123Print's Tips for Your Small Business

03Oct 2012 by Cindy Berrier 3 Comments

To Gift or Not to Gift … That is the Question.

When it comes to showing customer appreciation, businesses around the country are faced with a similar question --- to gift or not to gift? And if “gift,” who-what-where-when-why? Whatever the answer may be, gift giving can be a tricky situation. The bottom line, however, is that business owners want to know what their return on investment will be. After all, it does take time and money to thank customers. If given correctly, holiday gifts can be a strong marketing tool. Apart from thanking a person and/or company for their business throughout the year, a gift can also ensure that you remain top of mind and make your company’s name a front runner. So, if you have decided that gift giving is right for your company, where do you begin? You can…

01Oct 2012 by Cindy Berrier 1 Comment

3 Marketing Lessons from Oktoberfest

123Print Infographics, Small Business Info

It might seem unlikely, but 16 days of beer drinking could actually improve your marketing. Um. Maybe we should clarify. Not you physically drinking the beer and then trying to work, but rather, you can gain marketing insights from the success of Oktoberfest. Just how did we get off on this crazy subject, you ask? Well, it’s the first Monday of the month, and we have a new infographic for you. In addition to providing you with some interesting facts to improve table conversations and networking discussions, we thought we might give you some ideas to help your business. 1. Preparation is key. The Boy Scouts have known this for years, and so have the people of Germany. Months before international festival goers begin to pack their bags (and probably…

26Sep 2012 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

The 12 Tips of Early Christmas Shopping

Life Insight

Sung to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas. Ahem. “On the first day of early Christmas shopping, the 123Print bloggers said to me …” Ok, just kidding. We are not really going to sing this blog post to you. There is a reason we work here and not on Broadway. Moving on. Did you know, according to the National Retail Federation, that each year, approximately 40% of consumers start their holiday shopping before Halloween? Though many retailers do not begin advertising for the holiday season until at least October or November, they do recognize that many consumers like the idea of shopping early because it spreads out a lot of spending over a lot of time. Because of this, many retailers are putting out their holiday merchandise as…

24Sep 2012 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

Making Last-Minute Promotions Work

Monday Marketing Minutes, Small Business Info

Plan ahead. It’s a great idea. And, it’s the RIGHT idea. But it isn’t always a realistic idea when you’re running a small business and wearing lots of different hats — like inventory supervisor, VP of sales, accountant, customer service rep and owner. When advertising gets bumped to the bottom of your priority list, what can you do? You can do what small businesses do every day: you can be nimble. Thinking on your feet and fast response times come natural to you. Now that you need to get new traffic to your store or website, what can you do on short notice? • Be Current — Look at the calendar. What’s going on in the world and in your customer’s lives right now? What kind of offer, event or…

21Sep 2012 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

Business Cards in These Techie Times

Small Business Info

A friend once told me that a great reason to have a business card is so you can enter it in “Drop your business card in this box for the chance to win free stuff” contests. While half of you will agree, the other half will say businesses only hold those contests so they can pull your contact information. Hopefully, more full-bellied people result from these contests than annoyed-with-spam people. Either way, the usefulness of business cards has not been lost in these techie times! The idea of “digital” business cards presents some interesting possibilities. For example, of course you carry your business cards on you for trade shows and other industry events, but what about random coffee-house encounters and other networking opportunities? Digital business cards can be readily available…

19Sep 2012 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

What’s Trending in Bridal Showers

3rd Wednesday Weddings, Wedding Inspiration

Back in the day, a bridal shower was a gathering of female relatives in a family home or church basement where everyone sat around sipping punch and playing word games. Thank heavens that’s not the case any more! In fact, it appears that sky’s the limit when it comes to planning a shower. To help you narrow down your options, consider the following bridal shower trends. • Couples Showers • Learning Showers • Power Showers • Destination Showers Couple Up Grooms are often involved with the wedding planning these days, so leaving them out of the fun just doesn’t seem right. Besides, it only makes sense. The bride and groom love each other enough to get married, why not celebrate the upcoming nuptials together with other couple friends? If the…

17Sep 2012 by Cindy Berrier 1 Comment

Email Tips: Writing Subject Lines that get Opened

Monday Marketing Minutes, Small Business Info

OK. You’ve been gathering customer email addresses on a website form or from a signup list in your store — or maybe you bought a list of names and email addresses from somewhere — and now it’s time to start sending emails. The goal of your subject line is to interest the recipient enough to open your email, right? So put yourself in their shoes. What would make you open the email? 1. Use sentence case or lowercase (DO YOUR FRIENDS WRITE IN ALL CAPS IN THEIR SUBJECT LINES? Then neither should you, because you want to be perceived as a friendly email.) 2. Keep it short — 50 to 55 characters or 4 to 5 words is the conventional wisdom, but a recent study showed that subject lines with…

14Sep 2012 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

Which Fall 2012 Bandwagon Should Your Business Jump On?

Small Business Info

[caption id="attachment_1594" align="alignleft" width="300"] SOcial, LOcal, MObile[/caption] Ladies and Gentlemen, SoLoMo! No, this isn’t an exotic way of saying “Hello” or “Welcome” in an ancient romantic language, though it is a term that both you and your small business should be familiar with for this upcoming fall! SoLoMo (SOcial, LOcal, MObile) is what Google engineer, Matt Cutts, encouraged search marketers to focus on beginning in the fall of 2012 and through the next year. This term represents the aggregation of social media, local merchants and mobile device usage. The idea of SoLoMo came together as a result of the iPhone and Droid epidemic. (Quick! Hide your children!) The GPS technology that is used by these mobile devices provides more accurate location results than the old-fashioned “IP mapping” approach used by…

10Sep 2012 by Cindy Berrier 1 Comment

3 Unique Fall Marketing Ideas

Monday Marketing Minutes, Small Business Info

Did you know that September is National Blueberry Popsicle Month, October is National Pizza Month or that November is Peanut Butter Lovers Month? Why not have a customer appreciation sale or event with one of these as the unique theme! Give away blueberry popsicles, slices of pizza or peanut butter cookies to get traffic coming in and sales going out. And if you didn’t have a Labor Day sale or promotion, put it on your schedule for next year, then try one or all of these unique marketing ideas: 1. Autumn Equinox (always around September 22) — Consider a 50/50 sale on this day when there are equal amounts of daylight and nighttime. That could be 50% off 50 different items that you sell, 50% off the next $XX purchase…

08Sep 2012 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

Define Your Office Style and Your Brand

1st Saturday Style, Small Business Info

Everyone knows that the first impression plays an important role in an employer's hiring decision. The same holds true for those entering your office. Potential customers, partners and employees form an opinion of who you are and how you operate based on how your office looks, sounds and smells (yes, how it smells). The right office style is very important. Not only can office design improve efficiency, but it can also communicate your brand. From your wall color and flooring choices to the art on the walls and the items on the counters and desks — it all creates an impression. So what’s your brand? Are you a traditional company? Then a clutter-free, very organized space with conventional furniture and understated decorations might make sense. If your brand is modern,…