BPI's Ladies of Print

Tuesday, October 9, 2012 was National Girls Who Print Day! I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize the other ladies of print at BPI Media Group who I work alongside.

My long-time friend and mentor, Wendy Sherrod, has been with BPI Media Group for 22 years.

She is fiercely driven and takes excellent care of her customers. This shows by how many of her customers have been loyal for such a long time. Wendy's experience at BPI transcends that of most as she has gone through the changes in technology seeing film fall by the way side as the digital world of printing closes the gap on traditional printing methods. Her knowledge of "how things work" in print bring something special to client meetings because she sees things from a start-to-finish perspective and offers good insight when planning a project.

One of our newest additions to the team at BPI, Ann Dunaway, has been with us a few months, but she is very eager to help our sales team reach new heights! Ann's positive attitude and sales & marketing experience give her insight into her customers' plans for a campaign or strategy.

Ann says, "I am still fairly new to the industry, but I thoroughly enjoy learning everything that our company is able to do! We have many different services to offer that can truly help our customers be successful. It is a great feeling to know that you were able to help someone in their success!"

Other ladies who rock at BPI are our customer service team of Pam, Jolie and Angie--without them, we would be lost. We have several other awesome ladies on our team at BPI who help us make things happen: Renee (specialty products), Susan (accounting), Jan (prepress), Leisa (creative design team), Doris (mail and fulfillment) and Judy (shipping). Don't get me wrong, we have some great guys working with us at BPI to make it happen, so take a look at our staff page to learn about all of the team members.

Just a shout-out to all the ladies of BPI who are seldom recognized for all their hard work! They have each taught me so much over the past eleven+ years, and I'm sure the learning will continue as we learn and grow together in the print industry. Celebrate Girls Who Print every day!

Until next time...Elizabeth

11 Years-My How Time Flies!

Last week, I celebrated eleven years of working at BPI Media Group. It only seems like yesterday, but in that time, so many things have changed at BPI. I'll share a little "me and BPI" history with you this week as I'm feeling a bit sentimental.

The day was January 29, 2001. Fresh out of a job and green in the world of business, I had interviewed with Alan and Steve Davis (owners of BPI)two weeks prior. They were looking for a CSR, and I was looking for a good place to work.

The job: CSR (customer service rep) at Boaz Printing (this was long before the name change). I worked alongside three other CSR's who helped train me in estimating. I spent a day in each department (stripping/proofing/plating, pressroom, bindery and shipping) to learn the production side of things. What were all these terms??? Blueline, sheetwise, saddlestitch??? What did we do with so much film? Boy, did I have a lot to learn!

The opportunity: Eventually, I learned the ropes of estimating and even got to ride along on some client visits. I really liked those days because it meant getting out of the office, visiting folks, and learning a little more about the sales process. We had added 20,000 square feet, a new press room, warehouse space and become a more modern, CTP shop (no more film! After 3 1/2 years as a CSR, I was presented with the opportunity to move into sales. Of course, I jumped at the chance to be in front of customers and prospects more and become a road warrior.

Installation of 6-color press in 2004 after addition of square footage.

The challenges: In the summer of 2004, I hit the road for my first solo sales calls. I thought learning the terminology and processes of printing were tough...welcome to sales. While there were definitely challenges, and I was inexperienced as a salesperson, I learned the importance of relationships. Some of those first prospects I called on that summer are still customers today. For that I am very grateful and continue to value those relationships. That is one thing that BPI has done consistently--nurture relationships and grow with our customers.

Over the past 7 1/2 years, I've had the privilege of travelling the Southeast and meeting some wonderful people who often becomes great customers. While it is still a learning process, and I certainly learn from my mistakes every day, I can wholeheartedly say that I love my job! It is great to work for people who treat you well, respect everyone and put customers first. The motto of BPI has become "Our success is measured by the success of our customers." This is so very true. If I can help a customer create, execute and measure a campaign successfully, then I feel like a million bucks.

Being part of the team at BPI Media Group is part of me. If you'd like to learn more about some of the fantastic staff who help me every day, click here. Without their help, I'd still be struggling even after eleven years. Let me know if you have any questions about BPI or ways we can help with your marketing, mail, fulfillment, specialty products, traditional or digital printing, setting up a storefront, graphic design or web development. I can't wait to see what the next ten or eleven years have in store for BPI and our customers!

