2014: The Outlook and Opportunities for Print Providers

This is a copy of the end-of-year letter I recently sent to all of my clients at Great Reach Communications. I wanted to share this with everyone because I think it contains valuable, actionable advice that can be utilized regardless of whether you are a client or not.Business growth in the next year won't come from an improving economy, and it won't come from finding the next great salesperson.Client Retention: Overcapacity continues to define the industry. Too many providers and too little work means the competition is trying harder than ever to win over your accounts. Engage your customers frequently. Your newsletter program is perfect for this. If getting it printed is a challenge, talk to us about an e-newsletter.Lead Generation: New sources for generating prospects are needed. Leverage online marketing and SEO to attract and cultivate prospects previously beyond reach. Google's new Hummingbird algorithm makes this easier than ever. Add a G+ page, utilize our new blog content, and watch your page rankings improve. We went from page 5 to page 1 in just two weeks. This requires no work on your part. Talk to me about how this works.Content marketing. Content marketing has exploded in popularity. Marketing is now more about creating conversations than campaigns. The company with the best content wins! Engage your clients a minimum of every 90 days. Ideally, every 30 days.Social media. Social media is now expected. If you are not fully utilizing it, you are at a disadvantage and your brand's perception will suffer. If you are struggling with this, have us do it for you.Thought leadership. Keep promoting your company as a thought leader. Your brand's perception plays a big role in determining who gets the job.All this takes is a plan. Let's talk and create one, then communicate regularly to monitor and keep things on track.