The North Carolina Public Transportation Association (NCPTA) hosts an annual training conference and business partner expo. It’s a time when vendors and systems collaborate to inform, update, collect new ideas and make the transit world a better place. The event offers possibilities for improving administration and operations, showcasing everything from scheduling software to vehicles of a surprising range of shapes and sizes.
The (Portal) Future is Calling
My beloved daughter, and only child, turned 34 on October 9. Her birthday took me back to 1985 when I worked in telecom. Exciting times - expanding service from 13 cable channels, i.e. the networks, HBO, CNN, Nickelodeon, ESPN and C-SPAN to an unbelievable 400-450 MHZ bandwidth of up to 60 channels. Okay, so I’m dating myself (and loving it!).
Migraine Relief
One of the most embarrassing and gut-wrenching experiences for a Marketing Manager is to be handed a copy of company materials with the brand so disfigured it is unrecognizable.
Let’s face it, when your organization distributes print across the State, the country or the world, you need a system that gives you the power to: (1) Efficiently organize and update content, (2) Preserve brand integrity, (3) Manage and track usage and volume, (4) Avoid obsolescence and waste from unused stock, and (5) Ensure the polished image you designed remains intact, regardless the media.
Speed Up Your Communications
You need to communicate a special deal, share event details, send out invitations, notify customers of an address change, and of course, it has to be done yesterday. There are some things you depend on others to help you with, mail lists, graphic design, copy, budget approvals, and more, but you still have crazy short deadline to deal with and you have to get this message out now. While there is a lot of organization and coordination required to get the project ready for printing and mailing, there are things that can be done well in advance that can help you be better prepared for the communication emergency.
The Power of Touch
Haptic marketing has been a buzzword for a few years now. Marketers are applying the importance of touch. “Haptic” is to touch as “Optics” are to vision. Touch is incredibly important to grabbing the attention of your audience.
Increasingly, haptics have invaded the digital space. Also called tactile marketing or sensory marketing, digital ads employ haptics to engage the user.
Choosing Your Medium for Most Impact
Some projects are best suited as a digital communication while others really should be printed. Some programs could benefit from both printed pieces and digital resources. With ever-increasing sales targets and tight marketing budgets we need to get this right. These tricky questions can be answered more easily by breaking the decision down into smaller parts.
Power Of Questions - Learn To Listen To Your Customer
Understanding the customer’s needs is critical to moving them through their customer journey in their relationship with you. Like any relationship, it's based on communication - a two-way conversation with your customer. Let's face it. We’re not very good at it. And that's because we aren’t that good at listening. Discovering their pain points, and challenges as well as communicating your ideas, or solutions requires not only hearing but actively listening to the customer.
Ask the Pros – with Elaine Fogel
In this interview with Elaine Fogel, marketing and branding expert, she answers a few questions about her work, her experience and gives us some practical tips.
- What is the most difficult or unusual thing you have tried to do marketing for?
- What do you love about what you do? What do you enjoy doing marketing for?
- What can you tell us about the importance of printed marketing materials?
Input Overload: Managing Mountains of Marketing Data
As consumers, we have never had access to as much information as we now have. Whether buying a car or selecting a service provider, in just a few clicks we can evaluate costs, benefits, features and reviews and then make good choices quickly. All this product information is readily available, easy to interpret, and quick to access. For consumers, more data typically equals better decisions.
For marketers, not so much.
10 Questions To Check If A Portal Is Right For Your Organization
Marketing portals help businesses control their brand, support their sales teams, and better allocate company resources, but they aren’t right for every company. Answer the following questions to help determine if portal is right for your organization.
- Does your company have a marketing department or people assigned to marketing?
- Does your company have a sales team, reps, agents or dealers?
Making Obsolescence Of Print Collateral Obsolete
Boxes of stationary under the stairwell with the old logo; shelves in the warehouse with outdated catalogs; pallets with posters promoting last month's event; all good material - none of it useful anymore. As circumstances and strategies change, branding and messaging evolves, marketing collateral often needs to be updated. All these improvements are important to the success of the company so having a plan can help reduce obsolescence and keep waste down to a minimum.
Does Your Brand Have A Gender Identity?
It's an odd question when talking about a brand. Considering that brands are things, not people, it seems silly to assign them a gender identity. And yet, research shows that we do see gender signals from branding. Consumers clearly like thinking of brands as male or female and there is a strong motivation for marketers working with a brand to use gender classification to connect more clearly with their customers.
Aligning Print and Digital Marketing Strategies
Specialization in marketing teams often leads to print and digital marketing strategies becoming misaligned. Tech savvy, data-focused marketers managing digital media including social, paid, content, etc., and designers, wordsmiths, layout-conscious artists preparing catalogs, brochures, and other print items. Centering the strategy around the customer experience makes it easier to keep strategies aligned.
Applying Inbound Marketing To Direct Mail Campaigns
The premise of Inbound Marketing is a shift of focus from the marketers needs to the prospects or buyers needs. It sounds obvious but the difference in perspective has a tremendous impact on the content and direction of campaigns. Can direct mail, considered part of our legacy methodology, be updated to become a part of this new customer-centric marketing?
Is Direct Mail Relevant In The Digital Age?
Relevance of direct mail is determined by the level of creativity, context and value. There is a tremendous opportunity to provide a special experience at the mail box. Think of the happiness you feel when you get a card from a loved one, or excitement when opening a gift, or curiosity when getting a bulky package.
Print or Digital Marketing Collateral
How to decide on whether to provide a marketing collateral as an online digital resource or as a printed piece. There is a need for both in a balanced marketing stack but knowing which materials to include in each category can be complicated. Here are a few questions you may ask yourself as you decide on the best medium for each.
How You Can Manage & Control Your Brand.
Your brand defines the company. It's how customers identify you. You've painstakingly selected the colors, fonts, and design elements that best represent your organization, and it's your duty to protect and guard this asset.
Yet, the marketing department always seems short staffed and overburdened with the day-to-day demands, deadlines for ad campaigns, product launches and events.
Challenges Of Controlling Your Marketing Budget.
Controlling your marketing budget is tough. Over spending on marketing programs can cause big problems for the company. Not spending enough may lead to fewer opportunities and lost revenue from sales. You need to get it right so you stay late at the office analyzing reports, pouring through spreadsheets, sifting through emails, sorting documents to find the information you need.
Can a portal reduce print costs?
Yes. How, you ask?
Reduced Production Costs - A portal allows you to set up products, both static and variable documents, with pre-established specifications reducing manual interaction with each order. The project becomes more automated with fewer people required to touch the project within production.