An adroit mixture of everyday settings and extraordinary events.
Click to view...
A compendium of strange-but-true recent events as reported in the legitimate press.
Click to view...
The world of business and finance gets skewered, as Bottom Liners tackles subjects such as foreign takeovers, office policies, getting a raise, and the fast-paced world of Wall Street.
Click to view...
A wry look at the absurdities of every day life.
Click to view...
|
|
|
Eliminate the envelope.
|
|
What's Your Story?
|
Hate cleaning? Can it!
|
|
Raffles: Everyone is a winner
|
 |
A Message From Steve Kirouac |
|
|
|
|
The Virtue of Patience
If you've ever been frustrated behind a slow driver, you know that patience is something you admire in the driver behind you, but scorn in the driver ahead. Here's a humorous story about mind over matter when it comes to patience:
A woman was struggling to grocery shop with a rambunctious two-year-old in her cart. The little girl asked for candy, and her mother told her no. The girl immediately began to whine and fuss, and the mother said quietly, "Don't be upset Veronica - we are half done shopping and won't be much longer." Soon, they came to the bakery aisle, and the little girl began to beg for cookies and cry. The mother reassured calmly, "Don't cry Veronica, only two more aisles to go and we'll be done." In the checkout aisle, the little girl begged for goodies and burst into a terrible tantrum. The mother patiently said, "Veronica, we'll be home in 15 minutes and then you can have a long nap." Another customer complimented the mother and said, "I couldn't help but notice how patient you are with little Veronica." The mother replied, "I'm Veronica. My daughter's name is Jenny."
Here's the way I see it: Franklin P. Jones said it best, "You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance." If you want your printed materials quickly and done right the first time, we're here to help!
Steve Kirouac
|
|
|
|
Marketing Tip |
|
|
Close the Deal with Success Stories
Prospects are more likely to buy from you if they know how other businesses have benefited from your services. An easy way to let your clients do the talking and share their positive experiences with a larger audience is to launch a customer success story program. Not only can customer success stories increase awareness of your products and services, they can also elevate your company's image by associating your brand with high-profile customers, and create a sense of urgency among their competitors to keep pace with companies featured in your stories.
Customer success stories help prospective buyers recognize their need for your services after reading issues similar to their own, and attract web traffic because they are rich with the keywords that your most promising prospects enter when searching for solutions like yours. Here are a few tips on creating a customer success story program:
- A typical case study should include a description of your customer's business, their challenge, and the results from using your product or service.
- Research the company you are highlighting before scheduling an interview.
- Be prepared with a series of questions to better understand their challenges and how your products or services helped their organization.
- Draft a success story with quotes from the interview, and ensure your contact reviews before finalizing.
- Consider offering a special promotion or loyalty program to customers who complete a success story.
- Create at least one success story for every category of products or services you provide.
- Ensure all success stories follow a similar design layout for company recognition.
- Ask for permission to include a photo of your contact, company logo, and corporate imagery.
- Keep printed success stories as marketing collateral to hand out to customers, give away at tradeshows, etc.
- Post success stories on your web site, e-mail them with information requests, or burn them to a CD as a leave-behind for sales calls.
- Highlight a different customer success story in each issue of your company newsletter.
- When responding to information requests, consider assembling a corporate pocket folder with customer case stories relevant to your prospect's needs.
- Create an informational webinar based on a customer success story and invite the feature customer to co-present with you.
- Consider hiring a freelance writer to save time from your in-house staff. As an outside party, freelance writers can often ask sensitive questions and may be able to get customers to open up more as a result.
If you'd like help creating print materials that build confidence in your products and services, stop by today. Our team of creative experts can help you turn prospects into customers.
Send this article to a friend
|
|
|
|
Tech Tips |
|
|
Cleaning with Canned Air
Canned air, which is really compressed gas, is a great tool for cleaning electronic equipment. Not only can it extend the life of components and increase system stability, but it can also reduce noise. Here are a few tips on how sensitive electronic equipment, such as keyboards, computers, cameras, and more can benefit from canned air:
- A few blasts to a keyboard with the keys facing the floor can blow out debris such as dirt, dust, and crumbs, which not only interferes with the functionality of the keys, but also accelerates wear on the delicate pads and rockers beneath the keys.
- Fan blades and vents become coated and clogged with smothering dust which holds in heat, reduces airflow, and causes your computer to run harder and hotter than necessary, reducing the life of your machine. Canned air can quickly blast away this harmful dust.
- While optical mice are more immune from dust than roller ball mice, dust can easily diminish the performance of either type. Use canned air to blow around all buttons, cracks, and crevices.
- Laptops can also benefit from a blast of air to remove debris from the keyboard and clear vents and fans from debilitating dust.
- Because canned air contains no moisture, it is great for cleaning delicate surfaces, such as photographic lenses and film, without scratching or contaminating.
- Canned air can also be great for cleaning the interior of your car, such as air vents, radios, gear consoles, etc. Just be sure car windows are open for ventilation.
- Be sure to hold the can upright when using canned air. If the can is help upside down or at an angle, the pressurized liquid will not mix with air, and you will get a blast of freezing liquid which could cause burns to your skin.
If you'd like other low-budget ideas on how to maintain large investments such as your business' image, stop by today. Our creative team can help you pull the trigger when it comes to promoting your business with professional yet creative print materials.
Send this article to a friend
|
|
|
|
Uncommon Product |
|
|
Raffle Tickets
Raffles are a great fund-raising idea for charities, clubs, non-profits, and other types of organizations. They not only help you raise money toward your cause, but they also build excitement, bring your team closer together, and increase exposure, ensuring your organization will be remembered long after the prizes are handed out.
Here are some tips on creating raffle tickets for your next fund-raising event:
- Start by checking with your local law to ensure your raffle is in accordance with raffle laws and regulations.
- Create a customized, eye-catching ticket with graphics or photos highlighting your fund-raising cause.
- Team with a local business to offer a coupon or discount on the back of your raffle tickets.
- Numbered tickets not only enhance the professionalism of your tickets, but they make it easier to keep track of the number sold. Numbered tickets are required for some state raffle regulations.
- Consider two raffles – one with small items and inexpensive tickets, and one with large prizes and higher cost tickets.
- In addition to selling tickets word of mouth, spread the word via e-mail, postcards, flyers, posters, social media (such as Facebook or Twitter), and post information on your web site.
- Hold your raffle in conjunction with another event, such as a dinner or party. Create a fun atmosphere that encourages people to become part of your fund-raising event.
- Motivate volunteers to sell by offering prizes to your top sellers and making them financially responsible for selling a reasonable minimum number of tickets.
- Use raffle ticket entries to start a mailing list for your organization. Ask for permission to e-mail when people sign up.
- Don't forget to include key information including the organization's name, address, phone number, date of the drawing, list of major prizes, and web link for more information about your organization or upcoming fund-raising events.
If you'd like other ideas on how to promote an upcoming event, stop by today. We can help you create the perfect eye-catching flyer, poster, or postcard to help you reach your fund-raising goals!
Send this article to a friend
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
