In the previous article Web to Print! Is it a tool for running an Online Print Store? Or a tool to engage existing customers? Part 1 we highlighted the fact that web2 print is not only facilitates an Online Printing company or print storefront but more knowledge and understanding of this technology can help you retain existing customer also.
This article focuses on using web to print to indulge your existing customer so that they do not get carried away by the web to print as technology revolution, just because their printing company (YOU) failed to adopt it!
The question is, why and how should one adopt web to print technology. Should it be to engage your customers or to provide them better online web based tools to simplify their print procurement process?
Let us start understanding web 2 print technology from your customer’s prospective.
As a digital or offset press, you might be catering to multiple customers wherein a few of them give you regular and bulk business (which works on long standing business relationships) and at the same time, a major chunk of your customers give you small orders, but at a long regular interval business.
You still won’t’ mind spending more time with those few customers who giving you large volume, as earning is more; but at the same time you cannot ignore large customer base which is not so regular, however collectively the volume is still more than the few large customers.
You will always be eager to generate newer customers though they provide small volume but at long regular intervals.
Having said this, the message is clear – adopt technology to automate task and focus on ease of usage (automation) than personal touch, which can retain your existing large volume customers along with a large base of low volume customers. When you save time because of automation, you can focus on bringing in more business.
This is where you need web 2 print solutions for catering to your existing customer.
Imagine
When you provide online solution to your customer whereby they can see their designs, make minor corrections, see digital proof, order prints online, decide if same product can be directly delivered by you to multiple location and even can check status – there is no reason for them to look elsewhere for better rates.
Now focusing on large customer base with low volume which is not your target, but when task is automated, they will visit your website, see thousands of professional quality designs and create new or see their archived design for reprint order, check digital proof online, see rates and pay online.
You can kill two birds with one stone. By implementing web to print solution you can focus on your Large Volume few customers, as well as Low Volume Large Customers, while your doors are still open for new Low Volume customers (since the process is now automated) . All this without starting an online store, incurring huge marketing expenses – without many results, since you see a lot of small orders which bring you peanuts, while you have already spent fortune for development and marketing.
Moral of the story – if you still do not want to set up web to print, think of still setting up for your existing customer.