Category: Marketing Strategy

Meet Lorene Robinson – Stafford Printing Promotions Coordinator

Posted on Posted in Business Strategies, Marketing, Marketing StrategyTagged , , , , ,

As businesses and organizations aim for renewed growth in 2021, marketing and promoting are becoming more important than ever.

Stafford Printing is committed to helping businesses, schools, and other organizations stay connected with customers and employees, and Stafford Printing Promo is our newest service to help you do exactly that.

We offer an extensive range of high-quality promotional products to fit all budgets. Whether you’re looking for shirts, mugs, corporate gifts, or even PPE, we can help. Stafford Printing Promo offers thousands of branded merchandise selections, so you’ll always be able to find the exact products that you need to make a impactful and lasting statement.

Lorene Robinson, our printing promotions coordinator, is ready to assist you in selecting the best items to keep your business in the minds of your clients and working-from-home employees. With her knowledge and expertise, she can help you discover and develop new ideas to grow your business in 2021.

You can browse the branded merchandise on our website, or contact Lorene for customized, relevant recommendations that are tailored for your business or organization.

As always, our number one mission at Stafford Printing and Stafford Printing Promo is to provide solutions to help organizations grow. During this challenging time of less face-to-face interaction, it’s essential to stay connected with employees and customers. We’re excited to help you reach out and strengthen those relationships.

Lorene is ready to help with all your promotional product needs – contact her at lorener@staffordprinting.com or 540-842-4308 for assistance with branded promotional products.

Introducing StaffordPrintingPromo.com

Posted on Posted in Marketing, Marketing StrategyTagged , , , , ,

Staying connected is a challenge, and now we can help with Stafford Printing Promo!

With thousands of selections to choose from, Stafford Printing Promo offers branded merchandise to fulfill all your needs. Stafford Printing Promotions Coordinator Lorene Robinson can assist you in finding just the right products to help your business stay in front of your clients and working-from-home employees.

From corporate gifts to PPE and safety products, or even items for education and schools, our extensive range of promo products will ensure you find something to suit your requirements.

Put our knowledge about promotional products to work for you. With high quality promotional products, fast delivery times, and prices to fit all budgets, we will provide customized, relevant recommendations for you. Simply take a look around the website, or contact us now and we’ll do the shopping for you!

Our mission at Stafford Printing and Stafford Printing Promo is to provide solutions to help organizations grow. We want you to always stay connected to your employees and customers. Especially now, during this challenging time of less face-to-face interaction, we want to help you reach out to all of those who support you.

Please contact Lorene Robinson at lorener@staffordprinting.com or 540-842-4308 for assistance with branded promotional products. You will receive 20% off your first promotional products order when mentioning code 2021SPP. This offer expires on 02/28/21.

A Range of Printing Ideas for Your Business

Posted on Posted in Business Strategies, custom printing, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, PrintingTagged , , , , ,

The last quarter of the year brings an opportunity for one more big marketing push, and this year businesses need it more than ever! Here are some great ways you can show people what your company is all about and finish 2020 on a strong note.

Brochures

Brochures can be a useful visual guide for potential customers, and they can also provide existing customers with essential product and service information, as demonstrated in this brochure art for Mary Washington Health Care.

For real estate offices like Atlantic Builders, brochures can show off properties, present floor plans, and more. We’re the perfect place to print all your real estate needs!

Business Cards

Is your current business card looking a bit tired? You can follow Pinao Consulting’s lead and design a fresh new card you’ll be excited to hand out to people, complete with custom artwork.

Event Invitations

Whether you’ve got holiday parties, fundraisers, or other events coming up, invitations and envelopes can be custom made at Stafford Printing for any occasion! These invitations were made for the Society of Former FBI Agents.

Custom Signs

These signs for Bryton Homes show just how attention-grabbing a custom yard sign can be! Yard signs can be printed for any business or occasion, with your unique logo, artwork, message, and/or contact information.

