Author: admin@CaPrintSVCs

If you’re still wondering whether your business should use print media or digital media, it’s important to understand their use first. Remember that each business has its strengths and weaknesses to work on which is why one type of media marketing could work more than the other.

One of the many reasons why entrepreneurs turn to digital media nowadays is because of the ease and accessibility it offers. As more people from around the world have access to brands and services from the other side of the world, marketing targeted at a global audience is more favoured.

However, there are also a lot of benefits when you use traditional marketing in the digital age. Print still has advantages that even digital tools can’t replicate at present. Also, it depends on whether you have the budget to spend on digital or traditional media as well.

Print Media vs Digital Media

Print media has been around for a long time which means it has been tested and proven to work. You can trust traditional marketing more since once something gets published, it can’t be changed or altered immediately.

Traditional marketing gives your prospects and customers more assurance that what you print is the full details. People are more likely to look for traditional marketing when they want reliable information and sources and you can take advantage of that.

Even though digital media can reach many people in a matter of seconds online, it can also be altered as quickly. Plenty of information online can be deleted or edited in a few minutes. It creates confusion and distrust among your prospects and customers.

Pros and Cons of Print Media

Pros

• More Trustworthy
  Many people still trust print media today and it’s difficult to take away print completely out of them. There are plenty of consumers who have migrated online for their needs and source of information, but they will still look for traditional marketing for assurance.

  It’s because traditional marketing is more reliable and is known to be accurate. Before something gets printed out, some editors and people check the information to be printed. Unlike digital media where anyone can miss out on simple spelling mistakes before hitting the post button.

• Strong Loyalty
  Print media can still carry massive exposure for your ads even today. It’s because people are still very loyal to print and will usually believe what is printed more compared to what they see online. You can be sure that your marketing’s exposure in print will still be welcomed and trusted by many.
• Visual Appeal
  You can still get creative when it comes to print advertising. There are many options for businesses when advertising on print such as producing posters and brochures which are less expensive but still as effective as modern digital ads.
• Better ROI than Digital Ads
  It’s not surprising that you will still get good ROI with traditional marketing compared to digital ads. It’s because the latter is very expensive to produce especially for small to medium businesses,  traditional marketing also has a longer shelf life compared to digital ads that can only retain a few minutes of a prospect’s attention online.

Cons

• Longer Planning Period
  You can create an astounding print campaign when you know how to plan them well. That means to ensure that your print marketing works, you have to research well and produce the right print ads to distribute. The success of the plan highly depends on your creative direction as the entrepreneur or leader of your business.
• Audience Restriction
  The power of print ads can only be maximized in your local area. You can only hang up your posters and distribute your brochures to people that you can physically reach out to. That means there are only a handful of areas where people are exposed to your print marketing. This isn’t a problem if you are only targeting a local area for your products and service.
• Difficulty with Finding Prospects
  Unlike digital ads where you can place them in platforms that work with algorithms, print ads can’t execute the same thing. You need to really on the interest of the people whom you will show or distribute the printed ads and not all of them could want your product or services.

Digital Media

Pros

• Everything is Digital
  You don’t have to worry about printed copies since you can produce and access the ads online. Given that you have the programs to create the ads and an automated platform, you can schedule ads to show up at whatever time you desire.
• Being on Trend
  If you want your ads to be trendy, you can immediately create and launch them digitally. There is no need to wait for days to design and print out your ads. You can launch them, immediately and hop on the trend where more people can see your ads.

Cons

• Shorter Attention Span
  As much as how you can get the attention of people online immediately, it also goes away as quickly. With digital ads, you have to grab their attention quickly, but the challenge is how to hold nit long enough until you can market your products and services. It is very difficult to create a digital ad engaging enough for prospects to interact with.
• Pricey
  You might be surprised to find out that digital ads cost more than printed ones. Even if you don’t need to design and print your ads, you still need to access a computer, a design program as well as a digital platform subscription to maximize your advertising reach.

What Media Should Businesses Use?

