August/September 2011

This Issue

F | I | L | E

Do You Have a Marketing System?In 2007, the board of directors of the American Marketing Association adopted this definition of marketing:

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

For another take on the definition of marketing, consider this from The Chartered Institute of Marketing, a professional association based in the United Kingdom:

Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

Management guru Peter Drucker defines marketing this way:

Marketing is not only much broader than selling; it is not a specialized activity at all. It encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of the final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise.

Finally, Regis McKenna, an influential marketing consultant whose professional career includes authoring five books on marketing, succinctly states:

Marketing is everything.

What all these definitions have in common is the recognition that marketing requires businesses and organizations to be customer-centric – to shift from a focus on production to a focus on what customers need and want.

Do You Have a Marketing System? 1-2

Tips & Tricks 3

Q & A 3

The Idea Corner 4

A Vocabulary of the Graphic Arts 4

Print Promotes Forests 5

Good Graphic Design 6-7

Ordering Made Easy! 8

This IssueF | I | L | E

This newsletter is printed on 80# Winner gloss text.

Do You Have a Marketing System? 1-2

Tips & Tricks 3

Q & A 3

The Idea Corner 4

A Vocabulary of the Graphic Arts 4

Print Promotes Forests 5

Good Graphic Design 6-7

Ordering Made Easy! 8

PRESORTED STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDTWIN CITIES, MNPERMIT NO. 2805 8801 Wyoming Avenue North

Brooklyn Park, MN 55445 www.visionsfirst.com

Address Service Requested

Visions, Inc. easy-to-use web-to-print order management tool features:• A centralized repository for static and

customizable files which streamlines the print procurement process

• Easy web based uploading of files• Automated job submission resulting in

precise and flawless print instructions• Customizable online catalogs that

contain marketing collateral, business forms, nonprinted promotional items and a wide variety of printed or branded communication materials on a single site

• Variable data templates with the ability to create personalized marketing communications based on individual customer information

• Hassle-free reorders• Order tracking, cost and order history• A secure environmentContact David Hull at 763.425.4251 or David.Hull@visionsfirst.com to schedule a personal demonstration.

Traditionally, marketing activities have included advertising, distribution and selling. However, with the shift in emphasis from products to customers, marketing now includes insight gained from the study of customer behavior (incorporating the disciplines of social science, psychology and sociology) as well as input from hard science (economics and mathematics). Thus, relationship marketing and social marketing are now being added to traditional marketing activities.

Marketing basicsIn the sixth edition of his book Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them, Professor Malcolm McDonald of Cranfield University School of Management in the United Kingdom suggests that marketing consists of three types of activities:• Review of the external marketing

environment which studies the market, customers and competitors and identifies current and developing trends.

• Review of the internal marketing activities with emphasis on the seven Ps of marketing: price, product, promotion, placement, people, positioning and packaging.

• Review of the marketing system including the marketing organization, how market research is conducted, and current marketing objectives and strategies.

But what marketing strategies should small companies and organizations use? The buzz is in favor of abandoning traditional marketing strategies based on print media in favor of entirely new ones, largely built on Internet marketing. Social media – including online communication like blogging and social networking as well as opinions and review – are appealing because of a lower cost-per-touch than print media. But we suggest that these new tools are just that – a new way to reach customers and prospects that enhances rather than replaces what is already working.

Consider these facts about traditional print media:• According to the United States Postal

Service 2007 Household Diary Study,

80% of households read or scan advertising mail.

• In a 2008 survey sponsored by the Direct Marketing Association and Pitney Bowes, 39% of respondents said they tried a business for the first time because of direct mail advertising, and 70% said they renewed a business relationship because of a direct mail promotion.

• An iProspect study conducted in 2007 found that 67% of online searches were driven by offline messages, resulting in purchases 39% of the time. In addition, shoppers who receive a direct mail piece directing them to an online site spend on average 13% more than those who do not receive a printed piece.

Enhancements to traditional marketingOur statement that traditional print media remains important does not mean that we don’t recognize how communicating with customers and prospects is changing. More and more, customers and prospects are taking control of the buying situation by seeking information on their terms – looking for what they want as the need arises. We are well past the time when a small business could use only word of mouth and yellow pages advertising to attract new customers. Businesses and organizations today need a website supported by a consistent direct mail program to point prospects to the website.

