PRINTCOMM Blog
Innovative Ideas for Your Marketing Offers
Instead of giving away expensive gift cards or premiums to incite response, try bundling high-value discount offers. These incentives can be tied to a response, you are trying to elicit. These programs are very cost-effective and generate higher response.
Save with Online Ordering Systems
A few weeks ago, I posted an article where I asked if an online ordering site for marketing materials would be the right move for those of you who offer branded materials to agents, dealers, employees, or franchisees. I realize this may not be relevant…
What I Learned About In-Store Marketing from a Trip to Panera Bread
Let me make something plain, I love Panera. I love the tomato & feta soufflés and the asiago cheese bagels. I also love the way they publish calories next to everything so I can make informed decisions…
Could an Online Ordering Site for Marketing Materials Help You?
When thinking about how print and marketing collateral are managed within your company today, see if any of the following sound familiar: the cost associated with creating a business card order and having it flow through…
Understanding Your Direct Mail Size and Rate Options
Size makes a big difference in the rates you will pay for direct mail. Here’s a guide to postcards. And, if you’re mailing in the U.S. and Canada, there are differences. We’ll be focusing in on postcards this week before moving on to self-mailers and larger pieces over the coming weeks.
If There’s One Thing (or Three) We Can Guarantee, It’s Change
The old saying goes that only two things in life are guaranteed: death and taxes. In my humble opinion, I’d like to suggest a third: change. I make this statement in light of my own, very recent firsthand experience. I am excited to announce…
When Does It Make Sense to Do a Program with 0% ROI
Response vs. ROI can be misleading. One of the highest performing direct mail programs I have ever seen had an ROI of 0%. But it was a huge success. The absolutely highest performer I have ever seen, from a response standpoint, was for a survey. Why? Because the client was giving away…
The Five Biggest Misconceptions About Print
It seems like since the beginning of time, every new technology that surfaces is “the thing that will replace print.” Yet here we are in 2014, and print is still alive and kicking. Print looks a lot different these days, I will admit, but it is still an important part of the marketing mix.
The Missing Link in Choosing Marketing Channels
Marketers have learned that the best campaigns integrate multiple channels, but not every channel is appropriate for every target audience. So what do we do? We conduct a bunch of research to find out where our target audience hangs out! There is no doubt that…
The Highest Performing Direct Mail Programs I Have Ever Seen (Part One)
One of the cool things about working with multiple clients is I get exposed to a lot of different campaigns and ideas. Through the years, I have seen a few that have really rocked. I thought I would share a few of them with you in this and upcoming blog posts.
Zagat’s Guide to Buying Print: Order Takers Versus Solution Presenters
There are some people who go into a restaurant and know exactly what they want. In some cases, they are very familiar with the menu, they’ve visited the restaurant (or one like it) before, they have a favorite dish and they know what’s good and good for them. In other cases, they just aren’t looking…
How Microsites & PURLs Improve Direct Marketing Campaign Performance
Someone recently asked me, “What are PURLs and why should I use them?” It’s a technology that has been around for a while, so I had falsely assumed that everyone knows what they are and what they do. Personal URLs are URLs with a person’s name or a unique code appended to them,
Don’t Let Your Customers Be Someone Else’s Prospects
Most companies I work with spend a great deal of effort, time, resources and budget acquiring leads. What happens to all those customers you’ve worked so hard to gain, and how can you not only retain them, but also earn more business from them? Loyalty programs.
Majoring in Minors — The $7.00 Equation
Some of you may recall a couple of weeks ago when I talked about one of the biggest opportunities to drive cost out of print and direct mail projects: reducing how much is spent on expedited postage and expedited shipping via better collaboration and project management. Many of you weighed…
The Biggest Misconception about Your Website
Even if you’ve never seen the movie, you are probably familiar with the famous scene in “Field of Dreams” where a voice whispers from the field, “If you build it, he will come.” It was a powerful scene and a powerful movie, but as the movie became part of our collective pop culture, people…
The Biggest Opportunity for Cost Savings on Print and Direct Mail
When you’ve been around as long as I have, you see stuff that drives you nuts. For instance, I witness countless dollars getting spent needlessly on two major line items: expedited shipping and expedited postage. Lots of energy is expended driving print production costs down, but then money is just thrown away on shipping and postage.
Ready, Set, Fail: Three Ways to Avoid Campaign Failure
It’s amazing how many campaigns are primed for failure before they even get off the ground. Why? Because in the rush of trying to get the direct marketing campaign out the door, many marketers forget a few simple steps that will not only contribute to the success of the campaign, but also…
Two Ways to Absolutely Guarantee Your Direct Mail Won’t Work
There is an old adage that says, “speed kills.” It is certainly true of driving, but it’s also true with respect to direct mail. When you’re in a hurry, bad things can happen. To ensure your direct mail works, you need to follow the three Ts: test, test, test.