“We all do small print jobs in order to keep the client for the big jobs …”
Does that ring true?
In our experience it’s a fundamental reality of the print business – whether online or offline. There’s a lot more than initially meets the eye in that statement. From the printer’s perspective, there’s the acknowledgement that small jobs are inherently less desirable than larger jobs, allied to the recognition that to retain customer loyalty you can’t pick and choose the jobs you want to do for them. Well, you could, but you then not only lose revenue but run the risk of your client finding some other printer who will usurp you. As for the customer, all of their jobs are important to them – large or small – they won’t be running their business based around your priorities.
So much is obvious, begging the question, so what? The “so what” is where web to print (w2p) comes in, offering significant advantages for the printer and for the customer – in other words, a classic win/win.
A Win For The Printer
Let’s start by looking at it with the printer’s eyes. We’d all agree that the administrative costs surrounding the processing of an order are inevitably too high, but fairly constant irrespective of the size of the order. Thus the larger the order, apart from the obvious fact that it’s more profitable, the smaller the burden of the associated admin cost becomes. Conversely, the smaller the order the larger the burden of the associated admin costs becomes – and there’s a tipping point where were it not for customer service and loyalty considerations the order wouldn’t be worth taking at all. W2P goes a long way to removing this problem.
Another Win For The Printer
There’s another advantage for the printer too, and it’s a key one. Once you’ve found customers that are happy with your W2P service – and we’ll consider the advantages for customers next – why would they change their supplier? The answer is – they wouldn’t. It’s easy for them and easy for you – why fix something that isn’t broken?
The Customer Always Wins
So we’ve got our “wins” – for the printer – but what about the second? Unsurprisingly, and for starters, customers want to save money and streamline administration too. They also want the convenience of being able to order any time they want to, and they want to protect their brand. And once again W2P comes to our aid, by offering an answer in each of these areas:
Cost Saving
The admin and time taken to place a W2P order is significantly less than using the traditional way, (notwithstanding the fact that the customer has to approve the design)
Convenience
Orders can be placed at any time to suit the customer – regardless of office hours or work loads.
Brand Alignment
Pre-agreed templates following brand guidelines protects and promotes the brand.
There’s an important consideration, however, that needs to be factored in, and it’s to do with order complexity and value. In general, the more complex and high value the order is from the customer’s perspective the less likely they are to want to rely on a purely online service – indeed, it may not even be possible however flexible the W2P solution is. So be aware of your customer’s sensitivities, and never miss any opportunity to delight. W2P has a perfect “sweet-spot” for a huge swathe of customers and their orders – the trick is first to recognise and then to exploit it.
Flex 4 have been providing best-in-class W2P solutions and digital marketing services for print and graphic design businesses since 2004. We have numerous satisfied customers right across the country. We are UK-based – all of our team work out of our office in Kendal. We pride ourselves on our customer service, flexibility, and desire to please – we would love the opportunity to show you what we’re capable of.
If you’d like more information on our company please click here, or here for our contact page, or call us any time on
020 7952 8160
and as always we will be delighted to answer all of your questions and give you all the help that you need.