Monthly Archives: March 2022

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9 Signs that You Should Rebrand Your Business in 2022

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re considering rebranding your business in 2022. And that’s a great idea! A rebrand can help refresh your image, attract new customers and boost profits.
Maybe you’re bored with the look of your marketing materials and business stationery, or you feel you aren’t connecting with your target market like you used to. Perhaps there’s a new company in the industry that is giving you a run for your money, and you feel that rebranding will help you compete.
But a rebrand is a huge undertaking that involves a lot of time, money and effort. How do you know when it’s the right time, or even the right decision? In this guide, we’ll discuss 9 clear signs that indicate it’s time for a rebrand, and share some helpful tips.

1) You’re Not Happy with Your Identity

One of the most obvious signs that it’s time for a rebrand is if you’re not happy with your current brand identity. As a business owner, it’s often good to follow your gut feelings, and this is an excellent example! If you’re not happy with your branding, it’s likely that your customers won’t be either.

A rebrand can help you create a new identity that accurately represents your business and its values. So if you’re feeling uninspired by your current logo, colour scheme, product packaging or tagline, it might be time for a change.
Tip: If you’re not sure where to start, try conducting a brand audit. This will help you take a closer look at your current branding and assess what’s working well and what needs to be improved.

2) Your Logo Is Outdated

Another sign that it’s time for a rebrand is if your logo feels outdated.
This might be the result of changing trends or evolving technologies, or just a matter of trends changing. But whatever the reason, an outdated logo can make your business look dated too.
A rebrand can help you create a fresh, modern logo that accurately represents your business in the present day. So if you’re looking to update your image, this is definitely the way to do it!
Tip: When redesigning your logo, try to focus on simplicity and versatility. A complex logo might look great on your website, but it might not work so well on a business card or letterhead.

3) Your Branding Is Inconsistent

If your branding is inconsistent, it’s likely that customers are getting confused about who you are, what you do and what you stand for. This can be a major problem, especially if you’re operating in a competitive market.
A rebrand can help to unify your branding and make it more consistent across all mediums. By creating a strong visual identity, you can make sure that customers always know who you are, no matter where they see your branding.
Tip: When rebranding, it’s important to create a brand guidelines document. This will help to ensure that your new branding is consistently applied across all touchpoints, from your website to your business cards.

4) You Don’t Stand Out

A business whose branding doesn’t help them stand out from the crowd is never going to succeed and thrive the way you’d like it to.
Perhaps when you first started your company, you didn’t have a lot of experience and weren’t sure how to design a memorable name, logo and tagline that would stick in your customers’ minds. Or maybe when you first started out, you were operating in an untapped market, and now you have a lot of competition.
Whatever the reason, a complete rebrand – especially with the help of hired professionals – will make your business feel fresh and new, and will help set you apart from your competitors.

5) The Industry is Moving On

If you’re part of a particularly new or fast-paced industry, your business has to be constantly evolving to keep up with these changes. If it isn’t, you’ll quickly find yourself left behind.

This might manifest itself in a number of ways, such as:
1) Outdated website design
2) Irrelevant marketing materials
3) Products that are no longer in demand

All of this feeds back into your branding, because you want your branding to represent precisely what it is that customers/clients can expect from you.
A rebrand can help to signal that your business is keeping up with the times, and is willing to adapt to changes in order to stay ahead. It can also help you attract new customers who are looking for something fresh and innovative.

6) Your Target Market Has Changed

If your target market has changed, it’s likely that your current branding is no longer relevant.
Maybe you’ve pivoted towards eco-friendly products; well, changing your logo and marketing materials to incorporate the colour green is an obvious potential change. Or, you might have started selling to businesses instead of consumers; in this case, a more corporate branding style would be more appropriate.
A rebrand can help you reach your new target market by creating branding that appeals to them. So if you’ve changed your business focus, it’s time to update your branding too!

