KPI Personalised mailed A5 postcard and envelope

A Guide to Print Marketing for Customer-Focused Firms

Print Marketing Still Packs a Punch in A Digitally Saturated World

Read The Panda Press Guide to Doing Print Marketing Well

The average individual receives around 10,000 marketing messages every day. Ninety of these are notifications from our mobile phones. That’s a lot of chatter.

When adverts hijack us online and creep into our inboxes, it can be challenging for brands and organisations to break through the noise. Digital marketing may seem like a cheaper, more accessible option, but if executed well, print is a reliable ally. This article provides a quick-fire guide to print marketing for businesses looking to gain more from their ideal customers.

 

What is print marketing?

Print marketing is a promotional tactic that uses a tangible printed format. Print types vary. Some examples include leaflets, postcards, magazines, brochures, business stationery, how-to guides, and branded merchandise. Adverts, editorials, coupons, fundraising packs or informational content are all popular print formats used to reach target audiences at events, community locations, and in their homes.

Print marketing helps turn the spotlight toward a brand or organisation. Tangible materials put companies on the map using targeted demographic and psychographic data. Feeling the texture, smelling the paper, and visualising the design of a piece of print provides a sensory experience that digital media could never replicate. Some neuroscience also suggests that print materials are easier to digest and more memorable than digital forms.

 

What are the benefits of print marketing?

Print advertisements have existed for centuries. The earliest known printed ad was a 3,000 B.C. Egyptian scribe! The material sought the arrest and return of an enslaved person! Machinery-driven print marketing efforts became popular in the early 1400s following the invention of the printing press.

Print demands attention, and perfecting a print marketing strategy brings many benefits.

  • Raising awareness for your company, products and services
  • Growing market share
  • Generating new leads
  • Launching new products or services
  • Improving brand loyalty and perception
  • Increasing customer spend amount and frequency
  • Differentiating your business or brand from the competition and alternative options

An important part of print marketing is ensuring brand consistency. Elements include colours, fonts, logos, typography, and imagery guidelines. Coherent on-message copy and a call to action are also crucial. Brand guidelines planned by marketing departments form part of organisational brand management to meet the objectives of a business strategy.

Printed A6 event guide for Aston Marina in Stone, Staffordshire
Printed A4 brochure

How do you develop a print marketing strategy?

Print marketing is a strategic level consideration. Getting to grips with annual marketing efforts helps create a time and event-specific plan. It will also help determine a realistic budget and necessary resources. Start by reviewing your customer experience and map out their journey from prospect to client – and beyond. Many touchpoints throughout the journey can met with printed materials.

Factors to consider include:

  • Design, artwork and brand guidelines
  • Paper/card stock, colours, specialised finishing options
  • Printing method – digital, litho, large format, LED U
  • Packaging and mail costs
  • Sustainability in print
  • Personalised and demographic data

As a rule of thumb, over 80% of consumers trust print ads. This means print marketing and direct mail can dramatically benefit a company’s print marketing strategy. In the context of printing, direct mail is a printed item sent to prospects or customers. The purpose of a direct mail piece is to raise awareness and persuade action. A sign-up. A sale. A subscription. A recommendation or review. A postcard, leaflet, pamphlet, or campaign pack are all direct mail examples.

Variable data technology hyper-personalises direct mail campaigns. Names, likes, interests, birthdays, and more can personalise a card, letter, brochure, magazine or piece of merch. Even tailoring a print run of 1000s of flyers at an individual level is possible. Personalisation builds trust and fosters loyalty. It may also equate to one of the reasons why print has a greater emotional connection to individuals.

Developing a print marketing campaign works best by combining digital channels and assets. An integrated strategy uses an omnichannel approach that links printed media with online spaces, such as social media. Printing QR codes or dedicated URLs onto direct mail is an excellent way to signpost potential customers to learn more. This negates the need for companies to produce copious printed materials. It’s interactive and cost-effective.

 

Did you know?

  • Printed direct mail campaigns gain a 9% customer response rate compared to a 1% gain from other digital marketing channels *
  • Blending printed resources and digital advertising can boost online campaigns by 400% **

*Data source: Data Marketing Association
**Data source: Top Media Advertising

Use this marketing guide to help build an effective print and digital marketing strategy, and refer to additional blog articles for helpful advice. 

 

Want to find out more?

Contact Panda Press today and let the Panda team be your guide to print marketing success.

Panda Press are a graphic designer and printer based in Stone, serving Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Nationally.