Allegra Rolling Meadows - Marketing

Waiting on Line

Michael Tarpinian — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:42:00 GMT

Did you ever pick the wrong line in a store? It happens to everyone. Stores that care about their customers are trying to do something about it.

The Post Office to Shut Down?

Michael Tarpinian — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:45:00 GMT

The United States Postal Service (Post Office) has announced that they will have to shut down this winter if Congress does not bail them out. This won't happen. At least not permanently.

This is a scare tactic.

5 Cost-cutting Strategies for Mailing

Michael Tarpinian — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:05:00 GMT

In my last post, I gave you some tips on saving money on printing. Here are a few tips on saving money on direct mail marketing....

So what is a QR Code?

Michael Tarpinian — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:29:00 GMT

A QR Code (QR stands for quick response) is a smart phone camera readable bar code that can store a website address, email address, phone number, or any other alpha numeric info.

QR codes are two-dimensional barcodes that, when scanned using a smartphone equipped with a camera and QR code reader app, deliver a Web page or other content. Although they may occupy a small amount of space on the printed page, each code can contain an enormous amount of data, including your destination URL and tracking information.

An Eye-Catching Way to Integrate Businesses & Customers

Michael Tarpinian — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:59:00 GMT

Picture this. You have a membership program at your business, and a new member has just joined. You are excited and send out your welcome package. It has your business card, a magnet with your contact information, a window decal for the new member’s car, the membership card, and your welcome letter. But when your customer receives the package either the contents scatter on the floor and they lose them, or you miss an opportunity to stand out because your package looks like everyone else’s. Stand out from the crowd and make things easier for your customers with an integrated letter.

What Target Can Teach a Small Business That Kmart Can’t

Joe — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:23:00 GMT

I was consulting with a business owner a few days ago. He gave me the history of his industry with detail on the recent past. Some changes in customer demand, technology, and competition have put pressure on suppliers to cut their prices.

After some digging, I asked what his company has done to lower their costs. He shot me a blank look. I asked him again, what has he done to lower his production costs? “Nothing, really,” he replied. “We don’t want to invest the money until we see how things shake out.” OK. Yikes!

What about his cost to acquire sales? Did he have web ordering, or at least email ordering? Had he changed anything about how he got orders? Now I got a blank look accompanied with a furrowed brow. He went on to tell me they aren’t Amazon. He really doesn’t get all that internet stuff.

I stopped before I asked about delivery, payment, credit terms, and service innovation. I changed my tactics and started talking about Walmart.

Refresh Your Marketing Plan -- And Stick to It!

Joe — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:56:00 GMT

Happy New Year! This time of looking back to learn and looking forward to plan is an ideal time to refresh your marketing plan or to create it if you don’t have one yet. To be competitive today, you can’t just passively wait for business to come knocking, you have to aggressively pursue it. A well-focused marketing plan can help your business blossom in 2011. A good place to start your planning is the budget.

Taking the Happy out of a Happy Meal

Michael Tarpinian — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 22:50:00 GMT

Here is a little advice to all the McDonald’s in the San Francisco city limits. For those of you who don’t know, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a preliminary vote last week to ban toys in Happy Meals. Okay, technically it’s not a ban....

A Landing Page is Like a Treasure Map For Your Web Site

Michael — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:36:00 GMT

A website is great, but simply having a web presence is not enough. Your website needs to work for you and turn visitors into customers. The best way to achieve this conversion with your website is through landing pages.

A landing page is the first webpage that a prospect reaches after clicking an outside link like an ad or a link in an email. The prospect has already expressed an interest in you by clicking on the link. The job of the landing page is to take...

Pens as Wolves vs. Sheep

Michael Tarpinian — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:17:00 GMT

I had an experience recently that reminded me that not all promotional products are created equal. I was talking to a client about a promotion their company was starting. After showing them a lot of different items, they settled on pens. Now, which one. Of all the items we sell, pens is the largest category. There are gold pens, crystal pens, pens to mark a celebration, pens to give away freely, pens made from tree branches, pens with funny things on the ends--you get the idea.

We looked at scores of catalogs and even more samples, and they finally settled on one of my favorite pens.