Websites have also evolved since their earliest days. A website that is no more than an online yellow pages ad will disappoint visitors looking for information and interactivity. Pictures, descriptive text, detailed explanations, downloadable information, videos, and an easy way to contact the business to request more information are now minimum requirements for a website.

Who is responsible for marketing?With marketing becoming customer-centric and customers taking control of the information-seeking process prior to making a buying decision, the responsibility for marketing within the business or organization has changed. While the owner of a small business or

the president of an organization may continue to control or decide about the specific marketing strategies, all parts of the organization are now involved in implementing the marketing plan.

Customers and prospects will form an opinion about a business or organization based on several factors:• the image projected in print and online;• the staff members who are responsible

for customer service and product or service delivery; and

• the responsiveness of the organization to resolving customer problems.

For consistency and marketing effectiveness, the print and online image must support the marketing strategies, and the staff members in customer service, delivery and problem resolution must understand and implement the marketing strategies.

The core concepts of a marketing systemA modern, successful marketing system for businesses and organizations is built on three core concepts: a customer-centric rather than product-centric focus that identifies current needs of customers and predicts their future needs; expanding the responsibility for marketing to the entire organization; and using new marketing strategies to enhance but not replace traditional ones.

If you need help with your image in print – business stationery, brochures and marketing materials, direct mail marketing campaign, or website development and improvement, we can help. Contact David Hull at 763.425.4251 for an appointment now.

2 Providing you an edge in print communications. www.visionsfirst.com 7Visions 763-425-4251

Preparing for graphic designGraphic design is not the starting point for visual communication. Rather, it is a subsequent step after investigation, analysis, planning and organization.

In past issues of our newsletter we’ve stressed the importance of thoroughly preparing before sitting down at the computer to begin layout. Until you are clear on the purpose of the marketing and sales material, the website, or the display ad; until you have defined the target audience and determined the message; until you have investigated the communication preferences of the target audience; you won’t have enough information to be sure your communication hits the mark.

With the purpose of the visual communication in mind and a thorough understanding of the message and its intended audience, you are ready to select and assemble the images, photographs, symbols and text and to select the color palette. Now is when technical knowledge of the visual communication media – print or multimedia; small or large format – is critical. Technical issues include:

• Color space. Color space is the color model and color mapping information that uses mathematics to describe the way colors are represented. The color model used in print is CMYK where the colors are created using the primary colors of pigment (cyan, magenta, yellow and black, represented as K). Websites and the Internet use an RGB color model where the colors are created using red, green and blue glowing phosphors. When represented mathematically in three dimensions (x, y and z axis), the RGB and CMYK color spaces do not match exactly. This means that some colors produced with RGB cannot be matched in the CMYK color space.

• Image resolution. Resolution measures how sharply an image is rendered and is expressed as the total number of pixels (picture elements) or dots per inch that make up the image. Computer screens render images well with a very low resolution (72 to 92 pixels per inch); printed images require a minimum resolution of 150 dots per inch at image size.

• Fonts. Fonts used on websites will only render correctly if the font is installed on the viewing computer screen. This severely limits font selection for multimedia presentations but is not an issue for print.

• Background color. Readability for print is best when there is high contrast between the background color and the type. This generally means a light background with a contrasting, darker type. For multimedia, readability is enhanced when text and images are reversed out of a solid color background.

The art of graphic designGraphic design is a combination of technical skills and artistic creation. A type of commercial art, graphic design differs from fine art mainly in its purpose: to convey a message to an intended audience.

Graphic design shares with fine art many principles of design including balance, emphasis, movement, rhythm, contrast, proportion and unity. These principles, when combined with planning and technical knowledge of print and multimedia, results in marketing materials, sales collateral and cross media promotional materials that convey an advertising message in a visually pleasing manner.

Let us show you the difference good graphic design can make. Select a brochure or sell sheet whose information needs to be updated and let us redesign it using the principles of graphic design. We predict you’ll be impressed with the results. For more information contact David Hull at 763.425.4251 today!

