Full Color Printing News

Driving sales up in a down market

Businesses today face increasingly difficult decisions with their advertising budgets due to low sales and reduced customer response. It is very typical to see businesses stop advertising when the economy is down and cash flow is tight. I recommend my clients never stop spending altogether in a down market, but rather adjust how and where they spend.

Companies that stop spending altogether in a down market are forced to start fresh when the market improves. On the contrary, companies with the wherewithal to adjust their spending will weather the down market, having an edge over the competition by being aggressive sooner when the market does improve.

With so many options to a business owner it is not easy to decide how to adjust spending. That’s why traditional media like direct mail are back in style in such a big way.

Once you determine direct mail is right for you the next step is to choose a firm to work with who can help you with your campaign. A successful direct mail campaign includes several factors including design, offer, target, cost, etc. I spoke with national full color printing and graphic design company Preferred Print on the subject.

I first asked what trends were emerging in the full color printing industry and what has been successful for his customers. “…companies are realizing old faithful always delivered in the past, and are turning back to direct mail in droves. Let’s face it…in today’s market the security of a steady predictable conversion rate is more important than ever…”

When asked about customer success they said “it is important to our customers to have their campaign handled by one shop. By handling all aspects of the campaign from graphic design, full color printing, as well as the prospect mailing list needs and postage it keeps their costs down.” He added ”I had a recent customer mail 5000 full color postcards to a targeted list and picked up new customers worth $60,000 in total sales.”

When designing a direct mail campaign, full color printing is better than not. A postcard in full color is more impactful and is proven to get better results. Design your mailer around the goal of the campaign and the audience, as well as the product. Next you need to decide what type of mailer to use.

Postcards allow your message to have immediate attention and are especially useful for announcing new products or services, special offers, and lead generation. When deciding what size post card to use it is important to remember the most expensive cost is the postage, not the printing. This means you should opt for the larger format like a 6”x11”, since the printing costs are similar. It is typically the largest piece in the mailbox and commands attention. “We have seen big changes in our customers results when moving to a larger format, as much as 100%-150%.” says Mark Murray of Preferred Print.

That translates to real numbers. On 5000 4”x6” post cards with a total cost of $1445 for printing, and postage with a .5% response is $57.80 per lead. With the same campaign on a 6” x 11” post card total cost is $2095 with a response of .5% at $21 per lead. Obviously, results vary but the fact remains the small additional investment typically results in a marked increase in overall campaign results.

Brochures and Sell Sheets are better suited to share lots of information you can’t fit on full color postcards by having more space to convey the message visually and verbally. An 11” x 17” tri-fold brochure is great for getting your message out in a newsletter format and has good responses with the right design, plus you don’t need to use an envelope saving even more.

Finally, the most critical component is the list itself. This will make or break your campaign. “By properly targeting the people in the right stage in the buying cycle the conversions can be staggering. As an example, targeting a list of consumers for automotive lease can garner a typical .5% response. However, by targeting people in the last 3-6 months of their lease, our customer tripled their response by getting their prospects at a time they were already looking to make a move.” This can translate to virtually any industry; it simply requires working with the right partner.

For more information on full color printing or to discuss a direct mail campaign for your business contact Mark Murray with Preferred Print @ 800-329-0005 or visit http://www.preferredprint.com/

Written by Michael Carrus

In the last few years we have seen a huge emergence into a echo friendly orientated consumer. It seems like more and more each and every day, various commercial printers.  That happened to be our clients are looking for ways to meet the demands of an echo family consumer.

Buys is in full color printing market are now asked him questions about recycled paper as well as environment friendly inks.

One of the inks that people or commonly asking for is SOY INKS

Soy based inks are used for the simple reason that they are not petroleum base and they are much better for the environment. The reason Commercial printers use Soy inks and vegetable productsis because of the pigmentationthey produce. In my research, I’ve come across several different types of national based inks.  Some of the more popular are flaxseed, canola,and castor just to name a few.  I think the reason that soy is so popular is because it’s has been perceived as well as tested over a long period of time to be a much more stable product. In a couple different articles I’ve read.  I’ve also heard of various different ink manufacturers using blends of various difference natural oils and pigments to create their final product.

 I’m sure that as time goes on more be revealed in how much this actually and ultimately looks to impact the world at the level of a positive versus negative. 

Another positive step in the right direction in my opinion is the emergence into various different paper products such as recycled paper, as well as paper that is made from renewable energy such as banana trees.

The thing I like about using the banana tree paper is that anybody that lives in the tropics and has had a banana tree realizes how fast and intrusive that particular tree grows.

I had a banana tree in the back of my house for many years, and it seemed like every time I blinked my eyes that thing was getting up to six or 7 feet tall and constantly growing new shoots every day.

It’s clear to me as time continues to go on and we as a race continue to take down more and more of the Earth’s natural resources away.  Ultimately landing most of these products in landfills within a short amount of time.  We need to create a constant can very well from the new to the old to the new again. Use recycled reuse.

If we can just start with all of our commercial printers struck a home tie United States.  Imagine the difference it would make in the landfills over the next decade.