Long Live PRIMSOMOLOEMIP!*

You may have heard of SoMoLo, which translates to social-, mobile- and local-based marketing. This “new” concept will kill PRINT as we know it today...NOT!

SoMoLo is an effective and integrated process for marketing, but so is print and mobile, print and social, print and local marketing, and print and media and, yes, print and much, much more.

What makes me say this? Years of experience. We and our linked industries have entered a world of converging media, in which the best marketing tool is not print, not digital, not “E-”, “F-”,“S-” or “M-” commerce. It is commerce that offers a combination of media that YOUR clients’ customers find relevant and desire, and that is personalized for them. It’s media that is engaging, informative, branded, content specific and makes the sales process easy.

What needs to be done is for you—the print person—to understand the connections that print has to ALL of these and other media. Once you understand the way the system works, you will have the intellectual capital to reach out and expand your customer base and core business—which, by the way, is no longer print, because in that aspect, PRINT IS DEAD!

No, you and your firm are enablers, communicators and engagement specialists. You can provide many of the tools that provide the path to sales success. You provide the milestones that marketers need to get the customer to touch, interact and engage with, and buy the product or services offered, followed up by meeting the long-term need for vital, caring, informative and relevant support.

If you doubt what I saying, think about the sales or purchase process you yourself use to make a purchase. Go ahead and track your next purchase and you will note the following:

• You will look to three or more different media to examine and become informed on the product or service.
• You will “ask” via a social media program for opinions of the item.
• You will search the Web.
• You will respond to a direct mail effort and even answer an email—if, of course, the messages are personalized and relevant.

This is the process you use to make a purchase, maybe not for a lunch sandwich, but it is the process for buying a pair of running shoes, a car, a vacation, an education and much more. It is also the process that your prospect uses to determine which “printer” to select as a partner.