Is it time for a mobile website?
Mobile content, already established world-wide, is growing rapidly in the United States. No longer just for large national companies, local businesses, organizations and non profits are finding successful ways to provide information or engage in sales and marketing activities using mobile content. Though desktop web sites will display on mobile devices, it is much more effective to engage the viewer with a mobile site.
It may surprise you to learn that a basic mobile site is much easier to build than a desktop site and therefore can be practical for even a temporary use--like promoting a fundraising event or a sustaining member campaign. If you would like to explore the possibilities of establishing a mobile site, contact us. Call us now for an appointment at 303-320-4855. We can demonstrate how your desktop site looks on a smart phone and also show you how much easier information can be viewed on a mobile phone.

The construct for understanding the importance of mobile media was developed by Tomi T. Ahonen, an independent consultant and recognized expert in the converging areas of mobile telecoms, Internet and media. He identified six stages of mass media (print, recordings, cinema, radio, television and the Internet). Then he added a seventh; mobile phones. Each media has its own content type, creative artists and technicians and business model.
Tomi and others in the field then identified eight benefits of mobile media that distinguish it from the other six. Mobile;
1. is the first personal mass media
2. is permanently carried
3. is always on
4. has a build in payment mechanism
5. is available at the point of creative inspiration
6. has the most accurate audience measurement
7. captures the social context of media consumption
8. allows augmented reality to be used in media

The Growing Importance of Smart Phones

Its a fact--smart phone use is growing rapidly, and because of functionality, represents the new frontier for accessing the Internet and the World Wide Web. There are even some pundits who believe that mobile phones may someday overtake desktop computers for personal use.
Sound improbable? We have a few statistics that might help convince you. We've assembled them from comScore, Inc., a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics;
1. For a three month period ending August 2010, 60% of smart phone users downloaded applications on their phones compared with 39% of regular mobile phones.
2. Even though smart phones make up less than 25% of the U.S. mobile market, by August 2010 their users represented the majority of mobile content consumers. The content most accessed was weather(43%), maps(35%), social networking(31%),search (18%), and news (18%).
3. In November 2010, 61.5 million people in the United States owned smart phones, up 10% form the preceding three months.
4. In July 2011, the top three search sites were Google (182.3 million visitors), Yahoo!(177.6 million), Microsoft(174.3 million).

For most businesses and organizations, the purpose of communicating with potential buyers is to generate new business, encourage repeat business, and promote customer loyalty. Accomplishing these goals can be done with content that:
1. describes a new product or service
2. explains a new way to use an existing product or service
3. provides a case study describing a problem and how a product or service provided the solution
4. gives testimonials from satisfied customers
Regardless of the specific content, there is one important question that all sales-related communication must answer. The question is from the perspective of the potential buyer, and is;

WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

The benefit to the buyer must be apparent in whatever you are presenting, so be explicit. Use introductory phrases like "what this means for you is" or "this translates to" or "the results were", then provide objective evidence to support your benefit statement.

Direct mail markerters 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. timely.
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 wasn't to do you a favor--it was because the content of the newsletter had perceived value.

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.
The objective of both direct and e-mail marketing it 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 a 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.

An outgrowth of the capabilities of variable data printing is personalized URL's (PURLs) on direct mail marketing pieces. A PURL is the web address of a landing page that is unique to the individual recipient of the marketing piece. A PURL combines a response device with a web site.
When a recipient goes to the PURL landing page, the response device is immediately filled with the recipient's contact information (such as name, address, telephone, email). With the click of the mouse, the recipient can request information or take advantage of the offer. As soon as that happens, the PURL generates an e-mail message that is essentially a sales lead.The novelty of the PURL, combined with the ease of responding, is said to increase the response rate.
Some Applications for PURLs include requesting a free sample, information, or trial; to take advantage of an offer or a discount; to RSVP or register for an event; and to complete a survey.

