At the same time, all prospects and customers want similar things. They want to get the best deal on a product or service in terms of price and value. They want to feel confident that their money has been well spent and that their decision has been made to the best of their ability.

The process and principles that govern the matching of these two sets of values are exactly the same for every business, in terms of marketing.  It’s really simple—figure out what’s important to your prospects, educate them as to what constitutes the best deal in your industry, and then show them quantifiable proof that you actually provide that best deal, in terms of price and value.  You must communicate all of that to them in a clear, engaging way so they will pay attention, believe, and take action.

Easy enough, right?

Here’s what marketing is supposed to do to obtain those goals:

1) Capture the attention of your target market.

2) Give them enough information to facilitate their making the best decision possible when buying whatever you sell.

3) Lower prospects’ risk of the taking the next step in the buying process, so you can further educate them and lead them into a sale.

Effective marketing results in accomplishing these three objectives—causing your prospects and customers to conclude that buying from you is the best decision that anyone could make.

The challenge today is much as it’s always been—to cut through the noise of a crowded market in order to accomplish your goals. But the world is noisier than ever before, as people communicate on an ever-growing number of channels.

Need help?  Call us today!

Here are a few things to consider as a small or large business looking to stand out in the crowd and become memorable to your target market.

1. What is branding and why is it important?   Branding, through a combination of imagery and messaging, lets your customers know who you are, what you do and why they should buy from you.  It differentiates your business when compared with others.  Do you know what factors differentiate you from your competitors?  Do you offer the best service?  Are you the least expensive? Are you local?  Your imagery and messaging must tell this story of who you are, what you do, and why you do it better than the other guy.

2. Logos are important but are not alone in your branding.  We love our logo, as most companies do, but you need more than just a logo to deliver your message.  A logo helps to quickly identify a business (think “Nike”), but doesn’t tell your story by itself. Your brand needs consistent reinforcement, from your logo to your collateral materials, business cards and letterhead to your website and social pages.  Everything has to work together.  Your colors, fonts, paper stocks, description of your services—the look and feel must have consistency wherever your prospects may look.

3. Stay focused with your branding.  People by nature have short attention spans.  You need to catch their attention quickly.  What message do you want to communicate?  To get your message across and become memorable, focus on a specific message, not everything you do or are.  What do want to be remembered for—the best quality, reliability, least expensive?  Pick one or two and work them into your branding messages.

4. The secret to branding is consistency and repetition.  Keep your message and imagery consistent across all of your multi-channel marketing avenues that you use and your prospects will recognize and remember you quickly.  Repetition will make prospects seemingly notice you everywhere and in everything you do—so when they are ready to purchase a product or service, your business will come to mind first.

5. Remember:  imagery, message, consistency, focus and repetition will brand your company, differentiate it from the competition and help you to get noticed more often.

Need help with all of this?  Call us.

Highlights of the new single-piece First-Class Mail pricing, effective Jan. 27, 2013 include:

• Letters (1 oz.) — 1-cent increase to 46 cents
• Letters additional ounces — unchanged at 20 cents
• Letters to all international destinations (1 oz.) — $1.10
• Postcards — 1-cent increase to 33 cents

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) will review the prices before they become effective Jan. 27, 2013.

What About Shipping Services?

Several new Shipping Services products will be available in January. Free tracking will be offered to all competitive packages, including retail Priority Mail and Parcel Post (recently renamed Standard Post).

Also new, customers shipping Critical Mail letters and flats will now have the option of receiving a signature upon delivery as part of the service offering.

A large variety of flat-rate boxes and envelopes for Express Mail and Priority Mail, including the padded and legal-sized flat rate envelopes will continue to be offered by the Postal Service.

New domestic retail pricing for Priority Mail Flat Rate products include:

• Small box — $5.80
• Medium box — $12.35
• Large box — $16.85
• Large APO/FPO box — $14.85
• Regular envelope — $5.60
• Legal envelope — $5.75
• Padded envelope — $5.95                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Do You Use FSM’s?

