Business Management - Marketing/Sales

Creative branding usually does not make a brand successful. Creative brands do. So if you happen to be looking for the next big idea from your creative digital agency to re-launch your company after years of stalled brand growth, you might want to begin your search with some intelligent strategic planning. That should be done in-house, or guided by an outside firm but focused on your in-house management team.

Building a social media presence is easy for printers if you mine your Website for great content. Think “value” and “informational,” not “sales” and “promotional.”

Last week, Fire Enterprises, Inc. (FEI) marketing maven Marka told savvy salesperson Zoot and FEI tribe leader Org how plain, text-only e-mails can achieve better results for FEI than traditional promotional e-mails. This week, Marka and Zoot discuss why FEI’s marketing communications should prioritize compelling offers over flashy designs.

The words in the song “The Only Way I Know,” by Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Eric Church, embody the characteristics that winners have. Winners don’t always “win” but always show strong character in how hard they try along the way.

Is it harder to sell now or way back when? Let's look at a few sales challenges and make a comparison. Before we begin, let's define "way back when" as the pre-Internet era. If you need a more specific date, let's go with the early '80s. Mullets were hot and disco was dead. Okay. Let's have a look...

Printers need to accept that your Website is the first place an interested person will visit when hearing or seeing your company's name. When I get to your URL, I expect to find out exactly what you do, what products and services you can offer me, and why I should consider you and not your competitors. All in under 90 seconds.

The potential for digital packaging is great, and while there are many obstacles, these can all be overcome. Commercial printers would also like to get into packaging, but commercial shops have some additional challenges. Commercial printers generally do not have the finishing equipment: folding, scoring, diecutting. Perhaps more significant, brand owners generally look to box makers for boxes, not commercial printers.

There is a misconception among some that sales is all about being aggressive and getting there first, being the loudest, and wanting it the most. While determination and persistence are absolutely critical to a salesperson’s success, sometimes the best thing you can do with a prospect, or even a customer, is to hang back.

How long before you fire a new sales person for non-performance: six months? nine? A year? In this week's blog, Bill Farquharson makes the case for just four to five weeks.

This week, Sabine Lenz, from PaperSpecs, highlights a wedding invitation line from RoxyLou Design + Press in North Attleboro, MA. A flowing engraved script; a tender pink, gold and yellow palette; romantic curling tendrils and tiny butterflies make up this beautiful invitation.