You may have observed that IBS has undergone major changes in the last year, most notably the replacement of our management information system (MIS). These changes have been necessary so we can launch online ordering in the near future. Internally, we have made some staff changes as well.

As some IBS clients would already be aware, Michael Culverwell has been promoted to Operations Manager, allowing Scott Siganto to step back to work on the business, not in the business. Michael’s hands-on leadership role and previous 10 years of experience at IBS means any enquiries you may previously have directed to Scott can be capably handled by Michael.

If you’d like to contact Michael, please email mculverwell@ibscards.com.au and he will be more than happy to help you.

Other important contact details are:
Accounts- accounts@ibscards.com.au
Sales- jodie@ibscards.com.au
Job Submission- sales@ibscards.com.au

At The IBS Independent we have another slight change, with Kelly Smith becoming editor; solely responsible for writing and collating the publication each month. We anticipate Kelly’s marketing background will help you with even more informative and useful articles in each edition. Feel free to contact Kelly at kelly@ibscards.com.au if you have any feedback or would be interested in contributing to our e-newsletter.

Till next time, have a great July!

The team at IBS Design Resources

The end of June is racing towards us and with it comes the new financial year. Like other companies jumping on this marketing bandwagon, (think Foxtel and their EOFYS campaign) now is the time to promote and order your 09-10 financial year calendars!

Click here for prices, design templates and specifications.

Order before 31 August to enjoy these great prices!

For under $100, you can now order 50 tiny notepads of 25 sheets each! Printed in full colour on our Stationery Class 100 stock, these notepads were requested by one of our clients and have now been added to our product range. Sized at 75 x 75mm, they are the same size as a standard 3M sticky note, however feature a cardboard back and glued spine. The baby to our notepad family is also available in 50 sheets, with pricing as follows:

20 x 25 sheet notepads = $74.25
20 x 50 sheet notepads = $123.75
50 x 25 sheet notepads = $99.00
50 x 50 sheet notepads = $165.00

Have you considered offering your customers the possibility of winning a prize through a competition? As a marketing activity, competitions can be highly effective promotions, as they can drive additional sales to your business. Competitions are also a good way to generate publicity about your business in the local community.

Introduce a simple entry-drawn competition with an attractive prize, such as free printing to a certain dollar value, or a certain product such as a stationery pack. Or take it up a notch and conduct your competition online. Alternatively, give your customers the chance to choose their own prize through a lucky draw when they visit your store.

Obviously you need to consider how your business operates and who your customers are. For instance, here at IBS, we have various types of clients based all over Australia, many of whom rarely visit us in person. This meant a competition involving store visits was not going to be effective. Instead, we chose an entry-drawn competition, with a slightly unusual prize draw method. So far, it has generated a lot of interest from our clients, and even received media exposure in Australian Printer magazine.

Some ideas to inspire you as you consider your options for a competition:
Use notepads as entry forms for a six-month entry-drawn competition
Reward a prize to your 200th business card order
Give your customers a lucky draw with a guaranteed prize to celebrate a business milestone, such as your third birthday
Send postcards to your customers informing them of their opportunity to win
Dress your store with flyers promoting your competition and its prize
Use swing tags as luggage tags on boxes to promote a holiday prize
Integrate your competition with an online component
Number and perforate entry forms for ease of drawing
Partner with a local travel company to offer a holiday prize
Use your time and products as prizes to reduce the promotion’s cost

Competitions can be a lot of fun, however there is often a lot of work involved before it even gets off the ground. Allow yourself plenty of time to organise any legal requirements, the collateral to promote it, advise your customers about it and afterwards, measure the results.

A word of caution though: every state has different regulations for the operating of trade promotions or competitions. Check what legal requirements must be met before you commence any competitions.

We’ve designed a raffle ticket template specifically to help our clients create competitions. If you use our raffle ticket template and pay for two sets of numbering in the month of July, you will get the perforating for free!

On a DL-sized job consisting of 1,000 raffle tickets, that will save you $82.50!

Simply click here to download the template and start designing!

Please note, to redeem this offer you must quote the code ‘FREE PERF’ in the subject line of your email order. If you do not mention this code, this offer will not apply. Free perforating is only available for orders placed between 1 – 31 July 2009.

To ensure your job is processed as efficiently as possible, we’d like to remind you of the information we require to book in your order:

Your details, including company name and phone number
Company name and person’s name on card
Quantity
Stock
Finish
Size
Any extra finishes, as well as a PDF illustrating what you require and where
Delivery address
Payment method, including PO number if applicable

This information can simply be included in the body of your email when you send your artwork through to sales@ibscards.com.au

Clients that have used IBS for a number of years will recall that we previously required a copy of the order and finished art to be faxed to our office. Please be aware that this is NOT a requirement for the placing of orders anymore. If you wish to continue doing this, please feel free to do so, however it is not a necessity.