Category Archives: Business

The Advantages of a Price List

If your company doesn’t have a standard price list for its products and services, here are some reasons you may want to consider implementing one:

• It standardizes pricing. Everybody who enters your store or talks to one of your outside sales representatives receives identical pricing information.

• It serves as a great visual aid. When customers enter your lobby with questions about pricing, your customer service representatives can review the price list with them and explain any special deals or price breaks you might be offering. Plus it is a great leave-behind after a sales call.

• It makes discounts seem more real—and significant. By seeing your actual prices printed on paper, customers will gain a better appreciation for any discounts you provide.

• It enhances your image. Customers will see you as a vendor they can count on to be organized, professional, and on the ball.

http://www.ParagonPress.net . 318-868-3351

The Customer Is NOT Always Right :-)

Slow payers with small projects. Does this sound familiar with regard to your customer base? Many business owners gladly accept any kind of project that comes their way. Most find out that, as time goes by, their company is not growing into the type of business they wanted it to be in the first place. Rather than targeting a preferred clientele and crafting a marketing program to win the big accounts, it becomes easier to continue dealing with the slow payers and small projects.


If you are not happy with your customer base and the nature of the work you do, altering the types of accounts you serve along with their size and location can have a big impact on your bottom line. Analyze what it would really take to bring your business to the next level. Rather than letting your current customer base define you, use target marketing to determine who your customers should be.

Your first step is to identify your best and most profitable customers, whether you’re marketing to other businesses or to consumers. Make those customers the focus of your sales efforts. Business-to-business marketers should build a prospect list. The proper “contact sequence” for B2B sales is “call, mail, call.” First make the call, then follow up with a mailing piece, or even a personal visit. Identify your ideal prospects by category: medical centers, hotels, restaurants, etc.

Focus on the criteria that are important to you, such as the geography and size of the business. Then decide who your contact person should be.

If your business targets consumers, create a “target audience profile,” instead of a prospect list. If you own a home-decorating company, you may want to target more affluent homeowners. Your target audience profile might say, “Upper-class homeowners with incomes of $100,000 in the surrounding three ZIP codes.” Your profile will help you evaluate the costs you will spend on marketing and customer lead lists.

When you target your particular market, you will have a better chance of growing your business in the direction you want and into the kind of company that you initially envisioned.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – 318.868.3351 – Paragon Press Shreveport was recently ranked #1 for loyalty and satisfaction.

TEAM BUILDING Without Pulling Teeth

Many teambuilding events can feel more like a yearly visit to the dentist… nobody really wants to go, the experience can be rather miserable, and participants are frequently relieved when it’s over.


Here are a few tips for planning an event your team will look forward to attending:

• Choose a neutral facilitator. By not putting the boss in charge, you can often level the playing field and receive more interaction.

• Select a creative location off-site. While hotels and conference centers are traditional locations, you may want to consider creative alternatives such as coffee shops, outdoor parks, or museums.

• Plan with purpose. Define specific goals that you want to accomplish, and develop a guide for achieving them. Allow plenty of time for each objective—overloading your agenda can cause stress for everyone involved.

• Reduce unrealistic expectations. While you may have a list of 20 topics you would like to cover, select a small handful of objectives that can be thoroughly discussed in the time allowed. Take advantage of this opportunity to fully involve your team.

• Set clear objectives. Circulate an agenda before the meeting to give participants an idea of what is planned. Even if you’ve planned surprise events, block the time on your agenda to avoid possible schedule conflicts.

• Assign team-building-related tasks to small groups in advance. Allow each team to take ownership in their ideas and present them at the teambuilding event.

• Engage new perspectives. Invite professionals from outside your business to speak about their knowledge and experience.

• Feed their stomachs to fuel their minds. Select a variety of appetizing food, refreshments, and snacks to keep everyone energized.

• Break frequently. By allowing frequent opportunities to use -the bathroom, check voice mail, grab snacks, etc., you can reduce interruptions during your schedule of events.

• Respect the time. If your meetings are scheduled to wrap up by 4 p.m., make sure you follow suit. Optional events, such as happy hour or evening meals, should be structured loosely to allow your team to come and go as they please.

• Have fun! Just because it is a business meeting doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.

• Follow up. The end of a team-building event is really the beginning. Take thorough notes and follow up on your group’s discussions, concepts, and ideas. Establish a communication plan for posting the progress of initiatives that have been put into place. Seek ideas from your team for your next team-building event. Ask what they did and did not enjoy, and make the responses anonymous to receive the most honest feedback.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – 318.868.3351 – info@paragonpress.net

Radio Advertising TIPS

Has your company considered breaking into radio marketing?

Here are some things to consider before you take your business to the airwaves:

• Skip the details. In other words, keep the script as simple as possible. Use your airtime to generate excitement, not weigh listeners down with details. Reserve the details for your direct-mail marketing program.

