Print is a crucial marketing tool
Print is also a great way to promote your business. Sure, digital marketing is very flashy these days, but print still rules. Consider when you are in the grocery store for example and have a choice between buying a box of pasta sauce that has a striking label that explains what is in the sauce, caloric information per serving, and how the food tastes, versus one that has no label, chances are that you are going to choose the pasta with the label. Same goes for things like bathroom tissue – people are more likely to buy the one with the printed information on the wrapping than the one without. Customers who are trying to decide which wine to buy often choose the one with the most appealing label.
Product packaging is an important and valuable marketing tool, but it is one that is frequently overlooked. The fact is that product packaging changes people’s minds about what to buy. If the packaging for a new product is sufficiently appealing, it may even get them to try something new. All the flashy digital ads and TV commercials in the world will not get people to buy your product if your product packaging is unappealing.
Promotional handout materials – printing to make an impact
Print is also still necessary when it comes to leaflets, flyers, pocket folders, and other printed materials such as direct mail. If you are doing an in-person presentation, having paper materials for your colleague, customer or client to peruse will make much more of an impact than simply telling them to check your website for more information. A real estate agent selling houses can give a flyer showing the home’s features to potential buyers. With print the possibilities are endless.
And no matter how much people try to use e-cards nothing will leave an impression like a business card. There is a reason that most people still hand out business cards. Even stores collecting email mailing lists prefer to gather information from business cards. Here is some food for thought – 28 million business cards are printed each day, and for every 2000 cards, sales go up 2.5%.
Did you know that 39% of customers who try a business for the first time are influenced by paper materials? From discount coupons to menus, print gives them a tangible thing to hold onto that represent your business. Sure, if you have a restaurant, your potential customers can look up the menu online, but a physical menu will make much more of an impact with them – and their taste buds.
Don’t overlook direct mail as a marketing plan
Direct mail is also something that still has a big impact. Statistics show that 70% of direct mail promotion mailers successfully attract new customers. And when it comes to non-profit organizations, 78% of them get their donations brought in with direct mail. Perhaps it is because the tangible effect of putting pen to paper on a check – another print product – makes an impact with the donor.
Direct mail ads may send weekly sales and coupons to local customers, and those customers are much more likely to notice print promotions than web ones. They are also more likely to notice physical mail, as opposed to email that may end up in a spam folder. Customers who do not get weekly sales information may notice newspaper ads and fliers.
Even sending one-on-one personalized physical letters to a client, preferably on company letterhead, will pack more of a punch than an email will.
Don’t forget about large paper and non-paper promotional products
Things like signage, van wraps, and posters will make your business stand out above the others. So will handing promotional products with your company name, whether it be on a pen, tote bag, luggage tag, magnet, mouse pad, decal, or other promotional product. It not only will create name recognition that lasts in the future, but those who receive the promotion are more likely not just to buy from you, but to give you leads on other potential customers.
And finally, reading print materials is easier than reading off a screen. Even millennials agree with that – 69% of people aged 16-24 say that they prefer to read print and paper than a computer screen.
If your business is not using print you are missing out on a major asset that has the potential to take your business to the next level. Business owners all over can attribute their success to the power of print communications. Make sure you are not missing out.
