The Printing industry is highly competitive. Firms compete on price, turnaround time, quality control and service, product range, and some on availability of in-house graphics. Customers are other businesses, but also graphic design companies, advertising and marketing firms.

For most customers their print requirements will be sporadic – they may need business cards and stationery one week then nothing for 6 months when they run out of brochures. You might be an excellent printer, providing a good product and service, but inevitably there is a tendency for Customers to just "drift – off" between orders. Traditionally printers have combated this using inserts into stationery packs to remind customers to reorder when stocks are low, and with regular visits by sales people.

The Echoplus Marketing Strategy details an easy step-by-step process to create email strategies that work - That will help you retain your customers, cross-sell your products and services and find new customers!

Gold Customer Email Marketing Strategy

The Printing industry is highly competitive. Firms compete on price, turnaround time, quality control and service, product range, and some on availability of in-house graphics.

Identify who is your customer

Customers are other businesses, but also graphic design companies, advertising and marketing

firms. For most customers their print requirements will be sporadic – they may need business cards and stationery one week then nothing for 6 months when they run out of brochures.

Even though I provide a good product and good service, there is a tendency for Customers to just "drift – off" between orders.

So what do you want to do?

Create a database of regular customers (Gold Customers) that are rewarded for coming back.

How are you going to do it?

Load the current database into Echoplus (the current % of customers retained should be

noted as the baseline.) Send a mail out to businesses in the area and an email to the current database, with the offer. (Alternatively – you might specialize in printing workplace health and safety stickers and supply to heavy industry around Australia. In this case in addition to mailing out to businesses in your area, you could mail out to other heavy industry firms that you currently do not deal with, and in fact, firms any other sector that might have a need for your stickers. They just don’t know it yet!). Invite them to "Register now to become a "printer" Gold Customer and receive your first member voucher valued at $xx off your next order (order valued at over $500). Then with each and every order you’ll receive a Gold voucher. PLUS we guarantee delivery dates for

all our Gold members or your money back!" Customers register on line on your website.

Don’t forget to say Thank you?

Every customer that registers gets a thank you email with their voucher. You can also conduct a survey. Customers are encouraged to complete to help you understand them better.

Questions could include:

Key dates they want to be contacted before as a reminder example: Christmas for Christmas cards.

The areas of our business that are important to the customer e.g. price, service.

Anything else you think might be important.

When to communicate with your members

Key dates such as Christmas cards, calendars and anything else that has specific date. Every print job when completed is noted on the database and another thank you and voucher is sent out.

Becoming the "expert" - 4 newsletters are sent out per year – the content aims to cross sell your capability, new paper stocks, new design templates etc. the Newsletters are used to also establish you as the "expert" in graphic design, printing, stickers – whatever is relevant.

How do you measure success?

Conduct 6 monthly surveys of the Gold Customers to measure key criteria – price, service,

turnaround time, etc. Every completed survey gets a reward – voucher.

Build Build Build! Continue to build you database by sending regular direct mail outs to new businesses.