The following blog post was contributed by Thaddeus B. Kubis, author of Guide to Integrated Marketing and Media Convergence: The Print Provider’s Guide to Use, Sell, and Profit from Integrated marketing and Emerging Technologies, the Printing Industries Press February/March Book of the Month. What is “integrated marketing communications,” and how can I profit from this process? Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the multi-vitamin of marketing, a tool that allows marketers to provide messages per planned dosages of when, where, how, and why to a targeted demographic or vertical. An advantage of IMC is that a PSP/CSP [print services provider/communications service provider] can interact and offer many of the media tools used to deliver the prescribed dosage. Tools such as flyers, brochures, and other promotional material are obvious ones, but what about the very quickly changing media landscape detailed below? Which tools can you simply add to your service mix to expand your business and increase your profits? Changing Media Landscape Advertising: Broadcast Online Mobile Print Out of Home Direct Marketing: Direct Mail Email Events POP/POS Education Digital Marketing: SEO/SEM Remarketing (retargeting) Social Media Websites/Microsites/Landing Pages Public Relations Media Relations: Analyst Relations Investor Relations Adding IMC tools to your service mix not only will help you develop a dialogue with a prospect or existing customer, but will also allow you to keep the conversation moving forward and allow you to grab the golden ring of sales potential— engagement! Engagement means you have an open door to a potential (or existing) client, a door that may have been closed to you before, but is now ajar because you are no longer directly selling. Consultative type selling is not new to this or other businesses. What is new is the simple fact that your existing and potential customers are looking for a consultant to provide new ideas and new ways to reduce cost, increase sales, and expand their profits. IMC allows you to promote the concept of profit advocacy, which is both good for you and your customer. Profit advocacy turns the table. Customers no longer start or end with “What is the cost to print this flyer?” Instead, they might ask, “How can you assist me in developing increased response, reducing my cost per order, and increasing my sales?” That is why IMC is a multi-vitamin; it not only provides measured dosages but also provides both a short-term solution and a long-term strategy to marketing wellness. Integrated marketing linked to media convergence is a pathfinder to increased business, new and expanded existing business, and increased involvement with your customer and prospect needs. They are tools that enable you to develop a dialogue and establish ongoing engagement that continues the conversation your...

The following blog post was contributed by Thaddeus B. Kubis, author of Guide to Integrated Marketing and Media Convergence: The Print Provider’s Guide to Use, Sell, and Profit from Integrated marketing and Emerging Technologies, the Printing Industries Press February/March Book of the Month. What is “integrated marketing communications,” and how can I profit from this process? Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the multi-vitamin of marketing, a tool that allows marketers to provide messages per planned dosages of when, where, how, and why to a targeted demographic or vertical. An advantage of IMC is that a PSP/CSP [print services provider/communications service provider] can interact and offer many of the media tools used to deliver the prescribed dosage. Tools such as flyers, brochures, and other promotional material are obvious ones, but what about the very quickly changing media landscape detailed below? Which tools can you simply add to your service mix to expand your business and increase your profits? Changing Media Landscape Advertising: Broadcast Online Mobile Print Out of Home Direct Marketing: Direct Mail Email Events POP/POS Education Digital Marketing: SEO/SEM Remarketing (retargeting) Social Media Websites/Microsites/Landing Pages Public Relations Media Relations: Analyst Relations Investor Relations Adding IMC tools to your service mix not only will help you develop a dialogue with a prospect or existing customer, but will also allow you to keep the conversation moving forward and allow you to grab the golden ring of sales potential— engagement! Engagement means you have an open door to a potential (or existing) client, a door that may have been closed to you before, but is now ajar because you are no longer directly selling. Consultative type selling is not new to this or other businesses. What is new is the simple fact that your existing and potential customers are looking for a consultant to provide new ideas and new ways to reduce cost, increase sales, and expand their profits. IMC allows you to promote the concept of profit advocacy, which is both good for you and your customer. Profit advocacy turns the table. Customers no longer start or end with “What is the cost to print this flyer?” Instead, they might ask, “How can you assist me in developing increased response, reducing my cost per order, and increasing my sales?” That is why IMC is a multi-vitamin; it not only provides measured dosages but also provides both a short-term solution and a long-term strategy to marketing wellness. Integrated marketing linked to media convergence is a pathfinder to increased business, new and expanded existing business, and increased involvement with your customer and prospect needs. They are tools that enable you to develop a dialogue and establish ongoing engagement that continues the conversation your...