7) Your Business is Evolving

If your business is in the process of growing or expanding into new areas, or your vision or ethos is changing from what it used to be, this may also be a good time for a rebrand.
This might be because of changing demographics, evolving technologies or even an adjustment in your personal beliefs. It might just be that you think your business needs to move in a different direction, in order to take advantage of changing public opinion or interests.
A rebrand that reflects your new business model and ethos can help you future-proof your business and ensure that you’re ready for these changes.

8) You’re Not Reaching Your Audience

Sluggish sales figures? Hardly any visits to your websites? Or do you never hear the bell ring to tell you a customer just walked in? If any of this sounds familiar, it might be because you’re not reaching your audience.
One of the main purposes of branding is to create a connection between your business and your target market. But if that connection isn’t there, then you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers.
Rebranding can help in two ways. One is if there are any negative connotations people have with your business; maybe you recently bought it, and it still has a bad reputation in the trade, for example. The other way rebranding can help is by giving the impression of freshness and newness, which can draw in customers that would otherwise ignore you.

9) You Can’t Keep Up with Competitors

The competition is always changing, and if you’re not keeping up, you’ll quickly fall behind.
One of the best ways to stay ahead of the curve is by constantly re-evaluating your branding. If you see that your competitors have updated their branding in a way that’s more in line with what customers are looking for, then it might be time to do the same.
Of course, this is a fine balancing act. After all, you’re constantly working to build brand recognition and make a name for your business in the industry. Rebranding after all that effort may not be the right idea. But nobody said running a business was easy!

Contact 123Print Today!

If you’re considering rebranding your business, it’s important to update your physical marketing materials – such as business cards, flyers and letterheads. So, once you’ve settled on a new direction to go in, get in touch with 123Print.
123Print provides high-quality printing that is both affordable and totally customisable, so that you can rebrand without the effort and at a fraction of the cost. You’ll find thousands of templates on our site to suit a wide variety of industries and niches – every one of them ready to be customised and made to specification.
We offer professional printing, speedy shipping and a 100% money back guarantee – so you can rely on 123Print to kick-start your 2022 rebranding adventure!

Small Business Startup Checklist: The 9 Things to Do First

Starting your own small business is an incredibly rewarding experience, but it can also be quite challenging. It’s definitely not an undertaking for the faint of heart. There are a lot of things to do in order to get your business up and running, and it can be difficult to know where to start – especially if you’ve never owned your own business before.
It’s almost impossible to know whether a startup will be successful or not until you get it launched. But even if you have a fantastic idea for a new product in an untapped market, your venture could fail before it’s even got off the ground if you get the basics wrong, such as marketing.
That’s why we’ve put together this small business startup checklist! In this guide, we will discuss the first 9 things you need to do in order to get your business up and running. Let’s get started.

1. Make a Business Plan: Is Your Business Viable?

This is by far the most important step in starting your own business: you need to figure out whether or not your business idea is actually viable.
This means doing a lot of market research and financial forecasting to determine whether there is a demand for your product/service, and whether you can make a profit from it.
You don’t need to have everything figured out before you start your business, but having a solid plan is essential for giving yourself the best chance of success.
If you’re not sure how to go about making a business plan, there are plenty of resources online (including our very own blog). Alternatively, you can always hire a professional business consultant to help you out.

2. Decide on Your Business Structure

Before you can start doing any business activities, you’ll need to determine what legal structure your business will have. This will determine things like how you file your taxes and how much liability you have. Limited company? Partnership? Sole trader? There are a lot of different options, so it’s important to do some research and figure out which one is best for your business. In brief:
• Sole trader is the simplest business structure – it’s just you, the owner, and there is no legal distinction between you and your business.
• A limited company is a legal entity in its own right, separate from its owners. This means that the company can enter into contracts and own property in its own name.
• A partnership is similar to a sole trader business, but with two or more owners.
If you want to run a startup, it’s probably best to start a limited company. That’s because you’ll presumably want it to grow quite big, and because startups are risky; running a limited company limits your liability if the business owes debt or goes under.

