Is Print Marketing Obsolete in the Digital Age?

Mobile technology makes it easier for sales representatives to carry a vast array of sales collateral. And many small businesses are shying away from print materials as a way to cut costs and lessen their impact on the carbon footprint.
Glossy, detailed marketing pieces have given way to digital presentations on tablets and laptops. Consumer brochures are bowing to company blogs and YouTube how-to videos. Is there still a place in small business for print collateral?
The resounding answer seems to be yes, but it’s limited. And it's shifting in response to digital mediums.
“There are certain industries, serving a specific demographic, that will always appreciate and need a tangible representation of a product, service or company," says Jennifer Fuhrman, marketing executive with Chicago agency Marketcity.
"Staples in print materials include spec sheets, annual reports and business cards, but their design capabilities have shifted and improved drastically.”
Many traditional communication channels, such as newsletters, are dependent on the Internet now. Fuhrman says that all of Marketcity’s clients who send newsletters have digital versions.
“Our clients use e-mail newsletters," she said. "They’re able to direct their newsletter efforts to people who have provided their contact information, as opposed to the shotgun snail-mail approach.”
The cost of sending an e-newsletter is significantly less than the expense of printing and mailing hard copies.
However, Lin Grensing-Prophal, author of Direct Mail in a Digital Age, believes the shift to digital marketing has given print an unintentional advantage.
“Mailboxes aren’t as cluttered, thanks to digital marketing," she said. "But, the Web is getting more cluttered.”
With many small businesses reallocating their marketing dollars to digital campaigns, those using traditional methods may have a greater chance of reaching their target audiences.
Yet, analyzing how effective traditional media is versus digital is difficult. Even the most novice marketers can find metrics for nearly every type of digital campaign. Small businesses can easily monitor their ROI and break it down by categories and channels.
It’s more difficult to assess these variables with traditional print media. You can measure response rates, but it’s impossible to tell how many prospects open or read print media.
Grensing-Prophal believes that digital media is a good way to augment a direct-mail campaign, but it can’t replace it and in many cases, it shouldn’t.
“Digital and traditional now mix well together," said Grensing-Prophal. "QR Codes can help print ads and improve analytics. Small companies used to send large catalogs, which were costly. Now, they can send a simple mailer with a QR Code sending customers to an online catalog.”
Many industries still benefit from direct-mail campaigns, according to Grensing-Prophal. Especially when its information is usually shared between family members and friends. Healthcare is one example. It’s easy to pass on a print newsletter to a friend, but it’s also easy to forward an e-mail. Still, many people still rely on printed reminders for appointments and medication instructions.
Not every small business should shift to digital, according to Grensing-Prophal. Each business must analyze its target audience before reallocating the entire marketing budget.
“You have to know your audience. Evaluate your clients and their specific needs to determine what will work best,” she said. “Don’t jump on the bandwagon just because it’s the latest big thing.”

09:36 by Robert dawne · 0

How to Master Online Marketing

In today's world, where consumers live on their laptops and mobile devices, most small businesses know the importance of online marketing—a valuable and often cheaper way to reach customers.
"When done well, online marketing can save failing businesses, create profitable new opportunities, and find talent for both small businesses and nonprofits," says says Geri Stengel, a marketing expert and founder of Ventureneer.com, a firm that provides advice to "socially-responsible" small businesses and nonprofits.
But while many small businesses dabble in the area—by taking out an odd ad here and there or starting a company Facebook account—few are using it effectively, says Stengel.
"Much of the skepticism about online marketing seems to come from a lack of training in using tactics effectively and from not understanding and using metrics in a way that guides good decision-making," she said. "Power-users—those who devote more than 25 hours per week to social media—have done their homework and are confident that their investment of time reaps benefits."
So how can your firm become an effective "power-user" of online marketing tools? Stengel cited these five questions to help guide the way.
Who do you want to reach?
This is important. Are you hoping to hone in on a small local audience or are you hoping to attract customers from farther away? Is your target audience young or old? Male or female? Web saavy or not so much? Different target audiences will be best reached through different methods so its very important to first know your target audience.
What are your goals and objectives?
Do you want to generate new business? Retain current customers? These goals will likely be best served by different tools and methods like knowing you're target audience—figure out this first.
Which platform or medium is best suited to your goals and market?

