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.

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.

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).

Make a Movie to Enhance Your Content Marketing Success

Mind over matter—it’s a mantra for a reason. Although it can be scary trying new things to market your business, innovation and nuances keep your marketing fresh. Content marketing involves the creation and sharing of content that’s engages and informs your target audience. The more captivating the content, the more likely it is to be circulated. Movies present your message in a way that text and plain images can’t. It gives you a unique opportunity to show some personality, and it can even be done on a reasonable budget. We’ve got a few simple tips for creating top-notch movies to enhance your marketing efforts. Keep them Short and Sharable If this is your first video endeavor, don’t bite off more than you can chew. It’ll lead to chewing with your mouth full—unattractive on multiple levels. Pick a simple topic with a clear message you feel you can share some unique insight on for your audience. Next, make sure your video is in a readily sharable format. So make a Facebook post, tweet it, pin it and any other means you have to circulate it. Consider attaching this video in your next email newsletter—including videos in emails is said to boost conversion rates by as much as 50 percent. The more you can share the video and get it shared, the more brand awareness it brings. Make it Useful This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but you’d be surprised. Avoid giving into the temptation of making your first video post something cutesy or comical. While these can be elements within your video, there needs to be a benefit or call to action for the viewer. What do they get out watching? A helpful tip or easy solution? A product demonstration? An answer to a question? Additionally, ensure that your video integrates your company’s culture and personality, as videos are an awesome opportunity to do so. Need Ideas? Got you on board for this video thing, but fresh out of ideas? We’ve assembled a short list to get you going. Take one of these ideas and roll with it. Put your own spin on it. Your company is as unique as a fingerprint, use this opportunity to show that. • Show a product or service • Use a customer testimonial • Introduce staff members • Give users a tour of your office space • Show off your company culture (holiday parties, company outings, etc.) No matter the topic you select, ensure your video is high quality. A low quality video reflects poorly on your professionalism and authority of the subject matter. That doesn’t mean you need fancy equipment. Many low cost cameras—including your iPhone—can do the trick, depending on the subject matter. You just want to be sure your video is a caliber of video you yourself would watch.

3 Things to Know Before Using Social Media for Your Business

Social media marketing is all the rage these days. The barrier to entry is extremely low (no money required–just create a free account!), so it seems like a straightforward win for your company. Because it’s so easy to get started, few people think through their social media strategy and whether it’s really helping them. Here are three things to know before you start using social media for your business. 1. It’s Hard to Measure While some highly focused social media campaigns have measureable ROI, the vast majority are investments in relationship building. And when those investments pay off, it will be difficult to draw a line back to social media. 2. It Isn't Free While Facebook doesn't demand any money to create an account, don’t fall into the trap of thinking it doesn’t cost you anything. The time spent maintaining your social media accounts is time that isn’t spent on your other, measurable marketing efforts. 3. It’s About Your Brand When your competitors’ products are available online with the click of a button, your brand is what differentiates you. If you have a vibrant social media presence where you take the time to interact with your customers, your company will stand out. At the end of the day, social media is meant to build trust. And while it’s hard to measure, being trusted is the biggest prerequisite to customers buying what you’re selling. So, while social media may not be for all businesses, many companies have found success in putting these tools in their marketing mix.

BC Print and Web is Moving!

As our company grows we remain cognizant of our carbon footprint and we want to make every effort as a socially and environmentally conscious company to secure an environmentally sound presence. Digital and web based solutions continue to be the driving force for our clientele, and we feel inspired to decrease our environmental impact, while increasing our services and capabilities. In an effort to better serve you within a centralized location and with a reduced carbon footprint, BC Print and Web is relocating. As of June 17th, 2013 our new address will be 1791 58th Ave Unit D Denver, Co 80216.

How to Use Marketing to Dominate Your Industry

Marketing is a battle of minds. What we mean is that marketing happens in your customer’s heads. If you can influence how people perceive your company and your brand in order to sell more effectively, you've succeeded as a marketer. But it’s not just your company that exists in people’s minds. The whole industry your business operates in (or is breaking into) has a set of expectations, impressions and assumptions that you can’t directly control. With these barriers in mind, what’s the best way to get into your customer’s minds and dominate your industry? Be the Leader of Your Niche The easiest way to define how your company appears in the market is by being the first one in a given industry. If you’re the first person playing the game, you can easily decide what the game is, and why you’re the best person to address the customer’s needs. But most of us don’t have that luxury. Instead, we’re competing established brands and big companies who have bigger marketing budgets to spend than we do. In other words, since you can’t embrace “brute force” marketing to outspend your competitors (and they’ve already established a place in the customer’s minds), you've got to be smarter with your marketing. And that means you have to define what makes your company unique. Compare and Contrast Having established models to compare yourself to can be a blessing in disguise. Instead of using marketing to compete directly with your competitors on their terms, figure out a way to define yourself against them. In other words, if you’re selling a new brand of detergent that’s in direct competition with the market leader, don’t advertise yourself in the market leader’s terms. If the detergent market leader says, “We make clothes bright and colorful,” it’s not a good strategy to say “We make clothes even brighter and more colorful than brand X,” because brand X already has that idea captive in your market’s mind. Instead, say something completely different. Pick a unique strength: “We’re the detergent for busy parents who just need to get laundry done,” or “We’re the fastest clean in town.” Even better if you can directly contrast yourself with your competitor: “We’re like X detergent, but fast.” One-up your benefits with theirs: “Our customers understand it’s not about just being bright and colorful; it’s about that wonderful detergent smell.” The market that values smell over appearance will identify with your product and might make the switch. This strategy works for anyone in a competitive market—whether you’re trying to clean clothes, sell cars or get people to come to your movie theater. Don’t forget that at the end of the day, marketing is a battle of the minds. It’s more effective to carve out a space in your customer’s mind than to compete for a space your competitors already own.