ClearEdge Marketing Blog » Business & Marketing Strategy

A Holiday Message from Marketing: Three Simple Tips to Help You Close out the Year

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 | Sarah Schunk

Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” offers many timeless lessons, including one of my favorites: a day in your pajamas can be one of the best and worst days of your life. Many business leaders this year must be feeling caught between two very different Christmas outlooks Dickens wrote about: 1) Ebenezer Scrooge’s ba-humbug philosophy and 2) the down-and-out Cratchit family’s united and cheerful defiance of gloomy realities.

Marketing can be a sentimental business unit—look at me beginning this blog by referencing a classic holiday tearjerker. But sentiment has its place, sometimes in sales, frequently in customer appreciation and retention and often in brand image. With that in mind, we at ClearEdge are going to get caught up in the silver bells, mistletoe and Tiny Tim-like joys of the season and share three simple marketing tips to help you cheerfully close out the year.

Send Glad Tidings
Even if you don’t feel like making merry, take time to wish your customers, prospects, partners, suppliers and employees well this holiday season. In downtimes, business and personal networks are worth their weight in golden jingle bells so make an effort to make contact before the end of the year.

If your budget cannot include a holiday mailing, e-greetings are acceptable and personal calls are even better. It gives you a chance to check in with important resources, underscore the importance of key relationships and, perhaps, gather some valuable market information.

Make a List, Check It Twice
Build and vet your first quarter prospect list now! 2009 is going to be a tremendously competitive year, and you need to have your sales strategy in place long before that apple starts to fall in New York City.

Take several hours this December to work with your sales teams, analyze the existing pipeline and build strong prospect lists you can begin working from at the first of January 2009.

Put a Penny in the Old Man’s Hat
Corporate giving programs have swelled in popularity and generosity in recent years. If your organization has made a commitment to a charitable organization, see if it’s possible to continue or even boost those contributions this holiday season.

Client and employee retention are powerfully influenced by a company’s culture and image. Continuing your good efforts despite difficult times speaks volumes to the values most important to your organization.

We at ClearEdge wish you a safe and joyful holiday season. May your merry days be many and the ba-humbugs be few and far between!

Sarah Schunk
Senior Writer
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Business & Marketing Strategy, Communication Best Practices | Comments Off

A Different Kind of Evangelism

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 | Jennifer Higgins

I was reading an article recently that talked about evangelism. Not the Jim and Tammy Bakker style of evangelism—but customer evangelism. The article started out with this question: What is the most effective advertising tool available?

A. TV

B. Print ads

C. Billboards

D. Your customers

If you answered “D,” you’re onto one of the hottest new trends in marketing—customer evangelism.

The concept of customer evangelism is all about creating true believers in your company. When you build this kind of loyalty, you gain two priceless assets: a pool of repeat customers and ongoing word-of-mouth referrals to new customers.

The tricky part: you can’t hire or buy customer evangelists. You have to earn them. But how? According to Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, authors of Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force, the following techniques can help you build a loyal following.

-Constantly communicate with customers to understand what they love about your products and services.
-Share knowledge with customers to increase the perceived and actual value of a service.
-Build “buzz” based on sincere, personal referrals.
-Create a customer community, where people who care about your business, products or services can gather.
-Provide “bite-size” products or services so customers can share the experience without an expensive purchase.
-Aim for a larger cause to create emotional connections.

How do these techniques translate into real life? Today there are plenty of ways to build customer evangelists. For now, I’ll focus on constant communication and building a buzz based on referrals.

Constant communication. Company blogs are perhaps the easiest, most cost-efficient and widest-reaching way to stay in constant touch with clients. Blog content can be posted quickly, it is informal yet controlled, and it provides a forum for feedback on the subject matter posted. Other benefits to blogs that are often overlooked are that they can give companies higher search engine rankings and exposure to a wider, diverse customer community. An example of a company with a wide-reaching blog is Google. Their blog talks about everything from issues they think are important to society to company news. Keep blogs informative, avoid marketing “fluff,” and keep them fresh.

Another opportunity to turn clients into evangelists is through your company newsletter. Even if your client or prospective client isn’t looking to purchase your services right at that time, they are reminded of you and perhaps learned something from your newsletter that they might share with a colleague. Whether your newsletter is printed or sent via e-mail, you’ve established top-of-mind awareness and another chance to connect with clients.