FSMs are letter-sized mail pieces that are not enclosed in envelopes. FSMs consist of one or more sheets of paper, folded together and sealed using tabs or glue, not bound. FSMs always have at least two “panels”. The folded sections of the FSM are either panels or flaps. Panels are generally the full size of the mail piece. For example, if a single sheet of paper is folded in half, that sheet has two panels. Shorter sections are called flaps.

The changes include new size requirements and new folding, tabbing and gluing requirements. The new specs are included below.

Height: A minimum of 3 1/2 inches and a maximum of 6 inches.

Length: A minimum of 5 inches and a maximum of 10 1/2 inches.
Thickness: A minimum of 0.007 inch; (0.009 inch if the height exceeds 4 1/4 inches or if the length exceeds 6 inches); the maximum thickness is 1/4 inch.
Maximum Weight: 3 ounces.
Shape: Rectangular, with four square corners and parallel opposite sides.
Aspect ratio: Within 1.3 to 2.5.

So What Are The Changes?

Piece size has shrunk. The final, folded FSM must be 3.5” – 6” tall, 5” – 10.5” wide, and can weigh up to 3 ounces.  Heavier paper stock is now required. The outside panels of FSMs must now use at least 70lb paper if the piece is under an ounce, or at least 80lb paper if the piece is over an ounce. (However, 55lb newsprint can be used on quarter-fold designs common for newspapers.)

The fold that creates the final panel on the mail piece must be on the bottom or leading (right) edge of the mail piece when looking at the upright mailing address.

FSMs cannot exceed 12 panels, except for quarter-fold pieces, which must have 8-24 panels. A flap must be at least 1.5” long from the top fold, or at least 5” long from the lead edge. Flaps must not cover 1” from the opposite side of the mail piece. Flaps must always be on the unaddressed side of the piece, and be secured with glue.

NEED HELP WITH YOUR MAILINGS ?

Our team of print and mailing specialists work with our clients to ensure proper mail piece design and guarantee that all postal regulations are met.  Contact us for your next direct mailing project, from design to mailing, we’ll do it all.

Levinson claims that small entrepreneurial firms are very different from large firms.  And we agree. He quotes a Harvard Business Review article by Welsh and White which says that small business is not a little version of big business. There is much more to it than just a question of scale. The biggest difference is the relative “resource poverty” of small businesses. Because of this lack of resources, small business must use an altogether different set of marketing strategies and tactics than big business.

A typical entrepreneur should use such guerrilla tactics as:

• a word of mouth campaign
• personal canvassing
• telemarketing by all members of the firm
• personal letters
• advertisements in Newspapers/Yellow pages/Face Book/Google+
• personal meetings
• circulars and printed brochures distributed at parking lots, homes, offices, malls, etc.
• classified ads on Craig’s List
• ads in local community newspapers like Patch
• billboards- these can be expensive
• movie theaters
• truck and automotive signs
• direct mail campaigns
• postcards
• seminars, lectures, and demonstrations
• searchlights
• flags and banners
• t-shirts
• matches, pens, and calendars

It is up to the guerrilla marketer to be creative and devise unconventional methods of promotion. In addition, small enterprises must leverage their personal contacts, both professional and friends/family to their fullest.  They should also examine their company, and its products, looking for sources of publicity.  However, it might be prudent to point out that some forms of publicity can be very inexpensive.

It is argued that if you use these guerrilla tactics, you will find your small size an advantage. You will be able to obtain publicity more easily than a large company. You will be closer to your customer and more agile.

Although guerrilla marketing was designed for small business, it can also be used by large businesses.

At Marketing À La Carte, we specialize in helping small business attract new customers by way of creating marketing collateral that stands out, and clearly conveys what makes yours better than the competitors.  Visit our website to see samples of our exceptional work for as little or as much as you need.

Although a well-produced printed piece can help you meet your goals and needs, a poorly printed one can do you more harm than good. If it doesn’t look and feel good to your target audience, they may assume that if you don’t care enough to do your best for yourself, you may not have the ability to deliver the very best for them. Or even worse, your piece is tossed aside and never even read.

This is where hiring a print expert comes into play. Having a professional in your corner can save you time and money, and help you to get the targeted response you were hoping for. Your professional will know ways of meeting goals within your budget that you may not be aware of.

