This is a topic that has perplexed the printing industry for years. OMG 5,000 cards for $20! Thats crazy. It sure is. And in the printing industry you will get what you pay for. And if you pay crap prices you're going to get crap product. You may get 5,000 cards to hand out, but they are going to be of thin stock, have color irregularities throughout the run and probably have the printer's logo on it. Is that the impression you want to give about your company? Absolutely not! You want an impression of integrity.

When you hand your customer a piece of your company, you want that customer to know that your company is worth investing in. They desire confidence in your business. And handing them a crappy, flimsy card is no way to go about it. And today, printing has changed so much it is not necessary to do do that anymore. The price difference isn't that great between quality and quantity.

You can still get a professionally designed business card, full color for under $100.00. And that is a minimal business expense to promote confidence, wouldn't you agree?

That goes for more that just your business cards. That goes for brochures, presentation folders, everything you're going to put your name on. Give your customers confidence. Print your materials professionally and with the right designer.

I know I do not have a bunch of readers, but I would like to share the most amusing videos I have ever seen on a business card below. Please take a look, it is fabulous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YBxeDN4tbk

Our current business card is to the left. It is printed on a silk laminated 14 pt stock with spot UV. You cannot see the contrast in the background and the shine here, but you can request a card to be sent to you by going to our contact page. I will be glad to send one out right away.

QR Codes, also known as portals, are a tool that will change your business forever. Over 40% of adult mobile phone users have smart phones.  With all of the apps available, you can get a tremendous amount of information immediately. Information is literally at your fingertips.

Japan has used portal technology for years, but within the last few years, they have been popping up all over and I am starting to see them on marketing materials everywhere. And I will tell you why. Portals can direct interested customers to a URL, phone number or text. So they can take you to any information you can place on a web page, immediately call you or to a text. Social media pages, special offers and coupons, instructions, videos, and most importantly; your contact information are all at the click of a button. 

Portals are free to register, although there are several services that will gladly take your money to set them up. Portals are also completely trackable, so you know where your marketing dollars are best spent and where to save. You are able to create your code and log in to check your statistics and reporting, and the results post immediately.

It is much better to know the response of your advertising than it to be a guessing game. The portals can be tracked and reports can be downloaded in different formats, giving you lots of helpful information. Let's not forget, that if a person is interested enough to scan it, you already have their undivided attention to get your message across. So make it a good one.

Used as an electronic business card, they are invaluable. And electronic business cards have a 40% more response rate than a traditional paper card. That is because it is a lot easier to have the information electronically stored than to try to remember where you physically put someone's paper business card, hoping it didn't make it to the washing machine.

Designers have gotten quite creative with the portals and there have been gallery shows featuring portal design. The few I have here I threw together for the purpose of this article, but I encourage you to research other ideas. Some of them are amazing. If you have a design, please share it with us. I love to see what other people come up with.

One of the most important parts of a business is gathering your customers contact information. The more you know about your customers, the easier it will be to provide them with a product or service they need when they need it.  No matter how small your business is, gather the information. Gather it any way you can. It should be entered into a database and used regularly.

Even if you're a small boutique retail business, use creative ways to gather the information. A drawing for a gift certificate or other item is a wonderful way to get it. If you your customers are engaged in a questionaire you should take full advantage to get additional information you have always wanted to ask.

It's important to know exactly where your customers live, work, lifestyle, etc. The more information you know about your customers, the easier it is to communicate with them.

The basic information you want is:
name
address
phone
email

With this little bit of information, you will immediately know where most of your customers live, be able to do a direct mailing to them. You will be able to call specific customers when new product arrives. And finally an email marketing campaign with photos and a special offer that will remind them why they love doing business with you.

Sure you can purchase lists. But the lists are not your customers. Having your customers information is more like having the true essence of your business. That is a concentrated list of people that already trust your business. People like to use a business they trust.

Direct mail is a way of specifically targeting your potential customers. It is very popular because you can really focus on a particular group. Whether its region, income, household, business, ages, sex, etc, direct mail can really be very specific as to who it's reaching. The drawback from this is that the market is saturated with thousands of other advertisers trying to get their message through and the cost is high. The cost is high because there are several items that need to be acquired before a successful campaign is attempted.

The List
The first thing to think about is your list. Who will be ultimately receiving your flyers? Have you been collecting your customer's contact information?  If you have been in business, you should already have a list of current customers and their contact information. Those are the best contacts to have, because they are already interested in your products. If you have not been collecting contact information, start! There are several ways to gather the information, through your website or offer a drawing...whatever it takes!  It's very valuable information and also increases the value of your business.

Ultimately, you can purchase a list. If you are new in business or would like to expand your customer base, there are hundreds of services that sell lists. You can be very specific as to an area. If you are a retailer, you want to stick within 5 miles of your establishment, a little longer if more rural. Otherwise you may be wasting those dollars.  If you're a service provider you may want to concentrate on certain neighborhoods. Think about what other demographics are important for reaching your customers. The lists are available through the United States Postal Service, other services online or through marketing firms.

The Flyer
Next you want to think about the actual flyer. You will need to have something professionally printed and of good quality. You want to make a good impression. If they see bad flyers, they will think you have bad products or services. So, spend the time to have a professionally designed and printed piece. Make sure it stands out. A boring flyer will get you nowhere. You can make your piece original in many ways and if you cannot figure out how, find someone who can. Just remember, the more original the shape or size, the more expensive it is going to be to deliver it.

Sending out a direct piece with no offer is like waving to someone going down the road. Its nice, but you probably won't get any sales out of it. There needs to be a hook. An offer or discount that will peak interest and compel someone to keep your flyer. 

Once you have your marketing piece designed you will need to have it printed, labeled and mailed.

Labeling
Most printing companies offer direct mail services. These services are usually cost effective and a great way to save a little time, frustration, and postage. Once your piece is printed the same facility can usually set up everything for you. You download your list, or can sometime even buy your list from the same company. They will usually charge you a service fee for labeling and cleaning up your list. It is very important that your service checks the integrity of your list and make sure there are no duplicate addresses, the changes of addresses are up to date and that your coding is accurate.

Postage
The service provider usually has a bulk mailing rate based on the number of items they have mailed. The more mail, the cheaper it is to send something. By keeping your size to a standard one and using a bulk mailing service's rates, you can usually get your piece down to about $.21 to $24 per piece for postage to mail. It is up to you and your designer to know exactly what those sizes are. The USPS offers a complete resource area with templates and important dimensions.

Mailing
Once you have paid for postage, your mailing will be sent out within a few business days. Your service should finish by handing you a confirmation from the postal service of completion of your services.

So when you're asking yourself why is this direct mail thing so expensive keep these fees in mind:

1. The mailing list
   
2. The design
   
3. The printing
   
4. The mailing service
   
5. The postage
   

The Return
According to many reporting services the response rate is 1 to 2%. The best way to use direct marketing is in a campaign where the flyer is part of a larger campaign. You should follow up with a phone call or place other advertisements at the same time to reinforce your business presence.