Thanks to our many clients and partners that allow us to be a part of their marketing world, we had a very good year.  Check out some of the awards we were honored to received over the past 12-months.

AMCP dotCOMM Award | August 2017 for 2016 BEB Holiday Video

AVA Digital Awards | February 2018 for Sienna Stables video, Meet Miracle

ALL STAR EMAIL AWARD | March 2018 for Email Marketing

Houston BBB | May 2018 Awards for Excellence – Winner of Distinction

PIGC Graphic Excellence Award | Best of Digital Calendars for 2018 BEB Interactive Calendar

NONPROFITS, MAKE YOUR MULTI-CHANNEL MAIL CAMPAIGNS YIELD BETTER RESULTS.

PROMOTE YOUR DIRECT MAIL MESSAGE ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS

Be sure to use your direct mail campaign message and art to its full advantage.  Use different segments of your letter and/or brochure to create multiple social media posts.  Also, create a blog on your website using the content of your appeal and reuse the graphics from your printed materials to help tell the digital story.  Lastly, every time you post or blog, be sure to include a link to allow your audience to donate.

MAKE ONLINE GIVING SIMPLE AND EASY

It is essential to make certain that your audience can quickly and easily give money.  If potential donors are required to click through several pages or give a lot of personal information, you will lose a large portion of traffic.  Also, keep in mind that 51% of all website visits today are from a mobile device.  Make sure that your online donation process is accommodating to mobile users.

TELL PEOPLE HOW DONATIONS WILL BE USED

Use specific dollar amounts to tell people how their funds will benefit your cause.  For example, “$100 can feed 4 students lunch at school for 4 weeks.”  Quantify how previous amounts have been used to impact donation value.  “Last year we raised $250,000 and build two facilities that housed over 100 children for an entire year.”  Make sure your messages are emotional and heart-felt.  This helps to create loyal donors and expands your donor base.

KEEP YOUR DONOR BASE CURRENT

Donor renewal mail yields a 3.7% response rate.  Make sure that you take the time to keep your donor base current.  Have your list “scrubbed” to ensure maximum delivery and to prevent unintentionally alienating champions of the cause.  Scrubbing includes but is not limited to; NCOA (National Change of Address) updates, de-duplication by names and addresses, as well as an update using the deceased persons file.

Using these simple tips can help to create a successful direct marketing campaign and help give you a great start to the new year.

The USPS wants to restrict Standard Mail (now known as Marketing Mail) content to paper based only.  All other items would become parcels.  They list three reasons for the proposed change:

1. Service Level Retention
2. Move fulfillment of merchandise out of the Marketing Mail Environment
3. Reduce automation operational inefficiencies

Nonprofits would be severely impacted by the content restriction and The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers were quick to respond to the notice.  They countered by stating the proposal is a classification change and the USPS cannot legally make such changes without the authorization of the Governors and the approval of the Commission.

It would seem that the USPS must now decide to either reconsider the proposal or prepare for a legal battle.

Back in April, President Trump launched a USPS task force through an executive order and gave the group four months to report recommendations to reform the USPS.
The task force delivered its recommendations to the White House in August, but findings won’t be made public until November.
Trump directed the task force to make their recommendations actionable, either through legislation or regulation.
Over the summer, the team met with a variety of stakeholders including industry groups and employee representatives.
The industry expects that the report will make some mention of the administrations reorganization plan, which includes a proposal to privatize the USPS once it becomes profitable. An idea that has been met with tremendous opposition from the industry.
If the task force takes the legislation route, bills in the House and Senate could help to eliminate the USPS mandate to pre-fund future retiree’s health care benefits. Though the USPS has defaulted on these lump sum payments over the last few years, it continues to show as a deficit to their bottom line. By shifting retirees to Medicare as the primary provider and amortizing the remaining liabilities over the next 40-years, the USPS would reduce the liability to the Federal Employees Retirement System, provide a permanent boost to USPS pricing, and gain freedom to seek new revenue streams.
The task force was asked to submit recommendations that don’t shift cost to taxpayers and to consider the views of the USPS workforce, its customers and competitors. They were also to evaluate declining mail volume, growth of package delivery, and the general state of their business model.
In other news, the Senate approved two Board nominees and has received nominations for two more.
The board has been without a quorum for four years. Only the postmaster general and her deputy serve on a temporary emergency committee today. If the two newest nominees are confirmed, the board would have the six members it needs to cast votes and make decisions which could finally get things moving in Washington. Let’s just hope it moves in the right direction. We’ll keep you informed as things unfold.

