Trust + Customer Loyalty=Success

After spending time with customers lately talking about everything from campaign ROI to fulfillment, it dawned on me that BPI Media Group has some very loyal customers. This loyalty is based on several things, but the biggest factor is trust.

We at BPI wear that as a badge of honor knowing that our customers have placed their trust in us to help their marketing and communications channels be successful. That trust is built on relationships we develop and nurture over time with each of our customers. We strive to become invested in your projects because "our success depends on the success of our customers."

Relationships with customers are based on fair pricing, excellent customer service, promises kept (i.e., on-time delivery) and consistent follow up. If you were to take a census of our customer list, you'd find that most of them have been faithful customers for 10+ years--some of them 20+ years! That's an equation for success when you combine trust and customer loyalty.

For those long-time, loyal customers, we'd like to say THANK YOU! Thank you for working with us, trusting us and partnering with us to help achieve your marketing and communication goals. It is our priority to make you and your company look GREAT and to make your job a little less stressful.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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And the Award Goes to...BPI's Creative Team

On a visit to BPI Media Group's plant in Boaz, AL on Monday, I learned some very exciting news from our design and creative team director, Leisa McGowan. Some of the graphic design projects our team has created for an auction company have received numerous awards. I think this is quite news worthy, so I wanted to brag on our creative team just a bit.

These particular awards were for catalogs/brochures. Six first-place awards were won based on the graphic design done by BPI. The competition received more than 650 entries, which were judged based on their creativity, effectiveness, clarity and visual appeal by a panel of marketing and advertising professionals. The NAA-USA TODAY poll is the most esteemed in the auction industry, and it recognized the best marketing and advertising materials. Needless to say, we are quite proud of our designers. GOOD JOB!!!!!

Not only do our designers create aesthetically-pleasing pieces, but they also create pieces that include strategic calls to action because including effective marketing best practices is part of what we do and offer our customers. We want all of your marketing materials to be successful. Keep in mind that all of this is done under very tight deadlines, making last-minute revisions and fine tuning until it is a piece that can be printed, mailed and/or shared with pride.

If your marketing team needs help with design, or you're short handed, let BPI's creative team lend a hand. We guarantee you'll love the results!

Until next time...Elizabeth

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Loud & Clear Call to Action

Wondering why you may not be getting the ROI you anticipated from your latest campaign? As you can imagine, we at BPI Media Group see a wide variety of campaigns and direct mailers. While many of these pieces are aesthetically phenomenal, many are missing a key component: a clear call to action.

A lack luster call to action can leave your ROI falling flat, so avoid this common mistake by giving your customers and prospects more than one way to respond. Don't bury your phone number or website in tiny print at the bottom, instead make it very clear how one can get in touch with you or find you online (website and social media outlets). The best way to make your call to action clear, is for all of your communications pieces to be engaging. Another suggestion is to use multiple channels to reach your customers, each with multiple ways to respond. Sometimes, we all get so set in our ways that we forget to break out of the rut and do something different! Don't be afraid to try something different--especially if what you've been doing isn't yielding the results you want and need.

Here are a few reminders of ways to enhance your call to action:/

• Pair direct mail with email marketing campaigns.
• Include personalization with variable data (a simple way to lift response rates).
• Offer an incentive such as a coupon or reward in exchange for their inquiry or purchase.
• Make the offer relevant.
• Allow customers and prospects to respond online (it's so much easier!).
• Try using a sms text message campaign.
• Drive responders to a PURL (aka, personalized landing page) where you can gather useful information and follow up.
• Provide a QR code for those tech-savvy responders and when it's appropriate for the audience.

While there's no sure-fire way to guarantee a 100% response rate, mixing up your communications with integrated campaigns, 1:1 marketing messages and a variety of channels and ways to respond will offer you more opportunities for your target audience to answer the call to action. Just make sure that CTA (call to action) is loud and clear.

If you'd like to learn more about ways to improve your call to action, these are some great reads:

• 12 Ways to Strengthen Your Call to Action
• Ballantine Corporation Explains How To Enhance the Power of Direct Mail
• Not-for-Profits Raise Response Rates With More Relevant Solicitations

Until next time...Elizabeth

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Web Meet Print: Click. Order. Print.

After talking with a marketer today, I was reminded of the happy marriage between the web and print. This reminder was refreshing and brought a smile to my face because it nullifies the theory that the web is the be-all, end-all of print. I, along with BPI Media Group, are glad to prove that theory wrong!

With the birth of online ordering portals (aka, storefronts), this marriage between web and print was solidified. They not only simply coexist in the marketing world but also work in perfect harmony. Let me explain...

Wouldn't it be super-easy if all of your reps, district managers or branch offices could order versioned collateral material from corporate-approved branding? Yes! BPI's storefront solution makes this possible. You can even have corporate approve the orders to make sure one overly-eager rep isn't running up a big tab on print materials. Reviewing the ordering history and inventory levels via real-time reporting access also makes keeping tabs on use of collateral simple.

During and after this meeting today, I was excited about print again because now there are so many more ways to put ink on paper. It can be through the web where we as printers aren't having to compete for marketing dollars, but we can merge the print and online content, repurpose it for greater use (think e-newsletters and white papers)serve a broader audience. This audience is not only the internal sales and marketing team members but also the customers and prospects who receive the messaging via print and online mediums.

I am proud to declare the war is over between the web and print. We're working together quite nicely here at BPI./

Read more about how print is still alive and kickin':

• TIME Magazine and The Power of Print: Creating and Continuing the Conversation
• Web-to-Print: the revitalization of the impression in the Internet age

Until next time...Elizabeth

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