Earning Trust is a Marketing Imperative
Trust. It’s a big topic in the marketing world right now. Google search on brand or marketing trust or “brand trust” and “marketing trust” over the past few months and you’ll see articles in websites like Forbes, AdAge, TechCrunch, Business2Community, and Social Media Examiner. A combination of data security concerns and the political climate may […]
Five Questions That Identify Print Solutions
Customers care about themselves and their biggest problems. Talking about the services you provide is just background noise. Uninteresting. Irrelevant. Talk about having the best quality and service and you’ll sound like all your competitors and you’ll erode trust. A solution solves a specific problem. Your services aren’t solutions. To be valuable to your customers […]
5 Things Every Printer Needs to Know About Marketing Automation
Marketing automation has been a hot topic for years, so why should you care now? Forrester predicts that industry growth for marketing automation platforms will continue at a rapid rate, reaching $25.1 billion annually by 2023 from $11.4 billion last year. (Source: MarTech Today) This growth is fueled by increased penetration, particularly in mid-sized […]
2017: A Year of Firsts, Lasts and Plenty of WTF’s
It’s almost time to close the books on 2017. Before we get to the last page however, let’s take a quick look back at some of the subjects that shaped the last 365 days in the Printerverse, and what we can learn from them moving forward. The U.S. Presidential Election. This isn’t about him, this […]
Shaking Up The Status Quo: Are Your Services Standing Out?
In the world of artificial sweeteners, I am team Pink. I have always been team Pink. I know Pink. I know what taste I can expect when I tear Pink open and pour it into my coffee. I know how much Pink I need to get the result I desire. I know that I can […]
Dear Best Client, Ever: An Open Letter to Inspire Your Greatness
In my illustrious 7- year career as a consultant/coach/headhunter/social media ambassador/advisor to the C Suite/Chief Bottle Washer and Overall Team Player, I have been fortunate to work with many awesome graphic arts companies from sea to shining sea. I have met with all different kinds of companies, all kinds of managers, CEOs, and sales people. […]
Sowing the Seeds of… Love and Growth and Profit and All Things Great in 2017
Yep – I am a child of the 70s and 80s. And yep – I am music obsessed. And nope – I’m not sorry. As I sat down to write this happy-new-year-now-get-your-ass-in-gear post, I was brainstorming about growth metaphors. And here is what is tricky about the truth about growth, especially now that we live […]
When Interrupting Prospects Pick The Right WHY And HOW
When building an integrated marketing campaign, it’s vital to focus on WHY you are communicating with prospects and HOW. I see printing companies get bogged down with the WHEN parts of the campaign. They struggle with creating a schedule for contacting their prospects regularly. They worry that a prospect will just go to whomever has […]
3 Ways Your Company Can Avoid a LinkedIn Level Disaster
Social media is one of the most powerful tools people have at their disposal, and when it comes to the professional side of things, LinkedIn reigns supreme. With respect for all LinkedIn has helped me accomplish since 2008, this post is not about bashing them, it’s about learning from mistakes made by a service provider, […]
Partner Pre-Nups Ensure Easy Break-Ups
At a recent #PrintChat I presented questions for the topic of “Moving Mayhem” (see chat questions, stats and replay here) and our discussion centered around print customers moving their work from vendor to vendor, and the process for a professional break-up. With the waft of love hanging rather thick in the air thanks to Valentines […]
Survey Says Print Buyers Care More About Printers Than Price
A few weeks ago I sent out a short survey to my fellow print producers to get a quick temperature take on the things they care about, in order of importance. Matthew Parker and I will present the full results and what they mean to printers at HP’s 2016 Jetcomm Conference and again during Dscoop San Antonio, for […]
5 Take Aways From Graph Expo – And One Big Learning
2015 was my first Graph Expo So how would I find the show? Would I find myself in a strange parallel print world, where nothing was quite as I was used to? How would things compare to the UK? Would I understand your American accents?! The sign of a good print show is that you […]