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We love customers….

29 February 2020 Stuart Nimmo Customer experience, Customer Service No Comments

Customer service is one of those experiences which everyone says they excel at. However, the word quality is very subjective. What does it really mean? How do you go to quantifying something which is partly an intangible?

It’s probably fair to say that small businesses probably do make more of an effort on customer service. It means more to them, it’s a lot more personal, the person you are dealing with, it most likely the business owner and want to ensure the best experience for you as a customer or user of their product or service.

Even within 24 hours and recent days, I’ve seen polar opposite examples of how having the right communication can go a long way. Making it easier for your customer to see, find and engage is so essential, in creating the right experience.

A few tails….
… An associate of ours popped in and was discussing a project and common experiences came into the conversation. We both mentioned a salesperson who we’ve come across at various networking events. Needless to say, the perception was highly the same. The body language, tone of voice and conduct had made a similar impression, which was quite brusque and loud.
…Unfortunately my schedule this week has been manic, and realising I needed to use my Saturday morning more smartly I decided to try a gym session earlier. Much to my disappointment didn’t open to much later (weekdays it is 0630). Again the tone and body language of the member of staff who greeted me was curt and abrupt.
…Our Plumber was in the area, following a recent online conversation about upgrading our shower, popped by and give us the information we needed. Un-prompted, courtesy call, soon found out the specification and the boundary of our old shower, which provided enough information for the boundaries on the specification for a replacement.

It’s really simple to see, the value adds, don’t cost anything. Simple premises of choosing your attitude, being there for the customer, making their day is great to add bring a smile back in return. Longevity wise, the benefits of the extras do pay off, referrals are more likely with great positive experiences. Mediocracy results in no action, as nothing memorable sparks a trigger. However, the negative experiences become “old wife’s tails” which unfortunately spread too much. So if you’re marketing budget is limited, canny customer experiences can result in great word of mouth referrals which bring greater trust levels from new customers, as you’ve already partially won them over.

Project Planning for your next print project

16 February 2020 Stuart Nimmo Project management No Comments

Nerves might be everything when you’re taking a big step to progressing your business forward. Getting your print marketing right can be a big challenge – but with the right planning, you can minimise any potential hiccups.

Sometimes things go wrong, and your expenses can spiral out of control quickly, however, start right and the chances of things going wrong are significantly less.

Here are some top tips to keep your next project on track and on budget:

1. Ask Questions Upfront

When partnering with a print and design professional, be sure to clarify the remit upfront.

Design work – Will you be paying a project fee or an hourly rate?
What services are included in this fee? (some printers do charge for additional services like scanning or extra proofing)
Clarify how long the project will take, how often you’ll get to review the work, and how many revisions are allowed in this agreement, scheduling is essential, a good printer will outline a schedule for your project for you.

2. Early planning

Getting a design professional in your idea development as early as possible, this can help keep thing smartly planned, as things can be designed to suit the brief. Equally, if you have a limited budget, define what you are producing first, and ensure the design meets this specification.

Designing a single piece can have a quick turnaround, but re-branding or crafting large-scale exhibit pieces can take months. Being precise is a major benefit, using the acronym SMART (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timely) can be a benefit from the start. Getting the parameters of a project, to an audience, method, outcomes at the commissioning stage design presets for a particular project.

Many people who commission design and print projects who raise issues about increasing costs, usually results from changes mid-way through the design or production process. Start conversations early with all involved in your project take a complete view of your project to manage it in the most efficient, cost-effective way.

3. Assemble All the Elements

Attend to the precise details of copy, timeline, illustration, photography and branding at the start. Ensuring these elements have been approved by all relevant stakeholders before the project commences.

Coordinating a project with many elements, when they are coordinated from the start it will allow your design budget to be maximised with few delays. No one will ever have all have precise details outlined from the start, however clarifying project parameters is essential to finishing on time and on budget!

4. Milestone monitoring

All stakeholders and professionals involved in the project must be fully aware of key milestones. Tracking key milestones will ensure the timeline is carefully monitored as any project progresses.

Agreeing on how you communicate on a project, is critical, how many face to face meetings, do you use Slack or Yammer based group discussions, who is responsible for key actions?

5. Allow for a margin

To keep a project on budget, it’s essential to create margin so deadlines don’t get tight.

Every project has potential curveballs, so you build your timeline allow for realistic scheduling. For example, if the printer needs eight days to deliver a piece, schedule at least 11 days so you’re guaranteed a smooth outcome.

