It's All in the Details

There are so many ways we convey messages to friends, family and even customers and prospects. Did you know that addressing someone by name (aka, personalizing the message) can lift your response rate? Some studies show that calling someone by name can even lift their spirits and provide a more engaging conversation.

Just yesterday, I was in downtown Atlanta seeing a client. After dealing with the two-way traffic parking deck that was a bit narrow, walking in heels up the street into the intimidatingly tall building and taking the old elevator up to an upper-level floor, I was feeling a bit frazzled. The moment I walked into their suite, I was greeted by name as they were expected me, and my company's name was played on the monitor welcoming me. Boy, did I feel special! All the stress of getting there melted away, and we had a great meeting about print on demand, fulfillment and other print and large format opportunities.

If such a small thing as having someone's name and company name displayed made little ole me feel that special, imagine how great it could be for your customers and prospects to receive messaging about your service or new product if it were personalized to them with their specific needs in mind?

BPI Media Group has the equipment and technology to make that happen, so let's brainstorm on ways to drill down on your messaging to get your customer's attention and make them take that call to action. Here are a couple of examples of how BPI used personalization in promo packets.

Until next time...Elizabeth

PS-Here are a couple of articles to back up my claims about personalization and calling people by name...just so you know I'm not making this stuff up. :)

Deliver relevant, personalized content and offers to increase lifetime customer value (Target Marketing)

Respect Tip: Addresss Someone by Name

Introducing: The Day in Print

After the growing demand of invitations, birth announcements, and even notecards, BPI Media Group announces the launch of The Day in Print, our sister company. We hope you'll take a peek and check out TDIP for any of your personalized invitations (wedding and birthday), notecards, thank you cards, showers, announcements and holiday cards.

There will be new options added ALL the time, so check back often to see the new designs and new categories. We'll have Christmas cards posted soon, so we know you'll want to have your family photos ready for those! After all, it's already June! 2013 is half over! If you're Greek, don't fret...we have a whole category just for you! Whatever your special occasion, check out The Day in Print and remember to help BPI spread the word about this new addition to our family. All printing and shipping will be done from our Boaz, AL headquarters, and if you have any questions, drop me a note. Don't forget to sign up for email alerts for when new items are added.

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

Love Getting Mail?

I have recently been reminded of how cool it is to go to my mailbox and see mail in there for me! Whether it's a greeting card, a package, a special offer or a coupon, I truly get excited to see mail, especially if it's a personalized message for me (let's face it, we all like to feel special and see our name in print.) It makes you feel special to know that someone thought of you, paid for postage and sent you something via the USPS.

Is your company marketing to your customers and prospects using direct mail? If not, shame on you. Predictive statistics from Print in the Mix show that every dollar spent on direct marketing advertising resulted in $12.57 in direct marketing-driven sales, on average. Wow! If you need helping planning a marketing mail campaign or an integrated campaign, let BPI Media Group help. We can help with planning, list acquisition and cleansing, data analytics, and yes, even the printing and mailing.

Need more information or proof that direct mail is still a viable channel for ROI? Check out Deliver Magazine's DM 101 and success stories. BPI also has case studies available upon request for learning how a mail or even an integrated campaign can be the best fit for targeting your customers and prospects. Go ahead, make someone's day be sending them mail!

Until next time...Elizabeth

What Does BPI Stand For?

One of the biggest questions we were asked yesterday at the Greenville Business Expo was "what does BPI stand for?" Well, here's our version of what it means and what we have to offer.

B-BRANDING. We can help maintain your corporate branding through templated print on demand and an image library.

P-PERSONALIZATION. Creating 1:1 communications with your customers and prospects can lift your response rates.

I-INTEGRATION. We have the tools to create integrated campaigns, so you can use multiple channels within a campaign to reach your customers and prospects.

M-MOBILE MESSAGING. We can help with sms and mobile messaging to create contests, sign-ups, etc with your customers who are mobile savvy (and who isn't these days?).

E-EMAIL BLASTS. Using complementary graphics as your printed pieces, we can set up email marketing messages to your customers and prospects and even version them, so that they receive unique messages and offers based on their buying patterns.

D-DIRECT MAIL. With two mail machines in house and trained staff on how to manage lists to get the best postage rates, we can process your mail quickly to get it in the mailboxes of your customers.

I-INVENTORY MANAGEMENT. With our online storefront, managing inventory of your collateral, stationery, promo items, etc is easier than ever. Reports keep track of real-time inventory.

A-ANALYTICS (data). Need to mail to a very, very specific demographic? We can analyze your current data to determine the criteria of those who buy from you to get a "good list" for you to target.

G-GENERATE sales. With print and other forms of media, we can help you create campaigns that will not only improve your ROI but also boost more sales from qualified leads.

R-REPORTING. Our storefront system has reports available 24/7, so you and your team can view order history, inventory levels and user groups.

O-ONLINE and web marketing. Our web development team can help with your website to make it fully optimized to boost your online traffic and sales.

U-UNBELIEVABLE customer service. Our CSR team are there to help answer questions, troubleshoot, track and manage each project from start to finish.

P-PRINTING. The premise of BPI Media Group is our flexibility of printing services ranging from long runs on our offset presses to shorter, personalized runs on our digital device.

I look forward to hearing form you to see how BPI can help you! Until next time...Elizabeth

What Can a Storefront Do for Me?

A prospective customer asked me this question yesterday during a meeting, and instead of giving a canned response of all the features and benefits, I told him it could help him have more time to spend with his kids (after observing numerous photos on his desk and wall of his family). He kind of looked at me funny, but after a little explanation, he shook my hand and is taking it under serious consideration.

Let me explain...BPI Media Group's storefront solution's #1 benefit is how much time it can save users. This time saved not only spares employers additional labor expense, but it also takes a degree of stress off the shoulders of marketers because they have a measurable means of managing their collateral, stationery and other print and promotional materials used by their company.

Aside from being a time and stress reducer, BPI's storefront solution also offers a way for marketers to view order history, utilize print on demand, variable data/personalization and even dimensional coating. All of these bonuses wouldn't be cost effective through a standard order, but through an automated storefront, they're simple add-ons that yield big bonuses for collateral.

Whether you're needing more time with your kids and family, more time to exercise, or just more time to focus on other work tasks, a storefront can help free up time for your marketing team to do these things. And as we all know, having more time to do the things you need and want to do, makes for happier people.

Until next time...Elizabeth