The best description I’ve heard of when defining marketing is “sending the right message to the right audience at the right time.”

I’m sure many business owners think they know the right message, who their audience is and when to contact them. Truth be told, even good marketers miss one major point…asking their customers! What messages are important to them? How do they want to be communicated to and when do they want this communication to occur? So go ahead people, start asking.

Here is what I do know: unlike days of old, those of us in the industry today can design customized print pieces that speak directly to your intended audience, and do so specifically how they want to be spoken to.

Here’s the best part! We can set up tracking devices that can tell clients exactly what campaign yielded the best results. I’m telling all my clients, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure”.

Today, smart marketers are measuring every aspect of their efforts.
Direct mail points to landing pages on web sites, those sites measure hits and, get this, some people are converting those hits into business and tracking what is defined as “conversion rates.”

At a recent seminar, there was discussion regarding some of these new printing and web technologies that are available to us. One gentleman shared that he asks his customers this question: “what would you say if you could talk to each of your potential customers, donors, and members on a one-on-one basis?” If your answer to this question is a positive one, then I have the perfect suggestion for you…Get personal marketers! Find out what people are interested in, what they buy, what car they drive, and where they go and then market.

Did you know that if you’re trying to sell anything automotive to a consumer and you send them a marketing piece that includes a picture of their actual vehicle that they’re 50% more likely to respond then they would otherwise? With one-to-one printing, a.k.a. variable data printing, we can do just that.

We are in rough times – here in Albany, the same as everywhere else – and from the sounds of it things are going to get worse before they start getting better. As a result, many people are cutting back on their marketing budgets. However, smart businesses are actually spending more. You need to stand out in times like these, so do yourself a favor and take advantage of the tools that are available to you. Market while your competition isn’t and when people choose to buy a product or service they’ll be more likely to buy from you.