The Dream Team

Think about how much email you receive on any given day. Chances are, your inbox is often close to reaching full capacity. Now, consider how much of that “important messaging” actually is dressed-up junk. Frustrating, right? Don’t get too discouraged, however, because there is a great opportunity before you: Oftentimes, what’s old becomes new again. (Remember the great comeback of bell-bottom jeans?) Today’s case in point is print.

The relevance of print has been a topic of discussion for what seems like eons. Will mobile devices and their easy accessibility to the Internet, its news, gossip, shopping and complete immediate gratification be the last straw to push print into oblivion? I doubt it.

I long have believed that technology can work in tandem with print and now, more than ever, it seems these possibilities are coming to fruition. Take, for example, a direct mail piece that lands on your desk. It has much less competition than in prior years. All of a sudden, your message stands out from the crowd in a way that digital can’t promise. Couple this with tandem promotional products and digital campaigns, and what you have, truly, is a powerful marketing push.

Earlier this month, we hosted a webinar called “Be the Agency.” In a business landscape where distributors can broaden their scope of product and service offerings, they become valued—and trusted—partners and consultants.

So, print and other legacy marketing tactics aren’t dead—not by a long shot. But to get ahead, distributors must be tactical about how these channels are employed. They must stay on top of emerging technology and find different ways to pair it with products that live within the company’s wheelhouse of expertise. Sometimes, that requires additional employee training, new product acquisitions, new hires or a mutually beneficial partnership. No matter the path to success that is chosen, standing still is not an option.