Web to Print-When does it make sense?
Category: Execution
Thursday, 26 January 2012 12:57
Whatever you call it — e-commerce, Web-to-print, Web commerce, online document management — the ability to transition some or all of your printing needs to an online portal so you can order and print on demand can be a huge benefit for an organization. If you have not already transitioned to some form of online ordering and document management, let’s take a look at some of the benefits.
Brand preservation. By centralizing documents and limiting access only to authorized users, the most recent documents, and creating workflows for authorization and approval of any changes, you create an environment that ensures accuracy and that preserves and protects the brand. You also maintain control over quality, color, and content.
Time savings. There can be tremendous time saved by using automation to order, customize, and manage documents. Documents can be created online or the repository can be populated with documents previously created by your organization (or both). Documents can be ordered in static form or customized or personalized within limits set by you.
Reduction in fulfillment errors. Especially in high-volume corporate environments, errors from literature fulfillment can be very expensive. This is because the process is often handled manually, so error rates can be very high. When one travel insurance company switched from manual fulfillment to Web-to-print, for example, its errors dropped to nearly zero. Agents access the secure website, select the style of brochure they want, upload their logos, insert their phone numbers and Web addresses, and the system automatically populates the brochure with the correct information. The orders are processed, printed, and shipped daily. Fulfillment errors are almost nonexistent.
Reduction or elimination of error and duplication in the design process. Design agencies, distributors, regional offices, and others are often working independently of one another and duplicating their design efforts. Not only does this create tremendous opportunity for erosion of the brand, but it also can be very expensive since each pays to design its own flyers, brochures, and other collateral.
By working from a centralized environment, the savings achieved by eliminating duplicate costs and content errors can be tremendous. I read one case study of an investment management firm that saved $350,000 within the first few months of implementing W2P for its 401(k) sales proposal kits, even though its fulfillment volume rose by 58%.
Savings in print and postage costs. Print and postage costs also can be slashed. Volumes may drop because orders are occurring only on an as-needed basis. Why pay for printed documents that will only be thrown away? Large corporations may also benefit from ganging orders. Even if wach branch office, retailer, or other third party orders only 100 brochures, the total volume may be high enough to qualify for significant postal discounts.
Faster response time. What is the value of your time? Or the revenue generated as a result of faster responses to inquiries or time to market? One Nevada-based university used to take weeks to produce its fundraising materials. By moving to a Web-to-print model, its fundraising campaign directors have been producing its donor literature (including personalizing down to the donor level) in less than 30 minutes.
Boosting revenues through relevance. Then there are the benefits of more effective marketing. By making it easier to personalize and customize documents, as well as putting the tools for localized marketing into the hands of distributors, retailers, franchises, and resellers, these marketing tools become more relevant to the end recipients and have far greater impact. Thus, W2P-generated applications can not only reduce costs but generate more revenue.
These are some dramatic numbers, but they are not unrealistic when you consider the vast inefficiencies inherent in any manual ordering process. W2P isn’t going to be right for every document in your repository, of course, but have you considered the value of the move for those that are?
Will You Get Better Direct Mail Response from Single Window or Double Window Envelopes
Category: Execution
Thursday, 05 January 2012 10:07
Coated Papers: An Extra Layer of Pizazz
Category: Execution
Thursday, 15 December 2011 11:03
When you look through paper samples, one of the first things you probably notice is whether the sample is coated or uncoated. Coated papers feel smooth to the touch because they have a coating of clay and other substances. This coating causes the paper to reflect light more and absorb ink less than uncoated papers.
Many different types of coated papers exist. To make them, the paper mill starts with an uncoated piece of paper and applies different types of coatings to give the paper different qualities. We call the uncoated stock the base sheet. We refer to the thinnest type of coating as a film or wash coat, which acts as a sealer to prevent ink absorption. The next step is a matte coating. A matte coat has more clay than a wash coat and is good for projects with a lot of text. however, if your project involves large areas of heavy, dark ink coverage,matte coat papers can sometimes appear somewhat mottled.
The next step is a dull, suede or velvet coat. Like matte coatings, dull coatings are good for text readability because they are not as reflective as a gloss coat. Glossy coatings actually have the same amount of clay as a dull coat, but the mill smooths and polishes the sheets using a process called calendaring. They run the paper between rollers, which compress and smooth the paper. Glossy coatings are great for color photographs, but the same shiny qualities that make photos look great can make text harder to read because of the glare.
Gloss coated papers can be somewhat less white than dull coated papers because the heat required to polish the paper also can add a slightly brownish cast. Coated papers often include shades of white named with terms, such as balanced, warm and cold to indicate the hue. Cream and other off-white tones are available, but because we so often use coated stock for showing off vibrant four-color printing, the paper itself is rarely brightly colored.
As you can see, there are many different kinds of coated paper stocks, and each is suited to different tasks. It can be overwhelming to tackle these choices alone. Contact us early in the planning stage of your next printing project, and we’ll help you choose the best paper and coating for your needs.