Building a Buzz. Of course “word of mouth” advertising is invaluable. It says something about your reputation as people typically only recommend a company where they’ve had stellar service and have been treated well. Any opportunity to post customer testimonials on your Web site or to include them in a newsletter gives clients a taste of what other similar companies are experiencing and a look at new ways that they themselves might be able to maximize your services.

One final word of advice—keep things natural. While it’s important to encourage customer evangelism, don’t try to force it.

Jennifer Higgins
Senior Writer
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Business & Marketing Strategy | Comments Off

Want a Great IT Adventure? Have Some Tea.

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 | Leslie Vickrey

If you are an IT executive looking for a true thrill and profound inspiration in 2008 (one that I guarantee will make your knees tremble and your palms sweaty), I suggest you consider high tea. Tea might not sound very intimidating, but let me introduce you to the hosts: they are young, bright, thoughtful achievers from across inner-city Chicago, and they represent the future of our IT industry. They are i.c.stars.

i.c.stars is an innovative technology mentoring program designed to foster the skills of driven young people (ages 18-27) who often lack formal education but are rich in ambition, ideas and smarts. An intensive four-month technology and business immersion, the program is producing skilled, inventive technology enthusiasts who are going on to jobs at leading IT firms across the Chicago community. You can read a profile of the program, its history and its success by Chicago Sun-Times writer and former news anchor Carol Marin here.

i.c.stars high tea events are part of their leadership training program in which interns host an afternoon tea for a technology leader from the Chicago community. Their job is to interview the professionals they invite to tea in order to gain knowledge, learn from the experiences of an industry veteran and challenge norms. Let me tell you this: The toughest job interviewer you have faced is nothing compared to a table of 10 eager and intelligent i.c.stars interns ready to question, challenge, discuss, debate, laugh and learn.

My high tea experience with i.c.stars was mind-blowing not only because of the rate at which these young people are learning and growing, but also because I was learning as quickly as they were. I had tea for an hour with the current crop of i.c.stars interns, and it was one of the most important hours in my technology career. They were sponges who, after introducing me to the entire table of interns, began an interview process during which I was put on the spot, challenged, asked serious questions and invited to question their ideas and assumptions.

It was both exhilarating and exhausting, but most of all it was full of promise. I was able to see the potential of our IT industry in the eyes and ideas of these young interns. And, despite what economic reports may warn, our future is full of promise.

The goal of i.c.stars is to help develop future IT leaders, which is an important objective for the entire IT industry. If we want a stronger IT industry tomorrow, we must commit to training and educating tomorrow’s leaders. i.c.stars offers today’s IT leaders a perfect opportunity to help strengthen the future of the technology industry while also giving back to the community. If you are like me, finding the time to “give back” in a meaningful way is not simple. However, attending high tea with i.c.stars is a simple (albeit challenging and provocative) way to share your knowledge and give to both the community and the industry.

I would like to challenge IT executives and leaders from across the Illinois region to have a cup of tea or two with i.c.stars. Discover how i.c. stars can turn one hour into a week’s worth of learning and get a glimpse of how great our future technology leadership can be. If you are not in the Illinois region, then let me encourage you to consider a professional mentorship program in your own community. Giving back to future generations is not only rewarding, it is inspiring. What could be better for the soul or our technology future than pure inspiration?

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Business & Marketing Strategy | No Comments »

Building a Prospect List: Where Do You Start?

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008 | Jessica Castaneda

Your prospect list should be the foundation of your sales strategy. It should be the very first thing your sales team does to prepare for any type of sales or marketing activity – be it cold calling or a full-on target account program. A strategically developed and validated prospect list is the most important element to any successful sales program. Yet it is often the most neglected part of the sales process.

The best prospect lists are made, not bought.
By this I don’t mean you cannot start with a purchased list. Hoovers, Dun & Bradstreet or even appropriate publications and associations are great channels to gather potential sales targets. But you cannot stop there. These lists are fantastic until about 60 seconds after you purchase them. Without a good degree of validation from sales teams – meaning actively reaching out to each contact and verifying that they are still at the company and their contact information is still correct, they get stale very quickly. Once you have the right information in your system, you can use it as part of a Keep-in-Touch (KIT) Program or Target Account Program (TAP).