Now you might be asking what is the best advertising media to use? If you are a small to medium business owner, you need a combination of both for amazing results. Going all in on digital media can be very risky which is why you should always have traditional marketing as a backup.

When you are a starting business with no huge revenue yet. Always start with print. Your traditional marketing will take you a long way until you can finally afford a bigger marketing campaign, there’s nothing wrong with starting with traditional media as it is still very effective today.

Print media will always be convenient and easy to access for everyone. Some prospects prefer having to touch a brochure or pamphlet before they become convinced of what you offer. You can always take advantage of this and use print media to gain the trust of your target market.

Many companies opt for cheap brochure printing in Toronto because they know it could greatly help their marketing campaigns. Even with digital campaigns existing, print campaign materials like brochures still hold a big value.

It’s because print marketing materials can hold the interest of a prospect more than digital ads could. As the world keeps revolving faster at present, digital media is all about being quick which is why ads have become shorter.

When talking about brochures, people spend more time reading the content and understanding what the ad is for. Brochures are great for prospects who do not engage with digital ads as well as those who want a more tangible type of marketing.

Why Do Companies Pick Cheap Brochure Printing in Toronto

Most small to medium businesses tend to have tight budgets when it comes to marketing. That’s why they usually make use of a mixture of print and digital marketing to save costs. Brochures in particular save time and money because of how accessible they are.

1.   Longer Exposure

When advertising a product or service you want the undivided attention of your prospects. Digital ads can indeed reach people worldwide in just a couple of seconds. Then again, the downside is that the attention span of people online is also limited.

People will often scroll away from ads a second after they see them. There is no long exposure guaranteed as people tend to become easily distracted by plenty of things online. Nobody wants to read long advertising texts and nobody wants to stay for a 3-minute ad.

With brochures, however, you can include as many words as you can and your prospects will still be able to read them. By being more engaging with how you design your brochure, it can attract the attention of a prospect longer and it will prompt them to read the information you printed out.

2.   Cost Effective

Brochure printing can give you good marketing results without having to cost too much money. Lots of modern digital ads can cost a lot nowadays and you only get just a few seconds at a time of airing your ad. Not to mention you will be sharing digital space with millions of other ads.

The great thing about printing brochures is that it occupies more of your prospects’ time, but will not cost as much as a billboard or a 30-second ad online. Having brochures as part of your marketing plan will save you from spending millions and still give you revenue.

All it takes is a little bit of creativity to design your brochure. Make sure that all the information needed is there and that it’s attractive enough to catch the attention of people. You also need to ensure that the print isn’t too noisy or crowded and people can’t read anything on it anymore.

3.   Adds a Personal Touch

As mentioned, some people prefer tangible marketing. What this means is, they tend to trust brands that have physical ads more than what they see online. Some people like seeing posters, brochures, and signs of products in real life.

It’s because the printed ads give them the effect of authenticity. There are many businesses online that aren’t able to produce the exact quality of products they claim to sell. That’s why you can find buyers that want to see the real thing with their own eyes before believing any seller.

With brochures, you are free to add sample products or services to gain the attention of your prospects. This is what digital ads can’t do: physically connect with your prospects and give them an on-the-spot sample of what your business has to offer.

4.   Creative Branding

Since you have a lot of freedom in how you design your brochure. You can get crazy or even simple with our branding. Choose from minimalist designs to more grand and eye-catching ones. The important thing is that your prospects can see what your brand is all about.

Brochures help make your business stand out. You can put your logo on the cover and work your way through the pages to introduce your brand to the reader. The better designed your brochures are, the more effective they can be at convincing readers.

The best part about it is that the more you invest in creating quality pamphlets, the more impressed people will be. Some prospects like to examine the quality and design of print ads and then judge how well your business is doing from those observations.

5.   Coordination and Networking

Printing out brochures can help you expand your network in the market. There are plenty of businesses that choose to work with printing companies to produce their print ads for them. You can do the same for your brochures and avail of cheaper printing costs.

In the world of marketing, it matters that you have a wide array of connections that could help your business endeavours. Printing companies are just one of the many networks you should reach out to since you will benefit greatly from their packages.

