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

Springing Forward

At BPI Media Group, we are springing forward with many of our customers. Together, we're streamlining ordering processes for collateral materials, utilizing print on demand and versioning and maximizing cross-media efforts to get customers the maximum ROI.

Springing forward to BPI means getting ahead...with our customers and with technology. Tech changes happen so quickly, that it seems like an app needs updating as soon as you've downloaded it. We're working to not only "keep up" but also to be a leader in our industry by offering things such a Insite proofing, flip books, custom pantone-mixing technology and reporting/dashboards for both cross media and web to print.

So, how does all this help you, BPI's customers? It means BPI has made the investments to offer you the very best and most efficient means to market your company and help you grow with us. We offer the very best from customer service to order tracking. I'm not just saying that because I work there...I'm saying that from experience because I was a BPI customer first.

Until next time...Elizabeth

My Top 12 List

Letterman has his Top 10 List, and I have my Top 12 List. Why 12? Because on January 29, 2013, I celebrated my twelfth year with BPI Media Group. In these 12 years, I have been blessed and learned so much from colleagues, mentors, employers and customers. So, here's my Top 12 awesome things about BPI:

1. The people. From the owners to the drivers, they are some of the hardest-working people I've ever met.

2. The commitment. When a job is promised by a certain date, I can take that to the bank.

3. The teamwork. From prepress to shipping, all departments work together on every project.

4. The atmosphere. When you walk in the front door, you're greeted with a smile, and when you walk through the plant, folks wave to greet you. You can't beat BPI's version of southern hospitality.

5. The quality. Not once in twelve years have I ever had to worry about delivering a quality product to our customers.

6. The customer service. It is THE BEST. If you have a question, they provide answers--detailed answers--in a hurry--and with a smile.

7. The growth. BPI has evolved over the years, and management is committed to make our company grow by continuing to offer value-added solutions that our customers need.

8. The technology. BPI stays ahead of the curve on industry trends and technology all the way from prepress's Insite by Prinergy to our storefront web-to-print solution.

9. The proactive approach. Our team keeps customers and the sales team involved on every project's status, so you get no surprises.

10. The efficiency. Automated systems and a streamlined workflow make BPI's processes run in sync.

11. The adaptability. The folks at BPI adapt and learn as the industry, technology and postal regulations change.

12. The vision. It's not just about where BPI has been or what we've accomplished but more so where we're headed, and we want you to join us as we grow.

Thanks for 12 amazing years, BPI (Alan and Steve), and here's to at least a dozen more!

Until next time...Elizabeth

Power of Proof

If you're like many customers and prospects I call on, you may be a little skeptical of change and relinquishing control of print ordering to your reps, branch locations or regional offices. That's why I wanted to share this case study with you to show you how well it works and why. My hope is that after reading this case study, you'll feel a bit more confident in why a web-to-print system with BPI Media Group can be the best decision you make in 2013!

This case study by PODi shared by Print in the Mix shares a tremendous example of how an organization benefits from engaging their print partner and utilizes a web-to-print system. Putting this system in place allows the following:

• Gives corporate a means to maintain brand consistency
• Allows branch locations to customize the collateral to their location
• Provides a way to manage print-spend budgets for each location
• Gives corporate a dashboard to download and/or review all order history
• Allows for order approval process if needed
• Streamlines ordering process of marketing collateral
• Allows for versioning of corporately-branded materials
• Provides a an easy-to-use interface for users
• Utilizes templates from which locations can choose
• Takes advantage of print on demand for short-run needs
• Choose from options of customization to best fit your company's needs

For an online demo of how a web-to-print system can work for your company, drop me a note. We'd love to show you how this can simplify your print management of your marketing collateral, stationery, business cards and even promotional items.

Until next time...Elizabeth

Web Meet Print: Click. Order. Print.

After talking with a marketer today, I was reminded of the happy marriage between the web and print. This reminder was refreshing and brought a smile to my face because it nullifies the theory that the web is the be-all, end-all of print. I, along with BPI Media Group, are glad to prove that theory wrong!

With the birth of online ordering portals (aka, storefronts), this marriage between web and print was solidified. They not only simply coexist in the marketing world but also work in perfect harmony. Let me explain...

Wouldn't it be super-easy if all of your reps, district managers or branch offices could order versioned collateral material from corporate-approved branding? Yes! BPI's storefront solution makes this possible. You can even have corporate approve the orders to make sure one overly-eager rep isn't running up a big tab on print materials. Reviewing the ordering history and inventory levels via real-time reporting access also makes keeping tabs on use of collateral simple.

