Editor's Note: APDSP member Daphne Best, owner of MS Dallas, needed a marketing piece to keep her firm in front of her customers' eyes recently, and she turned to Maureen Walker. Walker has been in the advertising and marketing business for 25 years, and is currently proprietor of MAVEN Marketing & Creative, which helps small and mid-size businesses with marketing issues. We decided Maureen would be a great source for tips for other reprographics firms to market during this crisis. She answered our questions below.
In communications with clients during this crisis, reprographics shops (and any small business) need to balance optimism with reality. Any ideas on what to say? What message should we be sending to clients?
Play the long game.
Ok, I know times are tough on you, your business, and, well, all of us. But what I’m about to say is going to hurt, so let’s just pull off the band-aid: STOP TRYING TO SELL. I can’t emphasize this enough.
A crisis is not an opportunity to profit off others. And yet, marketing must continue to keep your brand as relevant and as thoughtful as before the crisis hit.
Instead, offer value. What consumers need right now is information and support. Anything else right now is self-serving and potentially confusing. Think about inbound marketing strategies and content marketing. What is your added value? You are a printer, sure, but what else can you offer your consumer? Stay in the forefront of your clients’ and prospects’ minds so that when they’re ready to make a purchase, they’ll think of you.
To make the biggest impact with your customers and keep them engaged, you either need to ensure your company is either doing good for the community or presenting content that makes people feel good.
As businesses begin re-opening, we understand money will be tight. On the other hand, we desperately need revenue, and our services (signs, banners, etc.) can help them announce their re-opening. How can we communicate to our clients the availability of our services while remaining sensitive to their financial difficulties?
Remember that, like all things, this WILL end. None of us have a crystal ball to predict when. So the businesses that are prepared to hit the ground running will be the ones to come out on top.
Encourage your clients to be good scouts and “Be Prepared.” Put an ad up on your google business page offering 10% off “we’re open” banners to companies who order by 5/15 (pick a date ahead of your community’s proposed reopening date). Get an email campaign to your customers encouraging them to get ahead of the reopening rush and offer a discount.
Think outside the box: Make a generic free “now open for take-out and delivery” poster for windows of local restaurants. It should have your logo in the corner. Offer it to places that give you business normally. Use it as an offer of good will to ones that don’t normally use you and maybe they will in the future.
What do you think are the best media to use to communicate with clients now (email? social media? direct mail? etc.)
Stick to digital media: email campaigns, social media, blogs.
More People are Using Social Media Regularly. As people are forced to stay inside and practice social distancing, they are looking for ways to stay connected to others, and social media is filling that void. Let businesses know that you are there for them; that you support them. #wereallinthistogether and #youarenotalone are not just hashtags. If used correctly, they can be a unifying rallying point.
You are your brand. What helps separate you from your competition is, well, YOU. Use social media to foster client relationships. I wrote a whole LinkedIn article about this here: https://bit.ly/2yvb5V5
Email is great. But we’re all receiving So. Much. Email. Enough with the doom and gloom. Keep things honest, but light and on-point.
And if you’re going to do an email campaign, you can follow it up with direct mail. After all, you are in the reprographics business. But your mailer has to stand out and cut through the clutter.
What else is important, from a communications and marketing standpoint, for reprographics shops to understand right now?
When the economy reopens – and IT WILL – there will be a huge rush to market. Try to get your clients prepared with things they will need before the rush gets to you.
Recognize nobody is coming out of this the same way we went in. Take a good look at your customer personas. Are they the same? What has changed? Can you predict any new pain points? How will you address them?
Start planning your own response to the economy reopening. What if it stretches on for a few more weeks? What content will you share?
And what will your business look like in 6 months? In a year from now? keep this vision tucked away in your pocket like an old polaroid. Pull it out whenever you need that extra motivation. And let’s get to work with this game plan.
It’s all about getting ahead of the curve.
Need more help? Walker is offering APDSP members a customized marketing piece that fits the advice she's given above. It costs just $250, or $399 if you want to add an email drip campaign package. Contact her for more information: 617-472-8126, mo@mavenmarketingcreative.com.