Is there a resource for developing a marketing plan?

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a comprehensive guide called Marketing Your Business for Success online at its website. The top level elements of the plan are;
1. Define your business. Product or service, geographic marketing area, competition, price, promotion methods (both yours and your competition's), your business location or distribution method.
2. Define your customers. Their demographic characteristics (age, gender, income,location),how they will learn about your business and their buying habits.
3. Define your marketing plan and budget. Previous marketing methods used and their effectiveness and future methods to consider.
To access the guide, go to http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/marketandprice/serv_marketingplans.html.

Marketing Communications
At the heart of the marketing plan is the system by which the business or organization communicates with its target audience. In his book "Marketing Communications" by John Egan, a professor at Middlesex University Business School in London, defines marketing communications or marcom as the process used by suppliers (of products, services values or ideas) to communicate with a target audience. The goal of the communication is to stimulate dialogue that will lead to developing a relationship.
Marcom encompasses a wide range of possible activities, including;
1. Personal selling--being face-to-face with the customer or prospect.
2. Direct Marketing--sending promotional or sales material to a specific target audience.
3. Advertising--using various mass media to offer a promotional or sales message to a broad audience.
4. Sales Promotion--offering incentives to purchase
5. Public Relations and Publicity--indirect promotion via third-party media.

Planning your Marketing and Planning What you Print
Fall is a good time to review the results of the current years sales and marketing strategy and weigh it against past years efforts. It is also a good time to plan for the year to come and develop a strategy to achieve your goals.
Marketing refers to all of the processes and activities associated with promoting the sale of products or services, with focus on acquiring new customers and satisfying existing ones. While marketing plans for medium and large businesses can be very formal and based on extensive research and analysis, most small businesses and organizations use a simpler approach that often is defined by the amount of resources---money and people--available to carry it out.

If you are in business, you have developed areas of expertise that other people are interested in. For example, you know how to differentiate your product or service from your competitors--why what you are offering is superior and worthy of consideration. That becomes the basis for a checklist of what should be considered before making a purchase, and that type of information is valuable to others.
If you have been in business for a while you may have several areas of expertise that you can share and many options for getting the word out. An informational brochure and a periodic newsletter are two commonly used and relatively inexpensive methods. Others are writing a column for a local newspaper or sending a post card as part of a direct mail marketing campaign. A more ambitious method is to hold a seminar or demonstration on an informational topic or offer a presentation as a public speaker for community groups. Writing a blog is a new and increasingly popular method.
For subject matter, use topics that help your target audience with their problems.

A recent survey of small business owners conducted by the Hewlett-Packard Company revealed that very few felt confident about their marketing efforts. Almost half (46%) claimed not to have any general marketing expertise, 60% said they could be doing a better job as marketers, and only 18% felt confident about creating their own marketing material.
If this describes you, then take note; we can help. Many of our small business customers routinely turn to us for help with developing a promotional campaign, creating a logo and graphic identity and writing sales-related copy. Because we have worked with so many companies over the years, we have developed a sensitivity for what works. Using a series of probing questions, we will guide you through the process of determining who your target audience is and how to reach them.
For more information or to make an initial appointment for a consultation call Dan Linn, General Manager at 303-320-4855 or email dan@bcprintinginc.com.

What is a multi-channel promotion?
Multi-channel refers to using more than one promotion method simultaneously for a message on a single topic. Multi-channel can be very effective, especially when the messages in one channel are referenced in the other and are integrated. Use one constant and simple theme that offers a variety of response options.
Here are some examples of multi-channel marketing;
1. Sending an e-mail timed to arrive at the same time as a mailed catalog.
2. Inviting customers and prospects to visit a web site to print a coupon to use in a retail store.
3. Adding a URL or QR code to sales collateral with an invitation to visit the web site, register, and receive something in exchange.

No Matter the size of your business or organization, it needs to have a budget for promotions. Pick a time period---we recommend quarterly,semi-annually or yearly--and commit both a sum of money and some time for a designated person to manage the promotional effort. It takes both a budget and someone to manage the budget to ensure a successful promotion.
Promotions don't have to cost a lot of money or take a lot of time. A simple way to start is by targeting your best customers and introducing them to products or services you offer that they may not be using. Here are seven ideas for promoting on a budget.
1.Send a monthly informational newsletter.
2.Highlight the specific products and services that represent what you do best.
3.Follow up a purchase with an additional offer.
4.Target past customers.
5.Put a sticker with teaser copy on an outbound envelope.
6.Offer a guarantee.
7.Self Promote.
Regardless of the size of your budget, it is important to continuously promote your business. For over 11 years we have been helping businesses, organizations and individuals with promotions to customers and prospects. To brainstorm promotional ideas to help your business or to get started with your promotion contact Dan at 303-320-4855 or email dan@bcprintinginc.com. We're ready to help.

