What goes up must come down. Like everything else, the economy is cyclical, but no matter what the current economic conditions might be, it’s important to keep marketing your business. In fact, a little glimpse at history shows that even during the Great Depression, some companies thrived. While other companies were cutting spending, a few businesses, such as Camel and Chevrolet took the opportunity to use aggressive marketing tactics to grab market share from their competitors. It’s proof that the key to long-term success in any economy is to get in front of your target audience and stay there.

Here are a few ways to keep your marketing on track and stay within your budget.

1 Use less expensive papers or opt for the “house” paper. Paper prices fluctuate often, so if you haven’t standardized on a specific paper, ask about less expensive options. If your piece doesn’t demand a specialty paper, opt to use the “house” paper. We purchase this paper in high volume, so it’s almost always the least expensive option.

2 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 using just black ink.

3 Use more inks. This idea might seem counter-intuitive, but if you have a three-color project, often it is more costeffective to bump it up to four colors. In many cases, four-color process printing 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 along with other four-color jobs and then trimmed down to size.

4 Avoid bleeds. If color needs to go to the edge of the page, you might be able to get a similar effect less expensively simply by using colored paper. If you don’t include bleeds in your artwork, your project might require less paper or might be able to be run on a smaller press.

5 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.

6 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.

7 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.

We are experts at helping our customers succeed with their marketing projects. So talk to us about how we can help you meet your goals.