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October 2009
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PEREGRINE ASSOCIATES
(215) 343-2499
(215) 343-4895 FAX
info@peregrineassociates.com
Showroom:
968 Easton Road
Warrington PA 18976
Mailing:
PO Box 721
Warrington PA 18976
www.PeregrineAssociates.com
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 From the nest
Greetings!
The WalMart in Warminster has been closed for over a year now - it's going through renovations to make it bigger! The experience is so good, many customers are willing to travel to the other side of Horsham for the next closest store. But, there is another game in town, Kmart!
Growing up in Warminster, Kmart was the place to shop. Especially during the holiday season, finding a parking space was an expedition in itself! So, with WalMart temporarily closed, why is the Kmart parking lot so empty??? Lack of great customer service...
Enter WalMart and you're greeted with "Welcome to WalMart!" We joke about it, but doesn't it feel good when someone welcomes you to their office? Their associates make eye contact, smile and say "Hi". In Kmart, you have to search for an employee, let alone one with a smile!
No matter how much we market, advertise, design, print and produce for you, its sole purpose is to point customers in your direction: to have them surf your website, call or visit your office. But unless you greet your client with quality webpages, answer the phone in a friendly, professional manner or get up to welcome a visitor to your office in presentable attire, a firm handshake and a big smile, you'll be just like Kmart. Treat your clients well and they'll send you additional business through their referrals.
There are two games in town and one is temporarily closed. Folks are willing to drive 20-30 minutes to the away game, because they enjoy the experience. Make sure your clients are willing to drive the distance for your service!
Have a great summer...and be safe!
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Wearables
Legends Bowling Shirts
* Comfortable 50/50 cotton/polyester
broadcloth fabric
* Contrasting notched self-collar
* Two side body gussets inlayed with
contrasting color
* Full front button-down closure with
contrasting buttons
* Twin chest pockets and hemmed
sleeves with contrasting trim
* Square cut bottom hem
* Adult sizing XS, S-2XL, 3XL
Colors:
Turquoise/Black, Purple/Gold,
Black/White, Royal/Gold, Red/Black,
Black/Gold, and Gold/Black
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 Ad Specialties
Balloons are great for any promotion. Balloons will add fun, color, and joy to your next event. Smiling faces will carry your message or logo all over town floating on beautiful 11 inch balloons. They are available in 28 standard and decorator colors and include a free 1 color, 1 side imprint and set-up. These balloons are 100% biodegradable.
50 @ $85 100 @ $89 250 @ $115 500 @ $169
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 Printing
Banners
Make your next event a big success with an outdoor banner announcing your company, products or specials.
- 13 oz Scrim Vinyl Banner
- full color
- grommets
- hemming
- matte finish
Specifically
intended for outdoor use, these banners can also be used indoors. Inks
are UV Cured (dried). Waterproof & durable. This material is
typically used for billboards, building wraps, banners, event flags,
trade show signage, parades, etc.
Summer Special (August 1 - August 31) $6.00 per square foot (regular price - $7.00)
Design, layout and shipping are additional.
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Learning to Fly
With a number of local townships having expos this summer, I thought it would be helpful to share some insights on making "expo" marketing a success. Here are a number of things you need to consider and address in advance of the big day.
- Making your booth stand out - make sure you have terrific signage, eye-catching banners and a colorful table cloth. Balloons (if the weather is right) can really draw attention and can also be given to age-appropriate kids (don't forget the helium).
- Give-a-way items - make sure people leave with something that they will keep or pass along with your name on it. This shouldn't be a pricey item, since usually attendees at this events have not be screened or qualified for your particular product and are their for the goodies. Some gifts to consider - pens, magnets, reusable bags, bandage holders, etc. Make sure you have plenty to go around and only put a few on your table at once (otherwise you may have the "grabbers" stop by).
- Brochures, pamphlets, literature, etc. - this is not the time to put out your high end, glossy, 10 page brochure. People will take literature and it will end up in the trash can on their way home. While you need to give them something, because a sale is always a possibility, give them a simple slim-jim or one page flyer that includes your website and phone number for more information.
- Availability - may I suggest that you don't sit comfortably behind your table. Actually, during the event, you should never sit down. If possible, stand in front of your table so you are able to communicate and shake hands. Don't let the table be a barrier between you and a potential customer.
- Contact information - take this opportunity to get potential client contact information (especially e-mail addresses if you are doing e-mail marketing). Have a big give-a-way (goody basket, gift certificate, etc.) where you draw the winner from the people who submit their information for your newsletter, etc. Make sure you clearly state what your intentions are -( i.e. Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter here - one winner will be drawn to win.......)
- Food - need I say more. Food draws people - especially free food. Make sure you check into any licenses needed as well as electric if you are providing unwrapped food items (more than candy bars, sodas, etc.)
Hope you find this information helpful. For those of you located near us, Warwick Day is August 29th and Warrington Day is September 12, 2009.