Proper production obviously involves clean, engaging design and messaging. But before you even begin design, it’s best to work with your print expert to establish the best printing parameters for your goal and budget: digital, litho, or web? Coated or uncoated stock? Most economic size? All these parameters and more impact your look, feel—and cost.

Printing is both an art and a science. You should be aware of the following aspects. Your print expert will guide you through them in order to provide the best production for your particular project.

1. Paper quality. Consciously or subliminally, the feel of the stock communicates impressions. Is it lightweight, or solid? Cheap, or substantial? How do you want to be perceived?

2. Text printing. Great copy doesn’t mean much if it’s hard to read. Blurry or “gray” text, uneven ink distribution, or other printing defects convey a haphazard work standard.

3. Color matching. A logo is the face of a business, so companies invest a lot in their design. Color precision in reproducing a brand image is critical to maintaining brand consistency. A set of mailers or brochures should look identical when placed side by side. The stock used for different pieces can give your pieces different looks, and you will lose the consistency you had hoped for. Good printers know how to compensate for different stocks.

4. Image resolution. Printed pictures should come to life. And in real life, we don’t see discernible pixels. They shouldn’t be visible on the printed page, either. Low resolution images (ie, not enough pixels to accurately replicate the image) result in fuzzy images, an all-too-common hazard in this day and age of plucking images from websites.

5. Ink coverage. The right saturation keeps the tone from being either overly dark or very light. The coverage should also be even, without spots of “ghosting” or mottling.

6. Coatings. Whether it’s a liquid coating or film lamination, matte or gloss, there should be no curling, bubbling, wrinkling or peeling.

7. Folding and trimming. Alignment must be maintained throughout the process, otherwise the paper could be trimmed too close to the text or folding could be crooked.

8. Hickeys. These are spots of missing ink caused by particles sticking to offset printing plates—usually ink, paper or dust. Needless to say, they are unsightly and distract from your messaging.

9. Registration. When colors are printed separately, it’s important that they’re aligned
precisely in order to prevent gaps. Poor registration also results in blurry images and/or type.

10. Skewed image. Here again, it’s about the alignment of the printing plates. Text and images should be straight, not crooked (unless that’s part of the design).

Do you have the experience and knowledge to know what to look or even ask for? Need help? Contact Marketing À La Carte for all of your design and printing needs. We treat your project as if it were our own. www.mktgalacarte.com

Your overall marketing budget should include:
• Print advertising
• Design and printing costs for all print materials, direct mail, brochures and press releases
• Web site development and enhancements
• SEO & SEM (search engine optimization and search enging marketing)
• Public relations (PR)
• Trade shows
• Special events

Don’t forget to add postage costs to your budget.

Determine a dollar amount for each of the above categories. Keep in mind, it is usually easier to begin with a base amount for the entire marketing budget, and then divide it into subcategories. Although each business’s marketing budget will differ, below is one of the most common methods used to allocate funds:

Percentage-of-Sales:
Allocating a specified percentage of sales revenue is one of the most popular methods for developing a marketing budget. The average allocation usually ranges between 9-12% of the annual budget, while the smallest businesses may go as low as 2%. If a business is launching a new product or service, advertising and publicity needs are greater, so the percentage will increase. The main advantage to using a percentage of sales is that the marketing budget will increase, or decrease, with the sales revenue of the company. The marketing budget will never spin out of control and deplete sales revenue.

At Marketing À La Carte we can help you identify marketing tactics that would best benefit your marketing goals and budget. Give us a call at (707) 745-3738 for a non-obligatory consultation.

What’s the Difference?

The terms “search engine optimization” and “search engine marketing” are often incorrectly used interchangeably. It’s important to note that these two terms have different meanings.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is actually a component of search engine marketing.

SEO is the act of optimizing a website for organic or natural search engine listings. Search engine optimization is arguably the most cost-effective function in a search engine marketing campaign, yet is still just one element.

Search engine marketing (SEM) is the process of marketing a website via Internet search engines; whether by improving rank in organic or natural listings, paid or sponsored listings or a combination thereof.