3. Choose a Name and Logo for Your Business

This one’s pretty self-explanatory: you’ll need to come up with a name for your business. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or complicated. In fact, simpler and more concise names are often better, as they’re easier to remember (and spell).
The name you choose should represent what your business does. Members of the public should be able to figure out what you’re selling or offering from the name alone. You should also do some trademark research to make sure nobody else is using the same or a similar name (as well as being confusing for consumers, this could get you into legal trouble).
Besides the name, you’ll also need to design an eye-catching, relevant, scalable and memorable business logo. This is important for building up your brand identity. If you’re not a graphic designer, you can always hire someone to do it for you.

4. Invest in Personalised Business Stationery

With your business name and logo sorted, you’ll want to start printing out some personalised business stationery. This includes things like:
Business cards
Letterheads
Compliment slips
Address labels and/or stamps
Note pads
Appointment cards
• Promotional products, such as flyers, fridge magnets and mugs
These products make your business look professional and help people remember who you are and what you do. Part of running a successful startup is making a big first impression, and having professionally-printed stationery goes a long way towards achieving that aim.
You can have these products printed relatively cheaply and easily, thanks to companies like 123Print. We provide high-quality printing that is professional, affordable and totally customisable.

5. Register with Companies House

Now that your business is starting to take shape, you’ll need to register it with Companies House. This is a government agency that deals with company registrations and other business-related matters. It’s quick and easy to register with Companies House, and you can do it online.

6. Open a Business Bank Account

Once you’ve registered your business, the next step is to open a business bank account. This is absolutely essential for keeping your personal and business finances separate, which becomes even more vital as your business grows and you take on employees or co-directors.
You can either choose an old-fashioned bricks-and-mortar bank, or go with one of the many challenger banks/digital banks that have popped up over the last decade. Do a little research and decide which business account is best for you.

7. Register with HMRC

You’ll need to register with HMRC as soon as your business starts trading. This is necessary for declaring your income and paying taxes. If you don’t declare your income properly, you may be hit with fines or even be investigated for fraud – so ensure this step is done properly!
You can do this online too, and it shouldn’t take that long. Depending on how you’re going to run your business, you can register for other things like PAYE online too. Once you’re registered, you’ll be given a unique tax reference number (UTR) which you’ll need to do things like log in and communicate with HRMC.

8. Get Business Insurance

No business is complete without insurance. You’ll need to get insurance for both your premises and your employees. This is designed to help protect your company against day-to-day operational risks, such as mistakes, losses, premises damage and legal costs.
There are a lot of different types of business insurance, all of which may cover different areas and provide varying amounts of compensation. So, it’s important to do some research and find one that’s best suited to your needs. Make sure you shop around and compare prices as business insurance can be quite expensive.

9. Set Up a Website and Socials

In this day and age, every business needs an online presence. You’d be surprised how many potential customers simply won’t bother with a business if they don’t have a website or Facebook account.
Your website is your digital storefront, and it’s how people will find you online. If you’re not particularly tech-savvy, there are plenty of ways to build a website without needing to code it yourself. Online web development services are good if you’re on a budget, although if you’ve got big aspirations, you may want to hire a professional website designer instead.

It’s also vital that you put time and effort into social media content. This is how you’ll connect with potential customers and build up a following. Again, you can either do this yourself or hire a social media manager.

Get Started Today with 123Print

There are lots of other things you need to do when starting a business, but these 9 first steps will help get you off the ground.
When you’re ready to order high-quality, professionally printed business stationery, don’t forget to check out 123Print. We offer thousands of templates for business cards, flyers and more, all of which are fully customisable and affordable for new businesses.
Choose from a huge number of fonts and colour schemes to match your branding, and upload your own logo and artwork with the click of a button. With our speedy printing and dispatch times, your new stationery will be with you before you know it!

postcards

10 Tips for Designing an Effective Promotional Postcard

Designing a promotional postcard is a great way to market your business. A well-designed, full-colour postcard can grab attention, spread brand awareness and generate interest in what you have to offer.
Because postcards don’t need to be mailed in envelopes, they’re extremely affordable compared to other forms of marketing. However, their thick, glossy double-sided cardstock will create an instant impression of quality – which customers will come to associate with your business.
If you’ve never designed a promotional postcard before, it can be tricky to know where to start. Here are some tips to help you create an effective postcard that will get results.