You only have to ensure that the company you choose is a responsible and well-trusted one. Always read reviews about them and how they treated their projects and previous clients. Also, you can contact them to ask for a quote or present queries.

Choosing the Best Brochure Printing Company

You can only get the printing results you want from a printing company that knows how to do the job. Many printing companies can design brochures for you and they can also accept designs that you create yourself.

Always look at the brochure quality that the print company produces. They should be fit for commercial and advertising use. Make sure they use high-quality paper stock which also depends on the size of the brochure that you want made.

Apart from quality, brochure coating is also as important. There are different kinds such as matte, paper, and glossy types that you can choose from. What matters is that you pay for cheap brochure printing in Toronto that can do a decent job of producing quality brochures.

Save yourself from the trouble of shipping your trade show displays from outside Toronto. Get your trade show displays printed at a local printing firm.

If you’re participating in events such as conventions, trade shows, or an expo in Toronto, it is beneficial to source your promotional materials and marketing paraphernalia from a Toronto trade show printing firm. Rather than going through the hassle of shipping your booth displays and ads from your business outside Toronto, having them printed at a local printing company would be more convenient and even more cost-effective.

Why Do You Need To Attend Events

The lifeblood of your business comes from a list of quality potential leads. While there are a lot of lead generation strategies at your disposal, events like trade shows, expos, and conferences are among the most effective and popular marketing platforms. With entrepreneurs from the same industry, members of the press, and company representatives gather during these events, it would be a perfect opportunity to showcase your products and your company’s latest deals.

Trade shows and conferences may require a huge investment of both time and money, however, these events generate more potential leads and build prospective business relationships. They don’t only allow you to introduce your company to a larger audience but it also provides you with an opportunity to interact vis-a-vis with your market. Therefore, trade shows are a powerful platform to send a tailored message to your target market, creating more possibilities for conversion.

Trade Show and Conference Must-haves

When participating as an exhibitor in a trade show, you better make the most of it and maximize your lead generation. Keep in mind that there would be a high number of visitor attendance of potential leads. However, you also have to remember that the event is held to bring businesses of the same industry together. This means that competitors are also there, trying to attract the same pool of target audience.

The step to getting potential customers starts with attracting visitors. There is a long list of ways you can draw the crowd’s attention and keep them engaged at your trade show and conference booth. Here are a few things on the list that would help you increase your business potential.

Retractable Banners
To define your brand, you can use pop up displays or retractable banners. First impressions may last. Therefore, at a glance, your roll-up banner should tell your customers who you are and what you can offer. Moreover, its design should be compelling to attract a crowd. It should also communicate your unique points to keep them interested. By having the right design and font for your banner, visitors can get a good lasting impression from your company. While you want to put everything on the banner, only include the most important details. The fewer the words you use for your pop up display, the neater and more professional it looks.

Product Brochures
A great way to launch a new product is through a brochure highlighting its features and specifics that visitors can take away. It’s handy but holds a lot of information. Furthermore, it gives personality to your business.

Handouts and Give-aways
To help your visitors remember your brand and products, provide them with handouts that contain more information about your business, your products, or your latest promotional offers. It is also imperative to provide your contact details so they can get back to you. Moreover, they can have an avenue to connect with you.

Purposeful promotional giveaways, such as pens, mugs, or T-shirts with your company logo on it would make you memorable as well. You can make these items as a raffle or game prizes or gifts.

Why You Should Choose Local Printing Services For Trade Shows in Toronto

Eliminates Shipping and Handling Fees
With national or international printing chains catering your promotional needs, you may need to shoulder for shipping fees. If your business is in Toronto, you can keep your expenses down when you use a local printing firm for your print by eliminating these fees.

Avoid Getting Through Canada Customs
If your business is based outside Canada and you’re visiting Toronto for a trade show or convention, hauling your brochures and other promotional collaterals with you would cost you a lot of effort, money, not to mention, hold-ups at the customs. Sending your soft copy to a local printing company and have the printed materials delivered straight to the venue would save you all the hassle during transportation.