Keeping readers interested in what you send to them may not be as hard as you think. Here are a few tips to help you:

Be passionate about your subject. Passion, which can take the form of expertise and knowledge, will be evident to your readers and will reinforce that they are making the right choice to buy from you. Show that you know your products and services inside and out by presenting interesting performance facts and features. Discuss the superior beauty or design of your product and prove it with pictures. Give examples of your amazing customer service with customer testimonials

Provide compelling content. Useful content saves customers and prospects time and/or money, helps them make a wise buying decision, or provides interesting or unusual information about products and services.

Adopt a personal perspective. Enliven the marketing message with a personal approach. Use first- and second-person personal pronouns (I, we, and you). Include anecdotal information and case studies.

Be brief. Keep writing concise and to-the-point, grammatically correct, and without spelling errors. If making a point, get to it quickly.

Q How can I keep readers interested in my marketing message?

a

3Visions 763-425-42516 Providing you an edge in print communications. www.visionsfirst.com

B2C: The B2C newsletter style is for businesses that sell mainly to consumers. The content is transactional, meaning it features products and services and information about them. Readers of these newsletters expect straightforward information about products and services to help them make the buying decision. To allow for display of a number of products or services, construct the newsletter so it is a series of summaries with continuation to an inside page (printed newsletter) or link to a full article (eLetter).

B2B: The B2B newsletter style is for businesses that sell mainly to other businesses and organizations. For B2B, the sales cycle is usually longer than B2C and depends on gaining the trust and confidence of the buyer. Therefore, a primary goal of the B2B style is to build a relationship. Retention is also an important

aspect of B2B marketing as it provides the opportunity for cross-selling.

Content for B2B newsletters is crafted to meet the specific needs of the target audience and is based around information that will help the decision makers. Good B2B content includes features on products and services, expert advice, case studies, industry news and white papers.

Frequency is another important aspect of the B2B newsletter – sent too frequently, a newsletter can be annoying; not sent often enough, and it loses its effectiveness. The most popular cycle for newsletters is monthly.

Professional services/membership: The membership newsletter is for businesses and organizations that are communicating with members or offering expert advice.

Content centers on things of interest to the membership, including recent and upcoming events. These newsletters often include many photographs of members engaging in events and activities sponsored by the organization.

Communicating via visual means is central to the selling process. Imagine trying to explain your product or service without having the assistance of a brochure, a display ad or a website. Think how difficult it would be to differentiate your product from others on the shelf without attractive packaging. All buying decisions include some amount of emotion – how would you quickly evoke emotion without the assistance of images?

Visual communication is a process that uses investigation, analysis and planning to identify a communication requirement as a first step in designing something meant to be seen rather than heard or felt. Visual communication is a broad discipline that uses graphic design, drawing, illustration, typography and color to convey a thought, to inform, to educate or to persuade a target audience.

You may have heard us use the term graphic design when discussing a marketing or sales-related printed piece, creating or refreshing a logo, or updating a website. What we mean by this is all the techniques, from composition to page layout, that are needed to prepare for the final step – printing, taking a website live, branding, etc.

Graphic design as a disciplineGraphic design combines words, images and symbols into a coordinated whole that communicates to an audience. Graphic design can mean both the process of designing and the finished product. Here are some of the tools of graphic design:

• Lines direct the reader to points of interest, create shapes and forms, and divide space into sections.

• Color attracts attention and evokes emotion.• Typography creates emphasis and contrast.• Images and photographs convey meaning and bring forth emotion.• Symbols represent ideas or concepts.• White space separates elements so they are easier to read and provides the eyes with

a brief rest.• Grids and templates provide underlying structure and organization.

A layout refers to how these elements are arranged to convey the message. An effective layout uses a grid or template to organize the lines, color, typography, symbols, images

and photographs into a visually pleasing whole.

The layout influences how much time the reader initially invests in the communication vehicle (i.e., whether to continue reading, save for later reading, or discard) and controls the order in which the reader moves around on the page, column or panel. An effective layout quickly captures the reader’s attention and leads him through a series of steps

to understand the message and what action to take next.

Whether you are using print-and-mail or email to distribute your company’s newsletter, there are three main styles: B2C, B2B and membership. Each one has different characteristics, and the one you use will depend on your target audience.