1. Keep It Simple

The best promotional postcards are simple and easy to understand. People should be able to tell at a glance what your promotional postcard is for, and why they should care.
Don’t try to cram too much information into a small space: it will only confuse your audience. If they pick up your postcard and don’t immediately understand what they’re looking at, it’ll go straight in the bin.
Instead, stick to the essentials, and use secondary text or graphics to provide more information if needed. That means details of the promotion, who you are, and how they can take advantage of it.

2. Use Strong Visuals

Visuals are key when it comes to promotional postcards. They help to grab attention and generate interest in what you have to offer.
Choose clear images and visual effects that are relevant to your business, and that will appeal to your target market. If possible, use eye-catching graphics or striking colours to really make your postcard stand out.
Remember that your recipients may have a lot of promotional materials to sort through – you don’t want yours to blend in with the rest. Just don’t make your postcard too complicated (remember, keep it simple).

3. Make Your Message Clear

Your message should be clear, concise, and easy to understand.
Think of it this way: what’s the core reason you’re sending out your promotional postcard? Let’s say you have a new product. Well, a big picture of the new product and a big banner headline with its name and price would be good things to build your design around.
Besides that, make sure that your call to action is obvious, and that the benefits of taking advantage of your promotion are clear. What do you want the customer to do? Buy now, subscribe, call? Whatever it is, be clear about it. Your audience should be able to read your postcard in a few seconds and know exactly what you’re offering. If they can’t, it’s likely that they’ll just move on.

4. Create a Sense of Urgency

In order to motivate people to take action, it’s important to create a sense of urgency. If they see that your offer is time-limited, or that there are only a few items left, they’ll be more likely to want to take advantage of it.

You can do this by using phrases like:
• “Limited time offer”
• “While stocks last”
• “Sale ends Monday”

If you can make people feel like they’re missing out if they don’t act now, you’ll be more likely to get them to do something.
Giving a clear cut-off date is best. That’s why offers like ‘January sales’ are so successful: if you don’t buy in January, the price will go up! So, rather than using an arbitrary cut-off point (e.g. ‘three weeks’), use a specified date or timeframe.

5. Use a Good Postcard Design Tool

When it comes to creating effective promotional postcards, using a good design tool is essential. It ensures that your postcard looks polished and professional, and will help it to stand out. This will influence your potential customers’ first impressions of your company, so it’s an important step.
Business stationery experts 123Print offer a range of design templates that are easy to use, and that will help you create a postcard that looks great.
With our design tool, you can personalise your postcard with your own text and images, and you can even choose from a range of different fonts and colours. You can also preview your postcard before you order it, to make sure that you’re happy with the results.

6. Use Interesting Fonts

When it comes to text, using interesting typography can make a big difference. This doesn’t mean using a huge variety of fonts (in fact, less is more), but rather choosing fonts that are appropriate for your message and target market.
If you’re targeting a younger audience, for example, you might want to use funky or stylish fonts. If you’re targeting a more sophisticated audience, you might want to use more formal, serif fonts. Just make sure that your text is easy to read, and that it fits in with the overall design of your postcard.

7. Be Consistent with Your Branding

Your branding is key when it comes to promotional postcards. If people can see a recognisable design or style running through your postcards, they’ll be more likely to remember you. This is imperative
Ways to stay consistent include:
• Using the same fonts and colours across all of your postcards
• Using a consistent design template if you make more than one
• Having a recognisable, clear logo, and using the same logo as you use elsewhere
Other than that, it’s up to you how you want to present your branding. Just make sure that it’s immediately recognisable, and that it ties in with your overall marketing strategy.

8. Use High-Quality Images

When it comes to promotional postcards, using high-quality images is essential. After all, you want your postcard to stand out from the crowd, and come across as professional.
What can often trip people up is that a picture might look good at a certain size on a screen, but looks grainy, pixelated or blurry when it’s printed out at full size. You can avoid this by using high-resolution, HD images.