Get Better Communication and Support
Since local print companies have physical shops, you can speak face-to-face with a live representative. Therefore, it reduces the possibility of miscommunication. In addition, whenever there are issues that need to be addressed, you can go back to the shop or you and the printer can meet to discuss it. Hence, any issues can be resolved immediately.

Have Flexibility
A local print shop has more flexibility than an online print company when it comes to artwork. Digital print companies get tons of orders, therefore, most of them have automated systems that print in bulk. Since most online companies print in batches, it would be difficult for them to check on the items one by one. Contrary to that, local trade show printing shops can easily make little revisions and variations on prints.

Trade shows would put you in front of your prospective customers. The quality of your print ads and banners dictates the success of your trade show, therefore, it is essential to have a well-designed trade show display. An effective booth display would pay for itself not only to get you more hot leads but more importantly, make your brand well-known.

There’s a huge number of digital printing agencies in and outside Toronto. And while there are reliable national and international print shops, ordering your print ads from a Toronto trade show printing company is the best choice if you are only visiting the city for the event.

Learn the fundamentals for effective retractable banners.

Retractable banners are often displayed during conferences, events, and trade shows. If you want to attract people to your business, whether they are potential customers or business partners or alliances, stand up banners would be your first business introduction to them. 

A retractable banner, which is also known as a roll-up or a pull-up banner, is a good marketing and advertising display tool that can be pulled out from the base. Ideally, it is best displayed indoors. However, it can also be used outdoors provided that the weather conditions are good. They are most used when introducing a new product or line of business. Companies also use them for advertising promos or upcoming events. Here are 3 good reasons why retractable banners are one of the best campaign materials you can use to promote your business.

Quick To Install

A roll-up banner isn’t complicated. Since it doesn’t need power tools or even hand tools or complex screws, it can be set up by a single person in just a few minutes. By just securing the support pole into place and attaching the banner to it, then you’re done. Removing the retractable banner and storing it back to its case is also as quick and easy as setting it up for display.

Easy To Move Around

Retractable banners are made of lightweight materials, hence, you can take it effortlessly to anywhere you want. They also come in a retractable banner case with a handle or a shoulder strap, making it easier to carry. Moreover, as it only requires a little floor space, you can easily move it around. Since it can be rolled up, it can be stored and shipped with no hassle at all.

Affordable

Compared to other advertising tools such as complicated display booths which would require more people and more time to put up, a pop-up banner is so easy to install. You don’t need extra hands or tools for setting it up and in taking it down when you no longer need it. Moreover, roll-up banners are durable and reusable, you’ll get the value of your money.

As you may want to create a positive impression on people, your retractable banner should display what you intend to convey to them. Therefore, your banners should be well-designed and properly worded. As part of your marketing strategies, your retractable banner should also come with the right design and with the right information about your business. Before you call a printing service company to place your order, here is a list of things you need to take into account to maximize your retractable banner and have a compelling advertisement.

• Use Fewer Words
  While you may want to let the world know everything about your products or services, your pricing and promotions, and your contact information, save it up for other advertising and marketing materials.In a conference or trade show where everyone is occupied with getting to know each other and socializing with other participants at the event, the last thing they would like to do is stand in front of your banner to read everything from your company vision, mission, goals to your products’ features and benefits. Therefore, don’t be too wordy on your retractable banner. You don’t want your prospects to get bored. The fewer words you use, the better and more attractive your retractable banner would look. What’s important is you catch their attention, tell them a little background about your company and product, and give them the best way on how to connect with you. With fewer words, your potential customers would get interested and curious and consequently, they would want to know more about your company.
• Make It Simple
  It may be tempting to show off your creativity on your retractable banner, however, you need to keep in mind that you aren’t creating this for an art exhibit. Your stand-up banner is there to grab people’s attention. Never load it heavily with designs as it may only distract your prospects. Making your banner more abstract may just confuse your potential clients. Furthermore, sophisticated font colors can be difficult for them to read. 
  
