Technology Stimulating the Evolution of Small Businesses

by Cynthia Fedor | January 26th, 2012

Small business marketingToday I came across an informative yet short and sweet article titled, “How Running a Small Business Has Changed,” on AMEX’s Open Forum site. It featured an interview with Jay Goltz, a 33-year veteran small-business owner and New York Times columnist. When asked, “Why is small business different now than ever before?” he answered, referencing today’s challenging economic climate:

“The interesting part about this one is you’ve got a recession and at the very same time you’ve got technological advancements that have changed the business environment. It used to be if the economy went bad, you suffered through it, cut some expenses, and, a year later, things went back to business as usual. Now… the fact is, you need to continue to spend money to stay up with the new technologies in the changing marketplace.”

For SMB’s to stay competitive, or even simply remain in business today, they need to utilize available technologies to streamline processes, uncover new efficiencies, and better connect with consumers whenever and wherever they can.
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Technology a Big Focus at 2011’s REALTORS Conference & Expo

by Jamie Klemcke | November 16th, 2011

TriggerMarketingThis year at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Anaheim, CA, the focus was on new technology and faster, easier ways to get everyday tasks completed. There was a definite shift from the ‘old regime’ to a new generation of real estate professionals; not necessarily having anything to do with age, rather, a shift in business and marketing strategy. Not many attendees wanted to take printed collateral from booths that they visited. Instead, many asked for an overview of information. They could also be seen snapping photos with their smart phones of booths and information that intrigued them.

QuantumDigital’s mission this year was also focused on delivering time-saving technologies to busy real estate professionals. TriggerMarketing® was featured at QuantumDigital’s booth. It’s an instant just listed/sold program that uses the best of traditional mail, mobile response technologies, the web and social media to deliver warm, local leads directly to the agents inbox.  Agents, brokers and top decision makers alike all commented that the program was a “no brainer” and could save them valuable time. The goal, many said, is to get more listings in this competitive market and they could see how TriggerMarketing could help them quickly build awareness in their communities.

TriggerMarketingThe TriggerMarketing program integrates with property listing databases. Within seconds of adding a new listing or changing the status of an existing listing in a database, the program sends the listing agent an email asking if they would like to launch a campaign. Postcards are immediately designed using key information about the listed or sold property, along with photos and trackable technologies. When a recipient responds to the direct mail postcard by scanning a QR code, texting a short code, or typing a unique code on a landing page, the agent receives a real-time warm-lead alert which allows them to immediately follow up. Read More »

USPS Makes Local Direct Mail Postcard Marketing More Complex than Necessary with New ‘Every Door Direct Mail’ Program

by Cynthia Fedor | October 26th, 2011

Local direct mail marketing
In an effort to stimulate direct mail marketing activities and generate revenue from postage on direct mail postcard campaigns, the USPS has been rolling out various programs targeted at small business owners and DIY marketers. An article in the October 2011 issue of Deliver magazine features their latest service offering called Every Door Direct Mail. It’s described as a “simplified mailing process” or an easy way for businesses to target prospects in specific geographic areas, even if they don’t have a list of names and addresses at their disposal.

To a small business owner strapped for time and unfamiliar with direct mail marketing execution, this program sounds like a dream. Unfortunately, the given summary of the program is grossly oversimplified and fails to mention huge flaws.

For starters, small business owners and marketers willing to try the Every Door Direct Mail program will need to make sure their running shoes are tied on securely—because they’ll have to make several trips to their local Post Office. Rather than the four–step process advertised by the program’s description, marketers will have to do a lot to get mail out the door and into local mailboxes.
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What’s the Difference: Digital Printing vs. Offset Printing

by Cynthia Fedor | October 10th, 2011

What is on–demand, digital printing? Defined, it’s a printing technology that allows for digital files to be quickly and economically printed in short run quantities (short run is considered about 5,000 prints or less). However, what on–demand, digital printing actually is and what it can do for a business is much greater than its definition.

On–demand, digital printing is a powerful accumulation of technologies that will change the way you communicate with your audience.

Before I get into describing all the benefits of using on–demand, digital print technology, I think it would be helpful for you to understand the traditional commercial printing process. In contrast to it, you’ll be able to appreciate the significant advantages of on–demand, digital printing.

The most common technique used for high–volume commercial printing today is color offset printing. It’s a method that prints layers of four, and sometimes six, different colors of semi–transparent ink on top of one another in order to reproduce the original image.

The Color Offset Printing Process

offset printingThe process starts with having the original artwork, image and text, separated into red, green and blue components.  Each of those color separations are then inverted and negatives are produced.  Think of it like a roll of film from your camera.  When it’s developed, the images on the negative are represented in colors opposite to the actual, true–life color values.  In color offset printing, the opposite to red, green and blue is cyan, magenta, and yellow, respectively—the three main pigments used in printing to reproduce color images.  In addition, a black separation is made to help “fill in” shadows and improve contrast of the image.

Next, each color separation, or layer, is represented on a plate or screen.  Ink will be rolled onto each of those four screens. Then, the screens will be aligned and, one at a time, each screen will be pressed against paper to transfer the ink and reproduce the original image.

As you can see, preparing and printing the artwork using a color offset process is arduous and time consuming.  There is little room for missteps or errors.  Flexibility to allow slight adjustments in marketing message is just about non–existent. Read More »