I Print: landing page

Showing posts with label landing page. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Pick up the Phone!

Have you found it EXTREMELY difficult to get customers and prospects on the phone recently? If you're like me, dialing and leaving voice mails is part of my daily routine, so if you actually get a live person on the phone, it catches you off guard.

We at BPI Media Group have found that having a reason to call is helpful to get a response or a live person on the other end of the line. Try sending out a postcard or lumpy mailer then follow up in a few days by phone. Even if you have to leave a voice mail, your prospect will more than likely correlate the mailer with your phone call and maybe even pick up the phone next time. You can also try email marketing as part of your communications mix. Nothing new, but I know many prospects of mine reply much more promptly to an email than to a voice mail. You could even mix all three channels together and use mail, phone and email. For the "cream of the crop" prospects, you may even consider an integrated campaign using Purls (personalized urls or landing pages) to engage them in the conversation.

Whatever your marketing mix, I know I sound like my boss here, but don't stop picking up the phone. I was reminded of this twice recently when a customer's momentary anxiety was put to rest by a simple phone call to assure them their project was in good hands and would be completed on time. The other instance was when they had a project and had been "meaning to call me" but had not had the time to do so yet. Sometimes, clients and prospects actually want to hear from you and hear your voice. So, keep your messaging brief, relevant and most importantly friendly!

Until next time...Elizabeth

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Are We Listening?

As sales and marketing experts, feedback is key to help us have better conversations with our customer and prospects. Without it, we keep spinning our wheels and not getting any traction or additional sales. How do we get the highly-desired feedback, listen to it and apply it to our sales and marketing efforts?

I recently made a purchase and then received an online survey about my purchase and the buying experience. I completed the survey (it only took 5 minutes after all) and gave them my honest opinion, which in this instance, wasn't a five-star rating in all categories. Why did I do this? Because I hope someone on the other side is listening (reading) and will change somethings to make the buying experience better for others in the future. That's what a smart sales and marketing team does: listen.

While there are several options out there for creating surveys (I like survey monkey), if we don't heed the message, then we are not really listening. I can hear my high school teachers saying it now, "I know you can hear me, but are you really listening?"

A great way BPI Media Group gets feedback from our customers and communicates with prospects is through landing pages. The "guts" of a landing page is the 3-5 question survey portion. How the customer or prospects answers the questions guide you on how to continue the sales conversation with them and gauge their interest or willingness to buy. You can even gauge if they are a hot, warm or cold prospect. Knowing this information means you've listened, and the future communication we have with that person is 1:1.

The best part of a landing page or an integrated campaign is being able to not only see the responses, but you can download them, see trends and listen to not only the individuals, but to segments and groups. Break these off into subsets and market to them in a much more specific way. This is a sure-fire way of boosting your ROI. If you'd like to see a demo of an integrated campaign or want to talk details on how it could work for your sales and marketing team, don't be shy...I am listening.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Magic Number Nine

While working out at 9 Rounds this morning, it occurred to me that this circuit workout is very much like sales and marketing. Just like a single exercise only works one part of the body (such as arms or legs), a single marketing message doesn't work on all customers and prospects. Staying in shape is hard work, but with a smart plan, reaching customers and prospects doesn't have to make you break a sweat.

Some say it takes 9 touches to get an action from a customer or prospect. Here are a few touches you may want to consider adding to your marketing mix. I know we at BPI Media Group are including these:

1. Personalizing your direct mail (Click here for stats on the growth of this trend.)

2. Including a landing page to track and gather more data from respondents.

3. Pairing an email with direct mail.

4. Versioning your message based on segments of your market or list.

5. Sending out a "lumpy" mailer instead of a flat.

6. Adding a QR code to your mailer, catalog or in-store display.

7. Highlighting your call to action (donate, register, purchase, etc).

8. Updating your website or improving your SEO, so when customers or prospects visit your site, it is an easily-navigated and pleasant experience.

9. Trying augmented reality or NFC if it makes sense with your product or service.

Just like mixing up my workout each time with nine different exercises (jumping rope, crunches, punches, kicks, push ups, etc), I am working on getting in better shape. Now, I'll apply these nine suggestions above when reaching out to prospects and existing customers to see if I can get in a more "fit" sales condition. Let me know how this works for you!

Until next time...Elizabeth

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

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Get Your Materials Trade-Show Ready!

It was a full day of client meetings in Atlanta today, and the main topic of conversation was pre and post-trade show planning. Here are a few ideas on ways BPI Media Group can help you be prepared for your upcoming trade shows and then follow up with prospects after the show is over.

