There’s a Business Case for Business Continuity

5…4…3…2…1…no, that’s not the countdown from Mission Control, but it very well could be. Companies today face an unprecedented number of potential exposures and they must be armed and ready for the punch.

Having a Business Continuity plan in place, especially if you are a B2B provider (like we are), to help mitigate those risks is more than smart business; it’s the right thing to do to promote corporate resilience in the face of potential disruptions to the business,

A business continuity plan should include executive succession planning, emergency preparedness and disaster recovery. This will ensure your company has critical back up and resiliency in the hours, and days, after a threat.

Here we offer up a few reminders as to why a plan should be part of your business’ master plan:

1. It’s about the business – Businesses should look beyond its service portfolio and communicate the plan to clients. Chief among these is having the right technology and security systems in place to protect both physical and intellectual property
2. It’s about planning and practice – A plan is only helpful if it works. We’ve got ours on repeat, especially now that hurricane season has started. A pre-defined business continuity plan maximizes the chance of a successful recovery by eliminating hasty decision-making under stressful conditions.
3. It’s knowing who’s on first – and knowing what’s on second (noooo, it’s not the Abbott + Costello shtick; there’s nothing funny about business continuity). Having clearly defined roles help bring a daunting task down to size.
4. It’s about reflecting your company's culture – Clients demand uninterrupted access to critical data. Having safeguards in place, and testing them each year to make sure they are effective and flexible, is the cost of doing business in today’s on-demand marketplace.
5. It’s more than technology – Along with having data colocation, businesses should consider having other details in their continuity plan for facilities, equipment and inventory.

So that’s it in a nutshell. Dare we suggest that if you keep these tips in mind when planning your plan, you’ll be business-continuity-game-strong when the need arises…and we sure hope it doesn’t.

#PCIOIpowerhouse

Blog That

It’s a Momtra we’ve held onto since Kindergarten: go in there, introduce yourself to everyone and connect with one or two friends.The same is true about blogging – although one or two friends can easily be communities of like-minded people who want to hear your story. It’s important for brands to put their best face forward, reach across the World Wide Web and start an open and honest dialogue with consumers. Blogs provide that opportunity to take an offline conversation – online – in an effort to deepen the connection with our customers (we’re hoping you’ve got that loving feeling for ours)!

At a recent brand activation for a client (it didn’t hurt that it was a blogger conference), we had the opportunity to make genuine, direct connections with other leading brands and put a friendly face behind them. We also discussed trends and shared best practices and hosted social gatherings via live stream interviews.

So where are we going with this? Well, if your company doesn’t already have a blog, start one. And if it does, get on there more often and get a conversation going.  We leverage ours to showcase recent projects and discuss what’s new in the PCIOI world. Admittedly, we, too, need to do it more often. Lest we not forget that blogs create opportunities for sharing. Whether your audience likes it, emails it or Tweets it, they are validating your content – and validating you as a thought leader. 

So go ahead. Dish it. Tell us what you want to see and hear. These blog posts are not about us. They’re about you.  Wanna collaborate? Comment below. Need help blogging? We’ll help power one up for you.

In the meantime, don’t mind us; we’ll be brainstorming our next post.

#PCIOIpowerhouse

You Talking to Me? Yes, You.

We’re 13 days into the New Year and with that comes the inevitable (and dreaded), “Where are you on your goals and objectives setting?” question #sorrynotsorry

Truth be told, we’re all just getting back into the swing of things after the holidays, but setting new goals, new strategy and quite possibly new tools for customer engagement is a priority. Ever heard the saying: “What gets measured gets done?”

It’s time to get to work, people, and we can help. We are visual storytellers and welcome the opportunity to help you tell yours through a variety of brand communications that spark conversation, drive relevance and build engagement. Enter Variable Data Printing (VDP) and social media.  

1.   Be there for your customers…literally. Newsletters are a great way to regularly engage customers. Personalized content and images can create highly targeted, highly relevant pieces. And that means a higher ROI.

2.   Be in their mailbox (and by that, we mean take it back old school). Direct mail that shows you know and care about them and their preferences is a great way to keep them engaged. This means identifying data points like their age, hobbies or purchasing habits. Above all, remember that engaging customers is not a one-time deal. It is a commitment to developing a relationship that is cultivated over time.

3.   Social media is also a great way to showcase company culture and tell stories behind new products or services. In addition to opening the lines of communication, it also offers the benefits of analytics, which help brands zero in on their target audiences and figure out the effectiveness of their messaging; and drives customer loyalty, which rewards them for staying in touch

And there you have it, folks. We challenge traditional thinking and timelines by streamlining the creative and production processes into one schedule – and complement it with a portfolio of fully-integrated services that help make the impossible, possible. #score

Yeah, we’re basically the undisputed, single-source solutions provider for all your print, mail and marketing needs, so forgive us when we tell you, we have our own to-do list to tend to now…and you’re up next.

That’s right. We’re talking to you.

#PCIOIpowerhouse

The Gift of Giving

We’re making our list.

We’re checking it twice.

And it’s a good thing, because the holidays seem to get here faster + faster each year. And although retailers start lining their shelves with holiday favorites, glittery gifts, candles, linens + lights in early October, we start brainstorming, designing + producing our client holiday gift package in July to ensure we give our clients unique + useful gifts that will remind them how incredibly thankful we are for their continued business.

Of course, we also like to remind them of our oh-so-many services, so everything we do, we do in house (think along the lines of homemade gifts are the best…wink, wink). That’s because we design, print, produce + hand kit each one in the true spirit of gift giving – and at the risk of sounding cliché, we gift from the heart of our business (i.e., ink is to paper as turkey is to football). They go hand-in-hand.   

To spice things up this year, we are delivering part 1 of our holiday gift package this week. Our highly-coveted desk calendars are back by popular demand + are themed Let Your Light Shine Bright to help light the way to a fresh, creative new year. As we embark on this Thanksgiving holiday, keep in mind that every day is a day to give thanks for new partnerships, colleagues, friends + family. For these, we are so very thankful.

So unwrap your calendar today + let your light shine bright -- year round.

#doitallatOI