A comprehensive search engine marketing campaign is inclusive of (at least) the following functions:

• Search engine optimization
• Search engine and directory submission management
• Paid inclusion and trusted feed programs
• Pay-for-placement management (includes pay-per-click)
• Link popularity / reputation development
• ROI and performance monitoring and reporting

Simply put: SEO is a component of SEM.

***Tips for Search Engine Optimization***

1. Ensure your home page has a Title Tag. The title tag is the top line of your result on a search engine results page. It is best to have a unique title for all pages on your website.
2. Verify there is a Description listed for every page of your website. Each page should have its own unique description.
3. Verify there are keywords listed for every page of your website. Important: Only list keywords that are present in the content of your website.
4. Website Content and Keywords need to be optimized for users searching for doctors. Your website content should include all your practice locations, your specialties, and all other key terms. Think about what keywords or phrases your clients will use to search for you and incorporate that into your content.
5. Add “Alt tags” to all Images and Videos. Images and videos are extremely important for SEO. Alt text is a description of the image or video. Make sure the Alt text is descriptive and has at least one keyword.
6. Optimize your website’s URL Structure. Website URLs are important to your SEO strategy because they help the Search Engines find your website and they also help users find what they’re looking for. Take a look at your URL structure – it should resemble: www.mktgalacarte.com – if you click on any link on the homepage the URL will change. A non-optimized URL structure may look like this: www.mktgalacarte.com/id4ii234?source_mid876-777 . An optimized URL is easier to read and understand, thus better for SEO and the search engines.
7. Get listed in Local Business Listings. Local business listings are part of an overall SEO strategy.
8. This tip is an SEO and User experience must. Your Website should be treated like your office. Your website is the first thing a potential client sees. Your website should have a good SEO strategy and look professional at the same time. Take a look at your website, are you impressed? A website is a very important investment. When constructed properly with SEO in mind, your website can serve to engage more potential clients, and ultimately help turn them into paying clients.
9. Verify that your website has been submitted to the major search engines (Google, Bing, and Yahoo!)
10. Spend time with your webpage at least once per month to see how you might improve it!

At Marketing À La Carte we can help you with all aspects of marketing your business online, as well as offline. Just give us a call at (707) 745-3738 and get the conversation started.

]]> http://mktgalacarte.com/seo-vs-sem/feed/ 0 http://mktgalacarte.com/the-difference-between-editing-copyediting-and-proofreading/ http://mktgalacarte.com/the-difference-between-editing-copyediting-and-proofreading/#comments Wed, 19 Sep 2012 23:52:13 +0000 MALC http://mktgalacarte.com/?p=754 Have you ever wondered what the difference is between editing, copyediting and proofreading? The terms can be confusing because they are often incorrectly used interchangeably.

You’ve heard of film editors who cut, paste and change the film for the best viewing experience. Well, editors do the same thing with words. We correct mistakes, change sentence structure and add or remove words to present the content to the reader in the best possible way to ensure that the intended message is received by the reader. We can edit text to get the message across in the simplest way, the most creative way or the most attention grabbing way. We can make sure the writing has the right tone, is written in the correct tense and that the words flow in a way that is easy to absorb. It’s usually what people mean when they refer to ‘editing.’

Copyeditors and proofreaders traditionally have different functions. A copyeditor edits the text on a surface level, correcting mistakes in grammar, spelling and punctuation but generally doesn’t look at tone, flow, tense or sentence structure. Traditionally, a copyeditor will mark up a document using proofreading marks (sort of a language system), then a typesetter, designer or printer will make the changes and produce a new copy of the document, called a proof. A proofreader compares the proof to the marked-up copy (dead copy) and ensures that all the changes have been made correctly. During this process, he or she may spot and correct some other errors that were missed by the copyeditor.

Over time these roles have widened and overlapped, adapting to the changes in technology, the publishing industry and the business world. Working on a computer, we can simply make required changes on the screen, encompassing the job of editor, copyeditor, typesetter and proofreader.

These are some of the services we offer at Marketing À La Carte, making the whole process easier, quicker, less expensive and even more environmentally friendly. Proper grammar and spelling help reinforce your message; readers are not distracted by errors or illogical copy. Clarity, consistency and creativity in your copy get your message through and affirm your status as an expert in your field. We want to help you look like a star! Give us a call.

