How do you communicate with your customers? Are you stuck in one channel or are you mixing it up and keeping it spicy?
Many printers prefer to handle customer communication through email. Email is quick, immediate, efficient and affordable. As a way to stay in touch with customers, email is solid.
For many companies, however, email is where customer communication begins and ends. Is email enough? I don’t believe it is.
Email works better with print, and here’s why:
- By reaching out to customers through different methods of communication, you keep it fresh and memorable.
- Customers will remember that you care when they see your communication through many channels.
- Print adds dimension, flavor, and richness to customer communications.
- And, adding print will keep you on your toes as you find new ways to make email-plus-print a better experience for your customers.
Furthermore, anyone in the printing industry knows that adding print to email helps our business grow:
- We use print to shine a light on what we can do.
- We reinforce and validate print as a valuable communications medium.
- We build an interconnected web of channels where our customers can always find us, ask us questions, and share what we do.
Printers tell me, “We don’t want to waste money printing for our existing customers.”
*OUCH!*
Print should be used for more than just trying to get new customers.
We should be highlighting print in our communications with everyone…current, future, and past customers. Especially current customers. These are the people who give referrals, who regularly spend money, and who already love print.
Let’s spend some money on them!
Print should extend the email message, not repeat it.
Use print to enhance the communication experience. Don’t just mail a printed version of whatever you sent in the email.
For example, an email invitation can have a print component. If you’re emailing customers information about a trade show, mail them fancy VIP tickets, a note on your stationery with a gift card to a nearby coffee shop, or a prepaid parking pass with a map to your booth.
Let print do what print does best!
Print is memorable, tangible and present. Use color, texture, aroma, sparkle, and bling to increase impact. Foil, die cuts, paper choice, personalization and image quality each add value and grabs attention.
Amplify your email messages with lots of print to keep customer relationships fresh and full of spice!
Sandy Hubbard has been author and contributor at Print Media Centr since 2011. She is a Marketing Strategist and Business Consultant who serves print, publishing and media businesses. Sandy helps clients build their businesses using solid, proven techniques and a systematic approach. She hails from a long line of printers, publishers, authors, and newspaper owners. For 22 years she published a magazine for the printing trade, counseling her readers about how to make better business decisions and grow in an evolving print landscape.
P.S. Wondering how to use email in your customer communications program?
- Professional email newsletter with fast-loading template and high-quality images
- Email reminder letting people know when you’ll be exhibiting at a trade show
- A customer success story with testimonials and photos
- Invitation to a VIP customer event in your facility
- Personal email note sharing a bit of current, unique information
- Email with an embedded video (or link) that explains how to do something that will save your customer time or reduce frustration.
These types of customer emails show you are knowledgeable and helpful. They can demonstrate how you manage projects and regularly meet your deadlines. They also can be used to tell stories about how you solved customer problems. The right email communication can show you care about more than the almighty dollar.
Email works… just remember to add print for spice!
Here are more posts from Sandy about how to combine print and email:
https://printmediacentr.com/2016/01/16/3-sweet-reasons-to-use-email-plus-print-in-2016/
https://printmediacentr.com/2017/02/13/eight-disruptors-that-will-transform-email-marketing/
2 Responses
Amazing understanding blog, sandy!!
Crisp and freshness in any form of communication always beneficial for small business to retain their customer base.
We need to always keep in mind about our customer, their habits, their likelihood and their requirements for the problems they facing.
Also we need to have more than one form of communication medium or channel available so that we can test out which one seems to be perfect with our customers.
Reading your article really brings in positiveness in me.
Thanks for sharing
Great points, Dipak, and I am so glad you were inspired by my article!
–sandy