Generate Leads with a Winning Sales Letter

Posted on Posted in Marketing Strategy
Are you looking to entice a new lead or land a big client?
Today’s marketers know direct mail is an especially persuasive medium. According to 2018 direct mail response statistics, direct mail offered a 9% response rate to house lists and a 4.9% response to prospect lists. And one of the most potent tools of the trade is the good old-fashioned sales letter.
Want to grab attention with a persuasive, relevant, engaging letter? Here are a few tips:

Start with a powerful hook

If you want readers to make it past the first sentence, your first paragraph must arouse curiosity, evoke emotion, or resonate with a problem or pain point of a specific individual.
People can’t finish what they don’t start, so the opening sentences must be rock solid.

Make your sales letter look like a regular letter

The most relatable letters are those that feel personal.
For a more casual effect, use script font or type-writer styles like New Courier or Prestige Elite.

Write with a conversational tone

Use personal pronouns and write for one: I, the letter writer, am talking directly to you, the reader.
Avoid the pompous business-memo style or fluffy ad-speak. Be friendly, natural, and specific.

Use skim layers for easy reading

Underline phrases and indent paragraphs for emphasis, or use asterisks, bullets, dashes, or arrows to make reading more efficient.
People are turned off by long blocks of text, so keep your page design lively and your language succinct.

Use benefit loaded subheadings

Improve reader response by including precise user benefits that match your target audience.
Hikers have little interest in buying boots. What they want is dry, blister-free feet. Remember, people don’t buy products, they buy better versions of themselves.

Make it about them

Focus on readers and their needs rather than your product and its features.
For example, instead of highlighting “our high-caliber bookkeeping software,” try something like this: “Account for EVERY CENT with smart, secure book-keeping.”

Add colors or borders

The most important information in your letter should leap off the page.
Can you highlight a paragraph in yellow? Add blue “handwriting” font in the margin? Put a box around copy that absolutely cannot be missed?

Use a specific call to action

Explain what you’re selling, what it can do, and how they can get in on it.
Add discount offers, expiration dates, or “magic” marketing words like irresistible, no-obligation, flash sale, hassle-free, guaranteed results, buy one get one, free trial, or last chance offer.

Tell and Sell with This Winning Combination

There is an old saying in direct mail: the letter sells, and the brochure tells.
In any direct-mail package, combining a letter and brochure can be an especially powerful combination.
Ready to get started? Save time and trouble by partnering with our experienced team! When you’re ready to move ahead, we’ll help you create stunning pieces that make your message shine. From initial formatting to direct mail packaging and delivery, we’ll do the heavy lifting and streamline the entire process.
Visit us online or give us a call today to talk options!

How Signage and Graphics Can Help Your Business During Covid-19

Posted on Posted in custom printing, Marketing, Marketing Strategy

Did you know signage and graphics can actually help your business during Covid-19? Here are some helpful tips.

Focus on services that make a difference. If your business has services that will positively impact your clients during coronavirus, you should do everything you can to get this message across. Use your signage to promote services that your customers can utilize while adhering to social distancing rules. These could include services such as online ordering, curbside delivery, contact-free service, and virtual support.

Switch your marketing message. If you run a retail business, in more normal circumstances you might use the perception of scarcity as an effective sales tactic in much of your display signage. Making statements such as “while stocks last” will prompt buyers to act quickly. However, in light of the panic buying that has surrounded the coronavirus, it is essential that you don’t try to utilize this tactic right now. If an item is liable to run out, you may want to put buying restrictions in place to ensure everyone is able to get what they need. To do this, you will need product signage that clearly states your purchase limits.

Stay positive. Use the platforms that you have to put out a message of positivity. Remind customers that you will continue to be here for them. This is the perfect time for you to revisit your company’s mission statement and look for the most appropriate message to communicate – perhaps a little more emphasis on supporting your customers and your community, while expressing your gratitude for your loyal customers.