Touchdown or Touch Back? You Decide.
Category: Execution
Thursday, 08 December 2011 09:48
We’ve all seen it. A week’s preparation. Hours of practice. A valiant drive into the red zone, only to be stalled on the two-yard line with seconds ticking away. It’s heart breaking for every football fan but it’s equally sad for a marketer. How many times has a carefully planned campaign been thwarted by last-minute failures? Bad coaching and poor play calling are often blamed but even with a winning playbook, proper execution is still needed.
A key to success with any major project is making sure each step is consistent with the mission throughout the process. If you’re preparing a mailing for high-end customers looking for luxury goods, don’t skimp on the gloss on the pictures. And, on the other hand, if you’re trying to reach price-conscious customers, sending out a heavy catalog with luxury brand names probably will not yield winning results.
Once the plan and consistent message are in place, the next crucial piece is execution. This phase is crucial because, not only does it directly affect the outcome of the project, but it also can point out flaws in your processes that were missed in the planning stage. For example, just like a place-kicker whose holder has hands of stone, the right people need to be in place. Is your project leader someone who will kick it through the uprights or someone like Lucy from “Peanuts,” who will pull the ball away at the last second?
Execution is a discipline, not an activity. As former GE executive Larry Bossidy writes in “Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done:”
Here is the fundamental problem: people think of execution as the tactical side of the business, sometimes leaders delegate while they focus on the perceived “bigger” issues. This idea is completely wrong.
Execution is not just tactics—it is a discipline and a system. It has to be built into a company’s strategy, its goals, and its culture. And the leader of the organization must be deeply engaged in it. He cannot delegate its substance. Many business leaders spend vast amounts of time learning and promulgating the latest management techniques. But their failure to understand and practice execution negates the value of almost all they learn and preach.
Stephen Lynch, COO, Global Operations, at RESULTS.com, writing in The Economist:
Far too often, this plan fades from view when managers go back to being busy in the business with day-to-day operations and fire fighting. Strategic action priorities specified in the plan often get put on the back burner in favor of the urgent needs of the moment.
According to Harvard Business School professor Robert Kaplan, 90 percent of strategies fail due to poor execution. This is because companies execute their strategy in fits and starts, and few companies are good at aligning their current activities to their long term strategic priorities.
Lynch adds a key to success is to clearly monitor goals and objectives during the execution of project, rather than wait until then. Set up guidelines, checkpoints and milestones to measure whether you are really making progress toward the goal or if you will be forced to punt.
The Funny Side of Marketing
Category: Execution
Thursday, 01 December 2011 10:48
Have you heard the one about humor in print marketing? It’s more effective than you might think. Humor is one of the best ways to differentiate your product or service, making your message memorable and increasing your visibility.
Information alone is not enough to sell your product. Otherwise everything would be communicated in black-and-white text. We live in a colorful, high-definition world with constant clutter, so your message has to engage customers for them to hear it. Humor is a powerful relationship-marketing tool that helps you stand out. However, unless you balance it with the right amount of information, your prospects will remember the gag and forget the product. Use humor properly and you will transform your business-as-usual communications without turning your message into a joke
No kidding, humor is serious business. Funny marketing attracts customers by creating a positive association with your brand. When used correctly, humor is an important tool for getting your message heard. Don’t knock-knock it until you’ve tried it
• Keep humor in its place. Your product or service should be front and center. Use humor to get the customer to stick around long enough to hear your message. It should enhance your communication, not overwhelm it.
• Funny is subjective. There is no objective measure for what makes good or bad marketing humor. In general, it should be amusing, relevant and in good taste. It doesn’t have to appeal to the lowest common denominator or be over-the-top to work. Think about the type of comedy your target audience might find funny. Slapstick or sophisticated? Laugh-out-loud or subtly clever?
• Print can be funny, too. Typically we think of funny marketing in the context of commercials or social media, but apply humor to your print communications and you will not only grab your customers’ attention but also help them recall your message. The biggest laugh might come from how punctuation paces a sentence or how a graphic makes the reader do a double take. The smallest detail can bring the biggest laughs.
• Don’t take aim at your target customers. The joke is always funnier if it is on someone else. Carefully craft your message so that your stakeholders feel like you are on their side. Use comedy well and you will tickle your customer’s funny bone. Use it poorly and you can offend that same customer.
• Remove the color. Keep the colorful fonts and graphics in your printed pieces, but take out the off-color jokes and innuendo. The basic rules of marketing still apply. Test your message for potentially dangerous material to avoid alienating your audience.
•Follow cross-cultural rules, even at home. Humor often requires the audience to have a specific bit of knowledge to understand it. If you send direct mail internationally you understand that differences in culture and language will impact the way readers receive your piece. But cultural gaps can exist anywhere there is diversity. Be wary of colloquialisms and variations in the meaning of words, even in different geographic areas of your own country.
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