Keeping in the theme of all things Australian, I’d like to remind you that we’re a proud Australian company and we endeavour to support other Australian small (and large) businesses as your partner in print.

I also encourage you to support your customers and remember Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s words about the economy in his New Year address:

“As we enter 2009, we know it will be a very tough year for the global economy. And it will be a tough year for Australia as well.

What is important is that we remember we are all in this together.”

“We’re a tough people, we’re a resilient people and in hard times we also care for each other and for other members of the community.”

With this in mind, may I suggest you reach out to your customers, which are often other businesses, and support them by helping them build their business. It’s the strategy that we’re adopting at IBS to make 2009 a great year. If you’d like to provide us with some feedback on how we can help you further, please click here.

Scott Siganto, Director

Now is the perfect time to stimulate orders of ‘business essentials’ from your customers! Here’s an example on how you can give your customers a fantastic promotional offer on stationery packs.

Buy 1,000 letterhead, 1,000 DL ‘with compliments’ slips and 20 A5 notepads of 50 leaves per pad (all printed full colour one side on ‘Stationery Class 100’ stock) from IBS for only $352.

But offer your customers a special deal of 1,000 letterhead and 20 A5 notepads of 50 leaves per pad for $400, plus throw in 1,000 DL ‘with compliments’ slips for free.

This gives you a profit of $48 ($400 selling price you obtain from your customer minus $352 wholesale price you pay IBS) AND gives your customers a great deal which they can’t refuse.

If you want to take it even further, why not bump the price pack to include other products, such as postcards or business cards? Then you have the chance to profit even more and your customer gets a complete business stationery set at a great price – the perfect solution for everyone!

Have a look at your margins and our pricelist to see what offers you can come up with. If you need another copy of our pricelist, please call Natalie on 1800 062 550 or email reception@ibscards.com.au

We’ve already provided you with four easy ways to boost your business in the New Year with calendar sales. But to remind you, here’s what we recommend:

1. Use our template letter to generate interest from your existing clientele.

2. Put this poster up in your front window to generate interest from prospects.

3. Calculate the margin you can make on the various calendars available by looking at our range here, and then send an email to your database with your great prices.

4. Display our ready-made calendar templates around your store so your customers can see what options are available.

And don’t forget to place your order before the end of February to benefit from these great prices!

Odd-sized business cards
To print a product at a size different from the specifications outlined in our pricelist costs only $11 extra per 1,000 business cards for the first 3,000 cards, capped at $33. This is the option most IBS clients choose when they wish to custom-cut a business card for their customer. As long as it’s no smaller than 30mm, any size can be accommodated so small and cute business cards for a children’s clothing company or long and skinny for a plumber can be created. Business card designs truly are only limited by your imagination!

Did you know that you can trace exactly where your printing is up to once it has been dispatched from our factory with a courier service?

Depending on your location in Australia, we use two courier companies to deliver your job to you. By obtaining the correct details of your job from the dispatch email sent to you on the day your job leaves our factory, you can personally check whether your job has unsuccessfully been delivered or its on-route to you, in real time.

It’s as easy as logging onto the Star Track Express or Fastway website with the Consignment Note (for Star Track deliveries) or Label Number (for Fastway services). You will then be able to see exactly where your job is. If you have any further queries, you can also use these details when you call the courier company, or alternatively, call us and we’ll be able to help.