During and after this meeting today, I was excited about print again because now there are so many more ways to put ink on paper. It can be through the web where we as printers aren't having to compete for marketing dollars, but we can merge the print and online content, repurpose it for greater use (think e-newsletters and white papers)serve a broader audience. This audience is not only the internal sales and marketing team members but also the customers and prospects who receive the messaging via print and online mediums.

I am proud to declare the war is over between the web and print. We're working together quite nicely here at BPI./

Read more about how print is still alive and kickin':

• TIME Magazine and The Power of Print: Creating and Continuing the Conversation
• Web-to-Print: the revitalization of the impression in the Internet age

Until next time...Elizabeth

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Corral Your Print

corral (verb)

cor·ralled cor·ral·ling

Definition of CORRAL: collect, gather

Examples of CORRAL: corralled a scattering of stray pens and quickly stuffed them in the drawer to tidy the desk

Do you need to corral all your print materials into one place? If so, BPI Media Group can definitely help. By setting up a storefront (aka, web-to-print portal), you can manage all your print collateral in one place. There's flexibility to allow you to use both traditional, offset printing and digital, print on demand based on the volume you need to order for each item. Check out our storefront quick demo for some examples of how this works. If you'd like a one-on-one demo, feel free to ask, and I can walk you through the process any time.

Not only can you order all your print materials in this one location, but you can also see order history and usage by downloading reports in a csv format. This is great to see who is ordering what and how many. If you need to have someone approve orders before they're placed, that's no problem. The approval process is very simple and allows you to approve or deny orders on any items you feel need monitoring a little more closely.You can also get reports for fulfillment of orders on those that are filled in a pick & pack format to various locations.

Having your collateral materials available online for reps to order as needed also helps streamline the process. You don't have to find a place to store the materials; they just order online via print on demand, and it ships directly to the rep. UPS, FedEx or USPS can even provide tracking details directly to the rep ordering, so there are no more questions about "when will I get those materials?" This solution also helps maintain brand consistency because there won't be multiple versions of the same brochure floating around among your staff; they'll all have the same version which marketing created and approved. You can even add promotional items to the mix to help manage and track the orders for those items as well.

Once you see how useful and time saving a storefront or web-to-print portal is, we'll need to work together on the storefront planning guide. This will help us in guiding you on the set up that will best work for your company. Not sure if this is right for you? Check out wikipedia's definition of web-to-print here. Still need more details? Just ask...I can share customer testimonials and demo their sites to give you an inside look. (PS-one testimonial attests to how having a print-on-demand ordering site saved one customer over $70K/yr in print costs!)

Until next time...Elizabeth

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I Asked, You Answered. Time is Money!

Wow! A few weeks ago, I asked the question for what are you top four problem areas in marketing? Almost overwhelmingly the responses I got were managing collateral and stationery, maintaining brand consistency and having a centralized location for orders and reorders to be placed. By helping our customers with their biggest challenges, BPI Media Group is bridging the gap between problems and solutions.

To help you determine if a storefront solution is right for you and your company, we'll take three simple steps:

1. Examination. Look at how you're handling orders and reorders now, quantities and frequencies of orders and how much time it takes for orders to be processed presently. We'll start this process by doing a Materials Asset Management (MAM).

2. Potential Solution. Offer options using our storefront system that include print on demand, fulfillment, warehousing and inventory control.

3. Implementation. Based on the results of our examination and the potential solutions offered, we will work together to implement a storefront solution that is right for you and your company's needs. The greatest feature of a storefront is that this solution is highly customizable and can be set up however best fits your needs.

While most of you are familiar with a web-to-print portal (aka, storefront), you can click here to view a demo of our storefront offering. This will show you the benefits and features of a variety of different storefronts and the flexibility of using this to manage your collateral and stationery needs.

So what are the benefits of a storefront?

• Save time by streamlining the ordering & reordering processes and typically a faster turn-around time on printed materials.
• Bridge the gap between digital content and print production.
• User friendly; the interface is very intuitive and easy to use.
• Maintain brand consistency by having certain aspects of the materials "locked in" and others aspects variable where users such as sales reps can personalize the materials using their contact information.
• Instant proofing by providing a pdf proof fon the fly for review and immediate approval.
• Reduce print costs by using print on demand to avoid having obsolete materials.
• Approval process for any orders selected to ensure ordering privileges aren't abused.
• Inventory management through reporting allows you to see order history and help in planning for future budgets.

If these are some of the challenges you face in your marketing department, feel free to reach out to me, and I'll be glad to do a live demo of our storefront solution and get started with the examination process. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you put this solution in place to save you time and reduce overall print costs as needed.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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