Green Marketing

1. Keep your distribution list current. This is one of the most important things you can do. By updating your mailing list you will reduce waste with returned or undeliverable mail. There are three main methods to accomplish this: periodically use the National Change of Address (NCOA) service, remove duplicate listings, and maintain a "Do Not Mail" list.

2. Print on both sides of the material. You have all this extra space, why not use it? Especially if you are producing a postcard.

3. Avoid varnishes and metallic ink. While these inks makes your piece look flashy, they are harder to process for recycling. Think about using agri-based ink, such as soy-based, and think about using fewer colors. Give your designers a real challenge!

4. Take a second look at your design. Altering the final design of your piece may reduce the total amount of material you use by fitting multiple pieces per sheet and reduce the total amount of energy you use by having a shorter run time. Not only is this a greener method, but it would also reduce your total production costs. If you are not sure if this is an option, your printing supplier can tell you.

5. Work with responsible suppliers. If your print and mail service has green initiatives in place and available for you, then take full advantage. For example: Fineline has recently become certified with both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). Using paper certified by these two councils is an excellent way to promote eco-friendly products.

Being environmentally responsible in your marketing efforts might cost you a bit more in time or dollars. But keep in mind that customers respond to corporate responsibility and will appreciate your green efforts. If you follow through on your green initiatives and become actively involved in the movement, you could see an increase in business.

The Truth about Newsletters

1. First, think about your content. Generally, the most popular newsletters don’t contain a lot of industry-specific, technical copy. This can seem boring and self-serving to your readers. It’s better to provide interesting articles that will appeal to most people. Use a strong nameplate masthead and a few display ads in your newsletter to "sell" your products or services.

2. Secondly, newsletters increase customer loyalty, so your mailing list should include customers as well as prospects that you would like to develop into customers.

3. Lastly, newsletters don’t have to be expensive. Fineline offers several different printing options. You might start with a simple, inexpensive, one-color newsletter, and progress to two-color and full-color as your newsletter’s popularity increases.

Newsletters can help your business muscle through the mail stack with your company’s selling message. If you’d like the phone to ring more, Fineline will help you make it happen with newsletters.

Evaluating Your Customer Relations

Have your customer service staff answer these questions to evaluate the relationships they have with your customers:

How would you describe one of your typical customers?

If you saw a regular customer at the mall, would you recognize him or know his name?

Do you regularly request customer feedback and take their comments into consideration?

Do you organize your business schedule around the convenience of your customers?

Do your customers keep coming back?

If you have satisfactory answers to these questions, congratulations. If you were unsure of how to answer, it is time to brush up on your customer skills. A great way to do this is by reaching out to those organizations that treat you as customers and observe how they respond to your requests. You might be surprised at what you could learn from them.

Some Habits Are Meant to Be Broken

1. Procrastination. Many people claim to work best under pressure. But your last-minute rush to the finish line, even if you’re the winner, won’t always earn cheers from your coworkers. What happens when an unexpected obstacle gets in your path and causes you to miss the deadline? Even if the situation is out of your hands, your coworkers will be left wondering why you didn’t take care of your responsibilities earlier.

2. Being a sloppy emailer. Why walk down the hall to talk to someone when you can email them, right? While it’s easy to send a quick email, it’s just as easy to double-check everything before you click "send." Check the recipient(s), the spelling, and make sure you’ve really said what you need to say. Sloppy emails could be seen as a sign of disrespect.

3. Confusing informal with disrespectful. If you are fortunate to have a boss that isn’t the stern, humorless caricature you often see on TV, you are sure to feel more relaxed at work. Just remember that hanging out in an informal setting, or even an informal workplace, doesn’t mean you can be disrespectful. Don’t cross the line by talking to your boss like you’d talk to your best friend.

4. Taking advantage of leeway. If your company allows some leeway on arrival time or dress code, be sure to fall on the conservative side. Your reputation is up for dispute if you choose to abuse your freedoms.

5. Refusing to mingle. While there is a great deal of wisdom in the advice not to mix personal and professional lives, it certainly shouldn’t prevent you from taking part in a potluck or happy-hour outing. You don’t need to be the office party animal, but you do need to build relationships with your coworkers that establish camaraderie.

6. Always running late. This goes beyond abusing leeway and leads to a lack of trust. If you’re late to work, to meetings and with project deadlines, your boss and colleagues will associate that trait with you. When it’s time for a promotion or to deal with an important client, everyone will think twice before giving you the opportunity. Who wants to trust the person who can’t manage his or her time?

7. Acting as the resident contrarian. Being the person who always has a better idea or wants to tell everyone why their ideas are dumb isn’t a role to which you should aspire. It is true that voices of opposition are often missing in workplaces because eager employees want to be "yes" men and women. But too much negativity grates on nerves and makes people dread hearing your voice. Continue to be a critical thinker, but make sure you’re doing what’s best for the company and not just trying to be the loudest voice in the room.

8. Politicking. It’s true that office politics are often unavoidable, and sometimes having a grasp on what’s going on can benefit you. But don’t spend more time masterminding office warfare than you do working. While getting caught in the crosshairs of a workplace controversy can be out of your control, instigating the drama will earn you a bad reputation.

9. Misnaming your relationships. Those relationships you build through a business interaction, such as with your customers or vendors, are not just about business. While the trend is to keep business and personal separate, remember that you are interacting with people and the relationships you are creating are really friendships.

10. Thinking inside the box. It’s great to standardize the ways things are done. This helps with efficiency and gives you consistent results. However, using the same methods because that’s how you’ve always done it limits your creativity. There may be a better way to do things, a more efficient method no one has thought of. Maybe even a better system for ordering office stationery. If you’re stuck in a rut, your vendors can help you see your options better than you would have ever thought.