Talking Feather Communications Blog

Are you planning any large mailings? Tip — get it printed and in the mail before the USPS rate increase effective May 14.

See USPS rates and fees

Need a good printer? Check out my favorite, PrintingForLess.com. Use my Promotional Code RP1LQZ43O to receive $25 off your first order. Get any printing orders in by Friday, May 4, to take advantage of the current postage rates.

Here are some other money-saving tips from PrintingForLess:

• Mail postcards to your customers instead of sending letters
• Save up to 50 percent by folding large marketing pieces before mailing
• Check your mailing list and remove questionable addresses and duplicates

For more tips, visit PFL’s mailing services information page.

My gift of Dancing Deer Baking Co. chocolate chip cookies, courtesy of the Bobcat Team at printingforless.com, arrived today. How fun it was to open the shipping box and discover the delightfully designed package! I was happy even before taking a bite of a “flat-out, YUMMY, award-winning, all-natural, scratch-baked, kosher” cookie

As soon as I brushed the crumbs off my fingers, I jumped on the Internet to visit their site. The whimsical designs mixed with mouth-watering visuals are amazing, and the marketing message is incredibly effective. You can bet that I’ll be sending friends and family gifts from Dancing Deer.

Dancing Deer is also a good example of businesses that engage in philanthropy as part of their mission. I love seeing the principle of receiving to share in action.

Printingforless and Dancing Deer are great examples of how to do business right — truly a breath of fresh air.

If businesses provided just that one thing — excellent customer service — they’d be way ahead of their competition and raking in and keeping clients. The amazing thing is that often it’s not hard or costly to make clients happy, yet many businesses seem averse to taking good care of the people who butter their bread.

For nearly a year I frequented a business that provided high-quality meals for people on the go (or, in my case, for people who don’t like to cook). I spent a lot of money there. One day I received an email from the business announcing a delicious special. A few minutes later I was in the store and ready to purchase two meals. However, the owner told me that they had sold out. Sold out?! She had just sent the email!

I was very disappointed, but all she did was apologize. Even though I’d spent enough money at her store to put a kid through college, she didn’t even offer a free dessert for inconveniencing me. Guess what? I haven’t gone back since.

Not long after that, my husband was shopping at a local gourmet store. He wanted to buy my favorite chocolate gelato, but he didn’t see any in the freezer. When the store owner realized he was out of chocolate gelato and how disappointed I would be, he went home where he kept his stock and got a carton — just to make his customer happy. I was absolutely blown away! You can bet that we buy from him all the time.

Now listen to this one. A few days ago I recommended Printingforless.com in a post. Because they monitor blogs for mentions of their company, my service team saw the post and emailed me to express their thanks. But that’s not all. They gave me two appreciation gifts! I got one today — a Pantone process color guide. Cookies from Dancing Deer Baking Company are on their way.

I am beyond thrilled with their customer service. They definitely know how to keep a client for life and generate referrals — one of the greatest “secrets” to a successful business.

[Note to my Bobcat Team: I know you'll see this. Thanks again! No need to send more cookies ]

I’m a huge fan of Printingforless.com. Their product quality is excellent, and the customer service is almost unbelievable!

Because I found them on the Internet and their prices were far less than what I’d pay for a local printer, I wasn’t sure what the quality would be. (This was before their extensive coverage in publications including Inc. Magazine and Forbes.) So I ordered a free packet of product samples. I was sold when I saw the high-quality work.

If you decide to do business with Printingforless.com, feel free to use my Promotional Code RP1LQZ43O to receive $25 off your first order.

Some of you may be familiar with the popular printer Vistaprint.com. At first I was excited by the good prices — you can even get free business cards (with the Vistaprint logo on the back, of course). But then I discovered that the business cards are not standard size — they are smaller. Also, after working with them on several projects, I became unimpressed with their customer service and lack of technical skills. They botched a job and refused to respond to my emails and phone calls. So, buyer beware!