Know your target.
The best way to identify the right target for your company is to know what you are looking for. Take a look at your current clients. Who are your best clients right now? Who are your ideal clients, those you wish you were doing business with? Are your best clients also your ideal clients? If not, why not? Questions like these will help you narrow down the type of prospects you would like to go after. It will also help you segment prospects into categories – “A list” are those prospects who fit your “ideal” criteria, “B list” may be prospects who would be good to have in your client base, but not as ideal as the “A list”, and so on. Moving clients from the “B list” to the “A list” are important too. Once you know who you want and their priority for your firm, your sales team has a much clearer plan of attack and can more productively spend their time getting the right business.

Know your list.
Once you have a base list of prospects, your team should make sure that list is up-to-date and accurate. Nothing says “uninterested in my business” like a campaign targeted to the CIO who left 10 months prior. I remember a firm who developed a high-end, multi-week direct mail campaign to CIOs. The campaign theme was on target, the message compelling and the giveaways were interesting. Management asked the sales team for its “top tier” prospects to be included in the program. All was set and the campaign launched. Then, nothing. What happened? Come to find out when management “took a closer look” at the prospect lists their sales team swore by, they realized over 50% of the e-mails were incorrect, resulting in only half of the campaign reaching targeted prospects. Not to mention that many of the targets were no longer with those organizations. It’s no wonder the campaign ROI was low. It starts with knowing your list, knowing your targets.

Grow and nurture your list.
Your prospect list should be a growing part of your business. As you interact with targets on your list, they will move up and down in priority as their needs and interests change. Some “B list” folks may move up to the “A list” and conversely some “A list” targets may be demoted to a “B list” prospect. But, regardless of where on the list your targets fall, they should never be ignored. The point of prioritizing your prospect list is to identify who gets your most immediate and fervent attention – not who gets attention, period. Keeping constant communication with your list is the only way to keep it current. Communication vehicles such as Keep-In-Touch (KIT) Programs or Target Account Programs (TAP) are great ways to do just that.

Adding to your list.
The best way to grow your prospect list is what we call the “homegrown” approach. This isn’t an earth-shattering revelation. Basically, you add people with whom you’ve come in contact and had a chance to interact and evaluate. It may be someone from a conference, networking lunch or little league. It could be online leads, such as those from LinkedIn or Facebook.

Don’t forget your current accounts.
If you haven’t captured 100% of your current clients’ business then they should be on your prospect list. Different departments, sister divisions, the list goes on. Use your loyal clients within these businesses to help you spread the word. Penetration programs targeting specific companies are a great way to give you an edge over outside competition. In any sales program, never forget to include your current clients and penetration leads.

Quality over quantity.
Wouldn’t you rather invest time and resources into 100 solid prospects who will get you the type of business that will move your company forward than in 1,000 prospects who may end up wasting your time and resources?

A little due diligence, some solid prioritizing and a program of constant communication can help you develop relationships with leads that will pay off well into the future.

Document list activity.
One last step, crucial to the success of your prospect list, is documenting your activity in a Contact Management System (CMS). While it can be a hassle to keep up, the CMS helps you manage your prospects and keep track of who you called or reached out to, and when. Depending on the CMS your company uses, you can even track the success of your marketing campaigns. It also helps with metrics, so you know personally how much activity you require to meet your goals. When your prospect list is managed properly, at campaign time you can more easily pull your list of contacts and know you’ll see a greater return. And isn’t that the reason for your list in the first place?

Jessica Castaneda
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Business & Marketing Strategy | No Comments »

The Battle Between Monitors and Printers: Why What You See Isn’t Always What You Get

Monday, November 26th, 2007 | Michelle LoGerfo

Have you ever noticed that the colors you see on your monitor or desktop printouts don’t exactly match the colors on the pieces you get professionally printed? My goal today is to help you understand why this sometimes happens, and how you can better manage your print jobs to ensure a better color match. First, it’s important to understand some lingo we use in the design and printing world. Here are a few abbreviations we use, and what they represent:

• RGB – refers to the colors red, green and blue
• CMYK – stands for cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black
• PMS – stands for Pantone Matching System®

The differences between RGB and CMYK

RGB is used in computer monitors, digital cameras, scanners and art designed for the Web. RGB is used for Web work, whereas CMYK and PMS are used for print work. For best results, your artwork should be created in PMS or CMYK from the start, not created in RGB and then converted later on.