The following is a guest blog from Daniel G. Wilson. In addition to being author of The New PrintScape: A Crash Course in Graphic Communications, he is a professor in the Department of Technology and coordinator of the Graphic Communications degree program at Illinois State University.  There is a growing trend toward an environment of accountability in higher education today.  Current U.S. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan is proposing that federal dollars be linked to college program “quality.” Early in 2006, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings issued “A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education.” A major conclusion of the report is that there is a lack of accountability and transparency in colleges and universities. As a result, there is a major movement toward systems of continuous improvement, and a new emphasis is being placed on a kind of quality assurance called “learning outcomes assessment,” mandated by many states for colleges and university degree programs.  In college programs, it used to be enough to test the students in each course and assess learning in little bits and pieces along the way and just give out grades. I sit on the accreditation board for graphic communications-oriented college programs, called the Accrediting Council for Collegiate Graphic Communications (ACCGC). We just met at PRINT 13. What accreditation assures is, essentially, that a system or quality assurance is in place for the educational program. This is achieved mainly through a process of learning outcomes assessment. The essential concept of learning outcomes assessment is to develop very broadly stated knowledge and/or skill-based outcomes that graduates of the degree program are expected to have learned, and then to figure out ways to measure the outcomes. For example, our faculty and advisory board for the graphic communications degree program at Illinois State University have developed these six learning outcomes: Create and manage digital media content, including photographic, illustration, video, and animation. Develop production-ready graphic layouts for digital media, print products, and cross-media products like publications, packages, labels, and signage. Participate productively in a range of graphic production processes, including printing (litho, flexo, digital), e-publishing, cross-media, and website development. Employ a technology management skill set, including project management, quality control, and business practices. Learn independently within the context of the graphic communications discipline. Solve problems within the context of the graphic communications discipline. How to measure these outcomes effectively is a challenge. We do this in our program at ISU through a number of different measures. Students have to complete a senior project, we survey employers of our graduates, and we survey graduates themselves: the resulting data give us a pretty accurate picture of learning. But that’s not enough: once measured the program faculty...

The following is a guest blog from Daniel G. Wilson. In addition to being author of The New PrintScape: A Crash Course in Graphic Communications, he is a professor in the Department of Technology and coordinator of the Graphic Communications degree program at Illinois State University.  There is a growing trend toward an environment of accountability in higher education today.  Current U.S. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan is proposing that federal dollars be linked to college program “quality.” Early in 2006, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings issued “A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education.” A major conclusion of the report is that there is a lack of accountability and transparency in colleges and universities. As a result, there is a major movement toward systems of continuous improvement, and a new emphasis is being placed on a kind of quality assurance called “learning outcomes assessment,” mandated by many states for colleges and university degree programs.  In college programs, it used to be enough to test the students in each course and assess learning in little bits and pieces along the way and just give out grades. I sit on the accreditation board for graphic communications-oriented college programs, called the Accrediting Council for Collegiate Graphic Communications (ACCGC). We just met at PRINT 13. What accreditation assures is, essentially, that a system or quality assurance is in place for the educational program. This is achieved mainly through a process of learning outcomes assessment. The essential concept of learning outcomes assessment is to develop very broadly stated knowledge and/or skill-based outcomes that graduates of the degree program are expected to have learned, and then to figure out ways to measure the outcomes. For example, our faculty and advisory board for the graphic communications degree program at Illinois State University have developed these six learning outcomes: Create and manage digital media content, including photographic, illustration, video, and animation. Develop production-ready graphic layouts for digital media, print products, and cross-media products like publications, packages, labels, and signage. Participate productively in a range of graphic production processes, including printing (litho, flexo, digital), e-publishing, cross-media, and website development. Employ a technology management skill set, including project management, quality control, and business practices. Learn independently within the context of the graphic communications discipline. Solve problems within the context of the graphic communications discipline. How to measure these outcomes effectively is a challenge. We do this in our program at ISU through a number of different measures. Students have to complete a senior project, we survey employers of our graduates, and we survey graduates themselves: the resulting data give us a pretty accurate picture of learning. But that’s not enough: once measured the program faculty...

