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Printed Material for Marketing

8/23/15       
Tim Schultz

I'm about half way through Paul Down's book, The Boss. I just finished the part where an Interior Designer in Kuwait expected that Paul should be leaving him a printed catalogue to show his clients examples of Paul's work. All throughout Paul's book he has so far eschewed printed material in favor of websites.

This made me think about an article I read recently in the New York Times about how in today's day of the internet the big players still some decide to augment their online and brick & mortar presence with something they can mail to their prospective customers. Several times a year companies like Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware or Crate & Barrel still send out a pretty significant seasonal catalog.

Customers can already do a lot of research on the retailers websites and they usually don't have to go very far to see the goods in person, so why the need for printed media?

None of us here have the horsepower to produce catalogues like this but how could we leverage the power of print?

One idea that might make sense would be to create a magazine or pamphlet with an outfit like Blurb. A scrapbook of a customer's remodel would probably have legs. At the end of these projects people like to show them off to their friends. An important part of the war story is the BEFORE pictures. "You should have seen it before!" is probably declared even more often than "How long are you going to be on that saw?"

Giving your customers something they can give their friends gives them a way to bring you up in the conversation for long after the job has been finished.

You need the BEFORE pictures anyway for part of your interim project marketing campaign.

8/24/15       #2: Printed Material for Marketing ...
Jerry Cunningham

Website: http://www.thewoodlandmills.com

Just like Paul, my business is entirely internet based. It's a great way, but very challenging way to attract customers.

I think having some sort of printed material is an excellent idea. Attention spans of consumers are becoming shorter and shorter, and at the click of a button you can be forgotten about in an instant.

One of my marketing initiatives is to develop a simple 4 page sales sheet as a mini catalog. You get get a 11x17 flyer printed both sides that's center folded to give you a 4 page brochure for less than $.30 each (2000pcs).

We use uprinting.com for our printed material and have found their pricing to be a third of other companies. Actually even local print shops simply purchase from them and resell.

Jerry

http://uprinting.com

8/24/15       #3: Printed Material for Marketing ...
Pat Gilbert

I think direct mail is still valid to former customers. It is too easy for customers to put your email in the spam filter with email.

Mailing assures that your name is seen. I recommend a monthly mailing.

8/24/15       #4: Printed Material for Marketing ...
Mel

Why the need for printed material? I don't know if it's a need per say, but I get why some people like it.

I prefer a book over kindle, a real life example of someone performing a task over youtube tutorials, a print on a wall over a google image... Perhaps something to that effect?

The only thing that seems to look better then it actually is on the net is a personals profile ;)

8/24/15       #5: Printed Material for Marketing ...
Paul Downs

We recently hired a rep group to call on architects, and they keep telling me to come up with a paper brochure. These guys are old school, but they swear that printed is still essential as a supplement to the website. We'll see.

8/24/15       #6: Printed Material for Marketing ...
Tim Schultz

One of the advantages of printed material (for face to face meetings) is that you can use it as sort of a rorschach test.

You want to have your pictures in a loose format so that you can spill them onto the coffee table or conference desk. This allows the various people at the meeting to pick and choose which images appeal to them. You will see some of the constituents paying peripheral attention to the things being discussed but more attention to the details within a particular photo. This gives you insight into what things grab their attention.

This is way different than everything in a three ring binder where you steer the meeting. Developing ideas in a linear format is important but you want to also provide some mechanism for a feedback loop. If, as you make the presentation, you lay each image out on the table you will get more audience participation. An iPad is great also but, as Mel points out, not as tangible as a picture someone can show someone else.

You don't need to sell a customer on the concept that they need a product like yours. You need to focus on making it easier to buy. Sometimes the purchaser needs to get a buy-in on an their end as well. By giving them something to show their constituents you make this easier for them to get that buy-in.

8/25/15       #7: Printed Material for Marketing ...
Puzzleman

In my opinion part of the reason a physical brochure works is that it is physical. After talking with prospective customers, they have something that they hold in their hand.

The nicer the brochure, the more they think you are worth. If you can afford to make it very nice in design and paper quality, it reflects your company. I hired a graphic designer who does brochures to do mine after I had done it myself for many years. The difference was incredible. He used same pics but it just looked so much better. Even my regular customers noticed how much better it looked.

Another benefit is that is doesn't go away when they turn off their computer. It lays around on the table, in the drawer or wherever to be looked at again and again. It sits around the house and keeps reminding them of who you are.

8/25/15       #8: Printed Material for Marketing ...
Sea444

A website is where a client can find you if he is specifically looking for you among thousands of shops. With a printed brochure you find the client, and for the time he holds the brochure he is yours without interference from others.

A color brochure can be printed for a couple hundred dollars. Well worth the investment.


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