Don’t Leave Money on The Table: 3 Reasons to Invest in Digital Print
By not investing in digital print, you’re affecting your bottom line.
Today’s customers are looking for fast, cost-effective, easy-to-order services. And in 2020, these targets are achievable for your business by utilizing digital print technology and workflow automation software. As discussed in our last article, Judge a Book by Its Cover, the landscape in which today’s professional print businesses operate has transformed. Digital print is not a replacement for your traditional offset printing capabilities. It’s an enhancement to your printing portfolio and product offerings. And invites a new stream of clients and revenue to your business. It’s like asking a woman to choose between a heel and a sneaker for a hike. Both shoes serve their purpose in the proper context. As do both printers. Digital print is designed to fill the gap that exists in the marketplace. Offset printing is great for large runs, such as newspaper printing. SMBs usually don’t have that need. By not investing in digital print, you are excluding potential clients who are looking for fast, budget-friendly printed materials.
Tomorrow’s print customer is looking for 3 main criteria when choosing their print service providers. Automation, customization, and speed. Luckily, these criteria positively affect your bottom line.
Automation
By automating the front-end process through a web-based storefront portal, you will increase your employees’ productivity. And foster a customer centric-experience. Web-to-print allows your clients the ability to order your services on-demand. Saving your employees the headaches of order taking and tracking. Implementing workflow automation software will relieve bottlenecks and redundancies your employees are facing. Your print operators won’t lose time reprinting a job where 10% of the colour was off because your system wasn’t able to detect colour discrepancies, nor will you lose the revenue. These value-added services are essential in having a competitive advantage in today’s digital marketplace.
Customization
Variable data printing is a tool to set you apart from the competition. When used with other services, such as direct mail, you can provide your clients with the tools for a successful marketing campaign. “Adding a person’s name, full colour, and more sophisticated database information can increase the response rate by 500% vs. not doing any of those things”( Konica Minolta U.S.A, 2020). And you can offer it at a competitive price-point.
Speed
Traditional printing cannot compete with the turnaround time digital print offers your customers. The faster you can turnaround a job efficiently, the more productive your business becomes. Upping the number of jobs you can take on will positively affect your bottom line.
When we tie these 3 criteria together, you are easing bottlenecks, redundancies, and increasing productivity. These value-added services are crucial to any digital print strategy and aid in client retention. Want to know more? Click here to get in contact with an industrial print specialist. And learn how to implement these digital-first strategies for your business. Grow your customers. Expand your business. We can help.
Konica Minolta U.S.A (GCIP). (2020). Graphic Communications and Industrial Print Playbook. CountOnKonicaMinolta.com
Production Print, Workflow and Automation