Once you have determined your goals and target market, now think about the best way to reach them. Social media can be a smart way to target young people or promote customer service, while you would likely be best using e-mail to reach a more elderly audience.
How will you evaluate your campaign for continuous improvement?
Metrics, metrics, metrics. If you don't track your success (or lack thereof), you will have no way to know if your investment is working.

How much do you want to spend?
The cost of online marketing tools vary significantly so this is a big one. While one company may benefit from spending to advertise on a major news website, other companies may want to stick to smaller, cheaper methods.
Hiring people with the know-all for more complicated online marketing tools can also be a big investment.
Most importantly, don't be afraid to start small, taking one type of online marketing at a time, says Stengel.
"Small businesses have been using e-mail longer than other online marketing categories and rate themselves more effective at using it," she said. "It's easier to learn to do e-mail well compared to social media, search engine optimization or social networking advertising."
Photo credit: Ventureneer.com

12:49 by Robert dawne · 0

4 Big Business Secrets for Finding New Customers

Let’s face it: most big companies aren't known for being trendsetters. But they are pioneers when it comes to finding new customers. Because large companies operate on such a large scale, mistakes can be very costly. This forces them to carefully choose, refine and innovate to find the best sales techniques. Here are four big business tactics you should put to work.
1. Go mobile
People everywhere have adopted the mobile phone as their device of choice. There are more than 6 billion mobile connections in the world, compared to under 2 billion PCs. Big companies have seen the light and are scrambling to take advantage of mobile’s potential. Small businesses can do the same.
Consider creating a mobile-friendly website if you haven’t done so. More businesses and consumers are looking for products and services on mobile phones, and websites designed for PCs typically don’t work well on small screens. You may want to develop a mobile app to make interactions with customers and prospects easier. Also investigate mobile barcodes—known as QR codes. People are increasingly using these codes, which can provide an instant link to businesses and their offerings.
2. Research your market
A big company tends to be detached from its customers, so it must go the extra mile to learn what makes them tick. It must continually investigate its market and learn how customers perceive it, how it compares to competitors and how it can expand its products or services.
Small businesses are closer to their customers, so they frequently underestimate the importance of research. It’s easy to take customers for granted and not delve into information that could dramatically improve your offerings or reveal how to find new customers.
Try to take advantage of every personal encounter to gather information, and consider organizing events that can increase that interaction. For example, an auto dealer might host a customer appreciation day several times a year. Also take advantage of social media like Facebook, Twitter and online directories to learn what customers have to say about your business.
3. Go digital
Industry researchers continue to predict dramatic increases in spending on online marketing—via e-mail, desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets and other devices. Online ad spending in the United States is expected to grow 23 percent to nearly $40 billion in 2012, according to research firm eMarketer. Big businesses have found that online marketing allows them to offer easy purchasing through e-commerce, forge deeper customer relationships and reach consumers and businesses all over the globe.
To help ensure you make the most of online marketing, take a closer look at your company’s website. Can users search for your products and understand your services easily? If you engage in e-commerce, is the buying process smooth and intuitive? Do you regularly refresh the site with new information and special offers?
Also, are you taking advantage of interactive tools to establish a dialogue with prospects and customers? For example, are you using banner and search engine advertising to get the word out, and are you using e-mail to promote marketing offers? Finally, are you making your company and its products or services easy to find by posting business listings on online directories?
4. Plan and track
Planning and tracking may sound antithetical to innovative marketing, but it is key to hitting the mark and closing sales. You’ve probably heard the saying attributed to merchandising king John Wanamaker: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted—I just don’t know which half.” Well, now you can. Analytics tools allow you to track responses to your online marketing, and fortunately many of them are free or relatively inexpensive.
You can help get the best results from your online advertising by tracking the click-through rate. Test different ads and adjust your efforts to focus on what works best. Also look at performance data for your website, mobile messaging and social media activities. Metrics to examine include:

• Who’s visiting and what they do
• Who’s buying and what they buy
• Who clicked on an invitation or offer
• How much time they spend on your site
• What they say about your products or services

