Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "Marketing Benefits Commercial Printers Provide," examines how far the digital aspect of the commercial printing industry infrastructure has evolved. In addition, this post brings to bear a select subset of tactics marketers can implement to augment any digital marketing objective and outcome. Further, these print marketing tactics can improve digital response and engagement rates, and in many cases, brings additional eyeballs to a digital destination. As people rely on the Internet more than ever due to COVID, digital traffic is slower for many, with slower load times affecting productivity numbers. Amidst the "all things digital" mentality motivating the marketing community, it is critical to remember that the advances and benefits of print serve marketers very well in today's environment as the print industry is also digital from the ground up.
Our Quote of the Day:
"You can't have an industrial revolution; you can't have democracies, you can't have populations who can govern themselves until you have literacy. The printing press simply unlocked literacy."
- Howard Rheingold
New Print Technology
Print technology is continuing to experience constant change and updates thanks to the evolution of digital applications and technological advances. Commercial printers can now produce digital color reproductions on par with the former offset presses. This advancement in digital color reproduction speaks to several benefits that marketing and entrepreneurial communities can utilize. The following is a quick list of a few of those benefits:
- Added Inks and Colors
- Quick turnarounds (no color plates required for set up)
- Metallics, Embossing, Debossing, and more
- Print on various textures and substrates
- Print on Demand (can be from a preexisting job)
- All files remain in the digital format before and after output
- Short Runs
- Variable Digital Printing (VDP) for Personalization
Print Integration
One of the primary benefits of technological advances is integrating print with a variety of other digital technologies. Computers, smartphones, tablets, internet applications, and apps all provide unique, seamlessly interchangeable printing solutions. Data management, including collecting, sorting, purging, and cleansing, can all be done and applied to a printing solution. Data is the primary tool that feeds the variable data printing (aka variable digital printing, or VDP) technology that opens the door to personalized printing solutions.
QR codes embedded in printed collateral take advantage of mobile prospects looking for print solutions and instantly provide a mechanism for print recipients to connect to online destinations.
Save Time and Resources with Commercial Printers
When a marketing entity decides to utilize a professional commercial printing vendor, several benefits can come to fruition. While desktop printing requires a particular skill set, high-level commercial printers can provide expertise and experience that can deliver more efficient outcomes, and more importantly, can simplify bulk desktop printing requirements.
Further, commercial printing characteristics help eradicate former worries about technical quality and angles, reducing the stress related to overall marketing efficiencies and output.
If peace of mind is a value that is of primary importance, commercial printers know the technical angles and how to navigate the particulars of a professional print job. These skills alone can deliver a massive benefit by enabling you to provide timely, sensitive print collateral.
Direct Mail Marketing
Over the past several years, the American Marketing Association (AMA) has produced many reports and surveys that indicate direct mail marketing is enjoying a resurgence. Direct mail marketing has a positive effect on a variety of demographic groups. These numbers suggest, for example:
Teens and Millennials prefer reading mail offers and printed books above digital.
78% of automotive drivers make purchase decisions based on direct mail marketing collateral
29% of upscale demos prefer printed catalogs over digital ones
We can conclude that the high volume of internet traffic has diminished the effectiveness of digital advertising. And, as a result, these types of ads are becoming more challenging to justify the ROI. To be sure, there are effective sweet spots in the digital landscape; however, one would need an experienced digital marketer and analyst to compete in this space effectively. Besides, fake news stories, false advertising, and the general untrustworthiness of the Internet and social media impact users' willingness to trust what is on the web. Untrustworthiness is one of the primary reasons to lead with a print collateral campaign that is arguably more trustworthy than digital. Printed collateral invariably lifts the trust factor associated with a given digital destination.
Short Runs on Demand
Generally, ad campaigns run over time, ranging from a week to a full year and everything in between. Campaigns that run over the course of several months may require tweaks and edits along the way. Commercial printing vendors have digital printing technology capabilities that can instantly pull up that last campaign, edit the content and graphics, and deliver. The subsequent short run is available, stress-free, and ready to execute.
Mailing
Some full-service commercial printers can also mail the final collateral to wherever the marketer requires. Mail solution providers deliver a significant benefit to organizations that require continuous, timely marketing collateral.
It takes more time for a marketer to receive the final print output, barcode, stamp, sort, pack, and deliver to the USPS. Full-service commercial printers can ease that workflow burden. As approved collateral goes through production, the entire operation can be presorted, coded, output, and mailed to the intended destinations without manually executing any steps. Mail solutions also save brands time, money, and resources, while adding security and convenience for any marketer looking to achieve timely direct mail marketing results.
The Net-Net
Again, as we grapple with the coronavirus, new marketing strategies are already underway. After all, adversity is the mother of invention. That said, brands and marketers alike should look for ways to maximize the value of their marketing investments. The best way to do that is to take into account variable marketing tools that are efficient and produce the most effective means of attracting prospects and retaining customers. Your full-service commercial printer will have the tools and skills to augment the marketing spend with higher results than nearly any other marketing medium. We hope you enjoyed reading "Marketing Benefits Commercial Printers Provide!"
Let's have a conversation about integrated business solutions and how they can help grow your business, change behavior, and improve the customer experience. Let us show you how to improve your document processes to optimize your workflow, reduce your costs, and maximize your organization's printing, letter shop, and mailing capabilities. Dove Direct does have an official USPS certified bureau located within our offices that will save you time and money. We can even create a demo file for you.
For more information, call Carla Eubanks at 404-629-0122 or email Carla at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Dove Direct, your Atlanta based print and mail solutions provider, offers organizations end-to-end data, printing, and mailing solutions:
- Data Management
- Variable Digital Printing
- Digital Scanning Services
- In-House USPS Mailing Services
- LetterShop and Fulfillment
- Fully Automated MLOCR Presort Bureau
- Marketing and Production Management Support
- Secure Data Life Cycle Management
If you don't want to wait, you can reach Dove Direct today by calling 404-629-0122 or use the Contact Form for Dove Direct.