August 2020 – MEDiAHEAD

Unforgettable Customer Service

By Michele Stillwell, Director of Marketing and Accounting at MEDiAHEAD

Have you ever experienced “unforgettable customer service” where you walk away or hang up the phone and think to yourself, “WOW! Now that was awesome customer service!”

I have… and it really makes you feel good. Especially now when we’re all on edge working from home, home schooling our children, wearing face masks, missing a nice meal in a restaurant or just getting out to socialize.

I would like to share my recent customer service experience with you that happened at a well-known local hospital.

Several months ago, I needed answers. I was taking care of my mom and needed to know what was going on with her. I needed to make choices about her care. I needed some comfort and knowledge as I had never been through something like this before.

The team at the hospital pulled together and got me in touch with a group of their staff. They set up a meeting time with my family and I. They answered all our questions and were extremely thorough. It seemed like they had all the time in the world for us. I felt like these people truly cared about us, and wanted to do the best they could for us, even though it was an extremely difficult time for our family.

I walked out of the hospital and felt like there was a good plan in place. The hospital and staff had it together, and I actually shared my experience with others since it made me feel so much better afterwards. Their customer service was so amazing, it inspired me to write about it. If you would like a referral to the hospital we worked with, let me know!

I think we all like to feel this way… we want to believe that people truly care.

It could be something as simple as a phone call with a customer, a friend, a family member or a co-worker. Treating others as you would want them to treat you is so important.

Customer service is important in our businesses.

We are thankful for all the repeat business we get from our clients. And we work hard to give excellent customer service to strengthen those relationships. If you’ve done business with us, I hope that you’ve had more than one great experience. It’s our responsibility to make you feel that you’re important to us! Regardless of how much you spend with us, we want you to feel like our biggest client every time we work together.

(Do us a favor… if we’ve succeeded at that when helping you in the past, please go to our Google Business page and give us an honest review! We would love for you to throw some stars our way.)

If we haven’t had a chance to work together, let’s talk. From sales collateral portals to on demand printing, we’ve got great solutions to help your business succeed.

August 27, 2020/0 Comments/by MEDiAHEAD

Back to School? The New Landscape of Education

Community

By Rob Garza, Digital Print Consultant at MEDiAHEAD

How times keep changing throughout 2020 for our youth’s education. It was tough already for the 2020 class to graduate, have gatherings and to even celebrate the accomplishments they’ve made throughout their 13 years of education. Parties cancelled, family travel cancelled and/or moved, to celebrations done by parking lot gatherings and drive by parades. It’s a lot to handle for anyone. More stress. More planning. And a lot more emotion and anxiety we don’t need at a time of celebration.

Speaking for myself, who has a child in high school, I thought school would be starting at its regular date. With enrollment coming up, my daughter was already participating in conditioning and cheer clinics. All of this came to a sudden stop on July 16th when Kansas Governor Laura Kelley proposed to push schools opening 3 weeks later, after Labor Day. This would in turn help the school system gather additional masks, thermometers, and hand sanitizer, and to still decide on curriculums for the school year.

Pushing school back three weeks changed everything.

Sporting practices and other school related activities stopped. It seemed like we were back at square one. This was a little disconcerting for me as a parent. My daughter just wants to get back to school, see her friends, participate in activities, go to games, etc. She just wants things back the way they were. (Don’t we all?)

There are roughly a half a million kids going back to school at some point. We’re still not sure how that will be mandated. It leaves the decision up to districts on how to operate schools–whether with in-person instruction, virtual instruction or a combination of the two. It all depends on the level of COVID-19 outbreaks in our communities, according to the newspaper.

Deciding how to safely go back to school.

This is a big responsibility for anyone trying to come up with a plan to make “everyone” happy.

The work that teachers did before the pandemic was monumental. Now they have even more responsibility. Making sure masks are worn and worn correctly. (That will be a feat in and of itself) Making sure hands are sanitized. And that social distancing is respected. Oh, and they need to educate our kids.

Times have changed, but we have to keep a level head. We have to care about one another and our families. Everyone is different and everyone has their own opinion. It’s okay. Take a deep breath and stay calm. Change happens, and sooner or later we all will have to adapt to these changes. Enjoy your life, enjoy your family, because life moves quickly and can be much shorter than you think.

So to the rest of the parents out there… we will get through this together. And our kids will be stronger and probably more appreciative as a result. Be sure to thank the teachers and administrative staff every chance you get!

August 18, 2020/0 Comments/by MEDiAHEAD

Have you ever had access to an online portal for your sales and marketing collateral?

Marketing, MEDiAHEAD Portal

By Michele Stillwell, Director of Marketing and Accounting at MEDiAHEAD

When doing a huge amount of research way back in my Corporate Marketing days, one of my tasks was to take on revamping a sales tool. I accepted that challenge with open arms. The current tool the sales team was using wasn’t working for them. We were splitting as a company and we needed to come up with a tool that would work for the new company. The tool would need to support the sales team with collateral and all the other tangible things they needed during the sales cycle.

The first step was to interview the sales team. I needed to understand the pros and cons of the current tool. I needed to know what they liked… and what they were missing. After that process, I had a great list of features a new system would need to provide.

