Open Door Policy

I was reminded today why we shouldn't burn bridges and that leaving the door open can be the best policy. A customer who had worked with BPI Media Group for several years on the printing and mailing called today out of the blue. Does that happen often? No, but because of the strength and longevity of our working relationship, this customer knew they could dial me up, and we would be glad to help on a new project.

Whether you're a long-time, loyal customer to BPI or a prospect who's reluctant to check us out, we literally do have an open door policy. We want you to come check us out. We invite you to tour our plant, see our production work flow and meet the folks who will make your project go from inception and design to ink on paper or in mailboxes.

BPI loves visitors! We'd love to have you press check your next project, so we can show you the steps it takes from proof to press. We invite you to plan to visit us soon to learn more about ways we can help you with everything from simply printing a postcard to managing fulfillment through our web-to-print storefront system. You won't be disappointed, and the folks you meet at BPI who work hard for you would be thrilled to see you too!

Until next time...Elizabeth

Thankfulness

The turkey is in the roasting pan, the sweet potato casserole is in the oven, and the pecan pies are cooling. What are your family's or company's Thanksgiving traditions? At BPI Media Group, we are "a family" as well, and we want to extend our thankfulness to those who work with us. Not only are we grateful to handle your print projects, mailings, fulfillment, websites, storefronts, and design, but we are most grateful to have the opportunity to develop relationships with each of our customers. Those relationships are what make us your partner. For the opportunities you've given us and the trust you place in BPI's team, we say "thank you!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next time...Elizabeth

BPI's FAQ's

The most common question I hear is "Can you do this?" "This" is always something specific, so I wanted to give you a run-down of the things that BPI Media Group can do. We'll call this the question and answer portion of the blog. While we like to consider ourselves a one-stop-shop, if there's a project that is well outside the scope of our capabilities, we have a network of partners and vendors that we can refer you to in order help make your project come to fruition. As you can imagine, over the past eleven years at BPI, I've been asked "Can you...?" more times than I admit because then I start telling my age.

BPI's Can-Do List

• Provide customer service from your project's start to finish.
• Design and layout a brochure, book, magazine, etc.
• Design a website
• Assist with SEO on your website
• Print up to 28 x 40 sheet size
• Print with variable data (personalized messaging)
• Varnish, aqueous, uv coat or laminate
• Print short-runs (yes, thanks to our Kodak Nexpress digital press, we can do one-offs as easy as we can do a few hundred copies)
• Print boxes or other custom packaging and signs
• Offer a fast, online proofing system (ours is called insite & it's awesome!)
• Help with promotional items
• Address and mail (and yes, with intelligent mail barcoding)
• Purchase demographic-specific mail lists
• Saddlestitch, perfect bind, coil bind
• 3-hole drill, shrink wrap, round corner
• Diecut for a unique size/shape
• Ship to your distribution list
• Set up an online storefront for ordering of collateral, stationery, promo items, etc.
• Manage and store inventory of items you don't have room to store at your location
• Process online orders through our fulfillment system
• Provide case studies, white papers and training on new products/services
• Provide order history and tracking for orders through our storefront/fulfillment system
• Manage integrated campaigns (included sms text messaging, email blasts, QR codes, and landing pages-personalized and standard).
• Provide ROI calculator for integrated campaigns and online dashboard for lead generation/tracking.

While this isn't the be-all, end-all of BPI's ever-changing capabilities, this should answer some of the FAQ's I get. If there's anything you want to know if we can do, just ask. I'll be more than happy to help, and if we cannot do it, I'll work dilligently to help find a trusted partner who can help you. For more details about BPI's services, click here.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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Leads, Leads, Leads...Quality Over Quantity

One of the biggest "issues" I hear about from marketers is regarding lead generation. One of the biggest "issues" I hear about from fellow sales people is regarding lead generation.

Here are some great tips for helping both sales AND marketing increase lead quality. Yes, quality; not quantity. Read on to learn more and ways BPI Media Group's various solutions can help along the way of helping to find leads, reach out to them, lure them in and communicate with them 1:1.

1. Agree. When sales and marketing agree upon what is meant by a lead (and a qualified lead at that), then you're well on your way to a happier team and the potential for more revenue for your company. (For more reading on sales and marketing alignment, click here.) Once you identify the demographic(s) of who an "ideal" lead might be, then you're well on your way to this agreement. BPI's data mining solution can definitely help you in identifying the categories of folks who are your best buyers, potential buyers and rule out those who just plain aren't interested. Read more.

2. Dig Deeper. Once you've agreed upon and identified what constitutes a qualified lead or an ideal customer/prospect, you'll gain an understanding of the demographic profile of this group, subgroup, etc. This provides you with a benchmark by which you can score and measure other potential leads. Data mining can also be highly beneficial in this area as well. You can monitor your leads and new customers to see how trends in the demographics may change and restructure your marketing message accordingly.

