As part of our How Did They Do It? series, where we interview and spotlight companies who are successfully marketing their brands online, this post focuses on the successes of online retailer LCI Paper, Inc.
LCI Paper, Inc. is an online retailer that provides the do-it-yourself bride or event planner with an abundance of handmade specialty papers, envelopes, and reception accessories for weddings and for personal, community, and corporate events.
In the below interview with Larry Chase, founder of LCI Paper, Inc., Larry shares LCI’s marketing strategies and successes.
Below is our interview:
1. As an eCommerce site, how has social media and online marketing helped you connect with prospects and with customers?
We do use social media primarily on our blog, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to help connect with people that have an interest in our products and services. We know that a growing number of people rely on these channels to gather information daily on subjects of interest. With auto feed generation, it is quick and easy for us to disperse the “What’s New” or “What’s Happening” at LCI. New products and promotions are instantly fed through to these networks.
We have also been able to use these channels to help educate prospects and customers on what we do. Our market is clearly focused on the do-it-yourself community; people that are either creating invitations for their own life events or small design firms that create invitations for their clients.
A good part of our marketing effort is to educate our readers and visitors on how they can successfully design, print, and create invitations. We not only sell the products and tools needed, but we also support our products by supplying printing templates, invitation wording, how-to videos, and complete telephone support.
2. What online marketing strategies have you tried that haven’t worked? Why do you think this is?
I would not say that many of our online strategies have been failures; however, some are clearly better suited for us. As mentioned, we do a great deal of education and support for our products and think our customers appreciate and look to us for this guidance when going through the purchasing cycle. We have found that, when we try to market on price or giveaway promotions, we do not get much in return. It devalues what we do and makes the products we sell a commodity. That does not mean we are not conscious of price and being competitive; however, it has not proven to be a successful marketing strategy for us.
3. What online marketing strategy has brought in the greatest results for your business? What are those results?
One of our most successful strategies would have to be PPC campaigns through Adwords. We concentrate our campaigns on different product categories / brands in order to drive traffic to our site. It has been a successful means of not only driving new visitors to our website but revenue lifts as well. It really is a powerful medium to market new product offerings.
4. How are you using podcasts and video to drive traffic and increase online sales? Be specific.
We do some very short, concise product-specific videos to help educate customers. Video is a great medium to visually explain how we design or embellish invitations or to get a better feel for the colors and textures of papers we sell. It has helped us clearly explain to customers how to use their computer and printer to properly format and print at home.
Based on search patterns and site page views, we know that customers are seeking out this type of information. And since the videos are specific to our invitations and papers, it certainly helps to convert the prospect into a customer.
5. How often (on average) each week do you spend making connections on social media in order to grow your business?
On average I would say our staff spends about 5 hours per week directly interacting with customers on Facebook or Twitter; it’s enough time to listen to what others in the industry are saying and to keep abreast with other industry news and highlights. If we have a new product launch or video to share, we certainly take the time to let people know.
We are not obsessed with social media; it’s really just one piece of the puzzle to help us communicate and interact with our audience. We try to keep it in perspective and realize social media is important to our marketing mix, but not the answer to it.
6. You mentioned that you interview industry experts as part of your online marketing strategy. What results have you received from these interviews?
Yes, we do interviews with industry experts in the paper, printing, and design areas and find it to be an important part of our marketing mix. It is a helpful strategy to inform visitors and customers, as well as our own staff, about current industry events. It helps to strengthen our relationships with the people we interview and position us as a leader in the industry. Many industry people know they can come to us, and we will help them get the word out about their company and their brand. We understand it’s not just about LCI; it’s about the industry as a whole. We feel there is no better way to get the word out and let people know that our success is very dependant upon the success of others.
About LCI Paper, Inc., and Larry Chase:
In 1995, Larry Chase founded LCI Paper, Inc., with the goal of fulfilling a need—to provide consumers with a quick and affordable way to purchase fine stationery for printing.
At LCI’s website, visitors can browse the tremendous selection of handmade specialty papers, envelopes, and reception accessories offered for weddings and personal, community, and corporate events. Since LCI’s aim is to help the do-it-yourself bride or event planner, they’ve designed their site to provide an abundance of tips and ideas to assist clients in creating one-of-a-kind, custom invitations.
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