Features Needed in the New Sales System

• Google search functionality
• Ability to customize the sales brochure/collateral/personalize
• Expiration dates for collateral pieces so the sales team wouldn’t be using outdated materials
• Photo library for vertical market segmentation
• Request for Proposal brochure build functionality
• Merchandise ordering
• Sales Kits
• Quick turn time
• Ability to add cost center codes for billing to various departments

Request For Proposal

The second step was to send out a Request for Proposal (RFP) to several companies around the country. This RFP contained all the requirements for the creation of the new sales tool. The companies were provided due dates to respond to the RFP. And then we started the interview process based on the proposals.

My team and I had a lot of work to do. We interviewed several companies and had them show us their web portals, sales tools and collateral asset management systems. (Several names for the same type of tool.) And then we chose a news sales tool that was perfect! They built the tool for us just the way we wanted it. It had lots of customization and many bells and whistles. This new system also came with a hefty price tag and a huge monthly fee.

Our team went out and trained the sales team in each of our locations. The sales tool housed more than 300 templates, 600 collateral items and supported the Welcome Kits for all our new and existing customers. Plus, we set up an integration with SalesForce. Even better.

So why all this information?

When I went to work for Colormarketing Inc. about 10 years ago, I started out doing some marketing for them, then went into sales, and now I’m doing Marketing and Accounting. As I have evolved, I’ve grown very passionate for this company… not only because of the owner, Kat, whom I truly admire, but for the products we’re selling.

The portal that MEDiAHEAD builds for our clients is fantastic. I know this from my experience in marketing for over 25 years. If you want to purchase a tool off the shelf, then that is what you will get (and pay for.)

Our Marketing collateral web solution is much more than that. It takes everything that the sales team needed from my previous job and double the features. It’s all included in our Marketing Portal system. I’m proud that we’ve developed the best of the best, and I love backing that up during our demos. (Want a demo? Let me know!)

The MEDiAHEAD Marketing Portal

Our tool can do so many things to support your sales team in an efficient and timely way. How? Because we’ve built it from two different tool sets, and we have talented web developers. They’ll never say “no” when asked if something can be done. They always look for a solution. Which is good because that’s what we’re all about.

Does it have Google search functionality? Yes
Can you customize it? Yes
Does it let you put in expiration dates? Yes

All of the above plus so much more.

I was amazed when I started working here and started reviewing our Marketing Portal. I found all the features I’d created from scratch in the previous sales support tool. It was right there in front of me in the MEDiAHEAD Marketing Portal. At a fraction of the cost.

It Just Needs to Work

Sales teams need to have access to a tool that they can get in, get the supporting assets they need and go make a darn sale. They can customize, download or print what they need and do it fast. Marketing needs to have the ability to change collateral on the fly. They need to be able to find what they need fast. Nobody has time to waste looking for stuff in a sea of documents, day in day out. I’ve been there, I’ve lived it. Personalization is also key in your marketing approach, let us help you with that. One touch of a button and it’s done.

As the world of sales and marketing continues to evolve, let us help. Everyone has had to learn new methods and processes to conduct sales and marketing efforts, and our Marketing Portal is built to support that effort. Want to know more? Let’s do a virtual coffee or lunch. We would love a chance to make your life easier and earn your business!

August 11, 2020/0 Comments/by MEDiAHEAD

Izzy interviews a new friend named Bull in a Zoom Conference.

Izzy

HELLLOOOOOO! It’s Izzy.

I am so happy to be writing this blog. I’ve missed you so much! This quarantine thing has me down in the dumps. I haven’t been able to be around the office as much. But every once in a while, I get to go into the office with Kat and run like the wind. Let’s catch up!

I have to tell you about my new friend Bull. He is a Great Dane; he belongs to Danny, the Digital Press Technician. Here are our Zoom Pictures…

I’ve never really met Bull in person, but we recently had a Zoom meeting and I got to interview him. We talked about several things. I was most interested in the fact that he ate 3 couches, is scared to death of the Roomba and I wanted to know why he loved Danny so much.

Here’s how our conversation went on our Zoom call!

ME: So, Bull I heard you’ve torn up 3 couches? Can you tell me why?

BULL: I absolutely love to tear things up, and I’m extremely bored during the day. I really don’t know why I do it. I just do.

ME: But OMGosh a COUCH? You are just so incredible. I can’t even imagine. I tear up toys and bones, and I’ve chewed on the corner of a table… maybe only once when no one was looking. I heard you’re a bit frightened of the new Roomba that Danny bought. How come?

BULL: Well when I was a wee little pup, I got scratched on the nose by something that looks a bit similar. It was really a cat. I’m scared of cats too.

ME: Oh dear, that’s not good. So, it frightens you quite a bit?

BULL: Yes, it scares the livin’ daylights out of me. And he runs the darn thing every day. I just sit on the couch and wait for it to stop. Then I stop shaking and everything is okay.

ME: Why do you love Danny so much?

BULL: Well, its always been us guys you know, just hanging out. He feeds me well and does anything for me. It’s a guy thing, a kind of bond you have with your owner that only good owners and their pets have.

ME: Yeah, I understand, I have my owners wrapped around my finger. I love that.

I can’t wait to meet you someday Bull! I really look up to you, literally, emotionally and just in general.

Great Zoom meeting!

Until next time… Iz and Bull

August 4, 2020/0 Comments/by MEDiAHEAD