Good Graphic Design: the Secret Ingredient in Visual Communication

4 Ps: the parameters that define the choices that must be made to bring a product or service to market. First described by E.J. McCarthy in 1960, they are: product (or service); placement; price; promotion.

7 Ps: an expansion of the four Ps to include people, positioning and packaging.

4 Ps of social marketing: publics, partnership, policy, purse strings.

B2B marketing: business-to-business marketing; one business selling to another business. Distinguished from consumer marketing.

B2C marketing: business-to-consumer marketing; a business selling directly to consumers. Distinguished from B2B marketing.

Direct marketing: a form of marketing that communicates directly with the target audience. Contrasts with media marketing through a third party using billboards, print, television or radio.

Loyalty marketing: a method of growing sales by retaining existing customers through incentives.

Mobile communicating: currently, a synonym for mobile marketing.

Mobile marketing: distribution of promotional or advertising messages using wireless networks; marketing to a mobile device such as a smart phone.

Niche marketing: marketing that targets a specific segment of buyers who share distinct characteristics. Niche markets, though sometimes small, can be very profitable.

Prospect: in selling, an individual, company or organization that has been qualified as a potential customer.

Relationship marketing: a marketing strategy that seeks to establish and maintain a relationship with a customer. Relationship marketing emphasizes customer retention over customer acquisition.

Social marketing: the application of commercial marketing concepts to non-commercial ends that promote the well-being of society. Social marketing as a concept was developed in the 1970s by Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman, who defined social marketing as “differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organization. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society.”

Social media: media for social interaction using web-based technology. Social media turns one-way communication into interactive dialogue. Sometimes called consumer-generated media.

In a relevant demonstration that everything old is new again, there is renewed interest in loyalty marketing. Loyalty marketing is the

process of retaining customers and growing sales from them by offering incentives to purchase. Some of the oldest loyalty marketing programs are Betty Crocker coupons (initiated in 1929, discontinued in 2006), S&H Green Stamps (initiated in the 1930s and discontinued in the 1960s) and American Airlines Advantage frequent flyer program (initiated in 1981 and still ongoing).

Loyalty marketing, which began as a model for conducting business, has expanded into a marketing and advertising strategy that not only rewards existing customers for loyalty, but also encourages those customers to refer others. The success of loyalty marketing rests on the ability of the organization to deliver a quality product or service that so completely satisfies customers that they become loyal to the brand. This positive experience then becomes the basis for consumer advocacy – when satisfied customers refer others.

Word-of-mouth has been the traditional method customers have used for their advocacy; viral marketing is a more recent method.

4 Providing you an edge in print communications. www.visionsfirst.com 5Visions 763-425-4251

Print Values Trees Most paper now comes from sustainable forests. These forests are essentially “tree farms,” where trees are grown as a crop, just like broccoli or wheat. When these trees are harvested, new stocks are planted. Print on paper gives landowners a financial incentive to renew forests rather than convert them for other uses, such as agriculture or development.1

Print Uses “Waste”One-third of the fiber used to make paper comes from wood chips and sawmill scraps; another third comes from recycled paper.2 Overall, in the United States nearly 80 percent of the over 400 paper mills use recovered fiber to make some or all of their paper products, and of these, approximately 115 mills use recovered paper exclusively.3

Print is RecycledBut that is not the complete story. Print on paper is recycled and reused. In 2009, for example, 63.4 percent of all paper used in the United States was recycled, and this number increases each year with more deliberate curbside and drop-off collection systems.4 Recycled paper is used to make everything from construction products to consumer goods.

Print is ResponsibleJust 11% of the world’s forests are used for paper.5 In the U.S. a growing percentage of the wood used to produce paper comes from certified forests. The Forest Steward Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) track fiber content from certified lands through production and manufacturing to the end product. There are certified forests in over 80 countries.

From sustainable forests to the renewable nature of trees and the recyclability of paper, the print and paper industries have a positive environmental story to tell—one in

which print on paper and healthy forests thrive hand-in-hand.

Print Promotes Forests

1 Edward L. Glaeser, Professor of Economics, Harvard University, “A Road Map for Environmentalism,” Boston Globe, May 21, 2007.

2 U.S. EPA,Office of Solid Waste.3 American Forest and Paper Association4 Ibid. 5 International Paper, Down to Earth, “Is it Worth Printing?”

