Print’s role is evolving. At the February 2018 Graphics of America show in Ft Lauderdale, I attended a seminar that Kate Dunn (Director, Business Development Strategy Services @Keypoint Intelligence) hosted titled “How to Grow your Business in 2018”. Kate stated that we recently surveyed 749 respondents and found that Mobile and Online/Web communications will experience the highest annual growth rate in the next two years. This doesn’t surprise me at all when you consider that our smart phones are always at our fingertips. Mobile bar codes, personalized URL’s, texting codes, image recognition, near field communications and augmented reality all provide ways to link print to digital. This, in turn, improves customer experience.
Figure 1. Methods of Linking Print to Digital
Mobile Bar codes brought my rebate to life. The other day I was shopping and purchased an item that had a $20 rebate. The company gave me a form to mail in. I was thinking to myself that I’m probably not going to take the time to use regular mail for this process however guess what? When I looked at the form, I noticed there was a QR code that I could scan with my smart phone. Within minutes, the rebate was completed! Now, I’m just waiting on my check. I’m happy to say it was a cool customer experience.
Figure 2. Interactivity is key to bringing documents to life!
Blending print and digital. Kate went on to state that books, catalogs, brochures and direct mail are the fastest growing digitally printed applications, producing billions of prints each year. These would be the types of documents to start looking at ways to enhance as the print role evolves. It was interesting to hear that the top business driver for personalizing communications was a direct correlation between personalization and response rates. Those surveyed also noted that their service providers have become more skilled at cost effectively delivering more complex personalization, data is more available and that their customers are demanding personalized interactions.
Printed media is being blended with digital media. Sales and marketing collateral, direct mail, newsletter, presentations and signage were the most common media used in the past 12 months. This chart tells me that there is huge potential since less than 30% of the respondents have linked the two types of media in the last 12 months. The opportunity to create fresh new content that easily allows the end user to use their smart phone is a growth initiative for this space.
Figure 3. Types of printed applications combined with digital
“Value can be created for clients in helping them streamline the process of linking print to digital assets that already exist” according to Kate. She recommended that print service providers research their prospect’s website and look for video and other interactive assets like quizzes, calculators and Infographcis that can be easily linked to print to create more powerful customer experiences. “Printers can take a leadership role in helping their clients use print in innovative ways to draw audiences into digital interactions that are trackable and provide critical data to marketers” Kate noted.
Here are some pointers to consider. Personalization of documents delivers results. Special effects drive engagements. Dimensional print drives responses. What are you doing to help your production print customers bring documents to life?#icanhelpbringyourdatatolife
