Business Management - Marketing/Sales

I recently saw a post about a blog called “Hot Guys Reading Books,” and as part of their promotional efforts, the writers had created some stickers that read “Print Lives.” I followed the link to Zazzle.com and placed an order.

This is a big industry with room for lots of printers. But we need to remember that we all live in glass houses. Some might be bigger than others, but no one should be throwing rocks.

Even before QR codes and NFC officially square off, there’s a movement to already dub NFC “The QR Killer.” Google instigated the matter in March 2011 when it announced it no longer would be supporting QR codes in Google Places and would be using NFC instead.

Some 90 percent of all first-time sales calls go without any follow-up action. We call once. We stop by once. We send one e-mail. After that, we get busy with quoting, estimating and plant tours, and before you can say ‘Gutenberg,’ any possibility of momentum is lost.

It was entirely coincidental that two of my long-time readers lifted a quote from my September column and produced a t-shirt bearing the quote. You remember the words—a one, a two, a three, “90% of success is showing up with a little talent.” So sayeth Harris DeWese, circa 2011.

Old Trail Printing had become a $25 million commercial printer, and it was time to enter the 21st Century with a new look and new strategies. Sue Horn and her brothers Michael and David Held knew for some time that their company’s logo had an old-fashioned look to it.

Horn, co-owner and principal, and her brothers started the rebranding project with the familiar business planning method of a SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Horn felt it was important to take a fresh approach to how the company was being marketed to current and prospective customers. The company hired

The speed of communications has greatly increased because of more powerful computers. Speed has become a standard that has seriously messed up organizations’ strategic marketing and related communications, because it’s so doggone easy to get stuff out.

The online sales channel has a distinct set of advantages from retail, direct sales, and other distribution methods. Businesses that sell primarily online can substantially reduce their investments in the most costly resource of all—manpower. There are, however, costs to selling online that must be considered before venturing into that arena.

Since when did it become my responsibility to ask for an appointment with a sales rep? Makes me wonder if I have to write up the order as well. It’s crazy, and it happens too often.

Distribution success starts with ensuring that your company’s products are available wherever potential buyers are looking for them. Not every product is a fit to sell online, but selling through the web can allow you to reach a broader customer base than you could through direct sales alone.