Marketing

Nothing tells customers more about a company than its brand image – a collective impression created by factors like a company’s logo, slogan, signage, marketing materials, website and more. And remember, first impressions matter, but so do all the impressions after that! ...read more

I am always looking for new ways to show my clients, colleagues and important contacts that I appreciate them, especially around the holidays. Holiday greeting cards are ideal for small business owners because they are easy to create, inexpensive to send, and can be a great way to solidify your brand. And FedEx Office^® provides everything you need to create the perfect holiday greeting card.

If you’ve walked into a store lately, it certainly feels like the holidays are right around the corner – and this year’s promotions are in full swing. It seems like the ads for special seasonal offerings and the hottest toys start earlier and earlier each year. There are even entire days dedicated to saving money on holiday items – Black Friday and Cyber Monday! But how do small businesses stand out from the crowd during the holidays, especially with so much big competition? ...read more

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By now, most of you have probably realized that I really enjoy creating personalized things for myself and others (see my previous posts on personalized sticky notes, custom banners and branded pens). One reason for this is that it’s nice to know that no one will have the same thing that I do. An added bonus is that it’s fun to see my designs turn out just the way I envisioned. ...read more

As kids are gearing up to go back to school with the lazy days of summer coming to an end, there’s no better time to get back to business. For small businesses, a great way to reach customers is to create marketing materials such as postcards that make your business stand out from the crowd.  ...read more

Every year around this time I get nostalgic about the days of back to school shopping. I looked forward to picking out new clothes for the upcoming school year, but I enjoyed selecting my school supplies even more! Maybe I was a weird kid, but I loved organizing my fresh paper, unused folders and binders, and brand new pens into my backpack for the first time. I still get really excited about school (now office) supplies and I’m always on the lookout for something new or unique for my collection. ...read more

Whether you own a bakery or an online boutique, you’ve probably put a lot of thought into building your brand. From designing the logo to setting up a perfect website or storefront signage, the visual impact of your brand is usually the first interaction customers have with your company.

Let’s say your small business is a resort offering picturesque sunset cruises to vacationing tourists. Undoubtedly other local resorts offer similar excursions and comparable marketing (e.g., flyers, business cards, brochures, website, etc.) as you do. So how can you make sure visitors know your cruise is the one to choose for beautiful panoramas and instant memories?

One of the biggest challenges for small business owners is the wheeling and the dealing of making sales. This can be a tricky art form, and a lot of people just aren’t that comfortable with making the pitch to their customers. As a former manager of a FedEx Office location, especially of a brand new one, I needed to spend a good deal of time getting my new neighbors aware of the new business and what we could do for them. It wasn’t always the easiest of things to do for me. There are tons of marketing tactics you can use – and we’ve talked about a lot of them here and here – but what if you want something that will make the pitch for you?

Almost everyone I know is in the middle of their Christmas shopping. One trend I’m seeing from my friends is that they are trying to shop locally to support businesses in their neighborhood during the holiday season. It got me thinking that this is probably happening in neighborhoods across the country – and I’m sure stores are really enjoying the extra foot traffic!

Hopefully if you own or help run a business, you’re seeing this trend of new customers buying products or services for the holidays. So after they’ve stopped in once, how do you get them to return? ...read more