Printing when emerging from the crisis

During quarantine, small, medium and large businesses got one of three results:

• turnover dropped to zero
• turnover decreased
• nothing changed or things got better

And something has to be done about it! It’s time to come out of quarantine!

What Printed Products Are and Why a Business Needs Them

To begin with, let’s dot all the i’s and define what printing is, or rather, what printed products are.

First of all, it is a channel of communication with the customer. Printed products are something on paper that, unlike electronic communication channels, you can touch with your hands and pass from hand to hand, and most importantly, printed products can convey information, emotions and significance.

Many entrepreneurs have now switched to online promotion and communication, removing print communication from their arsenal. But those who use all communication channels are more successful. For all the love of online communication, it must be admitted that promotional printing can be effective in situations where electronic methods are powerless.

Situation 1: Nothing Changed or Things Got Better

What should those for whom nothing changed or things got better do with customer communications? At a minimum, you need to strengthen cooperation with existing customers and strengthen their trust in the brand. How can printing help here?

For example, customers who are buying products/ordering services right now can be handed offers with new products/services in the form of catalogs or booklets describing the products/services, thereby making UPSELLS.

You can also, for example, attach a thank-you letter with instructions for the product/service, thereby increasing LOYALTY to the company’s brand and turning customers into “advocates of your brand” who will recommend your company to their friends when needed. Or they will make repeat purchases, even if your sales go through Instagram.

Printed materials should be made more premium. You should promote the COMPANY BRAND. And of course, FINDING NEW CUSTOMERS won’t hurt either: active sales, meetings, presentations, which require business cards, catalogs and other printed materials that stay with a potential customer after you meet.

Situation 2: Turnover Decreased

What should those whose turnover decreased do? In this case, the marketing department must urgently increase the number of advertising messages across all channels: online, print, letters, calls, meetings. It is necessary to win back lost customers, but most importantly, to attract new ones. Distributing promotional materials to existing and new customers can improve the sales situation. These can be catalogs, booklets, promotional flyers.

Situation 3: Sales Have Stopped

What should those whose sales have stopped, and most likely won’t recover after quarantine or will take a very long time to recover, do? In this case, first of all, you need to “revive” customers and attract new ones. It’s almost a “startup”. You may need to change the way you work or change your niche.

Examples: How Businesses Changed Their Approach During Quarantine

For example, enterprising restaurateurs with good cuisine changed their approach to sales. They set up their own delivery department or teamed up with existing services like Glovo and, taking orders online or by phone, deliver meals to the customer’s home or hand them out through a window.

One example is Kofeine on Nauky Avenue, where from the first days of quarantine a person stood at the entrance telling every passerby that they could order takeaway food or have their favorite coffee. And you know, from the outside it seems they have more work than before quarantine, and maybe that’s true. But there are also “conservative restaurateurs” who gave up and decided to wait for it to sort itself out, blaming the government for their failures.

Or, for example, a company that sold its product wholesale but lost its wholesale buyers when quarantine was introduced, because they fell under the ban for the quarantine period. Without thinking twice, the entrepreneur decided to start selling at retail and saved the company from ruin.

Sell the Product, Not the Brand

It doesn’t matter whether you are creating a new business, changing the way you work in an existing one, or “reviving” customers in an existing business: you need to tell customers about yourself. Brand advertising is out of place here. In this case, it is important to deliver a message to the potential customer: WHAT YOU OFFER THEM and WHAT THEY WILL GET! In other words, you are selling NOT A BRAND, but A PRODUCT OR SERVICE.

What Printed Materials You Need for Active Sales

What should the printed materials be in this case? Business cards, booklets, catalogs for active sales and personal meetings. Handouts for cases where the internet cannot deliver the message about your product or service:

• the audience has no internet access;
• when it is easier to reach the target audience by handing out flyers at a shopping mall exit, for example;
• when you need to reach a local audience by putting flyers in mailboxes;
• posters and announcements to reach a local audience;
• paper letters sent to an address database;
• catalogs of your company’s products.

Conclusion: Printing as a Customer Communication Channel

This is the main principle of how to communicate with customers and what messages to deliver to them. Of course, in each of the three situations you need to look individually at what fits best and what doesn’t. But ineffective use of a communication channel such as printing, or its complete absence, leads to lost profit to one degree or another. So look at how your company communicates with customers, which touchpoints you use, and apply printing for the benefit of your company and your customers, regardless of the size of your company or business! Promote your products and brand with printing and the principles described above!

And stay healthy!

FAQ

Does a business need printed materials if it works online?

Yes. Printing remains a separate channel of communication with customers: it can be held in hand and passed from person to person. Companies that use both online and print channels are more successful, and printed materials work where online advertising is powerless.

Which printed materials help retain existing customers?

Catalogs and booklets with new products or services for upselling, as well as thank-you letters with instructions included in orders. They increase brand loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.

Which printed materials help attract new customers?

Business cards, booklets and catalogs work well for active sales and meetings. For wider reach, use promotional flyers, posters, announcements and paper letters, especially when you need to reach a local audience.