Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Would You Want Your Grandmother to Buy This Product?

Every product tells a story. And as a business, you play a large part in what that story is. It’s called marketing. The best products represent an idea in the customer’s mind. It’s your job to figure out how to tell the story in a way that resonates with your customer and sticks. The problems happen when there’s a mismatch between the story the customer believes and the real experience of your product. Being an Ethical Marketer If you’re a proficient marketer and really understand the way that people’s decision-making process works, it’s tempting to try to coerce or trick people into buying your product. Powerful tools a marketer can use: the fear of missing out. The promise of a silver bullet. The embarrassment of not being trendy. The desire for the extravagant car. But just because you can use these tools doesn’t mean you should. If your product’s causing damage (to you, the customer or the environment), having the ability to convince someone they need your product doesn’t mean you should. Would You Sell it to Your Grandma? One of the best ways to make sure you’re being an ethical marketer: ask yourself questions that give you new perspective. If your grandmother believed in your product’s story and decided to buy it, would you want her to? If the answer is no (because she doesn’t really need this particular thing to solve her problem, or because you’ve created a false problem), you need to reconsider your message. Another good question: “If the customer I’m trying to target knew all the facts about this product, understood all the alternatives and perfectly grasped his situation, would he still want to buy this?” If the answer is no, you have two options. 1. Make a better product. 2. Use your marketing prowess to target a customer who does allows you to answer “yes” to these questions. If you ever find yourself asking: “Is this spam? Is this scammy? Are we being honest?” then the fact you have to ask indicates it’s a good time to reevaluate your message. Consider the Customer Ultimately, when it comes to marketing your product, service or even idea, it’s always a good idea to ask: “Will this message benefit my audience? Does it have their best interests at heart?” If you can honestly say “yes,” then full steam ahead. It’s time to tell your story.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Summer Vacation!

So that we may provide our dedicated employees with a well deserved summer vacation, BC Print and Web will be closed from Monday July 1st 2013 through Friday July 5th 2013. We will re-open promptly at 8am on Monday July 8th 2013. Please contact us immediately with any pending orders that you may have so that we may guarantee that they will be completed before our summer break.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

3 Lessons on How to Market to Millennials

Generation Y, or Millennials as they’re also called, are those born between the 1980s and early 2000s. And if your company isn’t already looking into ways to appeal your products and services to them, it’s time to start. Why should you exert marketing efforts towards wooing them? Because they have $200 million spending power and are 80 million consumers strong. That’s why. Millennials have been referred to as the “Me Me Me Generation”. Supposedly, they’re the most self-involved, opinionated and impatient generation yet. And that’s why marketers are scared of them. They can sense companies trying too hard to be hip and demand authenticity. But we’ve got three key lessons your marketing team can utilize to successfully romance them—when we’re done with you, they’ll be putty in your hands. Lesson 1: Don’t try so hard. Like a nerdy Dad who’s trying to incorporate “rad” and “bomb-diggity” into his vernacular (and failing miserably), your company needs to try hard but not to the point of being totally uncool. Don’t market to them, talk to them. Tell them your story, but above all else, be real with them. If you’re a nerdy company, embrace those duct taped glasses and video game themed t-shirts. If you’re smooth, sleek and sexy as a GQ ad, be true to that. Whatever your personality, being genuine will attract a real audience of millennials appropriate for your marketing efforts. Lesson 2: Be good at something. You can’t be good at everything. Those movies where the star jock could also sing and had flawless Bieber-like hair? We’re calling bologna. Rather than being a company that does everything well, stress your best quality. Your competition will inevitably beat you out at some aspect (customer service, newer or faster technology, etc.), but you too are better at something than them. And that’s what you need to focus on. They won’t be fooled if you tell them what they want to hear. May we make a suggestion? If you’re looking for a new product development to appeal to millennials, make your product customizable (if they aren’t already). Millennials have been spoiled in their ability to pick the color, size, style, etc. of many products. They love the concept of co-creating your product when at all possible—cater to this by allowing them to express themselves through customization. Lesson 3. Exist to them. If you’re not on social media, you don’t exist. According to Heidi Cohen, actionable marketing expert, 93.3% of millennials are active on the Internet (75% are on Facebook) and over 90% of them have cell phones. Assuming they’ve had a good consumer experience, millennials will be some of the most loyal brand advocates for your company—if you’re sharable. A Facebook page, Twitter feed, “pin it” button, or “Share This” button will encourage millennials to recommend your company to their friends. The easier and more convenient you can make it, the better. Buyers in this generation love being affirmed by peers that they’re making a smart choice—give them ample opportunity for this validation. We know it can be intimidating to attempt to market to a demanding, opinionated, diverse generation. But you love a good challenge, right? Trust us, it’s worth the effort and research if you can engage millennials successfully. (And we know you can).