Brochure printing quantities depend on the use of the brochure. A brochure is usually printed with a clear goal in mind. To have in the office for potential customers, to be handed out at conventions and expos, to be placed in racks or to be mailed, etc.

    Business card printing has come a long way since I started in this business 20 plus years ago. Business cards have always been the most powerful tool, dollar for dollar, to which you can invest for your business. To be sure you get every bit of return for them, you want something higher end or creative to get additional impact.
    The shape of the business card you print can create that additional impact. Business cards come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The standard size of a business is a rectangle of 3.5 inches by 2 inches. And easily, you can change the image that is presented by changing a measurement, shape, ink, or material used. Below is a list and good examples of business cards that are printed with some of the latest technology.

The are many ways to enhance your landscape company's marketing with print.  A variety of print materials essential to get your business off the ground is available affordably.  And whether you are a one person show or have thousands of employees, you need to have a professional presence. You definitely want your customers to know you're serious about your business and invest your time and money in it to make a good impression. Good design and printing is essential to help in that effort.

Essential print materials to help get your landscape business exposure:

This is a great info graphic!

People love gifts. It leaves a smile on the face. So if you print your logo on a gift, even a small inexpensive gift, it will be taken positively. And that's what you want when people see you're logo. To associate it with positivity.
    It's not just that people love to get stuff for free, although they do. Promotional products deliver more impressions or frequency than other type of media, because promo items are kept for a longer period of time than other media like print or radio advertising. Print lasts for as long as it takes to get read and thrown away and radio spots only last as long as the commercial.
    According to a recent industry study, promotional items are kept for an average of 5.8 months. 87% of recipients could identify the advertiser associated with the item and
31% reported a high likelihood of doing business with the advertiser after receiving a promotional product. That's a great return. Money well spent.
    Remember though, it's like any other marketing, you need to understand that some products will be more effective than others. The promotional item needs to be relevant and useful.  The majority (81%) of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful. 90% of an audience reported currently owning or possessing a promotional product that they received in the last 24 months. That's a long duration for any advertising.
    Choosing something that corresponds with your business is also the best bet. A good example would be a measuring tape for a decorating company or a bottle opener for a beer company. The relevancy to the promo product will make the association with your company stronger.
    Writing instruments are the most-recalled advertising specialty items (54% of respondents recall owning them), followed by shirts, caps and bags.nAmong wearables, bags were reported to be used most frequently with respondents indicating that they used their bags an average of 9 times per month.
    Although promotional products have a wonderful return, your not going to make millions of dollars on return with them. Definitely add promo items into the budget and tie into your campaign, but don't spend all of your ad dollars on freebies. It should accompany radio, print and online advertising.

Akuafoil is a printing process that is used to make advertising and marketing pieces really stand out. Akuafoil is used in place of the traditional foil process because of its versatility, affordability and brilliance. Instead of being able to choose one or just a few foil colors, usually gold or silver, you are able to use Akuafoil under any hue, creating a foil look without being limited in your design.

Akuafoil advertising pieces catch the light and reflect it, making it stand out next to the usual advertising pieces printed traditionally. It ads some excitement that shows your company is in the "now" and on the cutting edge.  Akuafoil is perfect for tech companies, cleaning companies, and any business that wants to sell modern services.

Akuafoil can be printed on Stickers, Business Cards, Postcards, Greeting Cards and more. Go to our Akuafoil page for a quick quote.

Well that's an easy questions to answer. Do you have something to say? Or perhaps some knowledge you think should be shared? Well maybe you're thinking to yourself, not really. But wait until you see the statistics below....  you will change your mind.

Business owners who have a website, and everyone today should, need to add content on a regular basis in order to get good rankings, so why not? Why not make the content original and a blog?

Here are the statistics that will change your mind about blogging:

• Blog frequency impacts customer acquisition. 92% of companies who blogged multiple times a day acquired a customer through their blog. (HubSpot State of Inbound Marketing, 2012)
• 81% of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs. Tweet this stat | Source: BlogHer
  
• 81% of marketers rated their blog as useful or better. (HubSpot State of Inbound Marketing, 2012)

    •    46% of people read blogs more than once a day. (HubSpot Science of Blogging 2010)
    •    Most people read 5-10 blogs. (HubSpot Science of Blogging, 2010)
    •    Nearly 40% of US companies use blogs for marketing purposes. (eMarketer, August 2010)

• 77% of Internet users read blogs.
• 61% of U.S. online consumers made a purchase based on blog recommendations. Tweet this stat | Source: BlogHer
  

What do these stats tell you? Well they tell you that people research what they are buying and they trust what they read in  blogs. They also tell you that it's important to blog about relevant information about your business to build content. It's that content that drives people to your site.


So, now ask yourself

Let's face it, if you're a business owner and you talk to people, you already network. Everyone you talk to talks to others and so forth. But what about those organized networking groups? There are so many. And the hard part is first finding one that's right for you. It can take some time, because there are many with a variety of different purposes. Here are a few steps that can help you.

Your Purpose of joining. First, what do you want to get out of the group? Are you looking for support, to mentor others, to help the community or just for the business contacts. Is there something you want to learn from other business professionals in the area? Some groups offer mentoring and other business services.

Your availability. Based on the meeting schedules, will you be able to actually make the meetings?  The truth is, if you are not going to participate, do not join. It then just becomes a burden.

