April 28, 2011
Small Budget Business Promotions
Looking for new ideas to promote your business? New ways to get your customers to notice you? When it comes to innovative sales promotions, you can promote your business, find new customers and add substantially to your bottom line at minimal costs. Aloha Print and Copy can show you how, that with a little work and imagination, self-promotion efforts can provide a very cost-effective lift.
Small Budget? No problem!
If you’re not blessed with a large advertising budget to promote your business, don’t despair. Promoting your business with a variety of inexpensive but effective methods can go a long way to ensure a steady stream of work. Below are some unique marketing ideas for business promotion.
- Contact a client whenever you are on a trip by sending a postcard from your location. Tell them you’ve “Heard of a Great Idea” you’d like to share with them when you get back in the office. Build the intrigue so that they are expecting your call.
- On a hot day, hand out cold water bottles with an attached message. “Refer Your Friends to (your company) and We’ll Let the Money Flow Like Water.”
- People love to win prizes so send them scratch-off tickets. Prizes can be anything from a free hours consultation to product.
- Create a “faux” Lottery Ticket business card. Design in the style of a lottery ticket with your phone number in place of the lottery numbers. At the bottom of the ticket tell prospects: “Your chances of winning is better with us.”
- Need a creative networking gimmick? Give seed packets in the Spring. “Plant your Roots with Us.”
- Have your logo printed on business card and attach it to a bag of peanuts. Your card can say: “We’re nuts about our clients…call us to learn how to get your next project for peanuts.” Place them in an envelope and mail. People tend to open bulky envelopes to see what’s in them.
- Take a photo of the front of your business and let Aloha Print and Copy print full color postcards with your message: “Wish you were here…and you could be if you used our services.”
- Purchase “location” postcards that reflect your area. Great ones are the cards styled from the 50’s and 60’s that say: Hello from (your town)!.” Handwrite your personal sales message on the back.
- People love brain teasers. The best ones are those that ask you to find the mistake or hidden item. Create your teaser based on your company’s product.
- Another teaser people love are puzzles. Have your message printed on stock that is pre-cut for puzzle pieces. Take the pieces apart, place into an envelope and mail to your prospect.
The idea is to stand out from your competition, leave a lasting impression and get them to call you back. Call Aloha Print and Copy today at (770) 642-1642 and ask us for more details on creating your next marketing promotion.
April 6, 2011
25 Creative Uses for the Back of Your Business Card
One of the most under-utilized piece in your marketing package is the backside of you business card. Chances are for the majority of you, the backside is blank. Below are 25 fun and useful ideas to get your clients to notice you,
- Your business philosophy, core values, or mission statement
- A list (or partial list) of your services
- Directions to your office or place of business
- A reusable coupon/discount
- Create a referral program
- An affirmation or favorite quote
- Three benefits of doing business with you
- Tips on how your product or services can save or make money
- Five things people should know about your business, services or products
- A short quiz about your business or industry
- Trivia about your business or industry
- Your elevator speech
- A mini resume of credentials and honors
- A short joke/riddle
- A 12-month calendar
- A calendar of events (sports)
- Community emergency phone numbers
- Your rates
- Third party testimonials
- A tipping chart
- A list of common cooking weights or measurements
- Your personal guarantee
- Appointment date/time
- Useful websites
- Thought-provoking question (“Can you afford not to?”)
The answer to number 25 is NO!!! Your business card is the first and last impression a prospective client has of you. Make it memorable and utilize the back of your card.
For business card ideas and printing, call Aloha Print and Copy today at (770) 642-1642.
February 3, 2011
How Much Do You Depend On Spell Check?
Can using spell check be bad for business marketing and communications? In most cases, yes. While spell check can pick up the most glaring spelling and grammar errors, it does have its limitations too. It’s amazing how many brochures, websites, newsletters and other marketing collateral contain simple spelling and grammar errors.
The English language is one of the most complex languages as there are many words that sound the same or similar but are spelled differently and have different means. So, if you use the wrong word in your text but spell it correctly, spell check will not pick up on it. Below are several examples:
Accept / Except
Advice / Advise
Affect / Effect
Coarse / Course
Here / Hear
Stationary / Stationery
Then / Than
There / Their / They’re
Where / Were / We’re
Who’s / Whose
How about the instances when a letter is left off still creating a correct word? Or letters are reversed? Below are several common examples:
By / Buy / Bye
Excited / Exited
Form / From
Heard / Herd
Loose / Lose
Quite / Quit
Then / Them / The
Your / You
Spell checker only works if the source word already close to the intended word. A good example is the word “alot” which is incorrect. Spell check will give you “allot” as the closest to the wrong one when in fact the correct word is “a lot.”