You can either pay for an image or use public domain images – these are available for everyone to use without copyright issues. Or, of course, you can take the pictures yourself!
When you design a promo postcard with 123Print, you’re free to use the images in our templates, or upload your own. So, choose something a) high resolution and b) that fits your branding.

9. Proof Read Your Text

It might seem like a no-brainer, but proofreading your text is essential. Typos and errors can give the impression that you’re unprofessional, that your business lacks quality control or that you don’t care about what you send to potential customers.
If you’re not much of a writer, you do still have options for proofreading your text. Have a friend or colleague run over it for you, hire an editor through an online platform, or run it through a grammar analysis tool. Even the spell-checkers built in to word processing programs do a decent job.

10. Hire a Professional Designer if You Can’t ‘DIY’

If you’re not confident in your design skills, or if you just don’t have the time to create a postcard from scratch, using a professional design service is a good option. You could either hire a freelance designer or use a professional design agency.
Just make sure that you brief them properly, and that you’re clear on what you want them to create. You don’t want any surprises when it comes to the cost, or the final design! You can save money by asking them to send you the design digitally, and using an affordable site like 123Print to have it printed.

Design a Stunning Promotional Postcard with 123Print

postcards

123Print offers high-quality printing that’s totally customisable, so you can be the cool creative person you’re just itching to be – all without breaking the bank.
We offer business card templates, letterheads, compliment slips, address labels, note pads, appointment cards and so much more – including promotional postcards.
If you’re feeling inspired and want to get started, visit our site to browse thousands of promotional postcard templates. For any questions, queries or special requests, please don’t hesitate to contact us today – our design team will be happy to help.

Thank you note

Why Personalised Thank You Cards Are Better than Shop-Bought

Who wouldn’t want to receive a thoughtful thank you card after giving someone a gift, or helping them out in some way? Nothing beats the kind gesture of letting people know that you appreciate what they’ve done for you.

Thank you cards are especially popular for events like weddings, birthdays and other gift-giving occasions. You might hand out thank you cards to all of your baby shower guests, for example. Or if you’ve recently been ill, you can use thank you cards to show appreciation to family members who have helped care for you.

You can use thank you cards to show gratitude to your employees for being loyal to your company. Some businesses even send thank you cards to people who apply for jobs, to let them know that you appreciate their time and effort.

But, what are the benefits of sending paper thank you cards? And why are personalised thank you cards so much better than shop-bought ones? Today, we’ll be answering these questions, and sharing a few handy hints for writing and sending the perfect thank you card.

Why Do You Need to Send Thank You Cards?

In the digital age, you may wonder whether there are any benefits of sending out traditional paper thank you cards over sending a thank you text or email. The answer is yes – and here’s why:

Make a Sincere Gesture

We’re living in a time when short and effortless “thank you” messages can easily be sent through text, messaging apps and email. But expressing your gratitude through a paper card that you’ve picked out, bought, signed by hand and posted makes the gesture more sincere.
This is because you’ve put real time and effort into showing the person that you appreciate them. A thank you card also conveys your emotions better than reading a message from a mobile phone screen.

Expressing Gratitude is Good for You

Don’t you just love the feeling of making someone happy with a thank you card? According to a study published in NeuroImage, expressing gratitude to those around you is actually good for you. Writing even short notes of thanks to those that you appreciate can bring benefits such as increased feelings of wellbeing, and reduced depression.

And the results last for a surprisingly long time, because gratitude is self-perpetuating. It means that the more you send thank you cards, the happier you’ll feel in general. Keep expressing gratitude and you’re more likely to notice all the little things in life that you can feel thankful for.

Continue an Important Tradition

Before there were mobile phones and laptops, people wrote almost everything they ever had to say in a letter. Although they take longer to arrive, the thought of having someone put in the time and effort to write has made letter- and card-writing an important part of human culture.

Author Florence Isaacs explains this best in her book Just a Note to Say: “When you write, there is no response to distract you from reaching within and exploring exactly what you feel and want to say. There is no mechanical equipment to act as a barrier.”

Why Should I Order Personalised Thank You Cards?

