Marketing Commentary from interlinkONE
Marketing. Web-to-Print. Warehouse Management.
Marketing Tips for Mail and Fulfillment Service Providers
Posted by 
on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 
at 12:32 PM 
in 
In just a few days, my beloved New England Patriots will be facing the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. And while I will certainly be rooting heavily against New York in that game, that certainly will not stop me from heading to that State in order to meet with some mail and fulfillment service providers!
On Wednesday, February 1st, I will be speaking at a meeting of the Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA) New York Chapter.
Presentation Overview
The presentation that I will be delivering is titled “How You Can Improve Your Own Marketing Efforts”.
I will focus on providing actionable items and intelligence that service providers can use to reach more prospects and generate more leads. Some of the main topics that will be covered include:
- Creating a marketing strategy and plan
- How to incorporate online marketing and content marketing into your effort
- Ideas for executing multi-channel marketing campaigns
- Ways to use social media and mobile marketing in your business
If you are in the New York area, I hope to see you there!
Event Details
When: Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Where: Club 101, 101 Park Avenue, (40th St), New York, NY
5:30 – Cocktail Reception
6:15 – Dinner
7:00 – Program
Need more information? Please visit the MFSA New York Chapter’s website >>
P.S. Go Patriots!
Tags How Can Printers Improve Their Own Marketing Efforts?
Yes, it’s true. I spend a lot of time working with printers to help them offer multi-channel and cross-media marketing services to their clients.
And while I truly believe that diversifying the services they offer can help them to grow their business, it is also just as important for printers to practice what they preach and improve their own marketing efforts.
If they will be selling multi-channel campaigns, they should be executing those to promote themselves. If they are encouraging clients to include QR Codes on their printed materials, they should be using them on their own business cards, signs, brochures, and direct mail efforts.
On November 16th, I will have the chance to speak about this topic some more in Seattle, Washington. The event is being put on by the folks at HP.
If you are interested in attending, please click here to register >>
I recently recorded a video that discusses this event a bit more. I hope that you enjoy it!
5 Tips for Standing out from the Competition
Note: This is Part 5 of a 9-part series on Becoming a Marketing Services Provider
When you take the plunge into transforming your business, you owe it to yourself to give it your all. The transformation to a marketing services provider is not always easy. There have been a lot of printers who have started going down the path, but then changed course when things did not go as smoothly as they may have hoped.
In chapter 5 of my book, Business Transformation: A New Path to Profit for the Printing Industry, I have outlined five simple steps to help you successfully make the transformation into a marketing services provider.
1. Stay well-read and educated.
There is a lot of material out there. New technologies are constantly being rolled out. The world of marketing is being changed every day by mobile platforms, social networks, and more — look at how quickly the tablet is changing our daily activities! While you may not feel that easy an every new technology will have an impact on your business, it is worth it to at least have a handle on these things. For example, your customers will perhaps think of you as more than a printer when they start discussing those channels and technologies with you. Being able to have a knowledgeable conversation across a variety of marketing and technology topics with your customers will bring benefits.
2. Be forward-thinking.
It’s one thing to read about the latest trends. It’s another to apply what you learn. We should all constantly be thinking about how we can incorporate your new findings into our business. When consuming new information, aggressively take notes. Mark down what you think is interesting or potentially useful. Mark down topics that you do not understand! Having an open mind can lead to the spark of innovation that will lead your company to greater success.
3. Be aggressive.
Once you have made the transformation, your natural ambition has to take over. Always be actively thinking about how you can further your business. Constantly find ways to attract new clients. Be determined to continually find new ways to impress customers with your service. By getting your entire staff on board with putting in the work, the transformation will certainly go a lot smoother.
4. Be prepared.
I mention in the book that “you need to prepare for the day when you truly become a one-stop marketing services shop.” In order for this to happen, you need to be prepared. As time goes on, you will need to offer more services. You cannot exist on providing personalized URLs alone or QR Codes for that matter. In a sense, you are preparing for a necessary expansion.
5. “Walk the talk.”
You will need to certainly be willing to bring your very best Sales skills to get clients on board with your new venture. Promising quality service and helpful products is part of the game, but you need to make sure that your service and products really are as good as you say. Also, you should be able to prove that the marketing channels you are selling have worked for you and your company. Not only will that help you to sell your expanded services, but it should also make it easier for your staff to implement them for clients.
