I Asked, You Answered. Time is Money!

Wow! A few weeks ago, I asked the question for what are you top four problem areas in marketing? Almost overwhelmingly the responses I got were managing collateral and stationery, maintaining brand consistency and having a centralized location for orders and reorders to be placed. By helping our customers with their biggest challenges, BPI Media Group is bridging the gap between problems and solutions.

To help you determine if a storefront solution is right for you and your company, we'll take three simple steps:

1. Examination. Look at how you're handling orders and reorders now, quantities and frequencies of orders and how much time it takes for orders to be processed presently. We'll start this process by doing a Materials Asset Management (MAM).

2. Potential Solution. Offer options using our storefront system that include print on demand, fulfillment, warehousing and inventory control.

3. Implementation. Based on the results of our examination and the potential solutions offered, we will work together to implement a storefront solution that is right for you and your company's needs. The greatest feature of a storefront is that this solution is highly customizable and can be set up however best fits your needs.

While most of you are familiar with a web-to-print portal (aka, storefront), you can click here to view a demo of our storefront offering. This will show you the benefits and features of a variety of different storefronts and the flexibility of using this to manage your collateral and stationery needs.

So what are the benefits of a storefront?

• Save time by streamlining the ordering & reordering processes and typically a faster turn-around time on printed materials.
• Bridge the gap between digital content and print production.
• User friendly; the interface is very intuitive and easy to use.
• Maintain brand consistency by having certain aspects of the materials "locked in" and others aspects variable where users such as sales reps can personalize the materials using their contact information.
• Instant proofing by providing a pdf proof fon the fly for review and immediate approval.
• Reduce print costs by using print on demand to avoid having obsolete materials.
• Approval process for any orders selected to ensure ordering privileges aren't abused.
• Inventory management through reporting allows you to see order history and help in planning for future budgets.

If these are some of the challenges you face in your marketing department, feel free to reach out to me, and I'll be glad to do a live demo of our storefront solution and get started with the examination process. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you put this solution in place to save you time and reduce overall print costs as needed.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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Put Your Marketing on Auto-Pilot...Let Your Data Do the Drivin'

If you're like most marketers I talk to, sorting through the data and figuring out who should receive what marketing messages can be pretty overwhelming. It can literally make you want to scream and pull our all your hair. If this is you, I have a way that BPI Media Group can help you sort through the data and come up with a plan for versioning your marketing messages and improving your ROI.

Step 1: Analyze the Data. If you look at your customer or prospect lists closely, you will see patterns or segments that you can market to with version A. Then, you'll notice you have other segments--those would receive versions B or C of your marketing message. While the overall look and theme of all versions are similar, the message or offer is different based on the information you get from your data. This may be because of past buying patterns if you're B2C or based on past donation amounts if you're a non-profit. If you need help analyzing your data, BPI can help. We have the resources to break your data down into segments, so you can see the patterns and trends of your customers and deliver more relevant and communicate with them 1:1. What does that mean? A better return on your investment and an increased response rate.

Step 2: Communicate via cross media. Studies show that pairing online marketing with direct mail will increase your response rate, so think of ways you can incorporate your social media activities into your print. Promote your fundraiser or promotion on your facebook or twitter, but put that on your direct mailer. It makes it easier for folks to donate online plus they can share it with others who may want to participate in the fundraiser or promotion. It is also a good idea to pair email marketing with direct mail--your customers and prospects will be more likely to see and read your message if they have the option of reading it on or offline. If you need help putting together a cross media plan, BPI can help with microsites that capture the data of the responders to make following up easier.

Step 3: Create personalized, relevant messages. By using BPI's digital printing options, you can make each message speak specifically to that customer or prospect in a way that will help you get a better ROI whether that be through contributions or product sales. How do you do this? By listening to your data. Once the data has been analyzed, segmented and grouped, you will see how the message to these clusters of customers and prospects need to have their own message. A generic message or mass mailing just won't do the trick after you see the patterns in your data.

Don't take my word for it that these 3 little steps are all you need to do. Let BPI and me help you get your data in order, reviewed and broken down, so you can compile a killer marketing plan that will reach the variety of customers and prospects you never knew you had out there. Click here to see how an integrated campaign derived from analyzed data really worked for one college. They experienced a 1295.65% ROI. WOW! So, give me a call or leave a note here if you'd like to learn more about data analytics and how paying attention to something you already have can help you market smarter and improve your ROI.

Until next time...Elizabeth

I'm new to twitter, so please check it out & follow along if you'd like.