How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Recession

By Matt Valentine

At KDF Reprographics, we are, as our name suggests, in the reprographics industry. Lately, there is a growing fear that the reprographics industry is facing a crisis of sorts. This crisis is not just some imaginary fear derived from the panic of a recession; it is fear based on some very real and very scary facts. For example, some estimates suggest that the printing industry lost 2,844 firms in 2009.

Furthermore, while many sectors of the economy are slowly recovering, the construction industry, the industry many reprographics companies rely on heavily to generate revenue, has continued to lag far behind.  According to an article in Business Week, written by Courtney Schlisserman on April 1, 2010, construction spending in the U.S. fell in February to the lowest level in more than seven years, signaling this part of the economy remains in a recession.

While these stats are frightening enough there are several other factors that should and are giving us in the industry cause for concern. First, we live in an increasingly paperless world. As information and communication are decimated through different electronic mediums the use of paper documents has become less relevant. Not exactly a new trend, but a troubling one for those of us in a paper based industry. Second, as previously stated, the recession has had a profound impact on the reprographics and printing industry. And as a direct result of the first two factors there has been a decrease in the available volume of printing projects and therefore a smaller pie for all of us to eat. 

Before we go any further let me make one thing clear, because I don’t want to give people the wrong impression. We, at KDF, are not struggling; in fact we just had one of our best months ever. We achieved this mainly by positioning ourselves as the company to turn to for large format printing needs from reprographics, to vehicle wraps, banners, posters, document scanning and trade show displays. Mention one of these items and we are likely the first name to come up in our local area.

While this is obviously good for us, the fact remains that the reprographics industry and the printing industry as a whole are in a state of flux. The days of mom and pop operations are rapidly coming to an end as they struggle to meet the challenges from large national chains, other local competitors, and outside factors like the recession.

Diversify

We started taking  more of a "Long-Tail" approach. If there was, as I stated earlier, a smaller piece of the pie to be had by all in our traditional markets, then we would have to move into others. We launched new product lines, and new websites, focused on different niches and demographics well outside our "usual" customer base.  If we couldn't sell a ton of our traditional services then we would sell smaller amounts of a wide range of products and services.  Which led us to the next key strategy.

Embracing Technology

I consider myself to be fairly tech savvy, having grown up in the digital age where I've seen my cell phone go from green screens, to color screens, to touch screens, and watched my desktop shrink to a laptop, which shrank to an iPad. It's clear that in order to stay ahead we have to embrace new technologies; including new ways to reach out to customers. Embracing new trends like social media, and even SMS (text message) advertising, though I have debated against it here in the past  (http://kdf-comp.blogspot.com/2010/04/is-mobile-marketing-dangerous-business.html) are crucial  if we intend to stay in business. Which brings me to my next point.

Targeting Generation Y

Gearing our efforts toward attracting Generation Y-ers will be integral for the future of every business for several reasons. First, Generation Y is the largest generation in American history. At 77 million strong, they even outnumber the baby-boomers. Which means soon enough every business will be relying on the economic power of Generation Y to keep them afloat. If you are not speaking to them on terms they understand you're continued existence will be put in jeopardy.

Another important factor to consider is that while all of the other generations changed their spending habits during the recession the Y-ers remained remarkably consistent, hardly changing their spending habits at all. Which means that if you are able to capture their attention and retain them as customers you can rely on them in good times and bad.

Second, Generation Y is extremely influential. In fact, they are the trend-setters. Trends trickle up from them to their parents and so on. They may have been the single biggest factor in determining the outcome of the previous Presidential election, and as far as I can tell it doesn't get much more influential then that. More importantly to us, is that they have the ability to influence the buying decisions of older generations, as well as their peers.

Third, they are incredibly tech savvy. Being a part of Generation Y, in my mid-twenties, I have a deep understanding of what these people look for and the ways in which they obtain, and spread information. That is why it is integral that we embrace emerging technological trends be it, SMS, social media, or whatever else emerges in the years to come.We as a generation are constantly plugged in, we never leave home without our phones. We want to be in touch and respond instantaneously and we demand immediate gratification.  If you cannot provide that for us, we will find someone else who can.

Knowing how and when to adapt is the key to survival, be it in business or life in general. I believe adopting these strategies, amongst others, will be key to the survival of many businesses.

10 Tips on Getting the most out of your next trade show

1. Plan ahead and set your goal
- Why are you doing this trade show? Is it to sell product, get leads, create top of mind awareness, to preempt your competition? Be sure to have a very specific goal in mind, write it out and track your results as the show progresses. If you go without a specific goal in mind you will not know if the show is a success.