Not to complicate matters more BUT…newer versions of Microsoft Word will correct words as you go along. This is great in most instances, but what happens if Word fixes your misspelled word but with the wrong word because it was closer to the original source? And the lists can go on and on.
So as you can see, spell check can present a problem. This is why it’s important to use good old-fashioned proofreading.
Even if you use spell check to catch the obvious spelling and grammar mistakes, it’s wise to print your document out and proofread it. Look it over slowly, word for word, line for line. Pull out your dictionary and thesaurus to look up questionable words. You will find that you will catch more errors this way. Once you are finished proofreading, step away from the document for a while (letting your mind relax) then go back and repeat the proofing process again. Surprise!! You might catch even more errors. This is because of a “mind trick” that your brain plays on you. As the author, you already know what your document is suppose to say so as you read it, your mind is skipping on to the next word even though your eyes are further back in the proofing process (this is how mistakes are missed.) Now that you have proofed it twice, it’s wise to have a second (or third) pair of eyes to proof your document before you officially print or publish it.
When the designer at Aloha Print and Copy creates your document, not only do we have you – the customer proof it, we also take it through two in-house “proofers” to ensure that the documents is perfect.
For more information about Aloha Print and Copy’s print, copy, design, bind and mail fulfillment services and product information, please call us at (770) 642-1642.
October 7, 2010
Create Unusual Mailings
Service businesses such as insurance, landscape, accounting, medical care or restaurant to name a few, should by now understand the importance that a successful mass mailer can have on their company.
By mailing hundreds of pieces every year, increase response by a small fraction can be worth lots of money over the “lifetime” of the customer. Because successful mailings can be worth so much, direct mailers have come up with many creative approaches to get the recipient to open their message.
So, how do you get from the “to oblivion” pile and into the “to open” stack? Here are a few ideas to create an unusual mailing:
• Hand address your envelopes. More people will open an envelope that been written out than one that has been computer generated.
• Use “live” stamps. Set your correspondence apart by using older stamps or theme stamps. This is efficient enough on small quantity mailers
• Use an unusual envelope. Another approach is to getting noticed is the use of colored or translucent envelopes. (Available at Aloha)
• An envelope with something “lumpy” in it will almost always get opened. Try a pen, a key chain or something tailored to your audience.
• Create a “mystery”. Aloha can print your envelope with a graphic or saying that gets your envelope opened, “Benefits Inside” “Limited Time” or “Yours Free” will catch the attention of the reader who’ll want to open it out of curiosity.
• Create a “Wanted” postcard. It can be a wanted postcard or a milk carton graphic with your picture on it. Your headline can be as simple as “Have you seen this man?” and end it with contact information.
• Showcase your business. Have Aloha create a full color postcard with photos that show off your services. For more credibility, use your own photos rather than stock photos.
• Bigger is better. Instead of the standard 4×6 postcard, make is bigger. Larger sized postcards or postcards with shape will stand out and get more notice in the mailbox.
• It’s all a puzzle. People like fun, intriguing things. Create your message on puzzle pieces that your client will have to put together. Put them into an envelope with a printed comment on the outside such as “Could you help us with this puzzle?”
There is not limitation to what your imagination can create. Let it run wild. Your point is to get noticed and creative mailings would do it.
Let us know if you have a unusual marketing idea you’d like to share.
For more information about creative mailings and our mail fulfillment options, please call Aloha Print and Copy @ (770) 642-1642
June 14, 2010
What is the meaning of signs such as ®, ©, TM, SM?
Symbols and signs are not new to us. We’ve used them since the beginning of time to represent a thought, object, process or abstract. What does this mean for business branding? By trademarking your company name or service, you give your customers a perception of quality. You also protect yourself and your brand from your competitors.
• Trademarks (TM) is an unregistered mark that is used by individuals or businesses to identify that the product, brand or service on which the mark appears distinguishes its products or services from other similar products or services. By definition, a trademark is a type of intellectual property. Most typically it can be a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, color or a combination of these elements. This mark should appear while you are in the process of obtaining a registered trademark ®.
• Service Marks (SM) are different from a trademark. Service Marks are used to advertise a service such as transportation to distinguish its services from those of a competitors.
• Registered trademarks (®) are marks are protected by law through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Owners of registered marks are used solely by it’s owner.
• Copyright (©) is a form of intellectual property that gives the artist or author of an original work exclusive right for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation, after which time the work is said to enter the public domain. The © is used for but not limited to artistic design and writing. A copyright has been internationally standardized and can last between 50 – 100 years from the author’s death. A shorter period of time for anonymous or corporate authorship.