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Marketing University 
Direct Mail and your Website
Last month we talked about direct mail. One question that keeps popping up is "How do you know it worked if I don't get any phone calls?"
To be honest, sometimes, you can't. Part of 'marketing' is putting your name/logo in front of potential customers as well as keeping it in front of the clients you already have. If they don't need your services at the moment, they won't contact you, but they'll remember to when the time is right.
On the other hand, in today's cyberworld, it's very important to tie your direct mail campaign to your website. But the following must hold true:
- You have a website worth visiting. Is it a one page "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" website? Does it navigate well? Does it give your future clients a good feeling about your company and its services?
- Do you have the ability to see if your website is getting hits? Through analytics, you could tell if there's a sudden increase in website visitation soon after the direct mail piece hits the streets. Also, you can determine what pages they are visiting, especially if you are pointing them to specific areas of the website.
Direct mail works. You have to keep your name and logo in front of your clients. Expect to budget for at least three mailings. And, tie it into your working website and use analytics to help with all your marketing!
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Bucks County Heroes Scholarship Fund
The Bucks County Heroes Scholarship Fund
was formed for the purpose of providing scholarships to the children of
police officers, firefighters, rescue squad, correctional officers and
emergency service personnel who are killed or permanently disabled in
the line of duty.
This is a charitable organization that helps make sure education is
still available after a tragic, family loss. Visit their website to
learn more and to see how you can help.
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Business Cards 
Elective Healthcare - (215) 677-2825
Andee Silverman is a Patient Communications Expert coaching and training Physicians on how to better interact with their patients. This:
- Improves Client Retention
- Increases Productivity
- Boosts Practice's Revenue
We were looking for something new that would feel 'high-end' to the doctors yet professional enough to convey that Andee was someone they wanted to work with. The business card was designed to correspond with the Slim Jims that we also created that were used as direct mail, hand-outs as well as stuffers. We took advantage of free printing on the back as well.
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Graphics/Design/Layout
Perspective
Many times we're forced to use a wide angle lens on our cameras (or that's what comes as standard). So when we take pictures that are not straight-on to our subject, like looking up towards a building, the perspective of the image changes. Sometimes we want that, but in many cases, it's not a good thing.
  Left: here, the barn is obviously leaning way too much to the right. You can even notice this in the trees behind the building.
After setting up parallel grid lines in Photoshop, we use the transform tool to 'shore up' the building. I'm sure there are many contractors out there wishing it were that easy!
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Digital Photography
Optical v. Digital Zoom, Aperture, Shutter, ISO/ASA, Focal Length, etc. -- what's it all mean?
Welcome to a new article for our Flights of the Peregrine
newsletter! With the soaring popularity of digital cameras, the ability
to take dozens, no hundreds of photographs without having to get even
one roll of film developed is tremendous! Back in the days, one photo
shoot could mean several rolls of film since you had to 'bracket' your
camera settings to make sure at least one shot was perfect!
Since
we can now take lots of shots, view them on the computer (or the camera
back) to immediately see our results, we thought it might help to
offer you some photography basics! In upcoming issues, we'll tackle,
aperture control, shutter speed, ISO/ASA settings, composition and so
much more!
This Month: Optical v. Digital Zoom
Zoom
is the ability to change the actual focal length of your lens without
having to physically change the lens itself. There are different zoom
lengths from wide angle to telephoto.
What some camera
manufactures try to sell you on are great zoom capabilities of their
cameras. 10X, 20X and even higher! What you need to be careful of is
whether these are actual optical or digital zoom numbers.
- Optical Zoom:
This is the true capability of the lenses themselves. There are several
'glass lenses' inside your camera. When they are adjusted/moved, the
focal length changes physically. The quality of the photo depends on
the quality of the lenses. The higher the true optical zoom is, the
better the lenses need to be so the images stay sharp.
- Digital Zoom:
This is where they get you. Digital zoom is not true zoom, but software
inside the camera enlarging the image. Yup, just like you can do in any
photo editing software like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. So, the
images may appear blurry/not sharp or even pixilated with ragged edges.
Don't go by this number, go by the [true] Optical Zoom capabilities.
Next Month: Aperture
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World Wide Web
Auto Slide Shows
Looking to spice up your website with lots and lots of great photos? Here's a great way to add auto slide shows to your photo gallery page!
Each thumbnail can be a link to its own slide show that opens up and offers:
- Automatic slides that change every 5-6 seconds
- Thumbnails still available so your visitor can pick a specific photo
- Controls to go backward, forward or pause
- Provide headers and sub-titles
And, with our Content Management System, you can easily update photos within a slide show and add more shows on your own! Check out this sample on Webb Building Group's own site!
Call us today to see how we can help add excitement to your website!
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Fina l Thoughts...
Sometimes you just have to laugh
Here's a quick movie...just to put a smile on your face.
Please note, clicking the hyperlink will download a movie!
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