Variable Data Printing
High Speed copying in both black and white and color has been a standard service offering here at B.C. Printing for some time. Once digital printers began to replace analog copiers, the possibility of variable data printing was realized.
VDP enables various elements of a document such as text, graphics and images to change from one page to the next with no degradation of print speed or quality. From a production standpoint, VDP is a continuum from the simplest mail merge(changing the name and salutation of a letter) to versioning (customizing the document for a defined group rather that for a specific individual) to 1-to-1 printing where each document is completely unique. An example of simple VDP is a post card that is printed with the name and address of the intended recipient. If the photograph on the post card and part of the sales message changes depending on the demographic characteristics of the recipient, that is known as versioning. If the post card contains a photograph of the recipient as well as text with personal information, that's 1-to-1 marketing.

QR Codes are the new way for customers and prospects to reach a web page,a location, or obtain information about products and services. Add a QR code containing contact information to your business card and someone can add you to their contact list by reading the QR code with their cell phone or computer. Add a QR code to individual products on your web site and enable customers or prospects to download product details and a phone number for ordering, or link to a You Tube Video.
Another example of how QR codes are being used is the Google program Google Places, a way for businesses to manage their presence on Google. Any business selected by Google as a Favorite Place receives a window decal that includes a QR code that takes the viewer to the Google Place Page for the business. As of July 2010, Google has already distributed 100,000 Favorite Places decals and is planning a second round of 50,000 more.
With Google promoting QR codes, they are likely to become very important in search marketing. Google suggests that if your web site contains a QR code, search engines will see a new image and index it, and might in the future index the content in them.

The term Old Media and its companion legacy media refer to traditional ways of communication with customers. Printers are generally considered to be part of old media, along with other paperbased industries like newspapers, magazines, and books as well as radio, television and movies. In contrast, new media is digital and includes the Internet, websites and most computer-based forms of communications.
New Media is exciting because it brings new tools to the process of communicating with customers--tools like full color printing, highly personalized sales messages and interactive outreach--as well as empowering prospects and customers to quickly and easliy find reliable information about products, services and vendors.
One of the more exciting examples of new technology is the QR code. QR stands for Quick Response, aptly named because the contents of the code can be decoded at high speed by devices including mobile phones equipped with a camera, net books and laptop computers, desktop computers, cameras and televisions.

Is Direct Mail bad for the environment?
Contrary to what you may have heard from proponents of various "Do Not Mail" coalitions, direct mail is an environmentally responsible way to advertise. Yes, trees are harvested to create the pulp from which paper is made. But the harvested trees are grown specifically for that purpose on tree farms known as managed timberlands. The trees are an agricultural crop, like vegetables on a farm; the trees are not cut down from neighborhood parks or wilderness areas.
America's forestry and paper industries plant more than 4 million new trees each day (or 1.4 billion per year)-that's three new trees for every one harvested.
Recycling is another reason not to fear direct mail. Paper is one consumer product that is fairly easy and inexpensive to recycle. After first use, paper products can be made into corrugated boxes, packaging, newsprint, tissue and even writing paper. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, annual recycling rates for advertising mail have increased 700% since 1990. In 2008, 57.4% of all the paper consumed in the United states was recovered for recycling. This is the equivalent of nearly 340 pounds of paper for each man, woman and child in America. The paper industry has set a goal of 60% recovery by 2012.

Combine direct mail with e-mail marketing.
The best strategy for communicating with customers and prospects is to use a combination of direct mail and e-mail marketing. According to an Ipsos survey conducted in 2007, 67% of respondents performed online searches for more information on a company, service or product after receiving an "offline" message.
Results from ExactTarget's 2008 Channel Preference Survey supports the strategy of combining direct mail with e-mail. Respondents in that survey gave direct mail a score of 3.9(out of a possible 5) as an acceptable marketing method and gave e-mail a score of 3.7. Three-quarters of respondents (75%) said they made a purchase because of a marketing message received through direct mail, and 65% said they made a purchase because of an e-mail.
Print is here to stay, despite the pace of change affecting printing, it remains a proven way to communicate with customers and prospects. Direct mail marketing, when combined with e-mail, is more effective than e-mail alone. And the affordability of full color means that direct mail pieces can be eye catching and appealing to the target audience.

