The professors of the civil engineering department of the State University at Red Branch were trying to think of a better way to stay in touch with students. With their busy schedules, so many of them failed to communicate with the professors about late papers or missed classes, and some were falling behind. Typical of students, they always had excuses, but the problem for the professors was that when students fall behind it slows the whole class down. They wanted a solution ? something simple and straightforward that would help to solve this problem once and for all.
They decided to call on someone they knew who might be in a position to advise them: a salesman at a full service printing company and who had helped them in the past. They ran into him by chance, and they invited him over to visit them in their location. After listening to their concerns and understanding their situation, he came back to them and recommended a bookmark.
The salesman said that bookmarks would be perfect because students carried books with them whenever they went to class or the library. A bookmark with the professor?s contact information on it would take care of a lot of problems. The students could use the website contact information to go to the departmental site and see what the schedules were. They could use a QR code printed on the bookmark to go to the professor?s personal page and look up class assignments or homework problems. They could go to the Facebook page for any class in question and see what comments other students had made about current classroom activities.
All in all, a bookmark program would do wonders for keeping students informed of what was going on.
The imagery of bookmarks can be surprisingly important. Some class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>people like book marks to actually reflect the look of the books themselves, which for many class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>people means that they have a look as though they belong in a finely furnished library: dark and woodsy in tones. Others are looking for something colorful and amusing. You really just have to make those sorts of decisions based on who you are marketing to and what you know about your demographics.
We would suggest picking the product or service that your company is known for. Let?s say you are a lawn care company. Certainly, a color scheme must include green. But it could just as easily be highly floral in design, and if you are going to go that far, perhaps a highly artistic floral design. The thought here is that class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>people that care about landscaping in general may have a strong interest in the arts as well. You always want to appeal to class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>people?s higher interests if you can, simply because that?s what class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>people respond best to.
Now, as to the marketing. Since book marks are so inexpensive, we recommend sending them out with a shipment, with a bill, with a catalog, whatever it is you are mailing. But that?s not all. You don?t really have to have that kind of reason to get your book marks into class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>people?s hands. You can step back and look at the bigger picture and you may see more opportunities. Here?s an idea worth considering: the start of the school year is a very busy time in most household. Kids are getting their schoolbooks and they are also getting back into the habit of reading. Now there?s an opportunity like no other.
If you have a business that caters to families: food, clothing, sporting goods, etc. you should make sure that your name stays front and center throughout the school year. Take advantage of the post office?s program called Every Door Direct Mail. Pick a set of neighborhoods where you know many of your customers reside. Send out a letter with some sort of special offer attached to it, and in the envelope throw in some book marks for good measure. As for what goes on them, we recommend QR codes: Quick Response codes will easily fit on a bookmark. Let the customer scan the QR code and go to your site where you can showcase your products and services. Once they?ve seen your site, they may turn into a customer.
Coupon: actually, a bookmark looks kind of like a coupon. So treat it like one. Let your customer redeem her bookmark/coupon for the discount, sample or free demonstration, and she gets another coupon to replace it. Also another bookmark.
Mystery/game: A bookmark would be a perfect vehicle for getting your customers involved in a clue game with a prize for whoever wins. You could send your clients to your website to find additional clues, and to your catalogs to find even more.
Website: feature your web address on all of your bookmarks. Websites generally aren?t that difficult to find if someone types in the correct keywords, but making it really easy for them never hurts.
Mailings: In terms of weight, bookmarks add very little to the cost of any mailing. You may want to consider placing a bookmark in all of your mailings, along with sales letter, special offers, and brochures.
Here?s a tip you can use today: Need to increase your visibility among readers and students? Here?s a very logical way to get bookmarks into the hands of hundreds of new potential customers: have a large number of bookmarks printed and take them to campus bookstores and libraries. Ask the class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>people who work there to hand out a free bookmark with every purchase or to students who check out books. This is a great way to get some recognition among class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>people who are likely customers.