I believe the current debate between whether traditional direct mail or e-mail is best for marketing purposes is obscuring what is really most important--the content.

Until what you say in your marketing communications has value to your customers and prospects and is well-presented, then how you get it to them is irrelevant.
There are two parts to delivering meaningful content;the words themselves and how they are presented graphically. Writing that is full of cliches, grammatical errors, misspellings and punctuation errors calls attention to the writing itself rather than the meaning. Likewise, ordinary or commonplace design wastes the opportunity to draw the reader in and may even confuse the reader.

We understand that budgets may be tight, providing the temptation to save money by do-it-yourself content preparation. If this is your situation, may we suggest that you budget enough to have us review your work. Sometimes the simplest of changes can make a significant difference in the impression you'll make on your readers.

A very useful tool for any writer is a swipe file, a place to collect examples of effective writing that comes to your attention.
A swipe file can contain anything you want it to---headlines,introductory paragraphs,body copy,guarantees,interesting phrases or slogans,display ads,direct mail marketing pieces,e-mail messages,graphics, photos--anything that might serve as a future idea starter. It is a good idea to organize your swipe file into subsections to make searching for ideas easier, and to base it on hard copy rather than digital files.
Look for material for your swipe file in anything you come across that is sales-related. Instead of tossing direct mail marketing pieces unopened, take a look and see if there is anything suitable for your swipe file. Likewise for e-mail advertising messages. The more you view and collect, the more useful your swipe file will become.
Keep in mind that the purpose of a swipe file is to generate ideas, not to plagiarize. Your goal is to adapt the information in your swipe file to your own needs, not to copy it outright.

If I start sending e-mail messages to prospects, will I need to worry about CAN-SPAM?

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 covers all e-mail whose primary purpose is advertising or promoting a commercial product or service, known as commercial e-mail. The Act defined requirements for commercial e-mail senders (including penalties for spamming) and gave e-mail recipients the right to request removal from an e-mail list.
For more detailed information, visit the Federal Trade Commission CAN-SPAM web site:http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus61.shtm.
Here are some of the highlights of CAN-SPAM;
1. Deceptive subject lines are not allowed. Be sure the subject line matches the content of the e-mail.
2. "From" lines and other Internet header information must be accurate. Send the e-mail from a real address and be consistent--always send from that address.
3. The e-mail must contain a clear and conspicuous opt-out notice. Even if e-mail is free to send, you still don't want it going to those who don't want it.
4. An opt-out request must be honored promptly. You have 10 days to remove someone from your e-mail list; however, we suggest acting immediately on the request.

Good Content in direct mail or e-mail marketing gives potential buyers what they want. Direct mail marketers and advertisers work hard to determine what type of content motivates buyers. Research consistently uncovers four characteristics of content that score highest in buyer interest. The best content is;
1. Useful or entertaining
2. Relevant to the buyer's interests
3. Timley
4. Unique to the seller, either in content or presentation
These four characteristics are particularly important for opt-in e-mail subscriptions. If a reader signs up for your e-newsletter, the motivation was not to do you a favor--it was because the content of the newsletter had perceived value.

Direct Mail or E-Mail Marketing; Content is King.

Amid the ongoing debate about whether direct mail or e-mail is the best method to market to customers and prospects, very little is being said about the one thing that is crucial to the success of both---the message. Unless the message is relevant to the audience and persuasively presented, it doesn't matter how it is delivered. So while the discussion about direct mail versus e-mail continues, focus on developing good content and honing your writing skills.
Why Market with mail? The objective of both direct mail and e-mail marketing is to persuade a customer or prospect to take action, either now or later. When a seller consistently and regularly sends a communication such as a mailed post card or a newsletter(either mailed or web-based), a buyer is more likely at at future time to take the action desired by the seller. In other words, direct or e-mail marketing is less about an immediate sale than about positioning the business or organization to be top-of-mind when the potential buyer is ready to make a purchase.
This is important in business-to-business selling where the sell cycle is often long (especially when compared to business-to-consumer), and it is hard to stimulate demand. Direct mail is also important during an economic downturn when either budgetary constraints or the unwillingness of the purchaser to spend money creates a long sell cycle for both businesses and consumers.