Your industry. Depending on how large the group is, it is important that the particular group is not saturated with your industry already. For instance, you don't want to be the 10th accountant in a group of 100. Find another group.

The aggressiveness of group. Some groups are more aggressive than others. Where they may put a lot of pressure to force leads. Forced leads are not nearly as effective as solid leads. And sometimes when you're in a room and they expect you to spass leads, you may feel pressured to give leads, even though they are weak. I do not participate in the high pressure leads groups. It creates an uncomfortable environment. I prefer a more casual approach.

Who are the members? Are the members of that group influential in the community? Are they participators in community events and know the movers and shakers within that community?

One thing that is important to know is that you'll get out of it what you put in to it. So go to the meeting and participate.

I enjoy introducing people who can mutually benefit each other. I am a huge fan of small business. I like to help others connect. It helps grow the community and helps my business as well. As a matter of fact I like it so much, we started our own group called Brevard Connections.  We enjoy an evening every quarter where we get together and drink a couple of glasses of wine and talk business. If you are interested in joining, please go to http://www.brevardconnections.com or like our Facebook page.

Do you have that one customer that cannot be pleased or causes you too much time and energy?

Today with competition in the marketplace what it is, it's hard to think you would fire actually fire a customer. But, there is another theory. What if you fired that customer and spent all the time you would normally spend on that customer nurturing your good relationships and reaching new customers? But before you go firing your customers, you should ask yourself a few questions.

The very first question should be if there is anything you could do to make the relationship better?

Is this a highly profitable customer?
Is this customer influential within the community that you do business?
Are they a repeat purchaser of your products or services?
Do they pay a fair price for a fair product/service?
Do you need this customer to survive?

If you answered yes to any of these, you may want to reconsider and try to work with that customer. It is easier to retain an existing customer than it is to reach a new one. All good relationships take a lot of work and fostering to make them successful.

There are some warning signs of a truly bad customer.

Does the customer pay late consistently?
Is the customer overly aggressive with your people?
Does the customer require a lot of rework?
Do they cost you a significant amount of time?
Do they ask for unwarranted refunds?
Does the customer ask for things not in your scope of work?

These are a little more obvious and alone most can still be serviced. And I would encourage you to work towards a solution that works for you both. But if your customer has many of these you'll have to actually sit down and figure out the math. Add up your profitability from this customer vs. the actual cost of doing business with this customer.

Should you decide to end your relationship, do it with class and professionalism. The world is small and you never know when you will be re-establishing commerce with them again in the future.

We all seem to recharge every year. Whether you have personal goals or professional ones, this time of year is perfect for making some decisions and sticking with them. I use this time of year to evaluate my business and see what I can change for next year that will improve my customer relationships, my packaging, and my marketing. Below are a few ideas for you to consider for your business.

1. Get organized. It is so easy to get bogged down searching for things instead of just being organized and know ing exactly where your files are. There are many ways to get organized.

• Financially—make sure your receipts, accounts payables and receivables are all ready for tax time.

• Email—Make it a point to reduce the number of incoming emails that hit your computer a day. Make sure you unsubscribe to the spam and move on.

• Customers—Your customer contacts are invaluable. Make sure you have all your emails and addresses correct and entered so you can utilize that list for your marketing efforts this year.

• Marketing—Make your plan for the new year. Fill in your yearly plan, with budget, so you know what needs to be done. Marketing with no plan is super expensive. Get your website and social networking sites updated and make sure you are in the mobile business listings.
  

• Equipment— Make sure you are on top of your equipment. Computers, phones, fleet tracking, etc. Update it. Don't show up to a meeting with an antiquated clap trap of a computer, it's not a good representation of your business or you.

2. Get your goals back on track. Take a look at what your goals were last year and see what you missed or what was successful for you. Then adjust. Make yourself a list and stay focused on what you want to accomplish. In order to be successful, they need to be realistic goals. Make sure you look at that list everyday to keep it at the top of your mind.

3. Learn to delegate. It is hard for us business owners who want to do everything so it gets done right. But you are only one person. And if you are already working many hours during the day, you will have to make some choices. Either work harder and more organized or delegate some of your tasks to someone else. It's that simple.

4. Find one new way of connecting with your customers. Whether you choose to go mobile, social networking or joining a local organization, they are all successful. It is because people like to know exactly who they are doing business with. If you're out and about, even online, meeting new people, you are going to gain awareness.

5. Give back to the community. This is one of mine this year. I have a goal of volunteering at 4 events in our city this year. You should pick where you want to make a difference and really give it your all. But again, make realistic goals. Or you will just disappoint yourself.

6. Time for yourself. Make sure you have time to recharge and refresh. Whether you need one day monthly or a couple of hours weekly. Do what you need to do to stay smart and healthy.

7. Drop what fails. If you have something that is holding your company back, an employee, procedure, product, etc. Get rid of it and make the change to something successful.

8. Shop small. You are a small business. You want people to shop your small business. So shop theirs. Buy local and shop in the small local businesses in your town. You will find the practice reciprocated.

9. Waste Less. I keep this one on the list, because it is so easy to control the waste. Get your statements and bills sent electronically. Reuse items that can be washed.

I hope you are inspired to make positive changes in your business this year. Happy New Years to all, may all your hard work pay off and fill you with warmth and prosperity!