When it comes to implementation of Web to Print (W2P) technology, printing companies usually take a myopic view, considering it as purely an avenue for new business generation. Instead of adopting it as a new Business to Consumer (B2C) / retail venture, they should leverage it as a tool to cater to the needs of existing customers to generate additional printing business.
For a printing company, a thorough understanding of W2P and its benefits is essential – among both your internal marketing team and your direct client – to experience superior results. This is especially true when you are catering to businesses that have multiple ordering points where multiple users place printing orders.
To further substantiate the importance of W2P proficiency for printing companies, here are two cases where our customer, a printing company, secured multi-location and multi-type printing orders.
Case 1
The first order was from a coaching classes with branches across the country. They wanted posters about new courses, their timings, and contact details to be displayed in each of their branches. Since the timing and contact details of each branch were different, the number of posters to be ordered per branch was left to the discretion of the branch administrator. The total number of posters was expected to be around 300.
In the absence of W2P, branches would send mails and the printing company will need to create an artwork for each of them with the unique course timing and contact details. These would then be sent back to the branch for approval; in this way, 200 distinct files would be created manually.
Our client who was bidding for the project offered a w2p solution where the branch head would simply login, see the poster, fill in the necessary details and view the digital proof before finally placing an order. The order then went to the procurement head for approval on quantity. For this, the printing company prepared files using a job sheet clearly specifying the quantity and delivery address. The final report with the changes and the quantity ordered by each branch was sent to the procurement department.
Case 2
The second order was from a fast food chain store that wanted to offer coupons across their chain stores. They wanted about 50,000 coupon leaflets (which needed to be a mix of offers with eight coupons on a single sheet) for its stores across the country. While there was no modification required upfront, unlike the earlier case, each food store had been offered a choice to select a sheet with eight coupons with the different offers they wanted to opt for.
If performed manually, it would be a difficult task for a single printing company. This is where our client offered a demo of the W2P software – by uploading all their coupon sheets, and allowing each food store to select the offer they wanted to promote. The company was able to secure the order despite their higher cost, as the management of the food store realised how the W2P solutions offered will help avoid wastage and ensure timely delivery of coupons.
In both the cases, W2P was used; for one, it involved online editing, for the other it involved ordering without online editing. Remember that ordering methods evolve with time. It is better for printing companies to adopt W2P solution to facilitate client orders for gaining a competitive advantage.
At Flexi Web To Print, we constantly work with our clients (printing companies) to understand their ordering process and customise W2P to suit their exact requirements.