• Forget rush hour. Instead, buy some time in the mornings or at midday. While rush hour may seem like the optimum time to advertise, your potential rush-hour audience members are more than likely in a hurry, have other things on their minds, and are less inclined to listen to advertising. You’ll get more airtime, and more attentive listeners for your money, if you stay away from rush hour.

• Buy when the market is soft. The first quarter tends to be a less expensive time to advertise, and a great time to lock in some quality airtime.

• More is better when it comes to radio ads. Your customers need to hear your ad a minimum of three times a week before it really makes an impression. In radio advertising, quantity is often more important than quality.

• Believe it or not, you may be able to keep your production costs very low. If you know what you want your ad to say, many radio stations will produce your ads for free, and possibly send them on to competing stations as a service to you.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – 318.868.3351

 

Managing Your EMAILS!

Managing a steady stream of email may seem like a daunting task, but keeping on top of it can be a reward in itself.

Here are some pointers on how to keep your inbox empty:

• Declutter by deleting spam and other emails that have no importance.

• Respond immediately to emails that require a minute or less to complete.

• If an email requires action and you don’t have time to respond immediately, “flag” it. For example, red requires a timely response, orange can wait for a couple of days, and green can be for non-urgent items.

• Move important emails into clearly labeled archive folders.

• Add emails that need an extensive response to your daily to-do list.

• If the message requires someone else’s action, immediately forward to that person.

• Commit to replying to email every day. At the very least, respond that you are very busy but will be in contact again shortly.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – 318.868.3351 – joan@paragonpress.net

 

Full-Color Printing Makes a Great Impression

When you sit down with a blank sheet of paper in front of you, does your vision for filling that page include color? Whether that page is meant to inform, invite, or inspire, it will make the greatest impression if it is printed in full color.

Black-and-white printing works for certain things—text documents and photographs. But full-color printing is the best way to make the right impression. Here are some reasons why:

• It’s more professional. If you’re trying to sell your company’s products or services, choosing full-color printing for marketing materials and business cards shows your prospective customers you’re a company that’s worth doing business with. It can help to add legitimacy to your company that will make people more likely to consider doing business with you.

• Printing in full color grabs attention. If you’re standing at a bulletin board or sifting through a pile of mail and there are five items, four of them in black and white and one of them in full color, it’s a given that your eyes will be drawn to the one that’s been done in color. You can write a solid brochure, flyer, or newsletter, but if it doesn’t get someone’s attention, it won’t make a difference.

• Pictures will look better. While of course you can add pictures in black and white, color pictures are more crisp and true to life. Oftentimes when you print a picture in black and white, you end up with an image that’s almost impossible to make out. Full-color printing can help prevent this problem.

One thing that may deter you from choosing color over black and white is cost. You may assume that it’s much more expensive to print in color than it is in black and white. In some cases, that’s true. However, as technology has changed, new dyes and methods have been created that can allow you to choose color without adding a great cost to the project.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – 318.868.3351 – info@paragonpress.net

 

Revive Your Old Manuals

While manuals can serve as one of the single most important sources of company information, they may also be one that is most frequently overlooked.


Why do most manuals lack readership? Simply put … manuals are notoriously boring. But for companies in the know, creative manuals are quickly becoming a popular trend.

Manuals are created for a variety of purposes, including company products and service manuals, pricing manuals, and employee policy and procedure manuals. No matter what their purpose, successful manuals must first be organized, easy to read, and well designed. But above all, they need to be interesting, timely, and specific to your company’s needs.

But how can all of this be accomplished? Remember that you have the power to make your company’s manuals as creative and interesting as you choose. Making the context more invigorating will serve to bring the content to life. Try using a nontraditional size or layout, bright ink colors, or varying paper weights, colors, and textures to add new life to the pages.

Just think of the possibilities for manuals that creatively display company products and services to act as persuasive visual guides for your customers. Not only will they demand attention with their important written information, they can also be used as a powerful marketing tool which has the ability to sell products and services for you.

Or consider the impact of breathing new life into employee manuals. These manuals are vital communications tools within any company, ensuring that employees have accurate and consistent information about their employment conditions. But outdated manuals garner no attention, so important policies may go unread and unheeded.

If it’s time to update or overhaul your manuals, but you are worried it will be a complex project, stop by and ask for help. We can inspire you with various examples of manuals, give you organizational ideas, and produce the perfect manual to meet your company’s needs.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – 318.868.3351 – info@paragonpress.net

 

Color Copies – A Great Alternative

We live in an on-demand business world. More is expected of us in less time than ever before. One way to ensure your printing remains up to speed in this whirlwind ride is through the prudent use of color copying.