The following is contributed by Ryan T. Sauers, President and Owner of Sauers Consulting Strategies The entire sales process is often looked down on by many due to pushy, gimmicky, and unethical salespersons who create a bad name for the overall and traditional sales profession. Most salespersons I know, however, have a great passion for their endeavor and try to perform it as honestly and ethically as possible. You see, ethical sales = great communications. Our communications must provide the 5 Cs of effective communications: Clarity, Consistency, Content, Connection and Creativity. If our communications are not clear, lack content, are inconsistent, do not provide connections, and lack creativity, we are not getting the job done. Sales is all about two-way communications—with an “s” —and a two-way dialogue, not one-way communication (singular) and a monologue. Success in sales/communications is not about how much you talk, but about how much you listen. It’s not about how many times you share how great your company is, but how many problems and headaches you can solve.  Sales/communications (plural) is about relationships and integrity. It’s about solving root issues by asking intelligent “why” questions. This Everyone is in Sales mindset is about being a strong overall communicator and adapting one’s communications style to best meet the needs of the other person. In short, Everyone Is in Sales because we all have information that we desire to share with other people. We want to be understood, right? Are you sold yet? Ryan T. Sauers is President and Owner of Sauers Consulting Strategies. Before launching the independent consulting firm, Ryan spent nearly 20 years leading graphics, MSP, and visual communications companies. The company consults with graphics related organizations across the United States. He is the author of Everyone Is in Sales, available at the Printing Industries of America bookstore. For more info, visit...

Once again, Printing Industries of America is featuring another great title from Printing Industries Press as our Book of the Month for April/May 2012. Direct Mail Pal 2012: A Direct Mail Production Handbook covers all of the changes in postal rules, rates, options, and practices in order to help you navigate through a changing environment and effectively plan and operate while maximizing your profitability. If you are a direct mail production professional or printer expanding into direct mail, novice or experienced, this handbook is for you. Direct mail personalization, according to recent data, rose 46 percent from 2010 to 2011. With the proper knowledge and planning this book provides,  you can take advantage of this growing trend. This publication is highly recommended by our staff here at Printing Industries of America for its current information and comprehensive scope. Amy Woodall, director of Technical Information, Printing Industries Press, shared some insights about Direct Mail Pal 2012. Ms. Woodall served as editor and project manager on this publication and worked closely with the book’s authors, T.  J. Tedesco and Charley Howard. Here, she shares her insights with us about the Book of the Month: Why did you choose Direct Mail Pal 2012 as the Book of the Month for April/May 2012? This is one of our newest titles from Printing Industries Press and a long-time best seller. The first edition was released ten years ago and has been on the top ten list of our publications since its release. An updated version was long overdue. This book was chosen as the book of the month because I wanted to be sure people knew about the wealth of information about direct mail available in this update. The authors mentioned in your interview with them that this book helps printers with new rates and regulations set by the USPS. In what ways does the book address these new concerns? The actual rate charts are included and broken down by per piece rates, per pound rates, automation, compatibility, and more. The USPS’s new rules and specs can be difficult to navigate, and the book is an easy reference tool. It also goes into a lot of detail about why changes went into effect and what you as a mailing professional can do to take advantage of them—and what to expect in the future. What are some other important topics explored in the book? A lot of attention is given to design and data concerns and other issues you should think about before preparing a mailing. There is also a new barcode called the Intelligent Mail barcode that encodes automation, tracking, and other mailstream information about the piece, such as routing codes, serial numbers, and...