Have you been looking for different ways to boost your organization’s marketing efforts? Maybe you’ve heard a bit about the advancements made in digital printing technology, and you might be thinking of investing or upgrading your current technology.
Digital printing has come a long way, but most businesses don’t realize how valuable of a tool it can be when it comes to marketing. There are so many ways for your printer to bring you direct revenue through marketing initiatives, but we’ve compiled a list of five major ones to get you started.
What is Digital Printing?
According to Xerox, “Digital printing is the process of printing digital-based images directly onto a variety of media substrates. There is no need for a printing plate, unlike offset printing. Digital files such as PDFs or desktop publishing files can be sent directly to the digital printing press to print on paper, photo paper, canvas, fabric synthetics, cardstock, and other substrates.”
It used to be that offset printing was the only way to get high-quality and vivid color prints, and that digital was the lower quality alternative. Now, digital printing technology has come a long way, and is capable of production quality prints that are just as colorful and efficient as offset, through a variety of different production machines.
Offset printers can get expensive, and don’t really make sense for businesses that don’t print a high-volume of images, so a lot of businesses tend to outsource their print jobs or even neglect printed marketing altogether. Now with digital printing, the opportunity to market your company efficiently and successfully is easily attainable, and surprisingly cost-effective. Here are five ways that your business can use digital printing to increase revenue and improve marketing efforts.
Direct Mail
Direct mail is pretty much exactly what it sounds like- marketing mail that you send directly to someone’s mailbox. It’s those colorful ads you get with the rest of your mail, and it’s intended to catch your eye, and eventually, bring you to the business. Direct mail usually comes in the form of flyers or catalogs, but it can include just about anything that can be physically delivered to someone’s mailbox.
You might be wondering- what’s the point in sending physical mail if everything is digital these days? Well, that’s actually exactly why you’d want to send physical mail. According to the USPS, “the average household receives about 16 pieces of direct mail each week. During that same span, the average consumer receives over 100 emails”.
There’s something different about direct mail- when it comes to being able to physically hold a piece of marketing material, consumers are more likely to actually notice and read it. In fact, 70% of direct mail gets noticed, and out of that, 79% is read for one minute or more. So ignoring direct mail as a marketing strategy could be a big oversight for your organization.
With a Xerox production-style machine, you can print flyers utilizing state-of-the-art CMYK+ technology in metallics and fluorescents, giving you the most vivid colors and the best chance of standing out from the crowd.
Transactional Marketing
Transactional marketing, as opposed to relationship marketing, is a style of marketing where the goal is to attract sales from as many different customers as possible and prioritizing those one-time sales over existing customers. The most common and effective forms of transactional marketing are all focused on consolidating customer transactions with marketing material. For example, a document that you might be already sending to a customer has plenty of extra room on it for marketing messages, and transactional marketing is all about utilizing that room, especially when it’s being physically mailed.
The first step in navigating this marketing opportunity is by working with a partner that is experienced with transactional document design, and how to utilize inkjet technology to print the most eye-catching and sophisticated materials. It’s been estimated by I.T Strategies that by 2018, 2/3 of continuous feed transaction pages will be printed using production inkjet devices.
Xerox’s line of inkjet production machines offers all the tools necessary for the job- “a robust portfolio of digital technology, automation offerings, and business development support”. There are options like the Xerox Rialto 900 Inkjet Press, with roll-to-cut-sheet functions and a lower price point than other inkjet technology, that gives you flexibility and comfort in knowing you have the best tools at your disposal.
Digitally Printed Packaging
Printed packaging is a fairly common thing these days, and it’s something you see every day but probably just aren’t aware of it. All of your products that are packaged have some kind of image on them- whether it’s the box that your toothpaste comes in or the carton of half-and-half you pour into your morning coffee.
Now if you add marketing into the mix, you’re displaying marketing messages on the packaging that consumers would already be receiving- consolidating your packaging and marketing efforts into one. An example would be the new Amazon boxes with Marvel movie advertisements or coupons on the back of a cereal box.
With Xerox digital printing machines, you can print directly onto several different types of media, such as plastic (create your own labels, stickers, etc.), corrugated materials (such as boxes, cardboard, etc.), and there’s even the Xerox Automated Packaging Solution, available on the iGen5 Press, which allows for printing, coating, stacking, and die-cutting all in one machine.
Photo Publishing
There are a lot of different ways that printed photos can be utilized for merchandise and marketing. Think of calendars from your favorite tv show, or the movie posters you used to hang in your room. Or about the photo books with all your favorite memories, and postcards from everywhere you’ve been.
All these different photo prints are perfect opportunities for print providers to market their products or services, while giving consumers physical ways to preserve their precious memories and passions. Photo merchandising is just the beginning, especially with professional photographers branching out and printing their own materials, with the help of digital printing.
Book Publishing
Digital printing has had a huge impact on the way that books are being printed. The need for giant, expensive, offset printing presses that generate waste is slimming, with the introduction of high-speed production inkjet printing.
In an excerpt taken from their guide to publishing, Xerox wrote “And while limitations on quality, speed, flexibility, and affordability have traditionally slowed widespread adoption, high-speed production inkjets are changing that. This has had the single largest impact on the book supply chain, positioning digital print platforms as essential to the success of printers and publishers alike”.
Ready to Get Started?
Utilizing digital printing and production-level printers to perform these five different marketing initiatives can bring a lot of new business to your organization, boosting your engagement and increasing your revenue. If you’re interested, but unsure what to do next, feel free to reach out to us with any questions or to get the process of acquiring a production printer started.
If you’d like to learn more before making any decisions, read our articles on Your Guide to Xerox Digital Printing Solutions and How Does Your Copier/Printer Earn Your Company Revenue?