2. Know your target market – needs assessment
- Who will attend this show? Contact the show coordinator who can provide a report from the previous year that will contain a lot of good information as to your target market. Once you know who the market you’ll want to know what their needs are.

- Get a list of vendors from the previous year and call them – ask them who showed up, what the show was like and what to expect.

3. Touch them 3 times
- When prospects attend a show they rarely know who they will be visiting – less than 15% of exhibitors do a pre-show promotion. You are now in that group! Attendees only spend time at 15% to 20% of the exhibits so if you want their time, you need to invite them to your booth before thy get there. If you want to generate “guaranteed” prospects – this is how to do it!

- Start early send a postcard inviting your prospects to your booth – give them a strong reason to visit, specials, information, raffle, etc.
- Call prospects if possible and invite them personally, set appointments with them – “stop by our booth we have a special gift and presentation just for our VIPs –print the name of those that confirm on a sheet that says VIP LIST across the top. When they arrive take out the list, check off their name, give them a gift then pitch them! (keep the list confidential so as not to insult any other prospects visiting your booth).

- Send a formal letter. Send tickets, a flyer with raffle information, a testimonial and handwritten note, a product sheet with come see us at the show! Make sure you hit them at least 3 times before they get there. Even if they did not respond to your mailings you are now in their mind – you have increased the likelihood that they will stop at your booth.

4. The 1 minute pitch
- You only have 6 seconds to capture a prospects attention when walking past your booth. If your booth design and message are great and the prospect stops – you better be ready – the clock is ticking still! Have a condensed 1 minute pitch that covers everything you need to qualify the lead and meet your goal (that’s right, no matter how giddy you get that someone stops by – don’t forget your goal) - remember your job is not to sell your whole company – you have developed a clear focused goals i.e.: create 25 qualified leads for our ABC Service. Once your have clearly met that goal – let your prospect go – your follow up procedure will do the rest.

- Your pitch should be all about the prospect – NOT YOUR COMPANY that comes later. If you are a financial services company, talk about the financial challenges people have today and the need people have to develop a strong financial plan including savings, insurance, college and retirement – Do not start out with facts about your company which was founded in 1912 by some old guys with beards! Once you developed that pitch – rehearse it – a lot. In the mirror, on the phone, to friends, to your dog! Rehearse it.


5. The invitation – Have a good Great reason to visit your booth
- This is simple - come up with a reason for your prospects to visit your booth – then invite them. Whether it’s your giveaway, raffle, new product, a demonstration, discount on services for all VIP visitors or an announcement of a merger or partnership, you must have a compelling reason to come. Then as I mentioned before – mail it, e-mail it and call with the invitation. If your reason is compelling enough they will make plans to visit your booth.

6. Giveaways, “the raffle”, and interested prospects
- Giveaways are good but they do not get you business. Pens, flashlights, scrunchy balls are nice and these days expected however the key is the raffle. The raffle is a great way to “qualify” the prospects and weed out the people that are there for the FREE stuff. Most exhibitors understand this concept but rarely implement it. Exhibitors typically hold a raffle then giveaway the prize – maybe send a postcard to the rest of the list then do it all over again the following year. To get the most out of the raffle you must ASK some qualifying questions. When you do your review later on you will know exactly who is interested in your product or service, and who is not.

- Nobody wants to fumble through 200 sheets of unqualified leads and deal with the frustration of calling each one of them only to hear “not interested”. Do the work upfront and save yourself the aggravation. Qualify all entries – they must fill out ALL information on a form to enter the raffle. You should ask for E-MAIL so you can build your opt-in e-mail list, be sure to let them know that you will be e-mailing them from time to time with specials and promotions – get their interest level, purchase timeframe and decision makers in the process and whatever else you need to create a REAL, QUALIFIED LEAD.

- The information you will be collecting on the raffle sheet should be the same information you collect when someone approaches you to discuss your product or service. This keeps everything consistent and lets you know – once you have all the information – you can let the qualified prospect go. Remember the goal – qualify them then set them free.



7. The booth message
- Capture their attention. Don’t tell them who you are!!! Usually the biggest mistake when designing a booth. The name scrawled across the top of the booth – the most precious piece of real estate at a trade show. Nice design is nice design – a good message is powerful. Your prospects are walking right past you – you can’t afford not to have a message that CAPTURES them. Your message needs to be prominent to the point of trade show graphics do not need to be expensive, they do not need to be flashy they need to communicate your message clearly, and quickly. How quick – you have 6 seconds to capture their attention.

8. The booth graphics
- Great trade show graphics will convey your GREAT message. If they are beat up, mismatched with different materials and sizes your message will be just as confusing. Having your graphics produced by a qualified professional will make the difference between a “decent” show and a “blowout”!