]]> http://mktgalacarte.com/the-difference-between-editing-copyediting-and-proofreading/feed/ 0 http://mktgalacarte.com/swot-the-must-have-for-any-business/ http://mktgalacarte.com/swot-the-must-have-for-any-business/#comments Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:44:45 +0000 MALC http://mktgalacarte.com/?p=735 What is SWOT and why is it important?
SWOT analysis is an effective tool for helping you identify where to concentrate your business efforts.

Want to match your company’s strengths with the best market opportunities?
Need to improve your processes or try to figure out how to compete with your competitors or other market factors like the economy?
Then you need SWOT.

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

A SWOT analysis should consider both internal and external factors that can impact your ability to meet your business objectives. You don’t need a highly paid consulting firm to perform a SWOT analysis. Here are some of the basic questions you need to consider to complete your own SWOT:

• Strengths. Ask yourself: What does your company do better than any other? What do you do that no other business does? What distinguishes you from the competition? Focus on your strengths in your marketing materials, and tap your best performers (and friendly customers) for their insights into your business.
• Weaknesses. Where has your business struggled? Consider every possible angle: Do you have weak seasons during the calendar year? Issues with customer satisfaction or returns? What are some factors that have caused prospects to balk during the sales process? Quiz your employees too. Are they lacking any tools that could help them serve your customers better or do their own jobs better?
• Opportunities. Look inside your company and outside for ways to expand your offering. Visit your competition (in their shop or on the web) to see where they are failing to satisfy their customers. Subscribe to any relevant industry journals, or at least check them out online regularly, to keep up to date with trends in your industry.
• Threats. As with opportunities, you’ll need to look outside your company, to the competition and wider trends in your industry. Are the market forecasts for your industry strong? Do long-term cultural trends favor your industry, or do they suggest a need to monitor your course? Look inside your company too: Are your finances solid? Is employee retention strong?
Any and all efforts you make to take the time to analyze what you are doing well and where you can improve will almost always turn up at least one new idea to help you continue to grow. A SWOT done even once a year, is better than doing nothing at all in the analysis department.

Remember- “If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have gotten”- Anthony Robbins.

]]> http://mktgalacarte.com/swot-the-must-have-for-any-business/feed/ 0 http://mktgalacarte.com/usps-2012-summer-discount-promotion/ http://mktgalacarte.com/usps-2012-summer-discount-promotion/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:53:24 +0000 MALC http://mktgalacarte.com/?p=723 USPS Summer Mobile Barcode Promotion

The Mobile Barcode Promotion is a 2% discount offered by the USPS between July 1, 2012 and August 31, 2012. You may take advantage of this promotion if you place a 2-dimensional (2D) barcode (such as a QR code) on your mail pieces or on the materials inside. The barcode must encode a web address for a web site that meets USPS requirements. Your customers who own smart phones can then scan the barcode with their phone to visit the web site.

To Qualify for the Mobile Barcode Promotional Discount

To qualify for the discount, you must satisfy the USPS requirements, including:
• You must register with USPS to participate in the promotion. You may register on or after May 1, 2012.
• All mail pieces in your mailing must have a 2D barcode on either the outside of the mail piece or on the materials inside the mail piece. The 2D barcode must encode a link to a website that allows your customer to purchase a product or service, or to a web address that is personalized for the customer.
• The web address used in the barcode must be to a site that is mobile optimized (designed specifically for use on a mobile device).
• Your mailing must be presorted for First-Class Mail or Standard Mail flats, letters or cards.
• The mailing date of your mailing must fall between July 1st and August 31st, 2012.
• You must submit all postal documentation electronically via Postal Wizard, Mail.dat files or Mail.xml. You may have to go through certification if you are not using the latest version of Mail.dat or Mail.xml.
• You must pay the postage for the mailing using a permit imprint.
• Some incentive discounts cannot be applied in conjunction with this promotion. Non-profit, Full Service Intelligent Mail and entry point discounts can still be applied.

The United States Postal Service provides resources that include full details. You may visit https://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=mobilebarcode or contact mobilebarcode@usps.gov.

Want to do but need help? Call us!
707.745.3738
Marketing A La Carte, Inc.
www.mktgalacarte.com

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