Due in part to its low cost, the relative ease of conducting a campaign, and the growing availability of e-mail lists, email marketing is increasingly seen as an alternative to direct mail marketing--especially to reach the under 30 year old demographic. However, recent research suggests that digital marketing may not be living up to its original promise. In a survey conducted by Harris Interactive in July 2009, of 2,265 U.S. adults age 18 and above, a majority of respondents stated that printed media is easier to read than the digital equivalent (though they did prefer the immediacy of the digital media). Of those surveyed, 68% said they felt more comfortable when they have something on paper rather than on a computer screen.
One problem with e-mail marketing is deliverability of the message. In February 2010 the president of Return Path, an e-mail deliverability company, commented on deliverability. "Almost 95% of email messages at one point in 2009 were classified as spam, according to a recent study," said George Bilbrey, President, of Return Path. "As IPS's battle the onslaught of spam, the risks increase that legitimate senders will find their emails mislabeled as spam or junk and not reach consumers' inboxes."

In another 2008 study, the DMNews/Pitney Bowes survey, 1,000 American Consumers (split 50-50 between men and women) age 18 and up from ten major metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix and Seattle) were surveyed regarding the direct mail marketing pieces they receive. Here are the survey findings;
1. Nearly 94% of consumers surveyed reported taking action on promotional offers and coupons received via direct mail.
2. 20% of consumers reported that more than 10% of the offers or coupons they received by mail led to a purchase.
3. Almost 40% of respondents said they had tried a new business for the first time because of information received via direct mail.
4. Nearly 70% of respondents said they renewed a relationship with a business because they received a direct mailing or promotional item.
5. Respondents stated that information received via direct mail often led to a contribution to a non-profit organization for the first time.
The surveyors concluded that "direct mail induces consumers to touch the offer--recipients of mail are receiving, sorting reading and using direct mail to make purchasing decisions.

Direct Mail
As the amount of advertising on the Internet has grown, conventional wisdom has declared that direct mail marketing will disappear as a way of reaching customers and prospects. To us this sounds a lot like the now-debunked predictions about the paperless office. Every year since 1987, the United States Postal Service has conducted an annual study called "The Household Diary Study." In 2008 the study included 5,312 households who completed a seven-day household diary of mail received and sent for all 52 weeks of the study year. Here are some of the study results;
1. Advertising mail represented 63% of all mail received--an average of about 16 pieces per week.
2. 79% of households said they either read or scanned the advertising mail they received.
3. One in three households said they made one or more purchases as a result of receiving the advertising mail.
Contrary to the prevailing opinion that direct mail is "junk" mail that is immediately discarded by recipients, a majority of respondents in the 2008 Household Study reported paying to attention to the advertising.

Direct Mail

One beneficial change in printing is the new affordability of full color printing. Improvements in digital printing equipment such as the paper feed system, lower toner fusing temperature and polymerized toner particles have resulted in output that rivals offset printing for color fidelity, image resolution and the range of papers that can be used, and because digital printing requires almost no make ready, there are minimal fixed costs associated with each job. That means full color printing is now affordable in quantities as low as 100 prints, as well as in variable data printing applications such as versioning and one-to-one marketing.

Affordable color and the ready availability of stock photography means that small businesses and organizations can now realize the benefit of having corporate identity and marketing materials designed and printed in full color and illustrated with photographs.

The effectiveness of informational material such as instruction sheets and training guides can be increased by incorporating color.

Much is being made today of the decline of printing. Newspaper and magazine subscribers are dwindling; e-books are gaining in popularity; online advertising is replacing print; and printed products are being assailed as environmentally unsound. So does printing have a future? Does it present value?

We say unequivocally YES.

Businesses and organizations know that printing is not about the ink on the paper; it's about the target audience's reaction to it. As author, journalist and marketing consultant Cary Sherburne says, "It is not about print; it is about the most effective way to achieve the business objective associated with any given customer communication or campaign."

Print is not dead nor is it dying, it is changing.