Business, Business Ideas, Marketing, Offline Marketing, Referrals

5 Ways to Improve Your Referral Stream

1 Comment 11 July 2010

There are 3 main ways to grow your business. 1) Increase the number of new customers, 2) Increase the amount a customer spends each time they purchase from you and 3) Increase the number of repeat customers.

Most businesses focus on number one, increasing the number of new customers the business get. If it’s a website, a business can increase the number of visitors to the website. If your store or business is not primarily based on the Internet, you’ll want to increase the number of customers that come to your store, or increase then number of people that call your business with inquiries.

There are many ways to increase the number of new customers, such as advertising your business using brochures, direct mail campaigns, magazine advertisements, post cards or other special promotions. These are all great methods of growing your business, but there is also another great way to increase the number of new customers to your business. By incorporating your current customers and having more referrals, you’ll be able to have many more higher quality customers to your doorstep. In the following tips, I’ll share some great ideas to increase referrals:

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Advertising, Business, Business Ideas, Marketing, Online Marketing

Direct Mail Ideas That Work

1 Comment 06 July 2010

Although online marketing has become a large part of many offline businesses, marketing methods that may be seen as ‘old’ are still very useful in a lot of markets. Direct mail is one of the older methods that have been recently overlooked, but is still a great proven method to promote your business and products. The ROI is easily calculated by the use of coupon codes or special website addresses that can keep track of the conversion rates. Look in your weekly ‘junk mail’ pile to see how businesses are attracting new and repeat customers. If these methods really did not offer ROI, ‘junk mail’ would be something of the past.

In order to help you improve your ROI from your direct mail efforts, here are 10 tactics you can use to increase your new customers and increase the retention of current customers. If direct mail is new to you, this list can help you make the right choices improving your ROI from the very beginning. If you’ve been in the direct mail marketing world for a while, this list may give you some ideas for fine-tuning.

1.  Use Full color – Color increases the vibrancy of your postcard or brochure, which will catch more attention and improve the ‘quality’ your business represents.

2.  Glossy paper – Just like a full color postcard or brochure, glossy paper adds another dimension to your message. The smoothness and shine your postcard will keep the attention of the prospect for an extra second, which may mean the difference between being trashed immediately, and being read.

3.  Use print and direct mail firm – There are many online printers that are more than willing to help with your direct mail campaigns. Obviously, www.cashbackprinting.com is a great resource on the best online printers and offer special coupons that’ll help you save money. Aside from that, having an outside firm handle your direct mail campaign will mean less stress and more time for you to plan your next business move.

4.  Product pictures – Although text ‘talks’ to your prospects, having photos of your product or the results of your ‘service’ will be worth a ‘thousand words.’ Postcards and brochures are limited in space, to make the best out of it by using relevant images. Continue Reading

Coupons, Overnight Prints

Overnight Prints July 2010

0 Comments 06 July 2010

Here’s a great deal from Overnight Prints.

Click on the link below and get upgrades on your business card printing.
This is a great deal because rounded corners and spot UV are expensive options. Take advantage of it by clicking below and use ‘wowthree’ coupon code upon checkout!

Wow 3 FREE Upgrades – Free Rounded Corners, Glossy Finish and Spot UV! Use WOWTHREE at checkout.

Design, Font, Prepress Fundamentals, Printing

14 Typography Terms You Should Know

0 Comments 05 July 2010

typography is seen anywhere

In the world of mass produced designs, typography is usually considered later in the design stage because uninformed customers prefer designs that pack a punch visually rather than convey the true message of their business. But as more and more information is conveyed in print, we have a need to understand typography whether or not we are in charge of the design. The more you know, the more detail you will be able to discuss with your designer/printer, helping relationships and providing higher quality work.

Roman: This form is used most commonly. It is basically the regular form of the typeface.

Italic: When the italic form is applied to the font, the font usually slants to the right. Usually used in quotes.

Bold: Bold is pretty self explanatory. It is a thicker, heavier form of the font. Great for emphasis on words or sentences.

Light: The opposite of bold, when the light font is applied, each character becomes thinner. Although on most word processing programs include the ability to bold, italicize and underline text, but light is usually used for graphic art applications. Continue Reading