Voice your support for frontline workers. Use your signage to highlight the excellent work that frontline workers – such as doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals – are engaging in during this time. Create signage that shows your support and gratitude for them. Not only is this a positive message that those around you need to see, but it is another way for your business to show that it cares, thereby vesting itself further in your community.

During the coronavirus pandemic, there is a lot of uncertainty. The messages that worked for you yesterday may not be suitable today. You’ll need to rise to the new marketing challenge. Quick-printed, well-designed signs will allow you to do just that. Get in touch today to see how Stafford Printing can help you!

How to Reopen Responsibly

Posted on Posted in Business Strategies, Community, Marketing, Marketing StrategyTagged , , , , , , , ,

It’s a very mixed time in the business world. Business owners are eager to get their doors open again, but of course the goal is to do so in a way that keeps employees and customers safe and healthy. If you and your team were working for home or closed entirely during the lockdowns, you may be feeling somewhat unsure of where to start when it comes to tackling the huge task of reopening.

To help your small business get started again in the right way, we’ve put together a package to assist you in safely reconnecting with your customers.

The package includes the following:

  • opening signage
  • social distancing signage
  • a marketing email campaign
  • a direct mail campaign
  • a banner
  • floor graphics
  • labels
  • digital creative assets for your social media advertising

Packages can be tailored for individual businesses, so if you’re looking for something that’s not listed above, let us know exactly what you need and we’ll be happy to help.

We want you to feel comfortable and confident in reopening your business as the lockdown restrictions ease! Contact us here for a consultation and we will help create a plan that works for you.

How to Determine Optimal Pricing for Your Products or Services

Posted on Posted in Business Strategies, Marketing StrategyTagged , , , , , , , ,
In September of 2019, Apple unveiled the iPhone 11, featuring a dual-lens rear camera, automated night mode, and built-in support for vision, hearing, and mobility.
One of the biggest surprises of the iPhone 11 was not its technical features, but its price. The iPhone 11 started at $699, down from the iPhone XR’s previous price of $749, and signaling one of the biggest year-on-year reductions in iPhone history. Apple also implemented $150 cuts on products like the iPhone 8 and the Apple Watch. Tech specialists were quick to comment:
“The biggest news from the Apple launch was the price cut for iPhone 11,” Chris Caso, an analyst at Raymond James and Associates, wrote in a note to investors. “We view this as an admission that Apple stretched too far with the price points at last year’s launch.”
Apple executives were not afraid to adjust pricing to current customers, especially knowing it may encourage upgrades or woo digital streaming subscribers. Lowering prices also increased the likelihood of up-selling related products: people who buy iPhones are far more likely to purchase iPads or AirPods.

Pricing that is “Just Right”

What is the best strategy for pricing the products or services you sell?
At first glance, this question seems pretty straightforward. But in reality, pricing is an art. Pricing well can enhance sales and create a prospering business, while the wrong approach can alienate customers and give competitors the edge.
There are a variety of pricing strategies in business, with some psychological influences in the approach you take. Here are four models to consider.

1. Cost-Based Pricing

The most straightforward pricing strategy is “cost-plus” pricing.
This involves calculating the total costs it takes to make your product, then adding a markup to determine the final price. This method is simple, fast, and lets you quickly add a profit margin to any product.

2. Market-Oriented Pricing

Market-oriented pricing starts from a cost-based perspective but adjusts pricing up or down with an eye on the competition and the customer.
For example, after comparing your products to similar items on the market, you can consciously price your products higher and brand your products as “best-quality” or “better performing.” Conversely, companies that price products low can lure more customers or sell large volumes that easily compensate for slim profit margins.

3. Discounts and Markdowns

Discount pricing is a strategy where items are initially marked high but then sold at a seemingly reduced cost to the consumer.
This can be especially effective during seasonal demand, inventory liquidation, or when marketing to value-oriented purchasers.