Budgeting

Ready to get started on your next marketing project? Creating a plan with these basic steps will make your budgeting easier:

Estimate or know your monthly income
Define your upper and lower limit design expenses
Ascertain your market reach, and cost implications
Look at your production and distribution costs
Create the budget
Online budget planners can also be helpful in estimating your costs.

How you work is down to you. Engaging individual service providers for separate project elements or taking a one-stop-shop approach. We know that using connected providers or utilising a multi-disciplined provider can result in significant savings on time, labour and unnecessary stress.

Whether its exceptional-value graphic design or full-service printing, our capable team is dedicated to providing you with prompt, knowledgeable, one-on-one service, and carefully printed materials you can be proud of. With decades of experience, we’re here to make your print project run as smoothly as possible!

Crowning reasons why Direct Mail is still King!

8 February 2020 Stuart Nimmo Customer Engagement, Direct Mail, Print Marketing No Comments

Long before radio, television and digital marketing, direct mail ruled.

Ask a senior relative about mail order catalogues and they will probably remember the Littlewoods catalogue first published in May 1932, they went on to change shopping across the millennium. Look to the current day, the one that regularly arrives on my doormat is Screwfix, guaranteed with all the usual methods to encourage further engagement.

Today direct mail has received a bit of a bad reputation. The term “junk mail” isn’t exactly a compliment! Some refer to direct mail as an “old” form of advertising, thinking of direct mail as antiquated or off-target. However, when carefully crafted, directed to the right recipient through good use of learned data or other metrics can deliver results which outshine other methods.

The fact is, many companies do use direct marketing. According to recent studies, almost 60% of total mail volume was comprised of direct mail pieces.

Response levels to direct mail continues to be strong every year, generating leads for businesses across a range of industries. Whilst any data set can be described as statistics, the level of these customer response rates to common marketing methods give some cause for reflection.

1.2%	Online Displays
0.6%	Social Media
0.8%	Paid Search
0.35%	E-mail Marketing
6.0%	Direct Mail to a recipient

Why is Direct Mail Effective?

Direct mail is easy.

Direct mail marketing is easy to process. In an age of digital noise, the tactile presence of a physical mailing is feeding your recipient’s non-digital senses. Engaging touch, even a little bit of smell and physical actions of handling an item. Helps the recipient process more, in an efficient manner. One study found it takes 21% less cognitive effort to process physical mail.

Direct mail is interesting.

Almost half of Millennials thrive on the unique experience of physical mail.

According to the leading industry experts, 18-21 year-olds’ response rates to direct mail are as high as 15%. Utilising this within a carefully crafted marketing strategy, utilising a clever progression of other marketing touchpoints millennials are more than likely to engage and respond!

Direct mail is memorable.

People who spend time with physical marketing materials have a stronger emotional response and a better memory of these engagements. A fascinating message goes a long way too when you develop your campaign with direct mail, the longevity increases. Creating colourful, memorable messages, with good written and visual content can start a great fast-tracked progression.

A good example of this is; IKEA as a global player in retail fully understands how to engage through clever mailings. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone is writing a book on all the methods which IKEA have illustrated through their campaigns. From cleverly words press advertisements through to engaging pop-up mailers for LACK side tables, the postcard perfectly demonstrated one of IKEA’s clever design concepts. IKEA’s postcard allowed users to experience the simple assembly of the LACK table, which left a deep, memorable impression.

Just one example of IKEA’s unique approach: https://youtu.be/18lZImt1L9Q

Achieve Face-to-Face with appropriate Direct Mail

Emails are increasingly getting well known for having low open rates, as many users have inboxes brimming at the seams with un-opened mail. When you use direct mail, some will offer you one-on-one attention they wouldn’t give to any other medium. Ask any seasoned marketing expert and they will be the first to tell you direct mail because it stands tall in a digital generation.

Apart from the many catalogues that fill our mailboxes between Halloween and Christmas, most of us receive very little traditional mail. When you make your piece of direct mail stand out from the rest of the mail and get noticed; using a unique design, shapes, different enclosing methods, along with personalisation to maximise the impact.

If you need help creating the perfect direct mail piece that will stand out, we can help you every step of the way.

Find out more about building a connected marketing strategy with print catalysts and digital integrations, sign up for our white paper at http://eepurl.com/gIVF7v