AlphaGraphics Encourages Business Owners to ‘Think Social’ in Their Marketing

SALT LAKE CITY, UT—Nov. 28, 2011—Business ownership is challenging in the best of times. And 2011, for most businesses, has not been the best of times.

While the recession has taken a toll on the business community, one group has grown dramatically in size and strength—the community of social media users. According to Jesse Himsworth, director of marketing at AlphaGraphics Inc., in order to continue to survive and grow, small business owners must focus on reaching this new set of consumers.

“Today’s consumer has constantly evolving options for learning about your business,” says Himsworth. “People of all ages and all professions own ’smart phones,’ which means they are literally walking around with the Internet in their pocket. And, more importantly, they are pinpointing their location. The opportunities for geo-based, hyper-local marketing are limitless, and savvy business owners need to take advantage of this new communications channel.”

To support this growing need, marketing communications specialists like AlphaGraphics owners have also evolved to add the latest technologies to their traditional product lines. For example, in addition to traditional printing services, including color, large-format and digital printing, AlphaGraphics locations now offer multichannel, cross-media solutions, such as mobile, e-Publishing and e-mail marketing solutions to small- and mid-sized businesses. This full range of services enables business owners to integrate the latest marketing approaches into their existing programs gradually, and to continually test and refine programs to meet their objectives.

“Understandably, many business owners have been focused on simple survival in recent years. But now, there are some encouraging signs that the worst may be behind us,” said Himsworth. “According to the latest data from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the number of start-ups is beginning to increase and job creation shows signs of a ‘choppy,’ but continuing, improvement.

“Business owners now need to turn their attention to protecting their existing client base and growing their market share. And the new ‘social’ communication channels offer some of the best opportunities for doing both. We can help,” Himsworth added

AlphaGraphics offers design, consultation and marketing strategy services as part of its “full-solution” marketing approach.

AlphaGraphics franchisees continue to implement a rebranding strategy for their businesses. This new approach embraces both core marketing services—printing, design and mailing—and the latest cutting-edge solutions—including personalized URLs, QR codes and website design—that can help re-energize a client’s marketing strategy.

“Everything we do is focused on driving success and profitability for our clients,” noted Himsworth.

AlphaGraphics business centers offer a complete range of print, visual communications and
marketing products and solutions, including full-service digital, offset and large-format printing; design services; mailing and one-to-one marketing services; website design; promotional products and digital archiving.

About AlphaGraphics
AlphaGraphics Inc. plans, produces and manages visual communications for businesses at nearly 300 owner-operated, locally-based business centers worldwide. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, the AlphaGraphics network leads the industry in sales per location. Backed by state-of-the-art technology, the world’s highest quality standards and a global network, the company’s trained and experienced team members are committed to delivering creative solutions that allow customers to communicate more confidently and effectively.