge of e-mail in the office is a solid hurdle for e-mail marketers. It is difficult to distinguish the mess from the real mails, so that a large part of business e-mails is not read at all. By contrast, companies receive much less marketing by mail than ten years ago - a unique advantage for direct mail."
6. Certain offers just won’t get traction by email
There’s a reason businesses are more likely to get lending offers in the mail than they are by email. B2B decision-makers trust direct mail more than email, especially for high value products and services. Mailers can also include a wide variety of trust-building content not possible (or reasonable) to include in email. Yes, you can provide links. But with direct mail, you get that content in front of them in a tangible way right out of the gate.
7. Direct mail can reach high-level decision-makers
There are only so many things you can do to make email look more important. But beyond writing a compelling subject line, most of them look hokey. Direct mail offers options like kits, dimensional mail, and unique packaging options that, by their nature, get past the gatekeepers. (Palko has used everything from metallic envelopes, lunch bags, packing list pouches and prescription bottles to mail letters. “They are not only fun, but they get opened!” he says.) While these mailings may have higher price tags, they can also get near 100% open rates. When you’re trying to reach the C-Suite, that’s worth a lot..
8. Direct mail drives social media and online marketing
Many people believe you don’t need direct mail when you have social media and mobile marketing. What they’re overlooking is how social media and mobile marketing relationships get captured in the first place. Very often, it’s through print. Saying that you only need social and mobile is akin to saying that when you buy a house you only need the upper stories and not the foundation. Without print, getting social and mobile engagements is much more difficult.
Don’t let digital marketers get away with stealing your customers based on false contrasts. Open the discussion about the benefits of direct mail versus email—and when to use each. Be proactive and let direct mail showcase what you can do.
Source: Xerox / Written By: Heidi Tolliver-Walker
Marketing is an ever evolving combination of art and science, and today marketing's role is growing in importance. The challenges of producing tangible growth and ROI are two trends that will continue to grow as the business climate becomes more competitive, and the opportunities more fragmented.
Market fragmentation is creating a new frontier in terms of techniques, strategies and reach. As niches become more focused, the concept of a “market-of-one” is becoming the new reality. We have to create a “unique” experience for each prospect to drive them to convert, build trust, and finally act.
Focusing On Customer Experience
These trends deserve your attention as you address the complexities and challenges of marketing in the coming year.
1. The Growing Role of B2B Marketing
This year will see marketing expand beyond its traditional role. Businesses are facing new and unique challenges today, like the shortage of talent, commoditization and increasing competition to name just a few. These are enterprise-wide challenges that will require cross-departmental collaboration to solve, and marketing is in the perfect position to take the lead.
Watch for greater alignment between marketing and HR, sales, and operations. Everything from addressing employer branding strategies to recruit talent, to business development will be calling on marketing to increase value and visibility.
2. Balancing The “Customer Experience”
Probably the biggest trend to watch in the coming year will be the task of focusing on customer experience while still driving growth. Marketers have been focusing on “customer-centric” methods, basing their approach on the lifetime value of a prospect.
This year, the focus will be on adding “customer-focused” techniques of providing relevant experiences across all touch points, to deliver what customers most value. Balancing these two approaches can deliver a more personalized approach that will generate higher revenue, while building stronger brand loyalty.
3. Executive Branding: Thought Leadership
In the past few years the focus of branding (thanks to the Internet, mobile, and social media) has shifted to the individual – both in terms of the customer, as well as the “voice” of the business.
As a result traditional branding and marketing efforts aren't enough. Especially when it comes to B2B marketing. Today, executive branding, or developing thought leadership is growing. Buyers want to know the “why” behind the business and put a face to the operation to build trust. In order to really stand out, executive branding will be the fastest growing trend in B2B marketing in the coming years.
4. Formats, Channels and Mix
As marketing refocuses on thought leadership, the need will arise to refine content and marketing mix as well. As more channels and delivery platforms become available, marketing teams will need to better leverage a broader mix of marketing choices and formats.
For example, video both pre-recorded and live is becoming much more prominent as is live streaming of events. Diversification of content delivery formats includes podcasts, interactive assessments (as in the managed print field) and mobile friendly content. Marketing firms will also see a shift from Twitter and LinkedIn to more non-traditional B2B formats like Facebook and Instagram. Along with this shift will come the reliance on paid opportunities to boost distribution away from organic-only approaches.
5. Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning
DRIP Marketing has grown in the past few years, and the "automation" trend will continue as the integration of artificial and machine learning in B2B marketing grows in importance.
According to Forrester Research, “AI will provide business users with access to information and insights before they're available.” By using cognitive interfaces, complex systems and advanced analytics combined with machine learning technology, business decisions in e-commerce, marketing, product management and other areas will be able to happen almost in real time.
6. Experiential Marketing
Imagine being able to give your customers and prospects the opportunity to experience your brand in “real life” or the virtual world. This trend will grow in the coming years, especially in the B2B space. As virtual reality begins to take a greater hold, it will be possible to immerse prospects or customers from anywhere in the world.
A great example in the B2C space is the growing use of virtual reality in luxury home sales. Prospects are able to take an "immersive" tour of properties that have not yet been built. When it comes to B2B, educate yourself about the latest experiential strategies and techniques and how you can integrate them into your marketing strategy so users can “touch," “taste” or “feel” your brand. Internally, experiential marketing is a great opportunity to engage, educate and energize employees.
These are 6 trends to be aware of in the coming year. As marketing continues to become more personalized, the techniques, strategies and channels will continue to evolve. Staying ahead of the trends and technologies that are changing our business will be the key to success moving forward!
Source: Adobe Hubspot Blueleadz Written By: Rob Steffen
Companies are spending thousands of dollars on marketing and advertising in an effort to bring more awareness to their brand or to their message. Many collect or buy data about their target audience which they should be able to turn into tactics to drive responses, but 80% still report that their traffic generation tactics are only slightly or somewhat effective. (brighttalk 2015)
Targeting Your Customers Interests
Getting the audience to see their message is one challenge, but getting them to act on it is an even greater one. Some companies are asking for feedback or promoting the sale of products but rarely do they speak directly of their clients specific wants and or needs.
We believe that you can use your audience data along with your marketing message to create a powerfully unique message for each recipient. By specifically targeting your customers interests and by delivering it through a printed marketing piece, you can increase your response rate roughly 35% and increase brand retention by as much as 70%.
If more people paid attention to your marketing and remember your brand, how much more revenue could you generate?
If this is an interesting topic for you, lets talk. We may be able to assist with your next marketing campaign.
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