Now that you know the benefits of sending a thank you card to people who mean something to you, it’s also very important to know that there’s a difference between sending out a generic, shop-bought card that you’ve pulled off the shelf, and a personalised thank you card with your own message printed inside.

Personalised Thank You Cards are More Meaningful

Would you feel special if you received a clearly shop-bought card containing a generic message that’s been sent to 200 other people? Of course not. That’s exactly how your recipients would feel if you just bought a bunch of thank you cards with a standard printed message, signed your name and sent them out.

But by ordering your own personalised thank you cards, you can really send a meaningful message that will show your loved ones how important they are to you. You can edit the text inside to say something that comes directly from the heart, and even upload your own photo or image to the front. You can even create your own design entirely from scratch!

Personalised Thank You Cards Help You Stand Out

In a time when most people opt for the convenience of sending text messages with emojis to convey their emotions, you can set yourself apart and make a really good impression with a custom-made thank you card.
Sending a personalised thank you card will make sure that your message gets across and is noticed, unlike sending a generic shop-bought card that is indistinguishable from any other. This could be really beneficial if you’re trying to stand out – such as by sending a thank you note to a potential employer after a job interview.

Personalised Thank You Cards are Higher Quality

A thank you card isn’t the most expensive gift to give to someone. But when you add your personal touch to it and order a custom-made, professionally printed card, a simple gesture of gratitude can suddenly seem a lot grander – and will definitely be appreciated. Your recipients are likely to even keep your personalised thank you card as a memento for years to come!

All you need to do is browse from dozens of thank you card templates and choose the design that speaks to you the most. In a few minutes, you can edit the design to include a message in your own wording, and have it printed out and sent to you within days. And the best part is, you don’t need to spend a lot of money just to show people that you appreciate what they did for you.

How to Make Your Personalised Thank You Cards Extra Special

So, you now understand the importance of sending personalised thank you cards for anyone who’s gone above and beyond for you. Here are some important tips to remember when it comes to writing and sending them.

1) Consider the timing. When it comes to saying thank you to someone, you should aim to do it as soon as possible after the event (ideally, within a few weeks). This will give your receiver the impression that you really took the time and effort to acknowledge their kindness right away.

2) Keep your message simple. A lot of people forego the gesture of sending a thank you card just because they get hung up on what message to write on their personal notes. But the truth is, you don’t need to write a long, elaborate essay. Simple and sincere is still the best way to go when saying thank you.

3) Personalise each individual card. Underneath the printed message, add a custom message by hand tailored to the card’s recipient – for example, mentioning the specific gift they bought you.

4) Sign the card by hand. Even if you don’t have the neatest penmanship, always sign the card in your own handwriting if at all possible.

5) Add a few special details. While a thank you card with a personal note would suffice, you can always take things up a notch by adding a few extra details to your card. For instance, you can decorate the envelope to represent the personality of your receiver. If you have the budget, you can send flowers, a bottle of wine or an extra gift along with your card.

Try not to overthink things. What matters most is the act of showing your gratitude, and by sending a personalised thank you card you’re already achieving a lot.

Where Can I Order Personalised Thank You Cards?

These days when we’re all caught up in a world where everything is almost instant, it’s nice to lean on the old and established traditions that have kept our society running for hundreds of years.
One of these is by sending personalised thank you cards to people who mean most to us. While a thank you card isn’t expensive, the act of putting in the time and effort to show your appreciation is worth more than any fancy gift that you can buy in the shops.

Simply head to 123Print today to browse our extensive range of thank you cards and choose the perfect template for you. We stock birthday thank you cards, landscape wedding thank you cards and portrait wedding thank you cards. You can also create your own card from a completely blank template, to really put your mark upon it!

All of our designs allow you to upload your own artwork, and edit the message inside to your heart’s content. Our designs are professionally printed, supplied with envelopes, and will be printed and dispatched within 48 working hours. What’s more, they are extremely affordable, starting at just £4.99 for 10. Why not stock up, so that you always have a card handy for the next time you want to show your appreciation to someone?