4. Flex Pricing

Flex pricing (or dynamic pricing) allows businesses to manipulate sales based on current market demands.
Flex pricing is at its best on big retail days like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but can also be linked to timebound marketing strategies. Similar to what many sports teams and airlines do with ticket prices, you can manipulate prices up or down in a timebound fashion.
Coupons are another way to discretely provide dynamic pricing to a subset of prospects or customers. This allows you to attract new users or build momentum during seasonal promotions while remaining profitable.
Dynamic pricing can be challenging but worthwhile. In 2013, Walmart used flex pricing to change the prices of its products almost 50,000 times a month, and with this pricing model, its global sales grew by 30 percent!

Adjust as You Go

You have a great deal of flexibility in how you set prices.
And the good news is this: there is no surefire method to pricing things “just right.” Consider the current pandemic situation, your target customers, eyeball the competition, and hone your marketing to match the pricing strategy you pursue. Experiment, adjust, and see what works for your business.

Responsible Marketing During COVID-19

Posted on Posted in Community, Marketing Strategy, PrintingTagged , , , , ,

Fear. Stress. Helplessness.
Whether you’re caring for elderly parents or homeschooling your kids, people across the globe are struggling with big emotions during the COVID-19 situation.
How do you lead well in times like these? While daily leadership is essential for your business, crisis moments reveal the quality of your vision like nothing else. And while you may be exhausted or overwhelmed, now is not the time to push pause on your leadership. What are the “next best steps” you can take in this hour of uncertainty?

1. Increase the Frequency of Communication

During hard times, the frequency of communication should go through the roof.
Even if you have bad news, it’s important to acknowledge this ASAP. While you may not have all the details, a prompt announcement can minimize speculation, reassure panicked contacts, and let people know that you are proactively addressing each challenge.

2. Be Authentic

Now, more than ever, people are craving connection.
Since many of your customers and subscribers are working from the kitchen table, this is an important chance to re-tool your communication. Get in touch with your own feeling of isolation and use this to inform your messaging. From email communication to print mailings, review all your messages through the lens of people who are stuck at home. Ditch the corporate-speak and seek a more human tone for your brand, and use this framework to empower empathy while focusing on others’ needs.

3. Break Up the Depressive Mindset

All of us need a break from 24/7 bad news. So, how can you bring positivity in this hour?
Noting the deluge of video-conferencing, Audi of America recently launched a series of specially curated images to serve as a glamorous backdrop in virtual meeting rooms. Now enthusiasts can bring their favorite Audi with them to their next conference call or virtual happy hour, and Audi plans to release new images weekly. Simple pleasures make a big difference in tough moments!

Now, make it personal. How can you sound a note of joy or generosity today? Could you post a funny video, release a helpful blog, highlight hero stories, or offer incentives that benefit customers or people on the front lines?
Or look at your own product mix and ask: “what could I change to help my customers?” Do you have a paid or premium service that you could offer for free to help people get by over the next few months?

4. Sow Seeds of Honor

When you look at your schedule today, things seem rather quiet and eerie.
Companies of all sizes have sent people home, and every distraction has been silenced. While the coronavirus has ushered in strange times for all, good leaders won’t just hunker down. Instead, it’s time to push back with a different spirit.
In an age of mocking and disdain, today is a great day to show respect and gratitude. Whether personally or professionally, use this forced pause to repair a strained relationship, to say thank you, or to serve others. Make that difficult phone call. Donate blood or serve at your local food pantry. Show public or private appreciation for your leaders. And appreciate people who don’t deserve it (despite their inadequacies).
As you honor people, they will honor others. Perhaps this is a chance to shift the atmosphere and proactively build honor into the fabric of your network. As a leader, you WILL set the pace for others.

Connection is the New Currency

Though today’s challenges are extreme, it’s important to remember they’re only temporaryIt may not be easy, but many of us will come out of this stronger. Though it may feel that the waves are continuing to rise, take heart. Prioritize connection, and the uncharted waters can be parted in order to lead you toward a prosperous future and a newfound hope