5 Ways to Market for Less

February 4, 2014

Did you know that even during the Great Depression, some companies thrived? While other marketers were cutting their spending, a few businesses like Camel and Chevrolet took the opportunity to use aggressive marketing tactics to grab market share from their competitors.

The key to long-term success in any economy is to get in front of your target audience and stay there. Even if your budget strings are tightening, here are a few ways to keep your marketing on track.

1. Use fewer inks.

If you have a three-color project, consider dropping down to two colors. With creative use of screen tints, you can often create a similar look for a lower cost. If you have been printing generic business documents like forms in two colors, consider dropping back to just black ink.

2. Use more inks.

This might seem counter-intuitive, but if you have a three-color project, it is often more cost-effective to bump it up to four colors. In many cases, four-color process is less expensive than three-color spot printing because the press is already set up. Plus, you can ask about including your job in a gang run where it is on the press alongside other four-color jobs and then trimmed down to size.

3. Prepare your artwork and proofread carefully.

You can avoid many service charges by making sure you’ve prepared your artwork correctly and caught every last typo.

4. Clean up your mailing list.

It’s boring work, but it can drop your costs dramatically. With a clean list, you can print exactly what you need and avoid extra postage costs as well.

5. Consider different formats.

Just because you have always done a brochure for a particular promotion doesn’t mean it’s the only option. Experiment with a postcard instead of a brochure and see whether you get a better response rate. Testing is the key to effective marketing. A little creativity can go a long way toward saving money.

Need some help applying cost-saving principles to your marketing projects? Give us a call!

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