- So when your graphics are being designed and produced you want to keep some things in mind.
o Message, Message, Message
o Colors and images that convey your message
o If your designer doesn’t know the emotions elicited by different colors – get a new designer. (remember the 6 seconds rule)
o Your booth and graphics are a big investment and should be designed and produced by a qualified professional who will consult with you on developing your message within your budget.
o A good trade show booth does not have to be expensive and an expensive trade show booth does not have to be good.



9. FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP
- Follow up right away – give a discount for all visitors at the show – get them interested in your product or service again. Remember when they leave your booth they will most likely go to another – the prospect has a lot of information to digest now – you need to stay fresh in their mind with a timely follow up.
-

- We did a recent show in which we received over 60 leads of varying interest levels. All leads went into our database, follow ups were scheduled and the process began. Within the first two weeks we had no response to any e-mails or phone calls (there were two e-mails and one phone call). In week three we sent a third e-mail – 5 responses 3 orders. Week four produced 4 orders with no e-mails or calls.


- Remember you need to touch your prospects up to 12 times. Three times before the show. Once at the show. Then at least 4 follow ups send useful information each time, ads, newspaper mentions etc. Don’t give up – you will be surprised at the power of consistent “informational” follow ups.



10. BONUS: here are 4 minitips in one!!!!
- Killer mini tip #1 - Don’t EVER sit down in your booth - Studies show that people will pay 26% more for the exact same product if the vendor is standing!
- Killer mini tip #2 - Smile, always be smiling, don’t frown, and smile (get it?) If you can smile at the prospect then say their name, you have successfully opened the door – now just apply your 1 minute pitch!
- Killer mini tip #3 - Look relaxed / be relaxed – Body language is extremely important – many prospects walking by are actually “nervous” about stopping because you might ask them a question they don’t know the answer to. If you are relaxed then you are approachable and they are more likely to engage you.
- Killer mini tip #4 - Make them feel important – BECAUSE THEY ARE! Make every discussion about them, not you. Which approach will be more effective?
- Example 1: “Hi we are XYC carpet cleaners, we have been in business for 22 years, I’m sure you’ve heard about us. We are so great and better than everyone and blah, blah, blah.”
- Example 2: “So are you enjoying your day so far – let me ask your advice – have you ever used a carpet cleaning service? What would you like to see in a cleaning service if it was up to you?”

The Most Effective Way for Small Business Owners to Spend Their Advertising Dollars

By Stephen Hoey

These days the single greatest challenge facing every small business owner is the economic recession. The simple fact is small businesses have been hit hardest by the recession. According to The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President produced by the U.S. Small Business Administration, “more than half of the 763,000 jobs lost in the first two quarters of 2008 were lost in small firms.”

This has made finding ways to spend money more efficiently and effectively paramount for a small business to remain successful. While most people will continue to talk about the damaging effects the recession has had on their business, a savvy business owner will recognize the recession as an opportunity to grow their business.
In the past 60 years America has been through nine recessions and recovered from every one. While it may sound strange to think of the recession as an opportunity, if the right investments are made you can easily increase your profits and outpace your competition.

That’s because during a recession most small business owners cut back on spending and especially on advertising. Yet, numerous studies have shown that this is a mistake. In a joint study done by Oregon State University and Western Oregon University dated April 19, 2009 they found that:

“Firms that are able to increase advertising during recessions are likely to have stronger future earnings.” The researchers studied data from five recessionary periods since 1971, sampling data from more than 3,000 firms listed on the public stock exchange.

Another study done by MarketSense compared 101 household name brands that increased ad spending during the recessionary period 1989-1991. For those who cut spending on advertising, it took 2 years after the end of the recession to regain their original position. By that time, aggressive competitors had almost tripled their market share, while less than 30% of those who cut advertising ever regained their market share in the following expansion period.

The question becomes how should a small business owner invest their advertising dollars? Many small business owners will turn to traditional forms of advertising such as: television, radio, newspaper or the Yellow Pages. The fact is however, that these forms of advertising are cost prohibitive and simply not as effective as they once were.

Reaching an audience through traditional forms of media is harder today then ever before. According to Arbitron only 1 out 3 three Americans read a daily newspaper, Ohio-based BIGresearch found that just 1 in 20 people actually watch television commercials. Bill Gates stated: “The Yellow Pages are going to be used less and less… These things always take time, but Yellow Page usage among people, say, below 50, will drop to zero — near zero — over the next five years.” As for radio, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) advertisers must buy deep (multiple stations and formats) to accumulate audience reach of over 50%, offsetting the cost effectiveness of radio if the target is a large, broad group of consumers.