Proofing is a serious task and that is why we have prepared a checklist of items to examine while proofing. Please remember it is best to proof against something--your original layout or an earlier proof. Here are some items that you should check for;

Layout: are all pages complete (no dropped copy or images); are all graphic elements like text, photographs, graphics,in the correct position; are all pages in the correct order; is type aligned on facing pages; are type,rule lines and photos on crossover pages in correct position.

Typography: are fonts correct; does text break as desired; is justification correct.

Copy: are telephone,fax and cell numbers and email addresses correct;are addresses correct;are people and place names spelled correctly.

Page numbers: is the numbering sequence correct; are page numbers correctly placed.

Prior changes; have all changes to the prior proof been incorporated.

Reader's perspective; from the reader's perspective, is everything clear and comprehensible.

If you notice anything that is not correct, mark it plainly and return the proof to us with instructions. We will correct errors we made for free; we will charge for author's alterations.

Before we print your job, we will submit a proof--a print made from the artwork we will be using to produce a press plate or digital image. Your job is to inspect the proof and report the results to us--OK to proceed to press; make corrections as marked then OK to proceed to press; make corrections as marked and present another proof.

We will not proceed to press until you have signed off on the proof. By industry standards, when you sign off on a proof, you agree to pay for the job as long as it looks like the proof--even if you later discover an error, and regardless of who made the error. This makes proofing a serious task.

Take a Plant Tour of B.C. Printing
If you are interested in enhancing your company's relationship with us, one of the best things we can suggest is that you tour our facility. A plant tour gives us an opportunity to introduce you to the people who produce your jobs and for you to see first hand the steps your job must go through in our plant. We will explain the entire process, from design to distribution, and let you see the equipment in operation.
A plant tour takes about 45 minutes. We conduct tours by appointment, and also on the spot if you have the time. We put a lot of effort into keeping our plant clean and organized and we love showing off. We also think it's important for the production staff to know you as a person just like the customer service staff does.

More interesting facts from the Mobile Marketing Association;
1. Mobile is the only marketing media that reaches consumers while on the go.
2. Mobile has 5 times better sales conversion rates than online.
3. Mobile has 7 times better coupon redemption rates than online and offline.
4. Text Message Marketing is 5 times more effective than Online Marketing.
5. Mobile has much less media competition, email is very crowded.
6. Mobile devise is personal so it is an extension of the person.
7. There are 270 million mobile subscribers in the United States, 91% of them keep their phone within 3 feet of themselves 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
8. Very few business are using it. Mobile marketing is where Internet marketing was in 2000.
Are you missing out? Call me at 303-320-4855 to learn how you can link your printed marketing material to your website.

Print not only pays off--it pays back to the environment.
According to a study released by International Paper when you use paper, you are making a contribution to the environment by keeping the forests growing and responsibly managed. Here are more interesting facts from I.P.'s study;
1. Roughly 600 million trees are planted every year by the paper and forest products industry, surpassing the amount harvested.
2. Improved forest management, regeneration of forest areas and selective tree harvesting have resulted in a net uptake (sequestration) of carbon from 1990 to 2005. This is because older, unmanaged forests lose their ability to sequester carbon.
3. Many climate experts believe that the responsible management of forests offers one of the least expensive and best ways to fight against climate change.
4. The paper and forest products industry is one of the largest users of low-carbon energy in the world. Nearly 60% of the energy used to make paper in the U.S. comes from carbon-neutral renewable resources and is produced on site at mills.
5. Nearly 60% of all paper in the U.S. is recycled. In comparison, less that 20% of U.S. electronic devices are recycled.
6. Of the wood extracted from the world's forests, 53% is used for energy production, 28% is used by lumber mills and only 11% is used directly by the paper industry.

Mobile Marketing is here to stay. Here are some interesting facts from the Mobile Marketing Association;
1. There are 45 million smart phone users in the U.S. right now.
2. In the first quarter of 2010, 20% of all cell phone users will be using smart phones.
3. By the end of 2011,more that 50% of cell phone users will be using smart phones.
4. Smart phone users use their phone to email and access the Internet.
5. Mobile has the broadest reach. Mobile has 4.8 billion users versus 1.7 billion users on the Internet.
6. There will be 5 billion mobile phone users in 2010---the world population is 6.8 billion.
7. There are almost 5 times more mobile devices than computers.
8. Mobile text messaging has the fastest read rate at 90% in 15 minutes with a 97%final open rate. Email does not come close to that.
Call me at 303-320-4855 so we can visit about this new marketing frontier.

