Special Report: How Public Relations Can Work for You

The days of selling a product that nobody else makes and that everybody wants are long gone. Most firms today continually need to promote their businesses, stay in touch with local organizations and do it in a professional manner; printing firms may need to do it more than most.

The “whys” of marketing at the local level are simple. First, even in the Internet age, local business probably follows the “80/20 Rule” accounting for the majority of a printing company’s sales and revenues. Second, people want to do business with people they know and trust.

“How” you promote your business is by applying sound marketing principles: Start by defining your target audience and what compels them to buy, and work from there to match your product with the audience. If you cater to local retailers, you may want to join the local Chamber of Commerce and one or two civic organizations. If your customer base has an education component, look for meetings of professional groups you can attend or speak at. And look into sponsoring meetings even if you can’t join an association directly.

Also, don’t overlook the power of social networking opportunities geared for professionals, like LinkedIn and the business side of Facebook.

The key is to match your efforts to the audience you have—or the audience you want to have; keep it simple by not spreading yourself or your staff too thin; and take a genuine interest in the target market.

Hosting an Open House

People want to do business with people they know and trust. So holding a successful open house can really boost your business by increasing exposure and familiarity, creating employee awareness of business goals and cultivating pride in having an integral role in achieving them.

Like any marketing endeavor, first define what you want to achieve, decide what you need to make it successful, and then aggressively pursue making it happen. It all starts with matching the event to the audience—from choosing the day (When can the audience attend?), to deciding activities during the event (Are we promoting new or unique capabilities, such as VDP or binding and finishing?) to deciding how to promote turnout (publicity? direct mailing? advertising? bill stuffers?). And don’t forget to merchandize the event to those who did and did not attend through any and all appropriate means, whether publicity in local media or professional associations, a company newsletter, variably printed thank-you notes with personal URLs for further engagement, etc.

What are the benefits of sending local newspapers and associations your press releases? Quite simply, the more information you send out to the public domain, the better it is for your business. The added awareness and credibility can set the stage for opportunities that can lead to sales—from spurring media interest in doing a story about your firm, to a prospect learning about your company and calling you to bid on a project.

Some pointers on writing a good press release:

1. Have something to say.
2. Say it efficiently. Get to the point and keep to the point.
3. Use good language, well.
4. Be creative but not “cute.” Editors appreciate a good play on words in a headline, but easily tire of its overuse in body copy.
5. Gear the tone, length and content to the task at hand. For example, a notice about holding your Fall Open House should be straightforward and short, unless you’re doing something that would be perceived as significant and unique.
6. Always write from a marketing standpoint of how you want to project your company image to your various target audiences. Put yourself in your readers’ shoes.

Because many media publish stories electronically, your news can have a very long shelf life. You will want it to have a positive effect on anybody who may view it—you, your employees, prospects, customers, competitors, colleagues, editors—and others.

Critically important

Public relations involves managing the communication between an organization and its publics to affect how that organization is perceived. Because its cornerstone is credibility, public relations naturally relies on third-party sources (suppliers, customers, the media, employees, association members, etc.) to “get the message out” by word of mouth.

However, precisely because PR depends on influencing what others say about you rather than saying it yourself, PR contributes to but does not comprise an efficient marketing program of branding, relationship building and lead generation.

John Hebert, Principal at Hebert Communications, is an accomplished writer and marketing communications strategist and long-standing member of the Public Relations Society of America. His experience in PR and marketing communications for companies in the graphic arts industry spans more than 20 years. For more ideas, e-mail john@hebertcomms.com.

How Do You Communicate with Customers?

By Margie Dana

Keeping in touch with your print customers generally means fielding phone calls when a job needs printing or troubleshooting when something goes amiss. Aside from these everyday situations, how are you keeping in touch? Let me rephrase that: ARE you keeping in touch?

I’m not talking about bugging your customers with a “Hi ya, need any printing today?” phone call. I’m talking about quality communications that deliver value.

Here are 14 ideas for doing just that.

1. E-mail newsletters. Inexpensive. Not a sales tool, but a customer resource. Monthly is better than quarterly.
2. Printed newsletters. Don’t sell, enlighten!
3. Informational Web sites. Complement your equipment list and product showcase. Provide content that helps customers do their job.
4. “Lunch and learn” sessions. Cheaper alternative? Doughnuts and java.
5. Send articles or a book. Or a wrap-up of some trade show or conference that you attended. You are your customers’ number one resource for all things printing.
6. Tip sheets. Printed or e-mailed, on a specific topic about working with you better.
7. “Meet the Press” annual open house. Invite everyone. Who doesn’t love a party?
8. News releases. Send your news in the mail or via e-mail to customers. It’s easier than you think.
9. Customer Advisory Board (CAB) of select customers. Meet quarterly or twice yearly. Seek their input. Act on it.
10. Survey customers annually. Find out what they like, dislike and need from you.
11. Demonstrate new equipment. Invite everyone. Again with the party theme. (If you’re in New England, I’m available.)
12. Invite a guest speaker to cover a hot topic. Your company president? Prepress guru? Moi?
13. Just call to check in. Share something they ought to know. Don’t sell.
14. Take top customer(s) to a trade show. Make it an honor, because their business is so valuable.

What are you doing or have you done that helps hold your customers close and enlightens them at the same time? The best salespeople don’t sell print. They solve customers’ problems and share insights that will benefit them. To be effective at this, you need to keep in touch.

Margie Dana is the founder of Boston Print Buyers, a company that caters to those who purchase or oversee the purchase of printing. She is also a marketing specialist for the graphic arts industry, helping printers develop customer communications programs. For more information, visit www.bostonprintbuyers.com, call (617) 730-5951, or send an e-mail to mdana@bostonprintbuyers.com.