Why Printed Materials Still Play An Important Role in Your Marketing Strategy.
As any marketing manager, who needs to get the word out for their brand will tell you, the Internet has changed advertising for magazines, newspapers, and home circular mail publishing forever. These days your potential customers come to your website at their leisure. They may look at the pretty graphics, read (skim) your basic copy, and maybe, review a more in-depth brochure you have been smart enough to have online. Perhaps they put you into consideration as a vendor, maybe they don’t.
Depending on what you are selling, your website may be just one stop in a consumer’s greater research effort to gain knowledge of a product category, or it may be the place that triggers a buying decision. As a business, you have no control over a potential clients’ clicks. For paper printing, this is a disaster!
Don't Count Out Print!
Does this mean that print is dead? To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of its death are highly exaggerated. According to PrintIsBig.com, an investment of $167 per person on printed direct mail earned $2,095 in product sales, a 1,300% return on investment. What is responsible for the enduring success of print ads? At a time when people are besieged with email advertisements, social media, and even website content, print stands out in several ways:
- – The ability to hold paper in your hand, or placed in the physical world for longtime viewing
- – Your message then becomes more credible to whoever sees it in that world
- – Branding is an important part of your business and print gets noticed
- – With a longer shelf life than an online appeal or email blast, eyes see it until it comes down
You can make your company stand out at a time when so many companies use online techniques that their message can get lost in the shuffle.
Welcome To The Age of Multi-Faceted Marketing
As many studies indicate, print and online advertising are not engaged in a duel to the death. In fact, some of the most successful marketing these days uses a blend of online and physical print sources to get the message across. This approach is backed up by educational research that substantiates the idea that people learn in different ways.
So what appeals to one customer may differ from what grabs someone else. In addition, a print ad can reinforce an online message or vice-versa. Some industry experts maintain that the results of a mixed print and electronic marketing campaign could produce a 30% response, in contrast to a 1% response with a static email campaign.
This realization has led to a multi-faceted approach to advertising that includes both print media and Internet-based tactics such as email, websites, and social media. While print offers substance and credibility, the use of online techniques implies that a company is modern, forward-thinking, and willing to engage their customers.
Mixing It Up
This means that a company might use a mix of print and online materials. For example, they might use direct mail, send printed trifold brochures to their customers upon initial inquiries, and have more detailed product information available online.
Smart businesses are also likely to maintain a website that encourages people to click different areas on the website that reflect their interest. This allows users to compare and contrast different items in their product line. Really smart businesses often show comparisons with those of their competitors. Print also has the ability to utilize new techniques, such as QR codes, that encourage readers to aim a QR reader app on their smart phone toward the printed page and be directed back toward the website. Using technology can still apply to print.
If you’re designing a marketing strategy, you are making a mistake if you do not include both print and online techniques in the mix. In these times where computer graphics offer amazing color and dimension, you need quality print materials when you choose to provide them. This means you need a source that provides high-quality output and variety to provide the stationery, envelopes, letters, postcards, brochures, reports, etc.
Make The Document Group Your Go To Source For Printing
When you’re looking for a quality commercial printer in the Houston, Texas, area, look no further than The Document Group. Offering a full range of black and white, color digital, large format, and offset printing, we offer other services such as binding and lamination to make your materials stand out.
Don’t make the mistake of putting all your marketing eggs in the digital basket. Contact the document group today for a quote on materials for the print side of your multifaceted campaign. We will not only offer you a free estimate, but we will also consult with you about your needs and offer free pickup and delivery in the Houston area. Call us today at 888-316-4670.