Until next time...Elizabeth

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

What's So Special About SWAG?

I had a customer ask me last week, "What's SWAG?" With a chuckle, I explained that SWAG is Stuff We All Get. So, what's so special about SWAG if everyone gets it? It's special because it has YOUR company name on it, YOUR brand, and purchased with YOUR marketing dollars.

How come a printing company is promoting specialty or promotional items anyway? (pun intended) It's part of the reason BPI Media Group isn't just a PSP (Print Service Provider) anymore, but a MSP (Marketing Service Provider). Our conversion to a MSP started a few years ago when we added mailing services, but sure, a lot of printers mail. We took the conversion a few steps further and added digital printing capabilities, paired that with variable data, cross-media campaigns, and online storefront solutions, sprinkled in some data asset management and graphic and web design, and then topped it off with a spread of specialty items that help raise brand awareness for your company.

Variety of BPI "SWAG" we've shared in the past few months.

Specialty items are a great way to do a lumpy mailing (see last week's blog about lumpy mailings!) because an envelope containing a pen or other useful item blazoned with your logo is better than that of your competitor's in the hand of your prospect or client. You can also integrate the marketing message on the outside of the envelope or package in which you send out the item if you're mass distributing it. Specialty items are also a great way to share candies or other treats as gifts with clients to show your gratitude. A newer trend is to have contests through social media sites and offer promo items as prizes. Last winter, I shared BPI's coffee mug with several customers filled with apple cider and hot cocoa mixes. Not only was it nice to bring a little warmth to clients on some really cold days, but this was a huge success and opened the door for conversations about promotional items and how they can help keep your company or brand TOM (top of mind).

Here's what one client had to say about the significance of promotional items for brand loyalty, customer and employee incentives and give-aways at trade shows. "Promo items aren't only great at tradeshows to draw folks to your booth, but they have been a tremendous asset in boosting employee morale. We have also used promo items for contests through our website and social media campaigns. We'll sometimes include a free item with an order as a "thank you" to customers, especially if it is a first-time order."

If you've never considered using specialty items or you're not quite sure for the best application in your marketing mix, here's a list of the top 10 uses for promotional items according to the Promotional Products Association International as cited in "Top 10 Uses for Promotional Products During the 1st Q of 2011."

1. Customer Goodwill and Retention

2. Tradeshows

3. Employee Relations and Events

4. Brand Awareness

5. Public Relations

6. New Customer/Account Generation

7. Employee Service Awards

8. Not-For-Profit Programs

9. Internal Promotions

10. New Product and Service Introduction

According to the same article about Q1 promo item use, promotional items that were perceived to have greater value generated more sales leads than products of lower value. By including a promo item with a pre-show mailing, you could increase the likelihood of an attendee stopping by your booth. Studies show that 76% of tradeshow attendees had a favorable attitude toward any company that gave them a branded promo item. An overwhelming 70% of tradeshow attendees who received a promo item remembered the name of the company that gave it away.

What are the top promotional items? Things you can wear (shirt), writing instruments, bags and drinkware are the most popular among business professionals. These are considered valuable because they can be used daily. Who doesn't want their logo in their prospect or customers' hands every single day? Here are a few more top sellers:

• Desk/Office/Business Accessories

• Calendars

• Recognition Awards/Jewelry

• Computers/Tech Gadgets

• Sporting Goods

• Automotive Apparel/Accessories

• Magnets/Textiles/Housewares

• Food/Electronics/Clocks

The common denominator among all of these items are that they are useful and appreciated. If you give someone an item they can use, you increase the chances of them remembering you, your company name and your brand.

If you'd like to chat about ideas for promotional items, plan for an upcoming tradeshow or event, direct mail campaign, etc., please give me a call or email. I would love to cook up a recipe for success with you! To browse BPI's specialty items, click here. For pricing or questions about a particular item that catches your eye, let me know! As always, your feedback is welcome, and remember that power of promotional items is its ability to inform, remind and persuade. Until next time...Elizabeth :)