So what isn’t protected? Any trademark that is similar to existing trademarks, generic terms, a mark that is not recognized as unique to a product, and titles for books, movies or music among others.
Now more than ever, it has become increasingly important to protect your assets. With the advent of the internet, many people feel that it’s their right to use an image or text that is used on a website. It’s not. Websites have the same protection as books, magazines and newspapers. You must first obtain permission to use any image or text from its author.
While it is not necessary to hire a lawyer who specializes in trademark or copyrights, it can be to your benefit to hire one. An attorney can make sure your trademark meets the proper qualifications, research your trademark and file the necessary papers. A lawyer has the resources to make filing easy.
For more information regarding trademark and copyrights, visit http://www.uspto.gov (US Patent and Trademark Office) and http://www.copyright.gov (US Copyright Office).
Contact the experts at Aloha Print and Copy for more information about print, copy, bind, design and mail fulfillment projects. Call us at (770) 642-1642 or email: alohaprintcopy@juno.com
June 1, 2010
Easy Marketing Communications II
In today’s economy, the competition for getting your product or services to the public has gotten stiffer. Get ahead of the game by calling Aloha Print and Copy to assist you with the following marketing ideas to brand yourself and your company:
• Get out of the office and meet your clients face-to-face. Be sure to give clients and prospects two business cards and two brochures – one to keep and one to pass along. Ask for referrals. And while you’re at it, “Pay it Forward” get their brochures and business cards and recommend them to others. (I know, we said it before but it really works.)
• Take advantage of voice mail. Change your message daily or weekly to reflect your business or any service or product information. Do this with both landlines and cell phones.
• Utilize your emails vacation responder for more than just vacations. When you receive an email from a client or prospect, your responder can automatically reply back with a message about your business or if you’re in sales, to let them know you’ve received their email and will respond back within a specific timeframe.
• Update your business card. Ordinary cards get lost in the shuffle. Make it stand out with higher quality paper and color. Be sure to take advantage of the backside. Add your products or services. Ask the experts at Aloha how to utilize the space on your business card.
• Send prospects a Thank You note. Let them know how much you appreciated them taking the time to meet and talk with you. Thank you notes increase the all important repeat business and strengths the client business relationship.
• Send a letter or note to let prospects and clients know that you have a personal interest in what they do. Here are some reasons to write people notes: anniversary, congratulate on a promotion or honor, a comment about them, their company or their family in the newspaper.
• Join Yahoo! Answers. You can find any question that pertains to your business industry right down to your local area. When someone asked a simple question, you answer it, add in your website and viola! You could find yourself up front in a Google search…for free.
• Do pro bono work for schools, charities or service organizations. Be sure you receive credit for everything you do.
• Become a member. Join a business association or a non-profit organization and put your expertise to work. Not only will you get business contacts, you will also foster new friendships.
• Publish online informational “How to” articles about your service, product or specialty. Within your articles, point the reader back to your website. There are many avenues to get your info published: ezinearticles.com, ehow.com, about.com to name a few. Best of all…it’s free!
Let us know if you have a easy marketing idea you’d like to share.
For more information about Aloha Print and Copy’s print, copy, design, bind and mail fulfillment services and product information, please call us at (770) 642-1642. Receive 10% off (up to $50.00 maximum discount) your next job when you mention this blog post. (Good for 30 days after posting date. Restrictions apply.)
March 19, 2010
Marketing Tip – Publicize It!!
The majority of what you read in newspapers and magazines are the result of information provided by the outside. All publications depend on press releases to keep them informed of social, business and industry happenings. Publicity is FREE!!! And the more interesting your news is, the more likely it will be published. Most importantly, press releases can also lead to articles and expert opinions in the future.
So what can classify as a press release?
• Opening of your store, office or firm.
• Announcement of new management.
• Hiring or promotion of key management or employees.
• An anniversary.
• Owner receiving an award, accreditation or other honor.
• Awarding of a new business contract.
• Business expansion or remodeling.
• Adding a new service, product or equipment.
• Hosting a demonstration, seminar or open house.
• A speaking engagement.
• Financial news – your annual report was released.
• Special event or contest.
• Trend evaluations.
• Joint partnership with another business or firm.
• Involvement/support for a charitable cause or fundraiser.
The possibilities are endless. There are hundreds of books out there to help get you started. All it takes is a little imagination to get the “marketing” ball rolling.
This tip was provided by Aloha Print and Copy (770) 642-1642
Aloha Print & Copy 