Traditional forms of advertising are also cost prohibitive for a small business owner looking to reach the widest audience with a limited budget. Advertising in a regional or local newspaper for a 3 x 5¼ ad running twice per week for 52 weeks can cost as much as $792 a week. At those rates one year of advertising in the paper twice per week would cost $41,184.

A twenty six week sponsorship of a local news program with a thirty second spot running once a week and four additional thirty second spots, one in each locally produced sporting event (high school and college) would cost $2,000 per month. Meaning a twenty six week sponsorship would cost $11,000.

A 2½” x 6” ad in the Yellow Pages for one year is $3,447.00. A half-page ad would cost $7,567.20 for the year. In the top 100 Radio Markets a 60 second drive time ad would cost $8.61 per 1,000 customers reached.

The most effective way for a small business owner to reach a large consumer base on a limited budget is a “non-traditional” form of advertising known as a vehicle wrap. A vehicle wrap is the marketing practice of completely or partially covering a vehicle in an advertisement or livery, thus turning it into a mobile billboard.
A vehicle wrap and fleet graphics is the most cost effective form of advertising that exists today. An average vehicle wrap is a one time fee of around $3,500. A wrap produced by a company with expertise and experience should last at least 5 years, that’s a cost of just $700 a year.

Studies have shown that vehicle wraps have numerous advantages over traditional forms of advertising. In a survey done by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) 96% of survey respondents said vehicle wraps method of mobile advertising is more effective than advertising through traditional methods. 91% of the people surveyed by the American Trucking Association (ATA) reported that they do notice words and pictures on vehicles. Add to that the fact that a vehicle wrap works around the clock, 24-7 and there is no tuning out, changing the station, or turning the page.

Vehicle wraps and Vehicle graphics also generate far more impressions for far less money then any other form of traditional advertising. According to the Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement, a vehicle wrap generates anywhere between 30,000 and 70,000 impressions daily, that’s more then 11,000,000 impressions a year at a cost of just $0.77 per thousand impressions. The next closest form of advertising (billboard advertising) costs more then twice as much ($2.18) to generate the same amount of impressions.

There are additional benefits to purchasing a vehicle wrap as well. A vehicle wrap is a powerful visual message that will reach audiences of all ages, gender, backgrounds, income, profession and families and it will reach them where they are, with 96% of Americans traveling in a vehicle each week as either a driver or passenger.

Most small business owners are already commuting to work in their own vehicle while paying for ever increasing gas prices. Vehicle wraps and fleet graphics can easily offset this cost with the sales it generates. Studies have shown that the vehicle wrap has increased the sales of advertisement in the range of 107%.
If small business owners are looking for a smart investment in these tough economic times a vehicle wrap provides the perfect solution.

Stephen Hoey is the President of KDF Reprographics, Inc. providers of Large Format Printing, Vehicle Wraps, Fleet Graphics, Color Scanning, Posters, Banners and Trade Show Displays. To contact Stephen or setup an interview please call 888-533-2667 or visit our website @ http://www.kdf-comp.com/

PORT AUTHORITY CHOOSES KDF REPROGRAPHICS

Rockleigh, NJ (KDF) 6/1/09: KDF Reprographics, Inc. of Rockleigh, NJ announces the award of a two year contract with the Port Authority of NY & NJ to provide wide-format engineering printing. KDF will provide these services from its production facility headquartered in Rockleigh, NJ.

From their Rockleigh facility KDF provides color printing, scanning, reprographic, and distribution services.

The KDF Reprographics department provides high speed, high volume production for regional construction and engineering projects. KDF’s digital archiving department scans paper documents from office records to blueprints and designs database applications for storage and retrieval of these scanned documents. KDF’s wide-format color graphics department provides tradeshow graphics & displays, corporate presentation, posters, retail graphics, fleet & vehicle graphics, mounting & laminating services.

“We are fortunate in this tough business climate to have won this contract and to have this opportunity to work with the Port Authority of NY & NJ. Our reprographics department has been providing architectural & engineering printing for tri-state area construction projects for the last 14 years and we are honored to be adding the Port Authority to our client list.”

- Stephen Hoey, President.

About KDF

KDF Reprographics, Inc., started in 1995, services include high volume engineering printing, large and small format document scanning, wide format color printing and digital planroom services. KDF services the construction management, AEC, education, manufacturing, utilities and municipal markets throughout the northeast United States.

Contact Information:

If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Stephen Hoey, Please call 201-784-9991 x501 or email Steve@kdf-comp.com.

Stephen Hoey
President
KDF Reprographics, Inc.
10 Volvo Drive
Rockleigh, NJ 07647
Tel. 201-784-9991
Fax. 201-784-9955
http://www.kdf-comp.com