4 Ps: the parameters that define the choices that must be made to bring a product or service to market. First described by E.J. McCarthy in 1960, they are: product (or service); placement; price; promotion.

7 Ps: an expansion of the four Ps to include people, positioning and packaging.

4 Ps of social marketing: publics, partnership, policy, purse strings.

B2B marketing: business-to-business marketing; one business selling to another business. Distinguished from consumer marketing.

B2C marketing: business-to-consumer marketing; a business selling directly to consumers. Distinguished from B2B marketing.

Direct marketing: a form of marketing that communicates directly with the target audience. Contrasts with media marketing through a third party using billboards, print, television or radio.

Loyalty marketing: a method of growing sales by retaining existing customers through incentives.

Mobile communicating: currently, a synonym for mobile marketing.

Mobile marketing: distribution of promotional or advertising messages using wireless networks; marketing to a mobile device such as a smart phone.

Niche marketing: marketing that targets a specific segment of buyers who share distinct characteristics. Niche markets, though sometimes small, can be very profitable.

Prospect: in selling, an individual, company or organization that has been qualified as a potential customer.

Relationship marketing: a marketing strategy that seeks to establish and maintain a relationship with a customer. Relationship marketing emphasizes customer retention over customer acquisition.

Social marketing: the application of commercial marketing concepts to non-commercial ends that promote the well-being of society. Social marketing as a concept was developed in the 1970s by Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman, who defined social marketing as “differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organization. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society.”

Social media: media for social interaction using web-based technology. Social media turns one-way communication into interactive dialogue. Sometimes called consumer-generated media.

In a relevant demonstration that everything old is new again, there is renewed interest in loyalty marketing. Loyalty marketing is the

process of retaining customers and growing sales from them by offering incentives to purchase. Some of the oldest loyalty marketing programs are Betty Crocker coupons (initiated in 1929, discontinued in 2006), S&H Green Stamps (initiated in the 1930s and discontinued in the 1960s) and American Airlines Advantage frequent flyer program (initiated in 1981 and still ongoing).

Loyalty marketing, which began as a model for conducting business, has expanded into a marketing and advertising strategy that not only rewards existing customers for loyalty, but also encourages those customers to refer others. The success of loyalty marketing rests on the ability of the organization to deliver a quality product or service that so completely satisfies customers that they become loyal to the brand. This positive experience then becomes the basis for consumer advocacy – when satisfied customers refer others.

Word-of-mouth has been the traditional method customers have used for their advocacy; viral marketing is a more recent method.

4 Providing you an edge in print communications. www.visionsfirst.com 5Visions 763-425-4251

Print Values Trees Most paper now comes from sustainable forests. These forests are essentially “tree farms,” where trees are grown as a crop, just like broccoli or wheat. When these trees are harvested, new stocks are planted. Print on paper gives landowners a financial incentive to renew forests rather than convert them for other uses, such as agriculture or development.1

Print Uses “Waste”One-third of the fiber used to make paper comes from wood chips and sawmill scraps; another third comes from recycled paper.2 Overall, in the United States nearly 80 percent of the over 400 paper mills use recovered fiber to make some or all of their paper products, and of these, approximately 115 mills use recovered paper exclusively.3

Print is RecycledBut that is not the complete story. Print on paper is recycled and reused. In 2009, for example, 63.4 percent of all paper used in the United States was recycled, and this number increases each year with more deliberate curbside and drop-off collection systems.4 Recycled paper is used to make everything from construction products to consumer goods.

Print is ResponsibleJust 11% of the world’s forests are used for paper.5 In the U.S. a growing percentage of the wood used to produce paper comes from certified forests. The Forest Steward Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) track fiber content from certified lands through production and manufacturing to the end product. There are certified forests in over 80 countries.

From sustainable forests to the renewable nature of trees and the recyclability of paper, the print and paper industries have a positive environmental story to tell—one in

which print on paper and healthy forests thrive hand-in-hand.

Print Promotes Forests

1 Edward L. Glaeser, Professor of Economics, Harvard University, “A Road Map for Environmentalism,” Boston Globe, May 21, 2007.

2 U.S. EPA,Office of Solid Waste.3 American Forest and Paper Association4 Ibid. 5 International Paper, Down to Earth, “Is it Worth Printing?”