Color copies are terrific tools for a variety of applications. Postcards, newsletters, brochures, even business cards … virtually any type of printing can now be done on a color copier, with surprisingly strong results. In some cases, graphics reproduce so sharply on a color copier that they are difficult to distinguish from process color pieces produced on a standard printing press.

Such results are prompting more and more companies to turn to color copies for many of their smaller projects that don’t require large print runs. Say, for example, you’re creating handouts for a small trade show, or customized product literature geared toward a very focused target group. Having those marketing materials reproduced on a color copier might save you time and money. Here’s why: The unit cost for traditional printing decreases significantly as the quantity ordered increases, which is good for large projects. But the setup costs involved in printing on the press make producing small projects more expensive than they need to be. With a color copier, there are no setup costs, so small projects can be completed for much less money.

This same economic reality has made it possible to add color in all kinds of interesting places. Let us suppose you’ve put together a presentation for an important prospect, or you want to include some high-quality color graphics in a single RFP or in your corporate portfolio. Before color copiers, such things didn’t make fiscal sense. Now, they do.

In the same way, you might want to test a few different versions of your company’s brochure to see which one draws the best response, before committing to a run of several thousand. Or maybe you want to create industry-specific literature that touches on different value points for every segment of your audience. For all of these, color copies are the way to go.

Our printing firm is equipped with the latest in color-copying equipment, and our staff has the knowledge and experience to create incredible color copies for your company. Ask us about color copies today!

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in printing, direct mail, graphic design, social media, marketing services – 318.868.3351.

Door Hangers – How to Market With Them

Doors are everywhere–office buildings, hotels, neighborhood houses, etc. … why not take advantage of them as an idea for a marketing campaign?

Door-hanger marketing is an effective yet inexpensive way to reach an audience. Because your advertising message must physically be removed from the doorknob, it is very likely to be read and make an impression that lasts beyond a brief glance. And unlike other advertisements your prospect receives, door hangers typically stand alone without competition.

Here are a few ways to take advantage of door hanger marketing:

• Introduce a new business. Spread the word in local neighborhoods about your new company or services. Be sure to include a phone number, street address, and company website address.
Target a specific market. For example, if your company sells fencing, you can deliver your message just to the homes without an existing fence. Or if you sell renter’s insurance, you can target apartment complexes.
• Create name recognition. A consistent door-hanger campaign trains your prospect to think of you when the need arises for your product or service. Want to ensure the recipient keeps your hanger around longer? Distribute hangers with an affixed magnet, especially if the hanger includes your company’s hours of operation or other pertinent information.
• Encourage a call to action.
Track the success of your campaign with a special perforated tear-off of a discount coupon or business card. Or try a scratch-off discount that they need to bring to your business to find out the percentage they save.
• Promote company sponsorship. For example, at business conferences, distribute useful door hangers sponsored by your company on attendees’ hotel room doors that include a schedule of events, a map, and other useful info.
• Spread information, service reminders, etc. In addition to promotional advertising, door hangers can be used to provide information, serve as service reminders, or even to let your customers know you paid them a visit.

If you’re interested in seeing what door hangers can do for your business, give us a call today! We’ll help you develop a creative design to achieve the results you need.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in printing, direct mail, design, marketing – 318.868.3351

Business Stationery

Business Stationery:  Low-Tech in a High-Tech World

It’s a curious thing. The more high-tech and fast-paced our world becomes, the more people appreciate and respond to low-tech forms of communication.

While e-mail and texting are fast and (usually) efficient, sometimes the best way to communicate with clients, prospects, and friends is by way of a personal letter on company letterhead, or even a hand-written note on quality stationery.

To give your business communications that personal touch, be sure you have a supply of quality writing papers on hand. A well-coordinated stationery suite, including letterhead, blank notecards, and thank-you cards with coordinating envelopes, plus a good supply of business cards, enables you to send individualized messages quickly and effortlessly.

Here are some possibilities for your business stationery collection:

• Incorporate your company’s logo and signature colors into all the pieces. Place the logo on your letterhead, matching #10 envelopes, and business cards. Then, use the logo’s colors on your notecards and thank you cards.

• Provide yourself with more than one size of stationery. You’ll definitely want traditional 8.5 x 11 sheets for typed letters. Add a smaller size, such as 6.25 x 9.25, which can still contain your letterhead for a professional appearance, but which allows you to write a shorter, perhaps handwritten note.

• Consider adding a postcard to the mix. In addition to your stationery and notecards, you might want to print up some postcards. These can display virtually any image on the front, from a generic scene or greeting to a photo of your business or yourself, to a specialized message such as “We’ve Moved” or “Holiday Sale.” The back of the postcard allows you just enough space to write a short, yet personal, note.

Our friendly team of printing professionals is ready to help you put together a fantastic collection of business stationery. We’ll use our technology to give you a low-tech connection to your clients.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351