Is there really no 'I' in 'team?'

Everyone has heard the cliché “There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team;’” well that may be true but it takes a group of dedicated individuals to make a team and it takes each of those individuals working hard together to make a successful team.

At 4 Color Press we take pride in working together to make each project turn out flawless. Lately, we’ve been working on a 1 million piece order which is not something we typically take on being in the short run industry. But for our dedicated customers, if we can make it happen we will.

Every single 4CP associate has taken part in the production and distribution of this project, even stepping out from their day-to-day jobs to help in areas where they are needed. We have sales associates and marketing individuals counting and shrink wrapping, pre press experts boxing and taping. We work hard to make sure it all gets done before our customer’s deadline is met.

This aspect is essential in every organization and in every area of business. It’s also important to remember this aspect in every area of life; though some things can be done alone, it’s always nice to have a helping hand.

Take some time today to thank the members of your team. Without each individual, the job wouldn’t get done.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Last Monday a 4CP employee’s hard drive broke down on her computer that she uses at both her home and the office. She called the manufacturer and technical support assured her that they would get her a new one within the next 3-4 days. Over a week later she finally received it only to learn during the reinstallation process that they sent her the wrong one. She called again and they guaranteed the correct hard drive would be delivered the next day.

It won’t surprise anyone that the next day she didn’t receive it. Not only that but when she called to track it she was informed that the piece was on back order and would not ship out until October 29th… over 40 days away.

This was an obvious concern as we all understand the vital importance of computers and blackberries to people’s overall well-being (said with a slight hint of sarcasm but not much because we all know it’s true). The following day after a few choice words with a supervisor and hours of being on the phone, she was informed that they did in fact have the hard drive she wanted and they sent it to her that day.

Her story ended well but it leaves some unanswered questions: Are there certain strings that can be pulled only if your customers fight for it? Would she have had to wait a month and a half to get her hard drive had she not be insistent that they fix her problem immediately? If they were on back order, how did they send her one?

The moral of the story is that honesty really is the best policy. Hiding problems and not being up front with your customers puts them on the defensive and the chance of them working with you again is slim. Most people will understand if you are honest about a problem. One lie will cause you to lose any and all credibility you previously had, no matter how much work you put in to making up for it.

Implementing a Crisis Management Plan

Earlier this summer a storm came through Fort Worth that knocked out our electricity and our internet connection. On top of that, lightening struck and went through the floors straight to our pre press equipment. Our electricity came back on pretty quickly but our internet and pre press equipment was a different story, each was out for two days.

Two days may not seem like much but to any business owner, two days without the equipment that is essential to running your business seems like decades. The first morning, everyone worked as though it would all be fixed in a matter or hours; I remember us all clicking our internet icons on the desktop thinking that “surely, this time it will work.” Nope. Our internet providers assured us they were working on it but that didn’t seem to be helping. Eventually, our pre press operators had to run home and pull each project from their e-mail and put them onto zip drives to bring in to so they could work on each file even though no plates could be made.

The next day went by pretty much the same with everyone checking e-mails on their blackberries and calling customers to let them know what state our equipment was in. It was rough and frustrating but we got through it and now we know what to do in case something like this happens again.

The best strategy a company can have in case of an emergency is having a plan. Now that we went through this, we know exactly who to go to for immediate assistance and what steps each person needs to take to soften the effects. Because of this recent fiasco, we are taking even more precautions to make sure that we are prepared for a wide array of complications. Taking the time now to problem-solve possible issues will save much more time in the future in case something happens to go wrong.

Promoting vs. Stock Piling

I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for deals. I am the person companies are aiming for when they put out "Buy One, Get One Free" signs and I even have more than a few of those "Preferred Customer" cards on my key chain just waiting to save me some money. Still, there is a very fine line seperating money-making promotion and stock piling your loyal customers.

There are only a few items that I have devoted my brand loyalty to so when I receive an offer to try a new product for a discount, there's a chance I'll give it a go. If I like it, I'll buy it again and there, easy increase in sales for that supplier. If I don't like it, at least they got me to try it once.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are customers who will only buy certain brands and will never stray away from their favorite products. In these cases, sending out customer promotions and money-saving coupons will be used by customers who would have bought your product anyway, thus resulting in you losing money on that particular purchase.

The verdict of this situation has to come from extensive customer research. Learn what customers are buying what product and why they buy it. Learn why you stand out from your competitors and then use that to reel in new consumers, find out what's important to them and then use it, but be careful about over promoting.