  Therefore, keeping it simple and straightforward would be enough to get your message across. Moreover, make your retractable banner’s typeface just bold and big enough to draw one’s attention even if they are a few feet away. Once he gets near to your booth, let your brand representative do the rest of the job in providing more information to your guest.
• Make It Visible
  Since you only take a few seconds to get attention and make or break an impression, be clever in presenting your retractable banner. Display your roll-up banner with your brand or company logo. Make it stand out by positioning your main message at eye level so your audience can spot it easily. It is also beneficial to include your social media handles so it would be easier for them to follow you.
• Handle It With Care
  Taking care of your retractable banner would make it more durable. Pull it out gently from its aluminum base. Avoid snapping it back abruptly to the base as it may damage the banner. Furthermore, if you want to change the banner in the retractable stand, seek help from a professional rather than doing it yourself.You don’t need to spend a huge amount on exhibiting your business. On top of that, you don’t have to pay for manpower in putting up your graphic design. With retractable banners, advertising and marketing your company has never been this affordable and convenient.

Trade shows are highly competitive spaces where everyone is trying to outdo you. You’ll need to stand out and create a lane for yourself. Chances are others are selling the same thing you are to the same people. This is a recipe for fierce competition. You have to do everything you can to eclipse the others on the field. Now here is how you can start to take over the show and create buzz around your booth and gain more leads from trade events you attend.

Go to the right shows, one way to beat the competition is to pick the right show to exhibit. Pick a show that is related to your business but not exactly the standard industry show everyone goes to. How about a show that could be related in a way to your product with less competition? Let’s say you are a company that sells computers. Instead of going to a technology expo you can try a business show that would maybe have businesses interested in buying computers for their office. Standing out at a business show would be much easier than having to find a way to stand out in a group of other companies that are all selling computers.

Looks matter, a lot. Visually your booth needs to stand out from everyone else. Others will be doing the same, so make sure to spend time and have a plan on how your booth will look. Choose colours that stand out to draw people into at least looking at your booth. Keep it relevant but not boring.

Engage your customers, it’s not good enough to sit and wait for people to come and engage with you. It’s important to interact with people wandering in. It doesn’t have to be about what you are selling immediately off the bat. You should first make the customer feel comfortable at your booth and maybe direct them to some interactive display. You must get them into what you are selling before you can do your sales pitch. Just remember not start with the pitch immediately, so just get out there and start chatting.

Get a crowd. A crowd is the best way to get people to notice your booth. When people see a crowd, they want to see what the commotion is about. So how do you get a crowd? Make your booth fun, have games or activities for people to play with or to sample. This is probably the most important goal you want to try and achieve. With a crowd, your booth can become the most talked about thing at the show. Encourage people to take pictures and post to social media when participating in games at your booth. This gets \your brands name out in two ways at the same time.

Give them something to keep. This is also a good way to generate buzz and traffic to your booth. When people see someone walking around with something cool they got at a booth they are going to ask where they got it. Leading them to visit your booth and maybe stay for the pitch. Giving out cool swag or samples from your booth will make your booth the talk of the trade show.

Use these ideas to beat the competition when running and planning your next exhibit. Shows can be very efficient at generating new leads and getting more brand awareness. So don’t fade into the background. Get out there and create a special space for yourself and take the show by storm. Some ideas in this blog were based on this article.

Without people visiting your booth all the time and money you spend on getting there will be for nothing. What can you do to get people interested and engaged in your work? Well a tried and true way is to have activities for people to do at your booth. You don’t need anything too fancy to have fun so don’t overthink it. Here are some simple games you can implement to increase your booth traffic.

1. A Prize Wheel

Nothing special here it’s self explanatory. Who can say no to spinning a wheel and winning something? There are a few tips you can use to make sure you wheel does what its supposed to do. Make sure you have a grand prize that people actually want. Something like money or anything really with decent value. This makes sure people will play even if the other prizes aren’t as valuable. It doesn’t hurt to have lower tier interesting prizes as well. Another tactic is to make your wheel catch people’s eyes. Make it big and colourful. You can also get creative with it and make it look flashier when it spins.

