:Interface
Marketing Articles
Agfa Graphics' publication for the media arts, :InterFace regularly publishes a marketing column. The articles listed below are a collection of useful tips written with prepress and printing businesses in mind so we can help our customers Stay Ahead. The editors of :InterFace provide advice on how to organise an open house, what to bear in mind when you develop direct marketing, what makes direct mail effective, or how you can promote your capabilities to print buyers.
Effective Direct Mail
It is always best to support any marketing effort with an integrated communications mix—advertising, email, direct mail, etc. However, studies have shown that direct mail has a power all its own. But that power is highly dependent on using the right techniques. The following tips will help you get the greatest return on your marketing investment.
Defining Value
Today’s competitive environment demands that printing-company executives remove their tradesman hats and don the ones called marketing. When they have limited funds for developing marketing materials, they cannot afford to make mistakes. Experts say that the main reason so many marketers fail is because they don’t understand the audience they are trying to reach.
Direct Marketing
Communicating directly with print buyers is getting easier every day. As online databases become as readily available as postal databases, the opportunities to reach prospects increase. The challenge is turning those prospects into customers. Using the tried-and-true rules of direct marketing, however, will ensure your success.
The Open House
For many, the open house –an event that brings print buyers on site to see your operation– is simple enough. It is easy to arrange and often brings new business. But the amount of thought and creativity that goes into the planning is directly proportional to the level of success you will realise.
