Author Archives: bebtexas

USPS Rate Hike Approved

Postal Rate Hike Approved by BEB Business Extension BureauAfter three tries, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) finally approved the proposed prices and classifications for Standard Mail, Periodicals, and Package Services yesterday.

The new pricing and classification changes for all market-dominant mail classes and competitive products take effect on May 31, 2015.   Below are the new rates:

2015-05-31 POSTAL RATES Standard & First Class 2015-05-31 POSTAL RATES NON PROFITWould you like a 2015 BEB POSTAL RATE CARD?  These cards are double sided with nonprofit rates on one side, and for profit Standard & First-Class rates on the other.  They also include handy dimension minimums/maximums and other mailing requirements.  Printed on sturdy card stock and measuring at 9″ high X 8″ wide, these cards are excellent reference material and they are FREE!  If you would like one mailed to you, click here.

Summer Classes Scheduled

MAILING #1 - Introducting the SeriesWe are excited to announce that the 2015 Marketing for Small Business Summer Seminars have been scheduled!

Our Basics class is an update of the wildly successful series we presented last year.  The seminars cover Blogging (7/16/2015), Social Media (7/23/15), Two Mails: Direct Mail & Email (7/30/15), and Search Engine Optimization (8/6/15).

Kathy Norris HallGuest lecturer Kathy Norris-Hall of the USPS, will conduct the Direct Mail portion of the Two Mails class.  Kathy will review some new tools the postal service is using to help businesses determine the return using cross-channel marketing in conjunction with your direct mail campaigns.  She’ll also review list options, a wide scope of vehicles to mail, tracking response rates, and how to use your direct mail to drive customers to your website.

Jeremiah Mohr and John Horrell of SiteboxproBack by popular demand, our guest lecturers, Jeremiah Mohr and John Horrell of Siteboxpro will conduct the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) class.  Siteboxpro is a leader in SEO and web marketing and will teach about the process of organically improving the visibility of your website in search engine results.  They will review a breakdown of a search and show you ways to take advantage of local searches using free services such as Yelp or Google maps.

Angel Wiener of Business Extension BureauOur Angel Wiener is teaching the new and updated social media class.  Angel will review the demographics of the most popular social media platforms to help you determine which is best suited for prospecting new business.  She’ll review the basics of how to converse within each platform and how to identify results.

Also returning for another season is our Joy Zehrbach.  Joy Z is Joy Zehrbach of Business Extension Bureauconducting the Blogging and e-mail classes.  She’ll review reasons why a company should blog and how blogging keeps your website content fresh.  We discuss topics for content, where to find content and how to use back links to help your SEO.

The email classes review the minefields surrounding blasts and privacy regulations and how to study and maximize your email list.

Fall and Spring classes sold out, so if you’re interested in attending, register soon!  See what previous attendees said about our classes.

 

Zehrbach Wins Helsley Family Award

Joy Zehrbach and Ron Royall of BEB - Business Extension BureauEpicomm-Southwest presented it’s lifetime achievement honor, The Helsley Family Award, to Joy Zehrbach, Vice President of BEB-Business Extension Bureau.

The presentation was made at the association’s 2015 annual convention in April. Since its inception in 1971, this award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated a long history of significant and outstanding achievement in the marketing service provider industry.  It can only be won once, and past recipients select each new winner.  Zehrbach is the third member of BEB to be honored with the award.  Ron Royall, President and CEO was given the distinguished honor last year, and his father, Robert “Bob” Royall, founder of BEB-Texas, was presented with the award in 2001.

2015-05 HELSLEY AWARDBEB is a family owned, marketing production company, founded in 1949 and located in the 2015-04-25 AWARDS GRAPHICmuseum district of Houston, Texas.  Zehrbach was brought on board in June of 2012 to expand Business Extension Bureau’s presence in digital marketing which includes social media, websites, wide format printing, and interactive direct mail marketing.

Now a leader in the digital medium, BEB has won numerous awards for their social media, video, education programs, data, e-mail and direct mail marketing campaigns over the past 3-years.

EPICOMM BOD AWARDJoy was also presented with an award of recognition by Epicomm for her contributions during her term on the national board.  This prestigious award was presented by Ken Garner, President and CEO of the national Epicomm industry association.

Congratualtions, Joy Z!

 

2015 GEA Awards

2015 GEA 1Houston-What an amazing night!  First off, BEB-Business Extension Bureau is the proud recipient of two Graphic Excellence Awards.  We won an Award of Merit for our 2015 Interactive Calendars, and an Award of Excellence for our Enroll Gulf Coast Postcard for The City of Houston.  The Enroll Gulf Coast Postcard won “Best Of” in the Direct Mail category too!

Tonight’s sell out crowd consisted of over 300 participants representing over 40 companies in the Houston area.  The best of the best came out to celebrate the power and influence that print has in the marketing community today.

2015-04-22 Angel with Award

Angel Wiener

Our very own, Angel Wiener, was responsible for the marketing of the gala that included recording the event through pictures!  She was/is also instrumental in getting the new Houston Print Media-Young Professionals group off the ground.

HPM-YP_logoEdmond Rassi with Crown Embossing made the formal announcement to kick off the new group.  Houston Print Media-YP will connect young professionals in the print and electronic communication industry and provide industry related opportunities in a fun and engaging atmosphere.

Joy Zehrbach, Diane Bandemer, Anne Swanson

L-R: Joy Z, Diane Bandemer, and Anne Swanson

Our great partner, Anne Swanson, of Swanson Graphics and our own Diane Bandemer served as check in hostesses.

To round out the evening, our Joy Z co-hosted the event!  Patty Eldridge (PIGC), Gaylyn Devine (TLS Graphics) and Jeff Birmingham (Alliance Graphics & Printing) rounded out the hosts.  Of course, Bill Schieffer (PIGC), did a great job with the audio/visual.

2015-04-22 EGC BABY WITH AWARD STICKER

BEB wins an Award of Excellence for our City of Houston’s Enroll Gulf Coast Postcard

CALENDAR WITH STICKER

BEB & RARE PEARLS

IMG_4197We were excited to take part in the first annual RARE Pearls Women of Excellence Awards and Scholarship Fund Raising Event, this Saturday at The Houston Junior League.

joy and kathy

Joy Zehrbach and Kathy Norris-Hall

This event honored three outstanding women from the Houston area and raised money for scholarships for the girls participating in the RARE Pearls, 2-year program.

We managed the social media surrounding the event and our Vice President, Joy Z, volunteered to work the event too.  Our great partner, Kathy Norris-Hall managed the Audio/Visual portion of the show.

This sell out event was an incredible day for a wonderful cause.  Learn more about this organization and the annual event at RAREPEARLS.ORG.

 

Houston & N Houston Permits update

Power icons

 We published a blog with detailed information earlier about the USPS merging Downtown Houston Permit numbers into the North Houston Permit number system back in February.

STOP!  DON’T DO ANYTHING! 

The USPS is in a holding pattern as it has determined that it may be easier to merge the smaller North Houston Permit numbers into the Downtown Houston Permit number system.  As soon as a decision is made, our BEB Mail Pooch will notify you immediately.  Stay Tuned!.

Spring Seminar Classes Rated Excellent

2015-BEB SPRING SEMINAR SERIES SURVEY RESULTSOur Spring Seminar Series have come to a conclusion and once again, we are (so) pleased to share results of participant surveys.  100% of our attendees submitted surveys this round, and 100% rated the overall series as EXCELLENT!  Summer classes are in the planning stages now.

Thank you to our wonderful participants for making this series so popular.