Why doesn’t the color on my monitor match the printout?

The colors that you see on your computer screen may not exactly match what is reproduced by a high quality offset printing press — or, for that matter, even your desktop printer. Your computer monitor is calibrated in RGB — due to the different color models and the wide variation in monitor technologies, the colors will be similar, but not exact. Because of these differences the colors from one monitor to another may be quite different; therefore, you can’t realistically judge or compare what you see on screen to a printed product.

Another avenue you can’t use to “match” press colors is the desktop printer. If you print a sample on your inkjet or laser color printer, there may be instances of substantial variations from the high quality produced from an offset lithographic printing press. This is due to the widely-varying results from different output devices including inkjet, thermal, dye sublimation and color laser printers, papers, inks, materials and even printers. Bottom line: when placed side-by-side, it is unlikely that the printed product you get from your commercial printer will match the colors on your monitor or a printout from your desktop printer. If your color is critical, be sure to order a color approval proof to be printed on the same material as your final graphics.

Offset Press Printing

Most high quality commercial printing is done on an offset press using a four-color process called CMYK. As I mentioned before, CMYK stands for cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black. These four colors are used to create the various shades of color on any given product. Offset printing can be 1-,
2-, 3- or 4-color. A separate film needs to be shot for each of the colors. Each time a color is added to the press, the press has to be washed down and the new ink added. Hence, the more colors used, the more expensive the printing costs.

Spot Colors

Spot colors are used most frequently for one and two color jobs and when an exact color needs to be produced every time. Logos are perfect examples for spot colors. The Pantone® PMS color matching system is most frequently used for selection and printing of spot colors. For example, if your logo or brand is represented with a distinctive blue, be sure to let your commercial printer know this color needs to match a specific PMS. This number will then be matched on the press to deliver the exact result you need. If your logo wasn’t created in PMS colors then you will need to try and match your color using a Pantone Guide.

Will my graphics match our Pantone® (PMS) solid ink colors?

To see how your PMS solid ink colors will reproduce in CMYK, it is suggested you review a Pantone® Color Bridge, or as it used to be known, a solid to process guide at Pantone’s Web site. The guide shows what happens when you reproduce Pantone Matching System® (PMS) colors in CMYK. Although many can be successfully simulated, a large majority cannot due to the limitations inherent in 4-color process (CMYK) printing. The fan guide displays Pantone® colors on stock alongside their closest 4-color process match. The CMYK screen values are provided for each process color.

As you can tell, printing issues and lingo can be a lot to take in. But by understanding the printing process, and the obstacles that can come up during it, you ensure that there won’t be any surprises waiting for you the next time you visit the printer. Stay tuned for more design tips in blogs to come…

Michelle LoGerfo
Graphic Designer
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Business & Marketing Strategy | 2 Comments »

Crucial Question for Business Owners: Will You Know How to Answer?

Friday, November 16th, 2007 | Leslie Vickrey

In the wake of the 2007 NACCB Annual Conference & Tradeshow in Las Vegas, I’m still thinking about the valuable information I was able to absorb while I was there.

Marking its 20th anniversary, the NACCB Annual Conference & Trade Show was a huge success with one of the highest turnouts ever. The event continues to be a great venue for senior executives in the IT services industry to share ideas with each other. From techniques on winning new clients to insights on the ever-changing world economy, everyone who attended the conference had something interesting to reveal–and to learn.

One of the most memorable lessons, for me (really a refresher course for us marketers to remind ourselves and our clients), came from Scott Ginsberg, speaker and author of Hello, My Name is Scott, The Power of Approachability, Make a Name for Yourself and How to be That Guy.

During his presentation, Scott asked conference goers ‘What are you known for?’ A question that some business owners know right away, many struggle to answer, but we all should ask ourselves. After all, if the owner of the business can’t sell someone on what makes their own company and services unique, then how can the sales team, or anyone on staff for that matter, be expected to do so? We discussed this crucial question during a marketing roundtable I had the opportunity to host, as well as two key thoughts Scott mentioned that are also imperative for a flourishing business, and more specifically, a brand that is impossible to forget.