3. Observe and Record. Once you've launched a campaign to your qualified prospects, you'll need to closely monitor the behavior of these leads to see exactly to what they're responding. Was it an email for this segment? Was it a coupon for this segment? Was it direct mail for this segment or maybe even a QR code? This will help you better market to these types of prospects on future or ongoing campaigns. For more details about executing these types of campaigns, drop me a note, and I'd love to discuss in depth to create a plan that's right for you, your sales team and your prospects.

4. Track. While you're nurturing your lead with campaigns, collateral and possibly even calls from your sales team, don't forget the importance of tracking the results. BPI's only dashboard is beyond perfect for this. If you do an integrated campaign (combine print and web), you'll have access to your own dashboard for every campaign where you have record of your prospects' activities and can pass on those warm leads to the appropriate sales region or rep automatically. To see more about how this works, click here. I can also share some case studies with you if you'd like...just ask!

5. Respond. When using the real-time dashboard, you will see how quickly you get an email notifying you of a prospect's activity. Strike while the iron is hot and reach out to that lead while the getting is good!

6. Follow Up. This is an extension of #1 above. Marketing needs to follow up with sales to make sure they're reaching out to those "hot" leads, and sales needs to follow up with marketing to let them know what's working. This can usually be done through a CRM (we love salesforce!) where leads and sales activity are recorded. BPI's integrated campaigns and dashboard sync seamlessly with salesforce to make this even easier for both departments.

For more reading on "6 Surefire Ways to Increase Your Lead Quality", click here. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and BPI Media Group would love to hear from you and explore how our solutions of marketing, printing, design, campaign execution, mail and data management can help you not only generate qualified leads but also convert them to repeat customers.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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Accessorize Your Print!

As we're all busy decorating our homes and adorning our trees for the holidays, it occurred to me that accessorizing is the underrated.

We accessorize with jewelry, handbags and don't forget the SHOES! The accessories are what tie a package together, literally. When you receive a gift, it is carefully wrapped in festive paper and tied neatly with a nice bow. It's all in the presentation (not just the present). The same thought process can and should be applied to your marketing messages. If you're scratching your head wondering what in the world I'm talking about, I'll elaborate and hope you'll turn to BPI Media Group for all your marketing accessories.

Doing a direct mail piece is a perfect example of ways to "dress up" a printed piece. You start off with your typical direct mailer or postcard. Sure, you've got a nice color image on the front, but do you have a call to action? That should be the #1 accessory to your direct mailer. Get the customer or prospect involved. How?

Accessorize with Call to Action (Get them to DO something!)

• A great way to get interaction, feedback, information from your recipient is to include a landing page on your direct mailer. This could be a CURL (campaign url, which is the same landing page for everyone) or a PURL (personalized url). Either way, you're sending the respondent to a microsite where you have the opportunity to ask them a few, short questions and gather their information. By asking relevant questions, you'll be able to market more specifically to each prospect which will result in a higher ROI.
  
  
• Another great way to engage the recipient is to add a QR code to the direct mailer. This allows the respondent to scan the code using their smartphone and learn more information, take a survey, receive a coupon, link to a video, etc. (whatever you decide for your direct mail campaign).
• One more way you can enhance your direct mailer is to drive the traffic to your company's social media pages on facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc. This is a great way to get feedback and interaction from your customer or prospect. Social media is a great outlet for surveys and contests, so use them!

One key thing to remember when using a call to action is to make sure to make the message relevant and offer some type of incentive. Otherwise, why would the recipient take time to do the survey or scan the QR code? Just make it worth their while.

Accessorize with Variable Data

You've already got a mailing database, so why not use it for more than just addressing? You can add personal messaging to your direct mail piece using BPI's digital press technology. Create 1:1 messaging using variable data and you'll find that this "smart marketing" really pays off with higher ROI. (See the postcard banking example above.)To learn more about variable printing, read more about Which Digital Printing Level is Right for You?

Accessorize with Dimensional Coating

If you're looking to add a unique look and feel to your next direct mailer, consider dimensional coating. I encourage you to try it when you have an amazing image that could use a little extra pop. Add Some Depth to Your Print! You'll see how this small accessory can really take the direct mailer up a notch.

Of course BPI can also do several other coating techniques for a variety of finishes including: varnish, aqueous, uv and laminate.

Accessorize with Design

If you don't have a full-time designer on staff or need a fresh design, BPI's creative team would be happy to assist you with layout and design of your next print project. Our designers know how to design for print and have the tools and experience to create some really fantastic designs. Check out BPI by Design. Of course, if you're needing web design also, BPI's team can handle that too.

No matter how you choose to accessorize your print, give me a call to set up a time to talk more about which of these accessories would work best with your message and for your company and target audience. Too many accessories piled on together are typically overkill, so we can pick and choose the right accessorize to help create the perfect look for your printed materials. My boss, Alan Davis, said his accessories are flies used for fishing, and to me, it's shoes and jewelry. It's all about finding what works best for you and suites your needs best. Either way, BPI would be happy to help.

Merry Christmas and until next time...Elizabeth

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