AT&T offers a number of tools and services to help your small business adopt these and other big business tactics. In particular, consider AT&T’s mobile marketing, interactive and Web hosting services.
Alice Bredin is an internationally renowned small business expert. She is founder and president of Bredin Inc., a marketing consultancy that helps Fortune 500 firms develop profitable, long-term relationships with small and medium businesses. She has advised millions of business owners over the last 20 years through her books, syndicated newspaper column, radio commentary and forums.
Photo credit: iStock

12:27 by Robert dawne · 0

5 Free Ways to Market Your Nonprofit

Just like any for-profit business, nonprofit organizations need to have a marketing strategy to survive and thrive.
Nancy Schwartz, founder and president of the nonprofit marketing firm Getting Attention, emphasizes that marketing for nonprofits is all about building relationships, and those relationships are vital to an organization's success.
“The goal of marketing is to build and strengthen relationships," says Schwartz, who in addition to her consulting work also serves on the board of the Nonprofit Technology Network and on marketing committees for her synagogue, local high school and PTA. "Nonprofits are based on fundraising, but you can’t meet someone the first time and ask for money. You need to build that relationship."
Nonprofits don't have a lot of money to throw around on marketing, however. So it's important for you to make every penny count. Luckily, free marketing opportunities abound. It's just a matter of being innovative, creative and flexible in your marketing approach.
Here are five ideas for affordable nonprofit marketing.
Engage your current supporters
Nurturing and engaging your current supporters, donors and volunteers is, according to Schwartz, one of the most effective free marketing strategies for nonprofits.
“You have to be very appreciative of your supporters," explains Schwartz. "Nurturing your existing supporters is the best low-cost, highly-effective marketing strategy. It’s always easier to retain existing supporters than it is to get new people in the door.”
That means keeping them updated and informed, and it also means getting them to do things with and for your organization. And here is where the second part of this strategy comes in: Ask them to tell their friends, family and colleagues about your organization.
"Not only does that expand your reach and increase the number of folks engaged in your organization, it’s asking people to get involved more than just writing a check," says Schwartz. "It works to get your existing supporters engaged.”
Social media
Social media sites are a gold mine of free marketing opportunities. Set up a business page on Facebook, and use it to communicate with your various constituencies—posting photos, updates, links and information. Create a Twitter account and mingle with others, keeping them up-to-date about your nonprofit's activities. LinkedIn, too, provides plenty of opportunities to market, by creating a business page, promoting your organization and keeping in touch with like-minded people. Look, too, for smaller, lesser-known social media outlets that are specific to the focus of your organization.
It's important to remember, however, that though there's often no upfront cost associated with these sites, it does take time for someone within your organization to keep them updated—and time is money.
"The key to effective use of social media is engagement, and engagement means that somebody from your organization is engaging with people through that conduit," explains Hamilton Wallace, owner of SmallBusinessMarketingConsultant.com. "To have an authentic voice and create engagement, it needs to come from someone inside the firm."
Blogging
Create a blog on your website and update it daily with helpful and useful information that readers be likely to share with others. The more useful the information you give, the more it will help your marketing strategy, increase awareness of your organization and mission and engage your audience. Another upside of blogging is it will draw people to the rest of your site, where they can see what you're doing and learn how they can support your activities.
Videos
Anyone with a smartphone and simple editing software can create professional videos that can be posted on YouTube or directly on your organization's website.
"We're a video-oriented culture, especially with YouTube," says Valerie Moody, owner of Fodeo, which provides photography and video services for individuals and organizations. “Anything we want to do we can go to YouTube and find something that shows us how to do that."
Your nonprofit might post an instructional video, for instance, or a video message from the director, or clips showing community service and involvement. Getting people to watch and share your videos will help spread your message.
Speaking engagements
Line up representatives of your organization to speak at conferences, trade shows and other events related to your field. This is a chance for free publicity and an opportunity to get your message out there. You can put information about possible speakers and topics on your website, so people searching for a speaker will be able to track down your organization, or you can register with a speaker's bureau.
Each of these techniques works in tandem with others. Thus, you can promote your speech-making over social media, or mention it in your blog. An e-mail newsletter can point people to your Facebook page. T-shirts that your employees wear to community events can have your organization's name and website on them.
Great marketing doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, the more creative you are with your marketing, the less you'll have to spend.
Vivian Wagner is a freelance writer in New Concord, Ohio. Vivian blogs via Contently.com.
Photo credit: Thinkstock

 American Express OPEN Forum

11:45 by Robert dawne · 1