Get noticed. Get remembered. Get business.
In the world of marketing, perhaps no project can accomplish these three things for your business more effectively than a combined Target Account Program (TAP) and Keep-in-Touch strategy. A TAP that includes a series of clever, informative drop-offs makes your prospective clients notice you, remember you, and if you follow through on it effectively, it encourages them to hire you. It’s one thing to have a list of potential clients. But it’s quite another to actively show them what your business is capable of while building a personal relationship with them, as a combined target account program and keep-in-touch strategy enables you to do.

Consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness.
A consistent message strategy is vital in engaging clients and keeping them for the long term. A fancy business card or a sharp tagline won’t get you far without a solid message and value proposition to back it up. A simple, unwavering message sets a foundation for your business to serve clients. It lets them know what they can expect to attain from working with you.

Before I go, I want to say I hope you gained as much from these ideas brought up at this year’s conference as I have. And the next time someone asks you what makes your business unique, I hope you have an unforgettable answer. Well, do you?

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Business & Marketing Strategy | 2 Comments »

It’s Not Just Your Blog, It’s Your Business

Monday, October 8th, 2007 | Sarah Schunk

In my last post, I discussed how blogging, when done right, can be a valuable means for businesses to communicate with key audiences (customers, prospects, partners, analysts). However, the nature of blogging itself is risky; it gives one individual a powerful platform for communicating to the masses. Businesses need to be very careful in minimizing blogging risks by vetting and approving company blog content.“WAIT,” the purist might say. “A blog is one person’s journal, a unique perspective on the world. It’s not authentic if it’s shaped around business priorities and messaging standards.” That’s true only if that individual is representing merely himself/herself to the world. If the blog, however, is on a company site, discussing company issues, that blog is a business ambassador and must behave as such.

Consider this blogging blunder by a Microsoft employee, a story that was detailed in Al Sacco’s blog on CIO.com. It’s an interesting case because the blogger was writing on his own personal blog page, but he divulged proprietary company information and a Web link to internal company resources that he learned of while at his job at Microsoft. In this case, the employee was at fault, fault, fault and should have known by confidential agreements and common sense that such information can’t be made public unless the company has made it public.

In this age of online social networking and blogging, it’s important for businesses to remind employees that they cannot share proprietary company information with the public. Few employees are out to be malicious, they just forget or (as we all are guilty of at times) they are just not thinking.

Businesses need to be rigorous in creating and updating confidentiality agreements. We all need to be reminded of what you can and can’t say about business information in public forums. Reading and signing confidentiality agreements is an important way to help employees better manage the information they are given.

As for company blogs and blog entries, businesses need to make sure they are centrally reviewed before they are posted. Whether it’s communication teams or management teams doing the reviews, all entries going on company Web sites should be checked for accuracy, good grammar and to ensure that no proprietary or inappropriate information is being leaked.

Company blogs are a company product and should be in their very best form when they hit the Internet. No business strives to communicate and deliver mediocrity and blog entries should not become the place to start.

Sarah Schunk
Senior Writer
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Business & Marketing Strategy | No Comments »

No Prospect List? No Chance for Sales Glory.

Friday, October 5th, 2007 | Leslie Vickrey

Hands down one of the greatest surprises in my work with IT services firms is how often I encounter a company trying to run sales and marketing programs without prospect lists. Having a targeted list of qualified prospects (target account list) is sales and marketing 101, yet so many businesses have forgotten the importance and effectiveness of narrowing their sales scope in order to concentrate on the best opportunities.

Many sales professionals will look at me like I have a second head if I ask, “How big is the current prospect list you are working from? Or, how many times a week are you contacting the individuals on your prospect list?”

In sales and marketing, you have to have a bit of a bounty hunter’s mindset. You must know who your “Most Wanted” targets are and go after them with strategic, creative assertiveness. Without a well-developed prospect list, a significant amount of your sales and marketing efforts go to waste on unqualified or uninterested parties. With a strong prospect list, you are continually sending valuable messages to potential clients that need, use and have the funds for the services your organization provides.

As the final sales quarter of 2007 gets underway for businesses, I want to provide sales professionals with a 10-point reminder of the numerous reasons why it’s so important to work from a qualified prospect list:

Why Prospect Lists Are a MUST

1. Focus. A qualified prospect list allows sales professionals to focus on the best business and revenue opportunities.

2. Time. Sales professionals reduce their workloads significantly by building and working from one list of prospects that is regularly updated rather than sending out new information to a constantly changing group of recipients. They also don’t waste time chasing the wrong prospects.