Keeping readers interested in what you send to them may not be as hard as you think. Here are a few tips to help you:

Be passionate about your subject. Passion, which can take the form of expertise and knowledge, will be evident to your readers and will reinforce that they are making the right choice to buy from you. Show that you know your products and services inside and out by presenting interesting performance facts and features. Discuss the superior beauty or design of your product and prove it with pictures. Give examples of your amazing customer service with customer testimonials

Provide compelling content. Useful content saves customers and prospects time and/or money, helps them make a wise buying decision, or provides interesting or unusual information about products and services.

Adopt a personal perspective. Enliven the marketing message with a personal approach. Use first- and second-person personal pronouns (I, we, and you). Include anecdotal information and case studies.

Be brief. Keep writing concise and to-the-point, grammatically correct, and without spelling errors. If making a point, get to it quickly.

Q How can I keep readers interested in my marketing message?

a

3Visions 763-425-42516 Providing you an edge in print communications. www.visionsfirst.com

B2C: The B2C newsletter style is for businesses that sell mainly to consumers. The content is transactional, meaning it features products and services and information about them. Readers of these newsletters expect straightforward information about products and services to help them make the buying decision. To allow for display of a number of products or services, construct the newsletter so it is a series of summaries with continuation to an inside page (printed newsletter) or link to a full article (eLetter).

B2B: The B2B newsletter style is for businesses that sell mainly to other businesses and organizations. For B2B, the sales cycle is usually longer than B2C and depends on gaining the trust and confidence of the buyer. Therefore, a primary goal of the B2B style is to build a relationship. Retention is also an important

aspect of B2B marketing as it provides the opportunity for cross-selling.

Content for B2B newsletters is crafted to meet the specific needs of the target audience and is based around information that will help the decision makers. Good B2B content includes features on products and services, expert advice, case studies, industry news and white papers.

Frequency is another important aspect of the B2B newsletter – sent too frequently, a newsletter can be annoying; not sent often enough, and it loses its effectiveness. The most popular cycle for newsletters is monthly.

Professional services/membership: The membership newsletter is for businesses and organizations that are communicating with members or offering expert advice.

Content centers on things of interest to the membership, including recent and upcoming events. These newsletters often include many photographs of members engaging in events and activities sponsored by the organization.

Communicating via visual means is central to the selling process. Imagine trying to explain your product or service without having the assistance of a brochure, a display ad or a website. Think how difficult it would be to differentiate your product from others on the shelf without attractive packaging. All buying decisions include some amount of emotion – how would you quickly evoke emotion without the assistance of images?

Visual communication is a process that uses investigation, analysis and planning to identify a communication requirement as a first step in designing something meant to be seen rather than heard or felt. Visual communication is a broad discipline that uses graphic design, drawing, illustration, typography and color to convey a thought, to inform, to educate or to persuade a target audience.

You may have heard us use the term graphic design when discussing a marketing or sales-related printed piece, creating or refreshing a logo, or updating a website. What we mean by this is all the techniques, from composition to page layout, that are needed to prepare for the final step – printing, taking a website live, branding, etc.

Graphic design as a disciplineGraphic design combines words, images and symbols into a coordinated whole that communicates to an audience. Graphic design can mean both the process of designing and the finished product. Here are some of the tools of graphic design:

• Lines direct the reader to points of interest, create shapes and forms, and divide space into sections.

• Color attracts attention and evokes emotion.• Typography creates emphasis and contrast.• Images and photographs convey meaning and bring forth emotion.• Symbols represent ideas or concepts.• White space separates elements so they are easier to read and provides the eyes with

a brief rest.• Grids and templates provide underlying structure and organization.

A layout refers to how these elements are arranged to convey the message. An effective layout uses a grid or template to organize the lines, color, typography, symbols, images

and photographs into a visually pleasing whole.

The layout influences how much time the reader initially invests in the communication vehicle (i.e., whether to continue reading, save for later reading, or discard) and controls the order in which the reader moves around on the page, column or panel. An effective layout quickly captures the reader’s attention and leads him through a series of steps

to understand the message and what action to take next.

Whether you are using print-and-mail or email to distribute your company’s newsletter, there are three main styles: B2C, B2B and membership. Each one has different characteristics, and the one you use will depend on your target audience.

