Who's Your Ideal Prospect?

One of the things we as a sales team at BPI Media Group have been focusing on lately is defining our ideal prospect/customer. We started with a pen and paper and made a list of the top characteristics we look for in an ideal customer. Think of this as searching for a mate--what qualities does this person possess? Since this is something I get asked often at networking events, "Describe your ideal customer," I am grateful to have clear and concise answers to this question next time it is posed.

Once we defined the characteristics of our ideal prospect/customer, the next step was putting together a plan to reach them. It didn't dawn on me at first, but this is very much like courting. You have to make that initial contact and let them know you're interested and what you have to offer. For BPI, we can offer solutions. These solutions range from making a tight deadline on a direct mail campaign to providing an online portal where team members can order template-based collateral. Defining our solutions and how they relate to each individual ideal prospect has helped us get more meetings which we are optimistic will equate to new customers and increased sales.

Do you need help defining your ideal prospect and how to reach them? Let BPI help! We'd love to sit down with you and put these characteristics on paper and help develop a plan to reach them through integrated marketing, assessing your current data, creating a multi-drop mail campaign or creating fresh collateral with which you can contact them. Let's work together to reach our ideal prospects and turn them into long-term customers.

Until next time...Elizabeth

Words of Wisdom

One of the greatest things about being a part of BPI Media Group is that we have a tremendous management team. Being tremendous to me equates into being a leader by example and also being supportive. Our President, Alan Davis, shared these words of wisdom from a famous executive with our sales team recently, and I thought these were worth sharing. The printing industry has been forced to change, and our leadership has embraced the changes and helped us drive forward with the tools and solutions we need to help our customers prosper (storefronts, print on demand, etc). I hope these will speak to you in some positive way.

These are quotes from Jack Welch, former CEO of GE. One important fact about him is that he took over as CEO of GE corp in the 80’s and GE had assets of 8 billion. When he retired, GE had assets of 400 billion.

“Change before you have to.”

“An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.”

“Control your own destiny or someone else will.”

“There is no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.”

“Be Candid with everyone.”

“I’ve learned that mistakes can often be as good a teacher as success.”

More quotes by Jack Lynch.

Until next time...Elizabeth

Are You Ready?

As I got ready for a run this morning, I was reminded how prepared you have to be each time you head out the door. Since I was getting up early, I even laid out my running gear last night, so I could quickly get ready and be on my way without delay. Shoes: check. Running attire: check. Hat: check. Windbreaker: check. iPhone case for arm: check. Water: check. Running buddy: check. Even though I use the same type of gear every time I run, there have been improvements in gear, shoes, and even technology with all the super-cool running apps out there to track your run with maps, time, calories, etc.

As a marketer, are you ready to help your company grow its sales? BPI Media Group has the "gear" to help you get out the door and capture those sales. If you need the help of a "buddy," BPI would gladly help. We can help you choose the gear that you need whether it's deciding if print on demand with digital printing could help you save cost and provide an efficient solution for your distribution channels or aid in creating design or even just templates for personalized options. Our technology with Kodak Insite proofing system can help you shave time off your production schedule, and our cross media campaigns (including purls, sms text, email, direct mail and QR codes) can help you track the results of your campaign in real time.

So as you plan your next marketing campaign, let us help you with get prepared. Working together, we can help you have a better campaign or project to execute and assist your company in boosting sales.

Until next time...Elizabeth

Worth the Trip

It's been a busy week with travel and meetings with potential customers. These are the kind of weeks I absolutely love and remind me that making the phone calls and doing the follow up are so important...and worthwhile. Yesterday, we were fortunate to have potential customers visit BPI Media Group's plant in Boaz, AL from the Atlanta area. I was reminded of how much we really can do under one roof, and the prospects seemed quite impressed as well.

Sometimes, it takes seeing to believe that we really can do all the design, prepress, print, bindery, mail and fulfillment from BPI's primary location in Boaz. As we made our way through the plant from department to department following the work flow, the faces of the employees were welcoming and confident. They're confident because most of them have been there for 10+ years...some even 20+ years. That's a lot of experience, and a lot of technology to keep up with as it is ever changing in our industry.

Having our Kodak Insite proofing system in place makes those who are hours (even states) away be able to proof immediately upon uploading files. Just because we're in Boaz doesn't mean it will take longer to get your proof. In fact, you'll get it faster through Insite. Seeing our conventional presses in motion and how a 40" 6-color offset press works is impressive if you haven't seen it before. The technology of our Kodak Nexpress digital press is also something to see. If you have custom pantone color needs, our pantone mixing system will knock your socks off. When we added 20,000+ square feet to the existing building in 2002, we allowed for room to grow and added room for a warehouse to hold fulfillment materials. Bindery was able to grow by added additional folders and fugutive glue features. This added space also allowed us to set up our own mail room with 2 inkjetters/tabbers in the mail department.

You don't have to take my word for it that we do it all at BPI in Boaz, come visit. I promise, it's worth the trip, and we'd love to have you!

Until next time...Elizabeth

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