Archive for October, 2011

When people think about business stationery design it is always about business cards, letterheads and compliment slips. However there is another stationery item which can make a huge difference to the number of customers you gain, and more importantly keep. The loyalty card. Loyalty cards are reknown for their use in coffee shops and restaurants, but the idea can be easily adapted to any business where there is substantial competition and repeat custom needs to be positively encouraged.

Introduction to the concept of loyalty

There is a famous statistic which is often quoted by business advisors – 80% of revenue is made up by 20% of customers. Of course, this statistic can’t be right for everyone but it does put the financial emphasis on the importance of repeat customers and keeping your most important customers as happy as possible. This idea of loyalty is now at the absolute heart of modern marketing and some of the largest companies spend a lot of money looking for and implementing ways to increase loyalty from customers. There is even a huge annual event devoted to the subject – Loyalty World in London which is attended by speakers from the largest companies in the world including Google, Facebook, Pepsi Co, Tesco, Sky and others.

Introduction to loyalty cards

Loyalty can be encouraged in a whole number of ways, but the loyalty card is one of the most familiar, simple to implement and successful. For many businesses it is now part of their standard business stationery design. Customers are given the option of a free card on which they can collect points every time they purchase. When full, the card is redeemed for a pre-set reward and the full loyalty card is replaced with a new card so point collection can begin again.

The loyalty card is usually a double sided business card, or fold-over business card. This allows one half to be devoted to the collection of points, while the front side can be used for branding and key contact details. Individual sales are usually marked on the card with a unique sticker, or an ink stamp.

The advantages of using loyalty cards

So what benefits can introducing loyalty cards have for your business? Here are a few ways in which adding a loyalty card to your business stationery design can increase customers.

Advantage over the competition

One of the key advantages of increasing loyalty is to stop customers experimenting with the competition. This isn’t just about buying coffee, it can work for all kinds of businesses both consumer and B2B.  In fact, the greater the individual spend, the less likely a customer is to risk not having that larger sum of money contributing towards the reward. At a salon for example, if a haircut is usually £50 and a loyalty card will provide  a half price haircut after every five purchases then a customer will think twice about risking the £50 elsewhere and not contributing towards this reward of £25. Even through, in real terms the half price haircut only represents less than a 5% discount across the total spend of £525.

Relationship building

However, the equation is not just financial. By offering a reward for loyalty you are showing customers that you understand there is a two sided relationship and reciprocal agreement. By both investing something in the relationship, it is likely to be stronger and last longer.

Advertising & branding

What would businesses usually pay for having their advert in every customers’ wallet – right next to the credit cards. A well designed and well branded loyalty card can act as an permanent reminder and reinforcement of your brand. It also puts your contact details directly at a customers fingertips.

Customer detail collection

A folded business card design allows you to add an additional section to your loyalty card and many of our customers use this for customer data collection. By asking customers to complete some basic information in order to redeem a card you can build up a database of some of your most loyal customers for targeted discounts and advertising. Just make sure your customer knows how you are going to use their data and provide an opt-out option.

Business Stationery Design – Add Design can assist you with all of your graphic design needs, including the design and print of loyalty cards. Click here to view our Business Stationery Design Packages.

We create brochures, flyers, leaflets and stationery for companies across the UK. However, one of our largest areas of work is in creating brochures and folders for businesses in London. Over the last five years we have built up relationships with customers right across the capital and our current London clients include everybody from taxi companies to asset management firms.

So why when we are based in the countryside of Suffolk, are we so popular in London. Here are just a few reasons why we believe that Add Design are the popular choice for brochure design London.

Time

If there is one thing that businesses all over the UK never have enough of, it is time. From our experience this is especially true for London companies. Our unique brochure design process cuts out a lot of the time wasted in meetings and presenting ideas by moving everything online.  While you work, we are using our time to create designs for your project. When we have a draft to show you, we send it via e-mail so you can take a look when it is most convenient. Your feedback can be sent to us via email, or you can call your account handler to discuss the design at any time during office hours.

Cost

For us, not being in London does have its advantages and we pass these on directly to our customers. By being based outside of the capital our costs are significantly lower than London based brochure designers. Add in the cost advantages of our unique brochure design process and we are able to offer professional graphic design, high quality print and delivery anywhere in the UK for one very attractive price. Our prices are also fixed across all our work, so a London based business will get exactly the same brochure design, print and delivery cost as a business anywhere in the UK. Need proof that our prices are the best around? Call us for a brochure design quotation.

Experience

We work everyday with companies in London, producing innovative and eye-catching designs to match their individual marketing aims. This experience puts us one step ahead when it comes to understanding and interpreting your own aims and ideas for your London brochure design. Whether you have a comprehensive design brief and need a graphic design company which can follow instructions or you are looking for a large amount of creative input, we can provide the right level of service for your exact requirements.

