In Feburary 2016 24,
Survey all corporate stakeholders to determine the types of print jobs that will use variable data software. Some possible uses for variable printing are books, postcards,manuals, invoices, statements, brochures and mailings.
Identify and rank the different end uses of variable printing into broad categories and then rank those categories by anticipated impact on company profitability.
All companies start the selection process wanting their software to do 'everything', but the reality of all software is that strengths and weaknesses vary among products. Knowing if the main use of the product will be transaction-oriented or marketing-oriented helps to focus the evaluation process.
For marketing oriented applications,focus on how well each product handles variable images and design features. For transactional applications, rendering and processing time become more critical due to the large amount of data involved in these applications.The digital products will differ in their abilities according to what their original target market.
Develop a test using your data files and documents. Your digital printing software vendors should be able to take that information and provide anticipated processing time for their software. During these tests you'll get a good feel for speed and reliability. Your programmers will also be providing input about which product will be easiest for them to work with. Remember, your most important internal audience will be your programmers.
Ask for a list of customers of references in your field or a closely related field who will talk about their experience with the vendor's software product. What kind of printing projects have they undertaken? How reliable was their product? Speed and reliability are the two critical success factors for variable print.
The final part of this process is to agree on vendor response time when the software develops a bug. Focus on the definitions of 'critical' and 'non-critical' problems and the service response times.
Create a scorecard to track strengths and weaknesses of each product. If you've done your research well, you should have a clear winner in your variable data printing software search.
In Feburary 2016 24,
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Wednesday, 24 February 2016
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
How to Plan a ConventionIn Feburary 2016 23,
In Feburary 2016 23,
An organization’s goals for a convention are not always the same as the convention attendee’s goals. Learn the organization’s reasons for hosting the convention. It might be to attract and retain members, generate profits, provide board and committee members with a vacation perk or generate media publicity for the organization.
Set Your Tactical Plan
Once you know your strategic goals, set your tactical objectives for reaching them. These can include choosing seminars and speakers to attract specific attendee types, having a revenue-producing trade show, adding spouse activities to increase attendance, organizing social functions such as a golf tournament or river cruise, having an awards banquet or conducting an annual vote of the membership. Your marketing plan should include the advertising, public relations, promotional and social media strategies to promote the convention.
Plan the Budget
Determine the organization’s financial goals for the convention, and review your numbers. You might be limited to a specific budget if the convention is an expense. The organization might have a profit target, or you might be allowed to spend based on your expected revenue. Create projections based on optimistic and conservative registration and sponsorship revenues.
Outline Your Agenda
Next, plan your event agenda. Choose your date, venue and activities. Many conventions have a theme that explains the event’s overall purpose and helps attract attendees. You might need to solicit input on dates and potential locations from your board or attendees and conduct site visits to multiple venues before you choose one. Review information about previous conventions to learn about venues, attendance, financial performance and attendee and sponsor feedback. Create a calendar that starts with attendee check-in and outlines each day’s schedule.
Research Logistical Needs
Begin contacting venues, speakers, caterers, entertainment options, audiovisual companies, printers and travel companies. Determine how to handle marketing, registrations, sponsorships, badges, check-ins, trade show booths, gift bags, program books and website pages. Send requests for proposals for external vendors such as resorts, caterers, golf courses and travel agencies. Put together your desired vendor list and costs.
Write a Proposal
Prepare a document that shows your board or convention team your plan for the convention. Include your understanding of the organization’s goals and how you plan to meet those objectives. Provide an agenda of the event with a detailed daily schedule. Present a complete budget. Explain why you selected the theme, location, seminar topics, speakers and social activities. Justify your attendance, expense and revenue projections based on your research.
In Feburary 2016 23,
An organization’s goals for a convention are not always the same as the convention attendee’s goals. Learn the organization’s reasons for hosting the convention. It might be to attract and retain members, generate profits, provide board and committee members with a vacation perk or generate media publicity for the organization.
Set Your Tactical Plan
Once you know your strategic goals, set your tactical objectives for reaching them. These can include choosing seminars and speakers to attract specific attendee types, having a revenue-producing trade show, adding spouse activities to increase attendance, organizing social functions such as a golf tournament or river cruise, having an awards banquet or conducting an annual vote of the membership. Your marketing plan should include the advertising, public relations, promotional and social media strategies to promote the convention.
