Motivating Buyers Into Action

Here's a harsh reality every business must face: All the marketing in the world isn't much good if the buyer fails to act. If you had a dollar for everyone who intended to call you but didn't, you'd be far richer than you are right now. So how do you motivate your customers to pick up that phone?

There are a lot of ways to harness the 'power of now' (to borrow a phrase). Reply cards, self-addressed stamped envelopes, toll-free numbers, offering a gift with purchase, coupons that set a time limit or an offer limit... the list goes on. Motivating action can take a lot of forms, but setting a deadline, creating an incentive, limiting an offer, and guaranteeing satisfaction are four of the most powerful.

Setting a deadline is simple. You must act before October 1 to qualify for these prices. Deadlines are important to our very basic psychology. From tax attorney to tea shop, it is possible and desirable to create deadlines.

You know those pe ople who say, "We'll plant a tree if you buy this from us"? They are offering an incentive. Now, only you know the kind of incentive that will motivate your customers, so offer one, and see what happens.

Limiting the offer means offering it to only the first 20 people who come in, or the first 100 people who call. Or even something along the lines of 'limited quantities, first come, first served.' Limiting the offer encourages people to be first, and motivates them to act, so they don't miss out on whatever incentive you're offering.

Guarantee satisfaction. This goes back to credibility. Showing that you are so super confident in your product that you're willing to offer a satisfaction guarantee pushes your credibility through the roof!

Some Modern Pricing Stands the Test of Time

Ever find yourself waxing nostalgic about the days when gas was less than $1.00 per gallon, soft drinks cost 10 cents, and you could feed a family of four for under $10? Inflation seems to be a natural part of life... except when it comes to technology. While most consumables have gotten more expensive with time, many of today's high-powered consumer electronic goods are vastly cheaper than their predecessors, when compared in today's dollars.

For example, the Atari 2600 sold for $200 in 1977. Today, Nintendo's Wii sells for the same price, while Microsoft's Xbox 360 sells for around $250. On the surface, these numbers seem comparable, but in reality, they are not. At $200 in 1977, that Atari would put you back $589 today.
And what about cellphones? In 1983, a DynaTAC 8000x sold for $4,000. Today, the Apple iPhone sells for around $499. That's a striking enough difference by any standards, but if you calculate the price in today's dollars, that DynaTAC would run you a staggering $8,589.

Televisions, computers, printers, and other consumer electronics have also gone down in price significantly, even as the technology behind them has improved by leaps and bounds.

Intac.net, a trusted source for information on web hosting technologies, has put together an infographic featuring these and other comparisons that will show you just how good we have it today when it comes to consumer electronics pricing. You can find the details on Intac's website, at http://www.intac.net/the-cost-of-technology/.

Who Is This From Again?

If I had a nickel for every time I've seen websites, postcards, and email messages without contact information, I'd be a rich, retired printer.

Contact information does NOT belong buried on a special page of your website. It does NOT belong in tiny letters on your letterhead. Contact information belongs in nice, big, fat, easy-to-find letters on ANYTHING of yours that your customers touch.

Make sure your website address, phone number, and physical address are at the bottom of each email you or your employees send. Make sure it is big and bold on each page of your website. Make sure it is clean and clear on each envelope, postcard, flyer, poster, and letter you print. And if it isn't, well I just happen to know a really good printer who can help you make sure it is.

Playdates, Soccer games & Sleepovers....Oh My!

Being a mom or dad can be tough! Keeping up with the kid's schedules, homework, school activities and everything that it takes to be a parent can be alot to handle.  


No wonder why our Mom/Dad Cards are so popular! You have your contact information ready at your fingertips to give to babysitters, day care, teachers, your kid's friends parents and don't have to worry about being contacted if you need to be because they will have immediate means of getting a hold of you.

Here is an example:

These cards are fully customizable and you don't have to buy alot.....just buy them when you need them!


If you wanted, you could add any allergies or any special instructions for taking care of your child on it which will ensure they take good care of your kids!


Go to our website to check them out and get started!

7 ways printing can help you survive a zombie outbreak..

That got your attention, didn't it? And it illustrates a simple marketing truth: Be compelling. You could have the most amazing stuff to sell, but if you don't make it compelling to read, then you aren't going to get far.

Now, before you start wondering, "But what about the zombies?" don't worry. Here's the list I promised at the beginning of this column, along with some nuggets you might not have known about our printing firm:

7. A printed map will let you know where the zombie hangouts are, so they can be avoided. Invaluable for tourists in Washington, DC, so they can avoid the walking dead at the Capitol and White House! Did you know we can print maps?
 
6. Bright-colored packaging, with realistic imagery, advertising TV dinners for zombies will placate today's lazy, new age zombies, who are more interested in convenience than substance, when it comes to preparing their meals. Did you know we can print all types of packaging?
 
5. Printed direct mail pieces can alert citizens to a zombie outbreak, and how to respond to an encounter; sort of an abbreviated version of zombies for dummies. Did you know we can print YOUR manuals, self-help guides, direct mail pieces, and alerts?
 
4. A well-organized, web-to-print portal will allow you to stay inside and order your printing, and not be susceptible to roving zombies. Did you know you can log in to our website, order printing, and send us files without leaving your desk?
 
3. Printed signs can direct the zombies to walk back to their graves or into the ocean. Did you know we can print your signs, get your car graphics designed, and make sure people know where to go?
 
2. Bumper stickers can alert drivers to HONK IF YOU'RE A ZOMBIE. Did you know we can print bumper stickers, labels, and other sticky stuff?
 
1. Printed zombie masks for humans will fool the zombies, so they won't attack you for your flesh and brains! Did you know we are can help you with all your printing needs? No fooling.

That Email is Bigger Than You

You want more business right? So you've been working on your database, right? You are working on your lead lists, your social media lists, your direct mail lists...right? I knew you were! Me too! What about your email marketing lists, So do you have a survey on what you are sending out? Are you asking people to "opt-in"? Are you linking properly?

Think about Forwarding... what happens if your email gets forwarded? The people you send the email to, presumably, know who you are and why you are emailing them...but hopefully your email is SO great and interesting and fabulous that they get forwarded to people DO NOT know you. If they like what you have to say, and you make it easy for them, they might just click a link in your emails to join your email list...so make sure that join button is in the email.

Think about FaceBook or Twitter: So someone clicks the link in your email and they get taken to your web page that is a web version of your email. That web version is what you tweet, put on FaceBook, LinkedIn...so you can spread that email around If you've got a link to sign up for "email-only" offers, these new readers just might sign up.

Think about Surveys: if you ask people what they think about you and your product you can get feedback, testimonials and comments. The answers you use to improve your business, put as testimonials on your website and focus your marketing. And you will get a greater response rate if you actually ask people to do something.

It's not hard to do, and doesn't take much to get a few new sign ups. And who knows? They may just become some of your best customers!

Targeting "Me"

The single best sales strategy in the world is to find your best clients and ask them, "How do I get more clients like you?"

I was in a store last month chatting with the owner, and she said to me: "You're my ideal customer; how do I get more of you?" I thought about it for a moment and told her how I'd found her. We then sat down for a while and figured out how to target more 'me's'. (I am a printer and a salesperson after all!) I was able to buy her a mailing list for people in her demographic and do a series of direct mail pieces to people like me.

Because she asked her customer how to grow, her customer actually answered. So, talk to your customers!

By Jennifer Adelman