3. Effectiveness. Working from a list of qualified prospects will always be more effective than striking out on your own with each new sales and marketing program. The prospect lists allows you to concentrate on the best sales opportunities, which increases your likelihood of making sales.

4. Profiling. Having a target prospect list helps sales and marketing professionals to define and know the profile (size, industry, challenges, etc.) of target companies. It makes the entire marketing and sales organization more focused and effective.

5. Greater Access. With a targeted prospect, sales people have time to better get to know, research and make contact with the company. They are more likely going to have the time and resources to get to reach and know key decision makers, a vital step in the sales process.

6. Reduced Redundancy. When sales teams do not work from prospect lists, they run the risk of having multiple sales professionals contact the same company. The result is a business looks disorganized to the prospective client. When all sales teams work on qualified sales lists that are centrally vetted for redundancies, these types of awkward sales replications will not occur.

7. Measurement. When a prospect list is used it is much easier for a business to measure the effectiveness of sales and marketing programs. The organization gains important insight into why certain programs piqued the interest of prospects and why others failed to make an impact.

8. Increased Organization. A qualified list is a critical tool in organizing the busy, busy schedule of today’s sales professionals who must make calls, attend events, go to business and sales events, make business pitches and attend meetings. The list is another important tool that allows sales professionals to measure and keep track of their progress in reaching prospects.

9. Image & Brand Building. Focusing marketing and sales messages on key clients in a strategic, focused method is one of the best ways to build a strong, memorable brand with key businesses. The prospect list allows marketing teams and the sales professionals to customize and direct messages to the target, creating stronger, more resonant messages.

10. Timing. The prospect list is also an important tool for helping determine how much time you have invested with a prospect. If prospecting efforts with a qualified lead have gone on for numerous months with zero response, it may be time to move the prospect to a secondary list in order to add new, warmer prospects to the A list.

Stay tuned to the ClearEdge blog for more on how to organize and update prospect lists and how to keep prospect lists growing with proven lead generation techniques.

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Business & Marketing Strategy | No Comments »

Cozying Up to Frigid Prospects

Friday, August 31st, 2007 | Jessica Castaneda

You know the ones, prospects who never take your calls, send you straight to voice mail or are heading into yet another meeting. If only they would give you five minutes of their time, you could tell them why your solutions are faster/better/different and how you can positively impact their business. Just five minutes! It’s frustrating. So much so that sometimes you just want to get into your car and head over there in person. And that is not such a bad idea.

But, before you stand outside their door screaming their name ala Marlon Brando in “A Street Car Named Desire,” you may want to put a plan together. That’s where a Target Account Program (TAP) can help. As the name suggests, a TAP is intended to help you target and get in front of your business’ level 1, gold-star, key prospects. It is a planned, scheduled and methodically executed multi-week program that uses a variety of marketing approaches – mail, in-person visits, calls, e-mail, etc. to help you stand out from the crowd. TAPs can vary depending on your target audience, but usually they involve in-person drop-offs of information about your services delivered in a clever and interesting manner often accompanied by a small giveaway that ties in with your message and theme.

Even the most cold-hearted prospect can’t ignore someone visiting week after week dropping off clever, funny or meaningful information – that is professional, interesting and always relevant to their business.

Choosing the “gold-star” prospects

In the book “Positioning: The Battle for your Mind” veteran marketing strategists Al Ries and Jack Trout write that an average person can rarely remember more than seven brands in any given product category. And that’s in a high-interest category. In low-interest categories, the average person is hard-pressed to remember more than one or two brands. Because of the clever and personal nature of TAP programs, they are a great way to get you a coveted spot in your prospects’ minds. But, because of their success, it’s natural to want to include as many prospects as possible in the TAP. Why not? If getting into the brains of 10 key prospects is good, 20 must be better, right? Not so fast.

The key to a successful TAP is planning, and the first step in planning a TAP is developing a pristine prospect list. Here are some critical things to consider:

Industry – Keep in mind that a key element in a TAP is the drop-offs. You’ll want to make sure you can

Archive for the ‘Business & Marketing Strategy’ Category

The differences between RGB and CMYK

Why doesn’t the color on my monitor match the printout?

Offset Press Printing

Spot Colors

Will my graphics match our Pantone® (PMS) solid ink colors?