What the Brandelope Can Do

The digital age, with its constant advancement should make conducting business easier, shouldn’t it?   Every business has a website, where you can search for the person you think would be best to introduce yourself to.  Email addresses are readily available, phone numbers, addresses, even the smiling picture of the person you’re trying to reach.  No more trying to guess if the voice will match the face…now you know before the first ‘Hello’ is uttered.   With all the information available, connecting to others and spreading the word about your business should be a piece of cake.  The only problem is..it isn’t.  Everyone is checking websites,  sending introduction emails,  trying to set up appointments.  There’s an information overload on the information highway and most intros and offers are lost in the shuffle.

How can you stand out?  Get noticed?  Make it past the ‘gate-keeper’ and one step closer to the decision maker that you’d like to meet with?  Consider  The Brandelope. ™

The Brandelope ™    is a an eye catching way to send a direct mail piece to the people you want to reach.  In a stack of the usual correspondence, the Brandelope™  practically begs to be opened.  Other, bland envelopes and crumpled flyers will be lost in the glow of the bright colors and high gloss images of your Brandelope™.

Keeping your information at the fingertips of the contacts you’ve made with the Brandelope ™  is even easier if you send the Tabelope. ™   The same crisp and professional information in a file folder format available in standard and legal size.  The Tabelope ™ helps ensure that your contact is keeping your information close at hand, and in their mind. 

The Brandelope ™ and the Tabelope ™ provide a stunning visual way for you to market your business.  It prevents you from being lost in the shuffle of  technological communications as well as the standard mailers that are seen in every office ever day.    Contact us today and let us help you develop a marketing program that will not only get you noticed, but keep you  at the front of the pack.

Cool Stuff

From one of our favorite vendors, take a look at the WineTaster's Journal from Journalbooks.  This classy little number give you everything you need to track your wine experiences with 100 sheets of their special wine tasting filler, where you can document which wines you've tried and rate them.   The journal also features an 8 page section of wine facts.

Put your company logo on the cover of this stylish and beautifully designed journal and make sure your clients have exactly what they need for your next event.   You can be sure they'll keep coming back for more! 

You can see more of the exciting products that Journal Books has to offer at their website, www.journalbooks.com

It's been a busy September

We’ve seen a lot of vendors in the past few weeks.  Althea and Joe took on Vegas at the North American Business Meeting (NABM) earlier this month and visited a lot of our preferred vendors.  (And met Dick Vitale, the keynote speaker along the way)

Kate ‘attended’ a virtual show through ASI and got to see some pretty interesting things without leaving the comforts of the office. (Ever see hand-sanitizer in a self dispensing wrist band?  I hadn’t either. Pretty neat.)

To cap off the month, Althea, Dawn, Kate and Debbie went to Massachusetts to the NEPPA (New England Promotional Products Association) show.  It was a long day, with a lot of walking but we met some great people and saw some new and innovative products.  We’ll be sharing the things we’ve seen, as well as some of the great ideas we’ve gathered along the way.  Stay tuned!  

Why Direct Mail?

Direct mail provides you with a more personal connection with your customers than other forms of advertising.  Newspapers, television and online ads are more generic and impersonal, and there is no guarantee they are going to reach the audience you want to interact with. With direct mail, you can target a specific group of people who are more likely to respond to your offer.

By placing your message directly in your customers’ hand, you are encouraging them to do business with you.   Providing them with information about an upcoming event, or a coupon, gives them the incentive to act.  By counting how many coupons are used, or how many sales are made, you can easily analyze the success of your program and adjust marketing as needed.

Another option with direct mail is to provide information about your business to potential clients.  By explaining the services you offer, you can make sure that potential clients don’t pass you by because they were unaware that you provided a certain service.  Sending along a small but useful gift, such as a calendar or key chain, also keeps your business in front of your current and potential customers each day.

Keep direct mail in mind when deciding how to establish a new connection, or to reconnect with a former customer.  Whether you send a simple postcard updating your clients about your business, or an elaborate flyer with professional images to announce a major event, by personalizing your news, you are more likely to get and keep the attention of those you are trying to reach.

Are business cards a thing of the past?

The business card.  There’s a lot of potential in that little piece of card stock.  Though technology has made communicating with others nearly instantaneous, there is still a place for the business card in everyday life.

Throughout history, calling cards (for the wealthy) and trade cards (for merchants and shops) have been a central part of people’s lives.  The wealthy would call on friends and acquaintances, presenting their card to the staff who admitted them.  Trade cards were colorful advertisements for shops and merchants, usually with a map, in order to direct customers to their place of business. Naturally, the more colorful and eye catching the card, the more likely it would be noticed, thereby increasing sales.

Times change, but the basic functionality of the business card remains the same.  A small thing, but providing someone with your contact information is the first step in creating a lasting business relationship.  Keep some things in mind when you’re designing your cards in the future.

• Sales increase 2.5% with every 2000 cards you hand out.  Make sure you keep track of your inventory.
• People will keep a color card 10 times longer than a plain card.
• Consider adding a QR Code to drive business to a special offer for your customers, or a specific page of your website.
• Make sure your business card looks professional.  Don’t overwhelm people with loud graphics or illegible print. No one can contact you if they can’t read the information you’ve given them.
• Provide some key points of interest about your business.  This will help people tie you to your business. 
• While non-standard cards are eye-catching, they make it difficult for people to store easily.  If you want a card that stands out from the rest, consider having two cards printed. 

In the end, no matter what technology brings us in the future, the business card will always have its place. Make sure yours represents you and your business in the best possible way.

-Kate