Utilize Digital Printing: Using BPI's digital printing technology, you can print just enough materials for the trade show instead of printing large quantities to get a price break. Digital printing also allows you to personalize, version or customize the pieces to be show specific adding relevance to your print collateral.

Include Landing Pages: We recommend using a landing page on any pre-show marketing that you do to gauge the interest of the show attendees. This also allows you to have better communication with prospects because you have pres-show insight into their interests, concerns, etc. You can also schedule 1:1 meetings with these customers or prospects in advance to make sure you give them time and attention to convert them into long-time customers. Landing pages are also a great idea for post-show follow up as well. This helps you gauge the responses from the show and get valuable feedback after the show to help in future planning. Having a dashboard to access the visits/responses to the landing page is a big plus as this gives you real-time results to help track your ROI with the ROI calculator on the dashboard.

Try Using a QR Code: This is a great idea if you're attending a conference where you're encouraged to be "green." encourage show attendees to scan the QR code at your booth, on your badge, or elsewhere to go to information, a video, landing page, etc to learn more about your company. You can even capture their data to follow up later for those who scan the QR code. This is also a great way to engage your show staff with customers and prospects in your booth by teaching them how to scan a QR code, download a free app and go through the short process with them.

Follow Up: While there are various ways you can follow up with leads from a trade show, never forget that direct mail is a time-proven method. Your direct mail piece can include calls to action using the above- mentioned vehicles of landing pages and/or QR codes. Timeing is everything for the follow up, so you'll want to be ready to send out any follow up pieces or packets in the mail promptly following the close of the show to stay top of mind with any prospects.

If you have any questions or need help planning your pre or post-show marketing, please feel free to reach out, and I'll be glad to assist you in any way to help make your trade shows be as successful as possible.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Keep Your Eye on the Prize

What exactly is the prize? The customer or prospect to gain, retain, persuade or thank, that's who is the prize. We each have these prizes in our scopes on a daily basis (I know I sure do!), so how do you keep the focus on them and market to them in the way that will be most rewarding? We at BPI Media Group have a few tips on how to stay focused on the customer and learn which channels they use and which ones are used for various things.

So, you know your customers are on facebook, twitter, shop online and have email accounts and mailboxes. How do you know which messages or offers to send through which channels? Here's a short list of 5 ways to help with this marketer's pain point and keep your eyes on the prize(s) of customers and making them happy and engaged customers.

1. Do your homework. You've got to research to find out who is your target or idea customer. You can do this by creating a customer profile and then break that down into segments. Doing so provides valuable insight into how to reach them and what types of messages and offers work best for each segment. For example, when I'm calling on prospective customers, I break them into vertical markets (manufacturers, education, banking, service, etc). This helps me know what has worked well in the past for reaching out to customers who are in these vertical markets. BPI's data mining services can be a real asset in lead generation and conversion once you've identified your ideal customer.

2. Customize your strategy. Of course you wouldn't want to send out mass mailers to all customers and hope for the best, so you come up with a marketing strategy that involves several channels using the channel for each message and prospect that seems best based on your homework. Carefully consider which channel is best for the segments of prospects and which digital printing method would best fit. Segmentation and personalizing your messages are key to keep the communication strong with your customers and prospects. Click here for some of the benefits of personalized print and how relevant and engaging messaging can help boost your ROI.

3. Break the mold. Don't just do what's comfortable and what has always been done. Sometimes it is a good thing to change up your messaging as well as the channels in which they are delivered. When you review your customers buying patterns, you'll most likely be able to tie the actions to some sort of message or offer. When did mail work best? Email? Social media? Landing pages? By reviewing customer history, you learn more than just how many orders were placed in a time frame, this info can serve as a valuable tool in planning your marketing.

4. Shhh...and Listen to the data. Were the responses to your messaging and channels in which they were delivered well received, opened, responded to? If the answer is yes, then do more of the same to that segment; if the answer is no, are there similar segments who responded better to direct mail or email messaging? With BPI's integrated marketing campaigns, you can alter your messaging on the fly. Need to change the art because it's just not working? No problem. Need to add an email blast to accompany the direct mailer? No problem. That's one of the biggest benefits of digital printing with BPI.

5. Measure! This last step is just as crucial as any of the previous four steps, if not even more so. By tracking what works, you can keep up with the evolving way your messages need to go out and to whom. Since there's no one sure-fire way to reach ALL customers and prospects, we have to mix it up and measure what works best and alter the plan from time to time. Tracking the ROI for each campaign and its channels are key in knowing not only how, but when to deliver your messages and offers. BPI's online dashboard even has a built-in ROI calculator. I'd be glad to show you how this works!