Plan the Budget
Determine the organization’s financial goals for the convention, and review your numbers. You might be limited to a specific budget if the convention is an expense. The organization might have a profit target, or you might be allowed to spend based on your expected revenue. Create projections based on optimistic and conservative registration and sponsorship revenues.
Outline Your Agenda
Next, plan your event agenda. Choose your date, venue and activities. Many conventions have a theme that explains the event’s overall purpose and helps attract attendees. You might need to solicit input on dates and potential locations from your board or attendees and conduct site visits to multiple venues before you choose one. Review information about previous conventions to learn about venues, attendance, financial performance and attendee and sponsor feedback. Create a calendar that starts with attendee check-in and outlines each day’s schedule.
Research Logistical Needs
Begin contacting venues, speakers, caterers, entertainment options, audiovisual companies, printers and travel companies. Determine how to handle marketing, registrations, sponsorships, badges, check-ins, trade show booths, gift bags, program books and website pages. Send requests for proposals for external vendors such as resorts, caterers, golf courses and travel agencies. Put together your desired vendor list and costs.
Write a Proposal
Prepare a document that shows your board or convention team your plan for the convention. Include your understanding of the organization’s goals and how you plan to meet those objectives. Provide an agenda of the event with a detailed daily schedule. Present a complete budget. Explain why you selected the theme, location, seminar topics, speakers and social activities. Justify your attendance, expense and revenue projections based on your research.
In Feburary 2016 23,
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
How to Build a Merchant WebsiteIn Feburary 2016 09,
In Feburary 2016 09,
Select your company name. Your name should be easy to remember. Once you've selected your name, purchase a domain name from GoDaddy.com (see Resources).
Choose an E-commerce site to host your Web site. Volusion.com offers an entire package that includes your domain name, shopping cart and Web hosting, starting at $19.95. Corecommerce.com is another E-commerce site that offers packages for as little as $29.95 (you will need to purchase your own domain name). Both sites offer business e-mail addresses, Web site templates (and the ability to use your own design), marketing tools, accounting tools, data feeds, Google AdWords coupons, the ability to create coupons or newsletters for your store and the ability to accept a number of different payment methods such as Paypal, Google Checkout and credit cards. GoDaddy.com allows you to pick and choose the services you need, such as a domain name or shopping cart. Web hosting starts at $4.99. If you aren't familiar with SEO and online selling, an all-inclusive site such as Corecommerce.com may be the way to go. Both Volusion.com and Corecommerce.com offer a free 30-day trial.
Build an attractive storefront. Take high-quality images of your products and create clear and thorough product descriptions that use relevant key words.
Create your business profile on an About Me page on the Web site that includes some information about how your business began, your vision and your goals. Create a Shipping and Returns page as well as a Privacy Notice page that tells your customers how you intend to use and safeguard their personal information.
Minimize risks by using security measures such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates such as those offered by VeriSign and payment gateways such as Authorize.net (see Resources). Contact your hosting site to see what services they offer or which gateways are compatible.
In Feburary 2016 09,
Select your company name. Your name should be easy to remember. Once you've selected your name, purchase a domain name from GoDaddy.com (see Resources).
Choose an E-commerce site to host your Web site. Volusion.com offers an entire package that includes your domain name, shopping cart and Web hosting, starting at $19.95. Corecommerce.com is another E-commerce site that offers packages for as little as $29.95 (you will need to purchase your own domain name). Both sites offer business e-mail addresses, Web site templates (and the ability to use your own design), marketing tools, accounting tools, data feeds, Google AdWords coupons, the ability to create coupons or newsletters for your store and the ability to accept a number of different payment methods such as Paypal, Google Checkout and credit cards. GoDaddy.com allows you to pick and choose the services you need, such as a domain name or shopping cart. Web hosting starts at $4.99. If you aren't familiar with SEO and online selling, an all-inclusive site such as Corecommerce.com may be the way to go. Both Volusion.com and Corecommerce.com offer a free 30-day trial.
Build an attractive storefront. Take high-quality images of your products and create clear and thorough product descriptions that use relevant key words.
Create your business profile on an About Me page on the Web site that includes some information about how your business began, your vision and your goals. Create a Shipping and Returns page as well as a Privacy Notice page that tells your customers how you intend to use and safeguard their personal information.
Minimize risks by using security measures such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates such as those offered by VeriSign and payment gateways such as Authorize.net (see Resources). Contact your hosting site to see what services they offer or which gateways are compatible.
In Feburary 2016 09,
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