How to Grab Them Right Away
The really good kinds of commercials and advertisements are the ones people are still talking about years after they debuted. This is the dream of all advertisers, I’m sure, and I’m seen my fair share of real knockouts.
The problem seems to be that most of these, especially in print, are left to magazines and other mainstream forms of entertainment. When I get the flyers or full color brochures in the mail they have little to no flair. You can tell whoever designed them didn’t care very much about doing anything but getting them out the door.
I think people assume that if their ad isn’t going to appear in one of those mainstream formats like newspapers or magazines they don’t need to put as much effort into it. It seems to me this should be just the opposite. Brochure printing doesn’t benefit from the fact that it will automatically be coupled with a magazine people are buying specifically to read. A brochure needs to live or die on its own merits and nothing else.
People should be putting the most effort into these kinds of advertisements. If all I’m being given is a flyer I want that flyer to be captivating or else I’m not going to take the time out of my life to even give it a once over.
The next time I get that truly wonderful looking brochure in the mail I’ll take the time to read what it has to say. Until then I’ll be dropping them right in the trash.
Jumpstart Your Product’s Debut With Color
There a whole lot of “maxims” out there when it comes to starting a business. There are almost as many opinions about how to go about presenting your product as there are people who have ever thought about the subject.
However, one “maxim” that is almost never mentioned, but should be, is:
INVEST IN HIGH-QUALITY, FULL-COLOR LITERATURE!
Far too many would-be entrepreneurs believe that promotional literature is an area in which they can save some money and help their startup budget. It is simply not the case. In fact, skimping on your literature could spell doom for your entire enterprise.
Think a customer is going to pick up your bland and white brochure, when there is a full color brochure right next to it? Probably not. Think your dull, commonplace flyer printing is going to stand a chance next to an attractive, colorful flyer? No way.
As you are planning your brochure printing, booklet printing, and poster printing, take the time (and money) to design intriguing, colorful pieces. Make items that will catch the customers’ eye.
You will be very glad you did once your product hits the market and you see the fruits of your investment. The profit will far outweigh the costs.
Building Your Customer Base
I, along with many others I’m sure, like to find those good deals. Who doesn’t, right? It’s also nice to find that new place to go when it comes to a type of product you like.
For me it’s usually good deals on movies. But looking through every store in town isn’t always a practical solution, and quite often I just don’t care enough to do it. That’s why it is kind of nice to have that advertisement in the mail show up, handing me a look at certain good deals coming up at a store I had never heard of. Finding a new movie store is always a nice thing.
I’m aware too that this kind of direct mail strategy, what many call junk mail, isn’t always going to be a wonderful success. I’m thrown my share of it into the trash I’ll readily admit, but when the right kind of postcard lands in my mailbox, I’m more than willing to give the store a chance. And this is what the direct mail strategy is supposed to be, targeting the group that is most likely to have interest in shopping at your store. It’s the ones who don’t know what a target audience is that gives the whole practice a bad name, and those are the ones I’m most likely to just toss right in the trash.
Building Customer Trust: Marketing Services vs. Products
How important is customer trust? Let me elaborate -
The more centered around a service a company is, the more I’m going to want to know what the people working there are like long before I walk through their door.
If I’m going to go shopping for a new computer, I’m going to want good service too but if the place has a really good deal on a certain model then I might still end up grabbing it for the savings alone.
If I’m going to a dentist, for example, how well he cleans me teeth isn’t necessarily as important as how much he puts me at ease.
I’ve never been a big fan of the dentist, and I admittedly put it off for longer than I should. So when the day comes and I finally do pick a dentist, the additional bonus of knowing I’m going to get a follow-up greeting card from them in the mail and receive a thank you note afterwards does wonders to relax me and lets me be confident in the service I’m being provided.
Everyone Loves Colorful Stuff in the Mail
Sorting through the mail is rarely a particularly exciting point in my day. Unless I know something is coming I typically don’t put any thought to what I might find, which is the very reason why a colorful postcard can be so successful. I’m not prepared for it, not expecting it, and it can be nice to take a moment to pause and absorb it. The fact that I wasn’t expecting it is part of what makes it so nice to see. I kind of like having the routine of my day momentarily put on hold, and few things can make me appreciate a company more than the ability to put a smile on my face when I least expect it.
Entry by Philip Roberts
Marketing Through Information
I’ve always been involved with various short story magazines. Who knows how many monthly newsletters I get, or other information on how they’re doing. Knowing how well they’re issues sell or what they’re planning to do next is such a simple thing. I know they aren’t spending much money printing all of those newsletters and business brochures given how small most of these companies are.
I’m not sure how many times I’ve looked at a magazine only to forget it a few weeks later. I might’ve even enjoyed the issue, but if I take in too many things at once, remembering isn’t always the easiest thing. But one thing I know: when I get those newsletters, I know exactly what magazine I’m dealing with. If I’m close to a place, I like to know how they’re doing and if I’m looking at so many different companies it isn’t easy to remember who they all are. Given the affordable nature of it, it just doesn’t seem to make much sense for a company not to take advantage of keeping their customers up to date. I’m always going to remember the magazine that took the time to write up a nice looking newsletter than the one who doesn’t seem to care either way about the business I bring them. I can only hope more companies come to realize how much this works. It would be nice to feel a little more appreciated.
Entry by Philip Roberts
The Method That Binds Your Booklets
Finally, you’re marketing ad such as your advertising booklets are about to be completed. But there’s one thing you have to decide on – what kind of binding method should you apply? For your booklets, your numerous pages may be a bit too much for ordinary paper clips and staple wires. When they do, you might want to consider professional binding for your advertising tool.
There are several methods you can choose from. For starters, there’s the saddle stitch binding that is actually very common for booklet binding, especially small ones. What it does is to bind together your pages after the sheets are folded with staple wires. The folded portion provides the spine to make your booklet sturdier.
Then there’s the ring binding method, where you use metal or plastic rings to put together your document. What makes this method helpful is that you can update your pages every time you need to. All you have to do is to add your pages to your document by removing the rings from your booklet, not to mention that you can lay it flat on a surface.
Perfect binding on the other hand, attaches all your pages in your document with the use of a flexible adhesive. This is so durable and less expensive that most advertisers use this to cut on costs. However, it may only be applied on documents that are not too thick such as your paperback.