Using these steps can help in creating your content, timing, frequency, channel, etc. of your marketing messages. Please give me a call or leave a message here if you would like to know more about how BPI Media Group can help utilize our solutions to yield a better ROI for your company. To read more on 5 Ways to Focus on the Customer, click here.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

12 Marketing Ideas to Consider in 2012

As we kick of 2012, I thought I'd suggest 12 ways you can complement your marketing plans this year with BPI Media Group.

12. Mail! It's proven, and it works. It's also making a come back. Click here to learn more about the power of direct mail.

11. Email too. Don't just email, but pair it with your direct mail campaign. You'll boost your response rate and give those who prefer email to mail a chance to see and reply (i.e., resulting in increased sales activity).

10. Go digital. No, I don't mean forego print, just use digital printing when it's a better fit than conventional printing. This can help you eliminate waste from excess or obsolete printed materials as well as take advantage of variable data (see # 9 below), dimensional coating and print on demand (see # 2 below). Click here to learn more about digital printing and how it can benefit your marketing plan.

9.Use Variable Data. Personalize your message to get a lift in response rates and create a 1:1 message with your customers and prospects. Variable data is so much more than just adding the recipient's name...ask me for examples and details of how to take variable messaging to the next level.

8.Add a QR code. Give your customers and prospects a way to view your message or offer on their smart phone or tablet. Adding a QR code is easy and can be tracked if you tie it to a landing page (see # 7 below).

7.Include an integrated campaign. In your call to action, send your respondents to a landing page (personalized or generic) to ask key questions, get feedback and gather the golden data you desire to be able to drill down and market to them more specifically. This is also a great way to fill the sales funnel with qualified prospects for your sales team and for this, they will L-O-V-E you. Learn how an integrated campaign works here.

6.Be Social. Include calls to action via your social media outlets (facebook, twitter, etc.) to promote special offers, membership reward or loyalty programs, and entice prospects to join your group or following. You can also get tremendous feedback through social media.

5.Consider an iPaper or page-turn document to complement your hard-copy catalog or publication. iPapers are a great way to take your printed material (brochures, catalogs or other collateral) and turn it into a socially-sharable online document.

4. Don't forget the SWAG! (stuff we all get) If you do tradeshows or customer/prospect acquisition and retention campaigns, then you know how useful these items can be to promote your brand. Let BPI help you choose items that are useful and can be part of an overall campaign instead of just a novelty item that will go in someone's drawer of other "swag." Click here to browse our online store of specialty products.

3.Amp up your website. While your website may "look" good, but is it highly functional? Are you using SEO to its maximum potential? Don't fret...BPI's website review offer is still on the table, but only for a little while longer. It expires Feb 29 (it's leap year, so we get an extra day!). Ask me for details about this offer and how we can help with website optimization.

2. Take advantage of Print on Demand. With BPI's digital press technology (Kodak Nexpress, see #10 above). There are so many options with digital printing and printing "on the fly" to send out custom messages to individual prospects and customers. You don't have to print thousands, you can just print what you need, when you need it without giving up all your budget.

1. Set up an online storefront. BPI can help you assess your marketing asset management needs and determine the best print and fulfillment channels for your company's needs.

I hope this list will be helpful to generate some new ideas for your marketing campaigns in 2012. I'm available to meet and discuss ideas with you, just drop me a note, or look me up on twitter (see below) or on LinkedIn. Here's to making 2012 the best year of sales for you and your company!

Until next time...Elizabeth

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

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Bring on 2012!

As the holidays are almost behind us, the focus shifts back to work and getting a jump start on sales for 2012. If you're like BPI Media Group, I'll bet your sales team is having a meeting within the next couple of weeks to map out the plan and "vamp" up for the new year. Our sales team is meeting on Thursday, so I will make my trek to Boaz, AL this morning. On the drive over, I'll be making some stops along the way to pass out some of our new calendar notepads.

I will be using my calendar for 2012 to plan more meetings, more campaigns and hopefully, more sales. I hope your marketing team will do the same, and will not only "pencil me in" for a quick meeting, but feel free to include BPI as a part of your team to help plan a long-term marketing plan for sales growth in 2012. We have the technology and equipment to leverage your concept and campaign into action:

data asset management (in case you need a list to market toward)
printing (offset or digital with variable messaging)
mailing and fulfillment (to get the message in front of your customers and prospects)
landing page and QR code integration (to help you track the response rate)

I look forward to seeing many of you in the next few weeks and share our new calendar pads with you as we start the new year off together. May the New Year bring you, your family and your company much happiness and success!

Until next time...Elizabeth

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

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

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

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