Good Graphic Design: the Secret Ingredient in Visual Communication

Traditionally, marketing activities have included advertising, distribution and selling. However, with the shift in emphasis from products to customers, marketing now includes insight gained from the study of customer behavior (incorporating the disciplines of social science, psychology and sociology) as well as input from hard science (economics and mathematics). Thus, relationship marketing and social marketing are now being added to traditional marketing activities.

Marketing basicsIn the sixth edition of his book Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them, Professor Malcolm McDonald of Cranfield University School of Management in the United Kingdom suggests that marketing consists of three types of activities:• Review of the external marketing

environment which studies the market, customers and competitors and identifies current and developing trends.

• Review of the internal marketing activities with emphasis on the seven Ps of marketing: price, product, promotion, placement, people, positioning and packaging.

• Review of the marketing system including the marketing organization, how market research is conducted, and current marketing objectives and strategies.

But what marketing strategies should small companies and organizations use? The buzz is in favor of abandoning traditional marketing strategies based on print media in favor of entirely new ones, largely built on Internet marketing. Social media – including online communication like blogging and social networking as well as opinions and review – are appealing because of a lower cost-per-touch than print media. But we suggest that these new tools are just that – a new way to reach customers and prospects that enhances rather than replaces what is already working.

Consider these facts about traditional print media:• According to the United States Postal

Service 2007 Household Diary Study,

80% of households read or scan advertising mail.

• In a 2008 survey sponsored by the Direct Marketing Association and Pitney Bowes, 39% of respondents said they tried a business for the first time because of direct mail advertising, and 70% said they renewed a business relationship because of a direct mail promotion.

• An iProspect study conducted in 2007 found that 67% of online searches were driven by offline messages, resulting in purchases 39% of the time. In addition, shoppers who receive a direct mail piece directing them to an online site spend on average 13% more than those who do not receive a printed piece.

Enhancements to traditional marketingOur statement that traditional print media remains important does not mean that we don’t recognize how communicating with customers and prospects is changing. More and more, customers and prospects are taking control of the buying situation by seeking information on their terms – looking for what they want as the need arises. We are well past the time when a small business could use only word of mouth and yellow pages advertising to attract new customers. Businesses and organizations today need a website supported by a consistent direct mail program to point prospects to the website.

Websites have also evolved since their earliest days. A website that is no more than an online yellow pages ad will disappoint visitors looking for information and interactivity. Pictures, descriptive text, detailed explanations, downloadable information, videos, and an easy way to contact the business to request more information are now minimum requirements for a website.

Who is responsible for marketing?With marketing becoming customer-centric and customers taking control of the information-seeking process prior to making a buying decision, the responsibility for marketing within the business or organization has changed. While the owner of a small business or

the president of an organization may continue to control or decide about the specific marketing strategies, all parts of the organization are now involved in implementing the marketing plan.

Customers and prospects will form an opinion about a business or organization based on several factors:• the image projected in print and online;• the staff members who are responsible

for customer service and product or service delivery; and

• the responsiveness of the organization to resolving customer problems.

For consistency and marketing effectiveness, the print and online image must support the marketing strategies, and the staff members in customer service, delivery and problem resolution must understand and implement the marketing strategies.

The core concepts of a marketing systemA modern, successful marketing system for businesses and organizations is built on three core concepts: a customer-centric rather than product-centric focus that identifies current needs of customers and predicts their future needs; expanding the responsibility for marketing to the entire organization; and using new marketing strategies to enhance but not replace traditional ones.

If you need help with your image in print – business stationery, brochures and marketing materials, direct mail marketing campaign, or website development and improvement, we can help. Contact David Hull at 763.425.4251 for an appointment now.

2 Providing you an edge in print communications. www.visionsfirst.com 7Visions 763-425-4251

Preparing for graphic designGraphic design is not the starting point for visual communication. Rather, it is a subsequent step after investigation, analysis, planning and organization.

In past issues of our newsletter we’ve stressed the importance of thoroughly preparing before sitting down at the computer to begin layout. Until you are clear on the purpose of the marketing and sales material, the website, or the display ad; until you have defined the target audience and determined the message; until you have investigated the communication preferences of the target audience; you won’t have enough information to be sure your communication hits the mark.