Design

We are not based in London, but this certainly does not mean that our brochure design work is behind the trends. We make a point of keeping up-to-date with the latest developments in design and marketing, and we can name amongst our customers some of the most innovative and unusual businesses in the UK. Not all the new trends start in London, and by working for businesses across the UK we are exposed to new approaches and design ideas which we can bring to any project regardless of where you are located.

We have also worked with numerous companies within the City of London, producing top-of-the-line design and print work for companies where presentation is absolutely everything. Alongside our standard print options our designers can suggest a whole range of innovative finishes to make sure your brochure gets noticed even by the most selective of clients.

Innovation

While traditionally printed material suits a lot of companies, many others need literature which can be e-mailed or accessed instantly online. London provides the headquarters for many business which operate UK wide or globally. Therefore being able to deliver promotional material to salespeople and clients wherever they are located can be a priority. Alongside our printing services, we also have options for converting brochure designs into digital brochures.

Delivery

On a deadline? We may be able to deliver when other graphic designs cannot. Without meetings to schedule, our unique design process allows us to produce designs faster than most other graphic design companies, delivering ideas and drafts directly to your inbox. As well as our standard print service, we can also offer express printing options for customers on a tight deadline with overnight courier delivery to anywhere in London.

Brochure Design London – Add Design Ltd are graphic design agency based in Suffolk, East Anglia. We specialise in brochure design and catalogue design and work with clients in London, Essex and Hertfordshire  - as well as throughout the UK.

The UK VAT rules for printing promotional literature such as leaflets, flyers and brochures are complex to say the least. It can be very difficult to understand why one product will incur the usual standard rate VAT, yet something very similar will be zero-rated for VAT.

To provide some guidance for our customers here is our attempt to explain the VAT rules for flyer design printing and other types of printing. This is designed to be a general guide, so if you need more specific information for your item then please contact us directly or talk to HM Customs and Revenue (HMRC). Unlike other printers and designers who will charge a blanket standard rate VAT on all items, we review each flyer design printing project individually in relation to VAT rules and only charge where we are sure it is appropriate. This is especially important for start-ups and smaller businesses who are not VAT registered and can sometimes see a significant saving if VAT is zero-rated on their flyer design printing.

Which items are always standard rated VAT?

There are some print items which are always classed as VAT standard rated. These include letterheads, compliment slips, business cards, folders, posters, greeting cards and items such as tickets, invitations and gift vouchers. We therefore always charge a standard rate of VAT on these items.

Which items are always zero-rated VAT?

Generally most books and booklets will be zero-rated for VAT as long as they fall under the HMRC’s definition of books and booklets which reads ‘These normally consist of text and illustrations, bound in a cover stiffer than their pages. They may be printed in any language or characters (including Braille or shorthand), photocopied, typed or hand-written, so long as they are found in book or booklet form’.

According to HMRC, brochures do not have an exact definition in law but they do come up with the following definition as guidance ‘Brochures usually consist of several sheets of reading matter fastened or folded together, which are not necessarily bound in covers. They usually contain advertising material in the form of text or illustrations.’

Items fitting these descriptions will be classed as zero-rated as long as they don’t fall under any separate definition or exclusion put forward by the HMRC.

What about the VAT rules for flyer design printing?

Here is where it gets complicated, not least because there is no absolute exact definition for a leaflet or flyer. The distinction which HMRC make is primarily one of permanence.

A leaflet is either a single sheet or folded sheet at A4 size or smaller. It is either designed to be read a few times and then thrown away, or is designed to accompany some other product or service. If the flyer or leaflet fits this general description then it is zero-rated for VAT.

However, there are some key exceptions which means that standard rated VAT would apply.

> If it is designed for general display rather than to be held in the hand
> If it is printed in insufficient quantity to permit general distribution (less than 50 copies)
> If it is larger than A4 size after final folding
> If it is printed onto stiff paper or card. This doesn’t automatically mean that an item becomes standard rated VAT but HMRC make it clear that use of thick paper and card is an indicator which suggests permanence and therefore excludes it from a zero-rated status.
> If it is used to obtain admission to a premises
> If it is used to obtain a discount off products or services
> If it includes a section designed for completion and return such as a form or an area which is designed to be detached from the main leaflet or flyer (i.e. tear-off section)
> If it is laminated or encapsulated
> If it is designed to hold another item – i.e. it fits the definition of a folder
> If it includes die-cutting to a particular shape

This is a general overview of the rules which we apply when making a judgement on whether VAT should apply on flyer design printing. More detailed information can be found on the HMRC website and we recommend that HMRC are always consulted prior to making any judgements regarding VAT payments.

Flyer Design Printing – Add Design specialise in all forms of business stationery design and print including flyers, company leaflets and brochures.