Promote and Prosper —Morgan

Their promotion was effective because they communicated their capabilities, both specifically and concisely, in less than 200 words.

• Anonymous print samples. Print buyers love to see samples of a printer’s work. These samples show them not only what a printer produces and the quality of their work, but it also gives buyers creative ideas for their own campaigns. One of my biggest pet peeves is when printers don’t label their samples with identifying information; samples get separated from other promotional material.

For instance, buyers will often pull samples from a printer’s marketing kit and put them in their “ideas” folder. Loose samples can easily fall out of pocket folders. Print buyers flipping through their archives often come across the perfect print sample, but can’t track down who produced the piece. Then, both printer and buyer lose out. So, be sure to put an identifying label on each sample with your company name, Web address and phone number. Personalizing the label with the sales rep’s name would also be a nice touch.

These are just a few of the pitfalls to avoid. For more ideas, join me on PRINTING IMPRESSIONS’ new blog, “Connecting with Print Buyers” at www.piworld.com/morgan. We’ll explore how to sell to print buyers more effectively, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and share your opinions in an informal forum.

I hope to see you there! PI

—SUZANNE MORGAN

About the Author
Suzanne Morgan is president of the annual Print Oasis Print Buyers Conference (www.printoasis.com) and Print Buyers Online.com, a free e-community for print buyers and suppliers (www.printbuyersonline.com). PBO, which has 11,000 members who buy $13 billion a year in printing, conducts research on buying trends and teaches organizations how to work more effectively with print suppliers. Morgan can be reached at smorgan@printbuyersonline.com.