With the purpose of the visual communication in mind and a thorough understanding of the message and its intended audience, you are ready to select and assemble the images, photographs, symbols and text and to select the color palette. Now is when technical knowledge of the visual communication media – print or multimedia; small or large format – is critical. Technical issues include:

• Color space. Color space is the color model and color mapping information that uses mathematics to describe the way colors are represented. The color model used in print is CMYK where the colors are created using the primary colors of pigment (cyan, magenta, yellow and black, represented as K). Websites and the Internet use an RGB color model where the colors are created using red, green and blue glowing phosphors. When represented mathematically in three dimensions (x, y and z axis), the RGB and CMYK color spaces do not match exactly. This means that some colors produced with RGB cannot be matched in the CMYK color space.

• Image resolution. Resolution measures how sharply an image is rendered and is expressed as the total number of pixels (picture elements) or dots per inch that make up the image. Computer screens render images well with a very low resolution (72 to 92 pixels per inch); printed images require a minimum resolution of 150 dots per inch at image size.

• Fonts. Fonts used on websites will only render correctly if the font is installed on the viewing computer screen. This severely limits font selection for multimedia presentations but is not an issue for print.

• Background color. Readability for print is best when there is high contrast between the background color and the type. This generally means a light background with a contrasting, darker type. For multimedia, readability is enhanced when text and images are reversed out of a solid color background.

The art of graphic designGraphic design is a combination of technical skills and artistic creation. A type of commercial art, graphic design differs from fine art mainly in its purpose: to convey a message to an intended audience.

Graphic design shares with fine art many principles of design including balance, emphasis, movement, rhythm, contrast, proportion and unity. These principles, when combined with planning and technical knowledge of print and multimedia, results in marketing materials, sales collateral and cross media promotional materials that convey an advertising message in a visually pleasing manner.

Let us show you the difference good graphic design can make. Select a brochure or sell sheet whose information needs to be updated and let us redesign it using the principles of graphic design. We predict you’ll be impressed with the results. For more information contact David Hull at 763.425.4251 today!

August/September 2011

This Issue

F | I | L | E

Do You Have a Marketing System?In 2007, the board of directors of the American Marketing Association adopted this definition of marketing:

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

For another take on the definition of marketing, consider this from The Chartered Institute of Marketing, a professional association based in the United Kingdom:

Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

Management guru Peter Drucker defines marketing this way:

Marketing is not only much broader than selling; it is not a specialized activity at all. It encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of the final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise.

Finally, Regis McKenna, an influential marketing consultant whose professional career includes authoring five books on marketing, succinctly states:

Marketing is everything.

What all these definitions have in common is the recognition that marketing requires businesses and organizations to be customer-centric – to shift from a focus on production to a focus on what customers need and want.

Do You Have a Marketing System? 1-2

Tips & Tricks 3

Q & A 3

The Idea Corner 4

A Vocabulary of the Graphic Arts 4

Print Promotes Forests 5

Good Graphic Design 6-7

Ordering Made Easy! 8

This IssueF | I | L | E

This newsletter is printed on 80# Winner gloss text.

Do You Have a Marketing System? 1-2

Tips & Tricks 3

Q & A 3

The Idea Corner 4

A Vocabulary of the Graphic Arts 4

Print Promotes Forests 5

Good Graphic Design 6-7

Ordering Made Easy! 8

PRESORTED STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDTWIN CITIES, MNPERMIT NO. 2805 8801 Wyoming Avenue North

Brooklyn Park, MN 55445 www.visionsfirst.com

Address Service Requested

Visions, Inc. easy-to-use web-to-print order management tool features:• A centralized repository for static and

customizable files which streamlines the print procurement process

• Easy web based uploading of files• Automated job submission resulting in

precise and flawless print instructions• Customizable online catalogs that

contain marketing collateral, business forms, nonprinted promotional items and a wide variety of printed or branded communication materials on a single site

• Variable data templates with the ability to create personalized marketing communications based on individual customer information

• Hassle-free reorders• Order tracking, cost and order history• A secure environmentContact David Hull at 763.425.4251 or David.Hull@visionsfirst.com to schedule a personal demonstration.