Find Your Customers

Part of what we at BPI Media Group do is help our customers to find their customers. How do we do that? There are a number of ways we can help you identify your top prospects and potential customers, but the most comprehensive way to isolate these folks is by using data analytics. Data what???

Together, with our customers, our team discusses who the target actually is for your product/service. We run data metrics against your current customer list to find key qualifiers. These reports break out the prospects into categories and subcategories, so you can see the segments to whom you need to be marketing. The reports we can provide to you are very thorough and offer a wealth of insight into subsets of potential customers that you may not have even realized were prospects before.

Once these groups of potential customers are identified, we can help you narrow down what size of a campaign you'd like to do (local, regional, national, etc) and what type of campaign you'd like to do based on who the prospects's demographics. For example, if the prospects are 16-25, you'd most likely want to reach out to them incorporating online and social media channels, but if the prospects are 65+, direct mail may be the better option for reaching them. Regardless, we can help you version the pieces to better speak to the recipients and use the proper channels based on their age, lifestyle, buying patterns, etc.

If you'd like to know more about how BPI can help you with your marketing plan and identifying qualified prospects, feel free to reach out to me. We'd love to help you find your next customers!

Until next time...Elizabeth

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.

Coming to a City Near You!!! We Deliver.

You all know that I am here, there and everywhere in the Southeast these days, so you're not surprised when you call and hear me say "I'm on the road today." Being on the road is part of my job, and I don't mind it one bit (although the place who cleans up my vehicle probably does mind becuase of the insane amount of french fries under my seat!).

(That's really not my car, but it very well could be!)

In travelling, even after several years, I still get excited to see our very own delivery truck on the road and wave frantically at our drivers. To keep with our updated brand of BPI Media Group (formerly Boaz Printing), we had our delivery truck wrapped with our new logo. Look for this delivery truck in your area, or better yet, on your dock unloading your printed pieces. Our delivery guys don't get enough credit for the long hours, many miles and hard work they put in, so here's a huge THANK YOU to them for all they do for BPI.

In terms of delivery, I've put together a few ideas on how BPI can help you deliver your message.

• 1. Mail: We can help get your catalog or direct mailer into the mailboxes of your customers/prospects. By partnering with BPI to handle your mailings, you can take advantage of discounted postage rates because of barcoding through automation. (What does that mean? It means we run your mail list through software that sorts it by zip code, applies a barcode and addresses them in that manner to make it quick & easy for the postal system which results in a lower postage rate for you.) We can also do list purchases, data cleansing and data management.
• 2. Fulfillment: Our distribution department can handle a wide variety of pick and pack orders (in all shapes & sizes) to ship to your customers or prospects. We ship everything from printed material to beanie babies to caps & t-shirts. Our warehouse can hold these materials and save you a bundle in storage costs as well as on shipping and distribution.
• 3. Email: BPI's email campaign solution offers a way to pair your printed message with an email message. By complementing print with online messaging via email, you'll boost your response rates and ROI.
• 4. Web: One of the biggest ways you can deliver your message to your target audience is through your website. Are you using your website as your vehicle of choice (i.e., a Cadillac) to reach customers and prospects? Or, is your website a pinto that you don't promote because it needs that face lift you've been putting off a little too long? Don't fret! BPI is offering a website review for $175. This review & analysis is done by our resident web guru, and then we'll sugest improvements (if necessary) and provide a quote. If you want to upgrade your pinto to the Cadillac of websites, we'd love to help you make your website the most useful method of delivery for you.
• 5. Socially: Tweeting and sharing relevant info via facebook or LinkedIn are excellent ways to drive your message to the masses. Word of advice: make it timely, short and sweet! With social messages changing every 5 seconds, your message has got to get noticed to deliver the punch you desire. Don't have a social media whiz on your staff? No problem. We can help put a plan together to help you get started and cruise through the madness of the social media craze.

Regardless if your budget is more like a Prius than a Lexus, we can help you deliver the message in an efficient way. Let BPI help you plan for ways to reach your customers and prospects. I'd love to chat with you about ways BPI's solutions can be used to drive the sales through the roof!

Until next time...Elizabeth