I'm certainly not saying that you shouldn't offer deals to your current customers, in fact by doing so you will be increasing the overall satisfaction that they have with your company. It's even a good idea for you to make a habit of periodically rewarding those customers for their business. I'm simply saying learn more about your untapped market and then appeal to them with different promotions than you're using with your brand loyalists. It's also important to note that sending out promotional offers too often will make them less influential and will decrease the sense of urgency associated with "special deals."

Defining that fine line will be the difference between slightly increasing sales and acquiring a whole new branch of loyal customers.

The Key to Productivity

Productivity is a promise that gets thrown around a lot: “Faster internet means increased productivity;” “Save time cooking dinner with this cook-top that boils water in 60 seconds!” It’s a goal that everyone strives for but it’s something that many people struggle with attaining.

We have equipment that allows us to produce print projects at an incredible pace, there’s no doubt about that, but all of the credit goes to our employees for getting quality projects in and out within 24 hours. Our equipment would be useless if we didn’t have employees taking care of the organization and production that comes with each product. The key to off-the-charts productivity is simple: happy employees.

Of course being nice to your employees is a good start but it’s not going to ensure that they are happy in their job and want to do their work- it’s much, much more than that. One thing that many employers overlook is recognition. People want and need to know what to expect and they need recognition when they do something well. People will work harder if they know that they will receive genuine feedback when working on a project and they recognize that they are not the only one who understands how hard they’ve worked.

Productivity blossoms when everyone is working towards common goals and can celebrate and support each other in the process. No one likes to work in an environment where they are uncomfortable or feel uneasy. Remembering your associate’s birthdays, asking about things outside of work and even saying simple things like “hey, great job on this or that” will help maintain a relaxed setting that people will enjoy working in.

The bottom line? Keeping your employees happy will establish a more productive and relaxed working environment which will ensure a better-run business. Now that’s a promise that can be kept.

Integrating Print and Online Marketing

People seem to underestimate the importance of utilizing more than one vehicle for delivering their marketing messages to their customers. Maybe it’s a budget issue or maybe it’s simply a distorted impression of what media their target audience is utilizing most. Truth be told, there is a lot to be said about delivering your message one way and then reinforcing your message again by another.

It’s absolutely undeniable that everyone’s customers are on the internet. It’s hard to go one day without stopping at a red light and typing an e-mail on your phone and it’s especially hard to go even a couple of hours without getting on the internet. The internet is cost effective and allows businesses to reach an endless number of people. But even in all of its glory, what’s to make your website stand out from the millions of others? What’s going to make people remember your e-mail newsletter over the dozens they receive in their inbox everyday? The answer is print marketing.

Handing out sales materials, brochures and post cards with similar messages and images as what is in your online campaign will reinforce your messages with repetition. There’s quite a difference between reading something online and holding something in your hands. By appealing to different senses your message triggers the recipients to remember in different ways. Online marketing appeals to visual and audile senses while printed materials utilize touch and sometimes even smell (perfume ads for example). Receiving the same message in different forms makes the recipient more likely to recall the message at a later time.

Have you ever seen an ad and then immediately after go “Wait. Who was that for?” That’s because either the message or the company wasn’t reinforced enough. The key to great marketing is developing a solid, cohesive message and then utilizing different venues to deliver that message to customers.

Striving each and everyday

I am not a passive individual. Some would label me a overly aggressive. I maintain that I am misunderstood in that my intensity is misinterpreted as aggression.

With that being said; Some business people own their own business so that they have a job while others use their business as a means to create a hunt. What I mean by this is that some business owners are farmers and gatherers; they show up in their business and manage the process so that they can hopefully reap the bountiful harvest (a paycheck). Others use their business as a tool to go out in search of game and put themselves amongst the herds looking for opportunities to make something happen (the payoff).

Passive = gatherer

Intense = hunter

Both have there places amongst the business ecosystem. There are ants and lions, monkeys and anacondas. Some harvest, some hunt. The web has created more efficient harvesters, but is also being used as a new tool by hunters as well.

I see myself as a hunter and an occasional gatherer when the opportunity presents itself. Hunting does require more business calories and thus creates a never ending circle of hunt and feed, hunt and feed.

Sometimes you have to spend some time and do some maintenance on your tools, get your hunters reorganized and step back and re-evaluate the game in the field. You can't chase everything. You have to pick the game you can bag on a consistent basis and that will also provide the nutritional value necessary to sustain the tribe.