2. The Counting Game

Everyone has seen this game before. It’s the game with a container or jar that has a certain number of objects in it and you have to guess the number. You can make the game more interesting by getting creative with what the guests are counting (ideally suited to your business) but anything will work. It helps to start a conversation that many lead to some good customers. Again, make sure the prize is interesting enough so people are motivated to play the game and engage with your staff.

3. Social media

This is a great way to get people having fun at your booth and also garnering free social media advertising. This is such a good way to get people to do marketing for you. The game could be a photo contest where they have to try and take the best picture at your booth doing something and using a hashtag and then sharing it and following your social media account. You get the benefit of having new followers and also appearing in the feeds of the customers followers. Then at the end of the day you can just pick a picture and award the winner a prize.

4. The Lockbox

This game is an interesting game of chance. This game is played with a prize in a see-through case with a lock on it. Then a bowl of keys for customers to try on the lock, only one works. Again, making sure the prize is actually of interest or value helps draw people in. The attendees stirring around keys makes a bit of noise to draw in passers by. One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot know when the correct key will be picked, so you might lose your prize early. Alternatively, you can have more than one prize and throw the winning key back in the bowl.

Those are four games you can use at a trade show to draw in extra people and attention to your booth. Remember that games don’t have to be difficult or complex for people to be interested in them. Try having a game next time and see if people tend to be more engaged and if they stay longer.

Have you ever been stuck in a conversation you can wait to leave? Well is can happen at a booth during your trade show. Having to greet and talk to everyone that visits your booth is important and works best when you can move from one person to the next after your sales pitch. However, sometimes people just won’t leave. The reality is you don’t have all day to talk to someone. Now of course you can’t just walk away or tell them to stop talking, so how do you get out? Here are five strategies to know and use when needing to escape an annoying visitor.

The 007

This one is about setting up a secret signal to let your team know you need to get out. It has to be discrete you can’t do something like wave your arms. Probably something simple to flash quickly and to get your co-workers attention. When you notice the signal, you should jump to their rescue and come up with a believable excuse to get your co-worker away. Maybe something like “Hey we need you to reset the computer its not working again” or “Sorry can I borrow you to answer a question for another visitor” then you have an opening to slip away. And there you have it the perfect escape.

The Hand Off

This one is a classic, if you don’t want to talk someone just make someone else talk to them. Lead them over to another part of the exhibit and drop them off with someone else. Come up with a simple exit line and make an exit.

The Gift Basket

This is a nice way to politely end a conversation. Give them some swag and a business card can show the attendee that you are ready to move on. Make sure to leave them with an idea of what you just gave them like what the package includes as well as contact information that can be used to reach you. Don’t just hand them some stuff and push them out the door make sure they are let go nicely and will remember what you told them.

The Referral

This one takes a bit more planning and networking. This involves telling a customer about another exhibitor in the area and directing them that way. Its best to do this with a group that you already know and talk to. When you are done talking to a customer and maybe you have realized that what they are looking for you cannot provide, it maybe time to refer them to someone who can. You can either give them directions or take them to the other exhibit yourself. This helps the customer feel that you are looking out for them and really want to help. Also, your referred exhibitor may also send some extra traffic your way.

The Blame Game

This works best when used not on customers but other staffers from another exhibit show up. It doesn’t look good to a customer to have an employee throw their boss under the bus. But if you find yourself in need of an escape just say something like “I would love to stand here and talk but the boss is really trying to keep everyone on task.” It’s the perfect getaway. They can’t stop you from doing what your boss wants so this should always work unless you are clearly not busy. And one more thing is to make sure your boss is ok with being used as the bad guy for the excuse.

These are just some of the tactics that can be used by you and your staff to escape people that just go on for too long. Nothing wrong with using them if you are really busy and need to get moving. Use these strategies to make the most out of the time you spend at a trade show and gather the best leads you can. Some of these strategies were derived from an article written by Brian Dukerschein.