Is it worth Printing?
International Paper has released a study which shows that print pays off. Their statistics show the following;
1.Campaigns combining direct mail and internet yield up to an additional 25% response rate.
2.Nearly 80% of households either read or scan advertising mail sent to their household.
3.Direct mail gives advertisers a 13 to 1 return on their investment.
4.Nearly 80% of internet users surveyed said they were directly influenced to purchase an item or service because of a direct mail piece.
5.Brand recall is substantially higher using print versus on-screen. On-screen information is 20 to 30% more difficult to read.
Call me at 303-320-4855 to learn more about ROI on direct mail advertising.

QR Codes;Reaching Customers through Mobile Marketing
A QR Code is the newest technology to help businesses link the physical world to the cyber world and market their product and services. Using Smartphone technology, people can scan a special QR (Quick Response) code and have their telephone connect to a web address, download a Mp3 file, dial a telephone number or prompt the email client with a sender address almost instantaneous.
Mobile marketing is changing the way consumer marketing occurs. Instead of a campaign-based approach, it creates a dialogue where consumers are willing to share information and companies are able to make use of that information in a more valuable way.
Mobile marketing has the ability to send the right message to the right person at the right time and so trigger a better response rate.
What makes mobile marketing with QR codes different is that it is permission-based. Unlike other forms of mass marketing, consumers need to give their permission before being marketed to. It is also targeted and live. Responses can be processed to give real-time visibility of reaction to specific offers.
We recommend our customers start using QR codes now. Because they are new, companies using the QR codes will have a competitive advantage as mobile marketing grows. Younger, upscale consumers are already discovering mobile marketing and you don't want to be left behind.
If you would like a demonstration on how mobile marketing can work for your company, give us a call at 303-320-4855. We can show you how you can combine printing and the Internet into a low cost solution to help you increase your sales.

As a general guideline, we recommend incorporating color into almost any printing project. Use of color improves reader comprehension, calls attention to important information, and improves the overall appearance of your document.
A common way to use PMS color is to combine it with black ink as an accent. The color draws the reader's eye and emphasizes the information printed in color. Or, if used for headlines or subheads in text, the color enhances the document's organizational structure by creating easily discerned text segments.

What is a PMS Color?

PMS is an acronym for Pantone Matching System™, an industry standard for identifying and matching colors. The Pantone Matching System™ was created by Lawrence Herbert in 1963 to solve problems associated with producing accurate color matches in printing and graphic arts.
The Pantone Matching System™ begins with a base of 14 colors(two yellows, orange, four reds, purple, four blues, green and black), then creates more than 1,000 colors based on combinations of the base in a process similar to the way paint stores mix paint. Each color is numbered for easy reference and a color swatch and ink formula is printed in PMS guides--the fan format books we use to help you select colors for your printing projects.
WE have several PMS guides for our customer service representatives and press operators to use. In addition, we replace our books approximately once a year to ensure that color swatches have nt changed due to fading or exposure to light.

PMS; The colors of one, two and three color printing.
PMS stands for Pantone Matching System, a system used by printers around the world to select, specify, match and control ink colors.
The Pantone Matching system formula guide is a book of printing ink formulas and samples on coated, uncoated and matte coated stock in a fan format. The PMS book is what we use when helping you select color for your project.
Whereas cyan,magenta and yellow are combined in various percentages to produce a specific dolor a PMS or spot color ink is one single hue. In addition, the inks used for spot color are opaque rather than translucent and so do not allow white light to pass through.

To select a paper for a particular printing project, begin by listing how the finished piece will be used and what processes will e required in the manufacturing process. This will allow you to determine what paper characteristics (basis weight, brightness, smoothness, ink receptivity, opacity, strength, caliper, gloss, grain and finish) are the most important for the project.
Here are some questions to help define the purpose of the printing project.
1. Is it an image piece.
2. What is the finished size of the piece?
3. Will the piece be read once and discarded or must it last many years?
4. Will the piece be handled repeatedly?
5. Will the piece include full color photographs?
6. Are there any special manufacturing processes(die cutting, embossing, foil stamping)?
7. Will the piece be mailed? If so,will it require an envelope?
8. Must postal requirements be considered?
9. What is the printing process to be used(offset or digital)?
Here at BC Printing our customer service representatives have been trained to match paper characteristics with the production and end use requirements.

