Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Printing Company With Graduation Season Problems

Posted by Anonymous on 3/28/2013 at 2:51 PM ET 250 Points
Hi, it's me again. (I know you guys are going to get sick of me eventually.) :-)

It's the end of March, and so graduation season is here.

Every year, my company performs poorly in terms of graduation invitation sales.

The reason why this is, is because we have no marketing plan whatsoever that focuses on graduation season.

Being that it's kind of late in the season, I'm trying to form a sharp, concise marketing plan that will greatly increase my graduation invitation sales.

Any information that you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

In my small town, there is only one high school. I don't even get the majority of graduation invitation printing from them. If I had to guess a percentage, I would say I get less than 10%.

So as you can see, this is a major problem.

Besides that school, there are several schools in nearby towns, and I strongly believe that with the right marketing, I can not only get upwards of 75% of the graduation invitation business from the school in MY town; but I also believe I can draw in customers from the other nearby cities.

Please let me know if you need any more information.

This is a time-sensitive issue, so I will be closely monitoring this thread, and I will be available to answer any feedback.

Thank you in advance.
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/28/2013 at 3:00 PM Accepted
    What companies does your local high school recommend?
    If you're only getting 10%, who's satisfying the other 90%? What is there marketing like?
    Can you co-market with graduation party suppliers?
  • Posted on 3/28/2013 at 3:08 PM Author
    Jay: The local high school recommends companies in the other nearby towns.

    That's bothersome, but I guess I can't say too much; because our graduation season marketing is lacking. So if anything, it's our fault here.

    As far as the other company's marketing: I have no idea what they are doing this year.

    I know that one year (it may have been last year), they actually came to the school and set up a booth and took orders.

    I honestly don't know how they have that deal worked with the school, and I also don't know if they're going to do it again this year.

    So even that: I'm trying to figure out if I should try that same approach along with other marketing gems I get from this thread.

    As far as co-marketing with graduation party suppliers, the party suppliers are in the next town over. Don't you think it may be too late in the season to try that approach?
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/28/2013 at 4:08 PM Member
    As for it being "too late" - you don't know unless you make the call/visit. Maybe offer a last-minute discount to attract some attention. And now's probably as good time as any to talk about next year's graduation with the school, to see if they'd support your local business.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 3/28/2013 at 5:32 PM Accepted
    It's never too late. Start making phone calls to schools and find out who you need to speak to and get in front of. Then, make an appointment and get your ass over there. Dress the part, take samples, show people how you can make them look great.

    Contact the PTA at the local schools and do the same thing: hustle your ass off and make an effort.
    Give offers that guarantee quality and dependability: then over deliver. Give free address stickers, give free envelopes if customers order over a certain number of items. Offer bundles that include business stationery and that include the graduation invites as a freebie.

    Contact the local schools and check your local bylaws to see if there's anything to prevent you from handing out leaflets to students as the leave or arrive at school: this will also give you a chance to speak with parents (they're the ones paying for the service). Ask how you can help them make their kid's graduation memorable.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 3/28/2013 at 5:35 PM Accepted
    I was all ready to type that it's too late for this year, but the research you do for next year might actually yield some results for this year. Talk to the senior class advisor at the high school. Ask for his/her help. Explain why it might be in the school's best interest to recommend your company. Make sure they know you're local, but don't rely on that alone as your positioning benefit.

    What if you contribute to a college scholarship fund or other school activity to begin to create some awareness at the school? The more you are seen as a friend and supporter, the more likely they are to want to send some business your way.
  • Posted by Moriarty on 3/28/2013 at 6:23 PM Accepted
    If time is short - you can start up a PPC campaign in an evening. You can also use the display network - like the advertisements you see in online magazines and blogs. You can target a small area (a radius) or a town (the shape of the town's boundaries). It is fast and it is incredibly effective.

    No telephone calling, no by-law problems, very little cost. And it's incredibly fast. Even with limited knowledge you will get some good results because you have such a limited area to deal with. The mistakes you make won't cost you much because the entire campaign isn't going to cost much.

    So get your graphics team creating something for a 250x250px graphic for the display network and get it out there! You will need an internet landing page - usually it's a good idea to have one specifically tuned to the campaign. Since it's local just head them to your home page if you set the whole thing in motion this evening. You can sort out the landing page tomorrow!

    If people are actively looking for your product, the Google search network is also a possibility - again the same things apply in a broad sense.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 3/28/2013 at 10:37 PM Member
    In a small American town, I'm with Phil: personal sales calls. Personal offers: nose to nose presentations and demonstrations.
  • Posted by darcy.moen on 3/28/2013 at 11:43 PM Accepted
    You could do some Facebook ads. Facebook ad targeting can be set up to target by zipcode, by city, and you target as close to the right age group as targeting allows (You cannot target anyone under 18 - sorry, that's Facebook's rules). You might also be able to target by interest (grad committee, grad, graduation). This should gets your ads tightly focused on a small group, making the cost very inexpensive. Set up your ads to run based on CPM (impressions), and let those ads fly.

    Another strategy you might want to deploy (this year, or next) is to make a sales pitch to the band, or sports teams, or the PTA. All these groups are always looking for ways to raise funds, so why not partner with them and make a donation of a percentage of every order you get from the school back to the band to buy new instruments, or to the basket ball team to buy new uniforms, or offset the football teams road trips, new chess sets for the chess club, new computers for the computer lab, new books for the library, etc etc etc. Every sale helps raise money, while helping you build your business. You are a local business, why not give back to your local community and help alleviate the ever growing need of raising cash for worthwhile school projects. Be firm, but fair in your split, it has to be worthwhile for you, and for your 'fund raising' partners. Plus, you might end up with an army of sales folks working hard to sell you to help themselves. You might be surprised how hard the band will work to raise cash for road trips or a new instrument (a Bass Sax costs up to $5,000 each) or instruments.

    I hope this helps you.
    Darcy Moen
    Customer Loyalty Network
  • Posted on 3/29/2013 at 12:40 PM Author
    Wow - All of these responses are amazing. I am sincerely thankful to each and every one of you that took the time to respond to me with all of these great ideas.

    I have another question (yes, I'm trying to get a "two-fer"):

    There are two colleges nearby. There is a university about 20 min from me, and a community college 30 min from me.

    What should be my marketing strategy for a college campus? Some of the ideas above would work for a college campus, but then again, a college campus is a completely different animal from a high school.

    Any ideas?
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/29/2013 at 12:49 PM Member
    You need to understand the "lay of the land" - whether it be a high school or college. You start by asking a lot of questions first, to better understand how to approach prospective clients/staff.
  • Posted on 4/1/2013 at 10:38 AM Author
    Thanks, everyone, for the help. I really appreciate it.
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Advertising/PR)