As we enter the fourth quarter of 2018, I pause to reflect on the impact that Hurricane Harvey had on Houston and our business over the past year. The damage to homes and families from the August 2017 storm were reported around the world. However, the lasting impact on our economy has received less coverage. All things considered, the Houston economy is recovering well.
During the fourth quarter of last year, the region added over 35,000 jobs in the construction, retail, and restaurant sectors making it the city’s best fourth quarter on record.
The Houston economy in 2018 continues to show promise. Some key economic indicators worth noting are:

• The Houston Airport System (HAS) handled 55.6 million passengers in the 12 months ending in July. That’s up 1.2% from the previous 12 months
• Strengthened by a strong post-Harvey stimulus, higher oil prices and a robust national economy, the Houston BCI (Business Cycle Index) rose 8.9% during the three months ending in June 2018

For us, the year has been relatively fluid. Hand fulfillment projects are growing in numbers and our in-house envelope printing has increased by 35% over the past year. Perfect for small runs and fast turn-times, our Xante, (pronounced zawn-tay), envelope press outputs beautiful and personalized envelopes at an extremely competitive price. It’s a great addition to our print department.
Lastly, our digital marketing division is expanding. We’re on a search for an intern to help with our social media, graphics, and website projects.
Marketing is vital to growing your business and inside this edition of The Bureau, we introduce you to the nine (9) new Facebook Company Page templates released on August 22nd and outline the differences between each to help ensure you are using the template that will best showcase your business.
We also share postal updates on the USPS Task Force Report and the USPS request to restrict Marketing Mail content to paper-based matter only.
The holiday season is fast approaching and that means it’s time to start your direct mail marketing projects now. Check out the article, geared specifically for nonprofits, to help convert a traditional direct mail project into a multi-channel campaign and reap greater results.
As always, we sincerely thank you for your business and partnership. On behalf of all of us at Business Extension Bureau, we hope that you and yours have a safe and happy Halloween. And good news, we have already started working on our 2019 Texas Calendar!

Sincerely,

Ron Royall, President and CEO

We are about to go to press with our Fall version of The Bureau.  We are presenting it in a different than normal format (a 16 page booklet inserted into an envelope) just to change things up and give it a fresh look.  We hope you like it.

The upcoming edition includes the following stories:

• A Letter from Ron Royall: The Houston Economy After Harvey
• Big Facebook Changes
  • Reviews Become Recommendations
  • New Company Page Templates
• Review of the 2019 Marketing for Local Business Classes
• USPS Task Force Update
• USPS Request for Marketing Mail Paper Base Content Only
• 2018 Holiday Mail Deadlines
• Nonprofits – Make Your Mail Multi-channel & Receive Better Results
• Bragging Rights – Thanks for a Great Year of honors
• Special Thank Yous

We hope you enjoy this edition of The Bureau, and hope you have a happy and safe Halloween.  If you haven’t received a printed version, and want to; just click here and we’ll add you to our mailing list and get one right out to you.

As always, thank you for your business and partnership.

Our 2019 Marketing for Local Business Classes are now open for enrollment.  We are so excited with the line up of guest professors for next year!  We hope you will join us for these lively, informative and highly educational series.  Some of our guest lecturers include:

• John Horrell, President and CEO of Sitebox Group
  • Organic Search Engine Optimization-Feb 28, 2019
  • Understanding Google Analytics       Aug 28, 2019

• Lesli Stearns, President of Hot Brand Marketing
  • Facebook for Business May 16, 2019

• Natalie Ariz, The Impeccable Find Blogger|Influencer 
  • Instagram for Business May 23, 2019

Allie Danziger, Founder of Integrate, a local PR and Digital Marketing firm has partnered with us again in 2019.  Experts from Integrate will be conducting the two email marketing classes.  Allie always provides amazing and diverse guest speakers.

Of course, our Joy Zehrbach will be hosting the series and conducting a few classes as well.

Get details, schedules and register by clicking here.

BEB Business Extension Bureau 2018 Holiday Mailing Schedule Deadlines

BEB Business Extension Bureau 2018 Holiday Mailing Schedule Deadlines

As of August 22nd, there are 10 Facebook Company Page templates to choose from:

1. Standard
2. Movies
3. Nonprofit
4. Restaurants & Cafes
5. Video
6. Shopping
7. Services
8. Politician
9. Business
10. Venue

Each template has unique tabs and buttons to give your business maximum exposure.  Take a look at the details and determine if you’re using the template that best features your business today.

Below is a chart outlining each:

ABOUT: An overview of the page

COMMUNITY: Shows friends’ and public posts of your page

EVENTS: Lists your upcoming events

GROUPS: Lists the groups that have linked to your page

HOME: The main landing area for your page

INFO AND ADS: Shows ads all advertisers are currently running

JOBS: Lists job openings

NOTES: Gives a space to highlight notes on the page

OFFERS: Lists current offers

PHOTOS: Photos uploaded to your page

REVIEWS: Reviews of your page and allows people to write reviews

SERVICES: Gives space to highlight the services that you offer

SHOP: Shows products you want to feature

VIDEOS: Videos uploaded to your page