If you would like to try your hand at papermaking, here is a recipe that you can use at home.
Supplies;
Fine mesh wire screen(size 9"x12")
Blotting paper
Basin or tray(10 quart capacity)
Laundry starch
30 sheets of facial tissue
Eggbeater or blender
Rolling Pin
Electric iron
Scissors

Directions:
1. Tear facial tissue into the basin. In a separate bowl,mix 1 tablespoon of starch with 2 cups of water. Add to tissue along with 10 quarts of water. Mix thoroughly with eggbeater or in the blender.
2. Dip the wire screen into the tray or basin and allow water to drain through the bottom of the screen.
3. Dry the screen and wet pulp between two pieces of blotting paper.(The pulp sheet will stick to them so that the wire can be separated from the pulp sheet.)
4. Press out excess water with the rolling pin.
5. With the sheet still between the blotters, iron the paper on a low setting until it is dry.
6. Trim the edges with scissors.

It may surprise you to learn that the primary benefit of recycled paper is saving landfill space. According to Conservatree Paper Company, every ton of recycled paper saves three cubic yards of landfill material. It also saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water and 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough to power an average home for six months).
There are some costs associated with recycled paper. Waste paper must be collected, then sorted, bailed and transported to the paper mill. Finally it must be de-inked prior to being mixed with virgin fibers in the papermaking process.
When deciding whether to specify a recycled paper, consider the following pros and cons:
Recycled Paper Pros
1.Uncoated recycled paper tends to lie flatter, making it easier to handle.
2.Opacity of recycled paper can be better because the shorter, fatter reclaimed fibers form a denser structure.
Recycled Paper Cons
1.Some recycled papers may not last as long as papers made with virgin fibers.
2.Because not all ink can be removed from recycled paper, the brightness is often lower.

Recycled paper is paper that has been manufactured from recovered waste paper. The waste paper comes from three primary sources;
1. Pre-consumer waste is paper that has not yet reached an end user. An example is an unsold magazine that is collected form a newsstand.
2. Post-consumer waste is paper that has been used. An example is a magazine mailed to a home and read by the subscriber.
3. Converting waste is paper scraps and waste in the papermaking process. An example is trim from converting paper to envelopes.
Beginning in 1999, copier paper, offset paper, envelopes and other uncoated grades were required to conform to a standard of no less that 30% post consumer materials. Coated grades are no less that 15% post consumer materials.

Considering the importance of business cards as a marketing tool, it is a good idea to have them handy at all times. Besides keeping them in your purse or wallet, also put a supply in the glove compartment of your car, in your briefcase, and in your business planner, on your desk, at the reception desk in your business, and also keep some handy at home. One of the alternate locations may be closer than your purse or wallet, or you can use the alternate locations to replenish your regular supply. We also recommend keeping your business cards in a case or holder to protect them from becoming dirty or worn-looking.

Now, get those cards circulating! In addition to handing out your cards during business meetings, use them any time you need to give someone contact information. If you are attending a mixer or conference, or are visiting a customer or supplier, use your business card as a name tag. When attending to personal business, give out your business card if appropriate. It may be a conversation-starter and could lead to a discussion of business matters.

Crucial to the success of your business card is its appearance. A card that is poorly designed, contains information that has been handwritten, has perforated rather than clean-cut edges, or is soiled or worn-looking conveys a negative impression of the person offering the card. To make the best impression, let us print and cut your card with our professional-grade equipment.

No matter what decisions you make regarding your business card design and printing, we urge you to use them! If your supply of business cards is older that one year, then get busy passing them out. Think of business cards as an advertising expense, not an office supply, and compare the cost of buying 500 or 1,000 per year to the cost of yellow pages advertising or direct mail marketing. In this context, we are sure you will agree that business cards represent a real bargain.

An eye-catching business card may cause people to save it even if they haven't identified a need for your product or service. To enhance a standard 2x3.5 inch , flat business card consider some of the following;
Change the stock. For a standard business card, we recommend using a stock thick enough so it won't feel flimsy when cut down to business card size. Standard cover weights for business cards are 65# and 80# basis weight, but this doesn't necessarily imply anything about stock thickness. Ask us to show you examples of 100#cover or even double ply stock.
Change the shape. A folded business card gives extra surfaces on which to display a photograph, eye-catching graphics, contact information or valuable content. Although this makes the business card thicker after folding, it will still fit inside a standard business card holder. Or change the card's orientation from horizontal(landscape) to vertical(portrait). Do be aware that a vertical orientation means that your card will be turned 90 degrees when placed inside a standard business card holder.
Foiling, Embossing or Die Cutting. Adding foil or embossing not only enhances the richness of your card, it adds a tactile sensation that many people find pleasing. Because these processes add to the cost of business cards, it can convey a sense of success and prosperity to your business image.