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Showing posts from August, 2020

Why Carbonless Forms Make a Great Tech-Free Solution

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When you “cc” someone on an email, do you ever think about what this abbreviation actually means? In 1801, Pellegrino Turri invented carbon paper to provide ink for his mechanical typing machine, which was one of the first typewriters. Five years later, carbon paper was patented and released to the general public. Carbon paper soon became a primary method for rapidly reproducing documents or booklets, and today its legacy has remained in the header of emails. The “cc” abbreviation stands for “carbon copies,” or copies intended for recipients other than the principal addressee. Since Turri’s day, carbonless forms have largely replaced their early ancestor. Carbonless copy paper has  micro-encapsulated  dye or ink on the back side of the top sheet, and a clay coating on the front side of the bottom sheet. When pressure is applied (from writing or impact printing), the dye capsules rupture and react with the clay to form a permanent mark duplicating the markings made to the top sheet.

How to Keep Your Cool in Pressure-Packed Situations

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In July of 2020, more than four million people savored the chance to watch live Major League Baseball on the opening night of a historic 60 game series. Due to the intensity of the abbreviated coronavirus season, each game matters immensely. By winning the first game, a team instantly has nearly a 3-game lead over the team that it beats. With the number of season games shrinking by half, every homerun and strikeout is intensified. Only those teams that can perform well under pressure can pull out a short season victory. Many people in the business world are facing a similar pressure.  Corporate teams have been forced to adopt tighter timelines, operate with a slimmer margin, or do more with fewer teammates. How will you respond to that pressure? And how can you encourage those around you to avoid panic or stress? Here are three tips to guide you through moments of high intensity: 1. Create a Prioritization Strategy Make a list of monthly tasks and then assess each item. 

Use Content Marketing to Bring Fresh Life to Your Marketing Mix

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Armstrong Garden Supply was eager to grow name recognition and pump up spring specials.  Hoping to grow their reputation as a year-round "solutions specialist" for lawn and landscape, they generated a list of common customer questions and set out to proactively answer them. Typically, clients were uncertain about things like when to water, types of fertilizer, pot sizing, and best planting practices.  Armed with this information, Armstrong's generated an oversized postcard featuring spring specials on one side and a plant care infographic on the other. This brought relevant advice to attract a very engaged target market: customers who were curious! It's All About THEM Content marketing can bring fresh life to your business!  This "you-centered" form of communication shifts your marketing from a message focus to a people focus, building trust and driving profitable consumer action. While social media and videos are popular forms of content marketing

Sell Yourself with a Winning Elevator Pitch

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Can you introduce yourself or your business in a brief, compelling way? An elevator pitch does precisely that. While the origins of this term are debated, the name reflects the idea of a quick speech that could be given in the span of an elevator ride (thirty seconds to two minutes). An elevator pitch is a short description of an idea, product, or company that explains the concept in a way that any listener could understand. This engaging summary could be used to entice an investor, to explain an idea, or to sell your services. Done right, your pitch can help you land a job or connect with prospective customers. It can take time to solidify your pitch, but here are four tips that can help: 1. Build a Connection The start of a conversation is a perfect time to establish a relationship. Begin by introducing yourself and, if possible, build off a previous connection or shared experience. As you share, try to reference your credentials, training, or something that differentiate

Embrace Conflict and Diversity to Grow the Strongest Possible Teams

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2020 has been a time of unrest, listening, and re-evaluating priorities. Businesses have been particularly challenged to examine their own biases and to proactively seek the well-being of all people. While topics of diversity and inclusion can be difficult to navigate, strong leaders recognize that a variety of opinions and backgrounds bring a better result. At P&G, this mindset drives leaders to embrace conflicting opinions . To create an inclusive environment, supervisors try not to shy away from disagreements or heated discussions: “Accessing diverse points of view is vital in creating optimum strategies and plans,” said Geraldine Huse, CEO & chairman of the board. “An inclusive leader creates an environment where disagreement is viewed positively. I have learned from experience that the more diverse the team, the more debate and disagreement we have and the better the outcome . . . Listening to people, understanding and solving problems collectively, taking advantage

Communicate Excellence with Vibrant Printed Posters and Signs

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One glance is truly all it takes, and recent eye-tracking studies demonstrate how quickly first impressions happen. Dr. Hong Sheng, assistant professor of technology at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, employed eye-tracking software to analyze and scan response patterns as students viewed website screenshots. Subjects averaged merely 180 milliseconds on a particular section before moving on. (For a reference, 185 milliseconds is about the time it takes for a helicopter rotor to make one full rotation). Sheng also found it took people less than two-tenths of a second to form first impressions that significantly affected outcomes: “The longer the participants stayed on the page, the more favorable their impressions were,” Sheng said. “First impressions are important and . . . [these impressions] can determine whether that user forms a favorable or unfavorable view of that organization.” Big Statements Win Business If a website glance can have such an impact,

What to Do When You're Tempted to Give Up on Your Business

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“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” - NFL Coach Vince Lombardi   Should I give up? It’s the question that hits every aspiring leader at some point. It’s a seed of doubt rooted deep in our emotions and our identities as humans. As an entrepreneur, you will continuously face discouragement that threatens to cheat you out of hope and possibility. When you are tempted to quit on your business, what should you do? Rest is Best While there are many things you can do to combat discouragement, one of the best things is also the simplest: REST. Making decisions when you are fatigued or depressed can have long-lasting consequences. A pessimistic outlook can shape the trajectory of a decision, leading to poor outcomes down the road. And weariness has real effects: one study found that U.S. clinicians were 26% more likely to prescribe unnecessary antibiotics to patients during the fourth hour of work on a typical day. When you feel beat down or unce

Target the Right Customers with Your Next Direct Mail Piece

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You wouldn’t spend $100 million on a new national advertising campaign without carefully set goals and objectives. But when it comes to direct mail, marketers often spray out postcards or fliers without a great deal of thought. In direct mail marketing, careful planning is vital to your success. While the average direct mail response rate is around five percent, strategic targeting can drive that number to nine percent for house lists and as high as 16 percent for personalized mail . To simplify your targeting, start with these questions: Who is the audience? Who is the prospective buyer? Who will receive, read, and hopefully respond to this mailing? The beauty of direct mail is that you can use it to reach only those people who are potential buyers for your product or service. This is called target marketing, and it means that during the development stage, you can use multiple criteria for selecting recipients. Demographics may include age, income, gender, geography