Next week, we will be examining how to promote the heck out of your new business.
RELATED RESOURCES |
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 Learn more about John’s Book Today! |
Making Sense of the Marketing Services Provider Transformation
NOTE: This is Part 2 of a 9-Part Series on Becoming a Marketing Services Provider
No matter how you dress it up, a printer is a printer. Most printers would say that it is their price and customer service that will set them apart. If everyone has the same recipe for setting themselves apart, how much difference is there?
The Practical But Necessary Steps
Becoming a marketing services provider takes some time, and there are some non-negotiable steps along the way to make the transformation complete. First, it is necessary for the online presence of the printer to be inviting, friendly, easy to use, interactive, and functional. The ability for your customers to order online is an important facet of the printer’s transformation. Customers should be able to upload mailing lists using the printer as an email service provider. They should also be able to access and download information to be distributed or printed in small quantities.
But having an online store does not automatically make you a marketing services provider. The printer has to examine cross-media marketing. As I state in the book, cross-media marketing is, “a form of cross-promotion in which promotional companies commit to surpassing the traditional advertisements and decide to include extra appeals for their offered products. The material can be communicated by any type of mass media such as e-mails, letters, web pages, or other recruiting sources.”
So you have become cross-promotional and web-friendly. Now you need to execute some campaigns.
The Importance of Self-Promotion
You are looking to drive traffic to a retail store, whether that store is brick and mortar or digital, and increase sales. There are steps that can be taken to ensure a successful campaign. Create postcards with personalized URL’s or QR codes to attract the attention of potential customers. 80% of all printed material ends up in the mail, and who knows how much of that immediately ends up in the trash. So personalizing gives your efforts a much higher chance to be received than a standardized mailer.
Once the recipient accesses the URL, have them confirm some information to expand and provide accuracy to your database. Then drive them to either take a survey or claim their special offer that you advertised on the mailer. After a couple weeks, follow up with non-responders. When customers do come into the store in response to a direct marketing campaign, track that information to measure the effectiveness. If it’s not effective, go back to the drawing board. This should hopefully all lead to increased profits, data on marketing campaign strategies, and customer contact information. All of this lends itself to one of the most important ideas in marketing: return on investment (ROI).
The Secret to Success
Data is everything. Make sure you aggregate a solid database to help you in your marketing efforts. The best database is one you create yourself. The most relevant information to your business is only known by your business. A list provider can only be so specific to your target audience.
Hop on the Mobile Train
One more big aspect of this chapter is about making print interactive. I mentioned QR codes earlier; they are the best way to integrate new media into your printed efforts. They are two-dimensional barcodes that can be scanned by a smartphone, such as an iPhone or Android. Once scanned, they bring the user to a mobile website or landing page, creating an interactive experience for the customer. This mobile page will be stored in the phone for additional access later on, which means the proper information that you want read will be in the palm of the target audience’s hand.
The groundwork is being laid for the printer to become a full-fledged marketing services provider. In the next installment, we will talk about getting down to fundamentals to really complete the transformation.
RELATED RESOURCES |
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Learn more about John’s Book Today! |
The importance of self-promotion
At a recent MFSA (Mailing & Fulfillment Service Association) chapter meeting, nearly all attendees present expressed their interest in offering marketing services. However, when asked if they were currently involved in efforts to market their own company, the response was, well… a bit less. There is no better way to ensure future success than to start marketing your company and services now. If you are a print, fulfillment, or mail services provider, and are looking to add marketing services to your offering, running a self-promotional campaign can assist you in two ways that you might not have yet realized:
- Develop your internal campaign building team: if you have recently invested in a marketing software package, there certainly may be some training needed. By running your own campaign, your staff will become familiar with your new tools, and will also learn the ins and outs of running a successful campaign. (Some might also say that it’s safer to learn on your own campaign!)
- Support your sales staff: To sell marketing services, your sales staff needs help… With a self-promotional campaign, you can help educate and energize them. As the campaign runs, they will learn first-hand what your company’s marketing services can do. Each time they see a lead come in, they will not only be excited by the pipeline increase, but they will be able to better describe to others just how your company can help them close the sales loop.
