Print Plays Well with Others
Print plays well with others
Well coordinated use of printed business material increases response rate
Printing can tie it all together
Sure, the Internet is cool. What’s cooler is using a printed direct mail campaign to draw prospects to a personalized website, then following up with a printed thank-you card or closer.
We have looked at how printed forms are seen as real and permanent. How a business card is an easy, portable way to carry your information around so that you can share it. A business newsletter can be a very cost effective way to keep in touch with your clients. Beautiful words and images can attract more people to your services.
All this does not mean that you cannot or should not use other media to reach our audience. We learned in kindergarten to get along with others. Business printing was a very good student in kindergarten. No other media cooperates with all of the others as well as printing.
Yes, the World Wide Web provides a real-time interactive environment, but so do the telephone and the television. Print enhances the impact of all of those media by providing your client’s prospects with an extra dimension. One that’s friendly. One that’s warm. One that’s inviting. And, one that they can’t very well ignore because they’re holding it right in their hands.
Consider the 2003 research published in the Journal of Advertising Research, which examined the advertising impact on weekly sales of a pizza franchiser. It found that the best combination of media in driving sales is direct mail and national TV advertising used together. The print/broadcast duo doubled the impact of using any one medium alone.
An American Business Media study adds more insight into the effectiveness of combining print with other media.
According to that research, B-to-B magazines were viewed by prospects as trustworthy and objective, websites were seen as the place where they received timely information, and trade shows were viewed as the place for interactions and to improve their awareness of alternatives. That must be why smart marketers are using all three outlets to maximize their ROI.
Big advertisers know this. How many times have you seen something on TV or heard it on the radio and then you get a printed piece. And then you make a buying decision.
Brochures or printed invitations to an event make it seem more real and businesslike. When you receive a business letter printed on professionally prepared letterhead with an accompanying envelope, you feel more secure in responding.
When I receive a phone call about a product or service I ask them to send me something. When I receive a printed piece from them I trust them more and am more likely to do business with them. Printing can increase the value of any other form of advertising you do.
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
