Regardless of what you may have read on social media or heard from Uncle Jo’s neighbour, print marketing remains a highly successful method of business marketing. Print has ruled the advertising industry since the beginning, and while it now shares the space with digital marketing, it continues to shine the light on businesses throughout New Zealand.
We’re going to share with you some of the many opportunities printed materials can provide your business, and the different ways you can measure your "return on investment" - also known as ROI.
What is Print Marketing?
Print marketing remains one of the most influential forms of advertising for companies throughout the world. Unlike digital marketing, print advertising gives customers an interactive and physical experience. By being able to tangibly hold something in their hand, they are activating additional senses, which helps with remembering information and having a larger emotional response. In an online world of fake news, print is seen as being more trustworthy as it has been checked and edited more than digital copy has been. For instance, how many more times would you check your phone number is correct on business card printing file than on a page on your website?
Print marketing includes materials such as magazines, business cards, direct mail, catalogues, flyers, greeting cards, brochures, banners, letter head, newsletters, product labels, calendars, with compliments slips, menus, loyalty cards, appointment cards and rack cards. The specific printed materials best suited for a business will depend upon a variety of factors. We are more than happy to help identify the best options for your business, so give us a call today.
Benefits of Print Marketing
When your business uses print marketing, the benefits you may receive include:
- Cost effective – you can target a highly focused audience easily with printed materials.
- High levels of engagement – when people read offline, they often have a higher attention span and read for longer. Printed materials are also kept for longer, compared to digital advertising where you see it once and it disappears.
- High Impact - as your competitors cut costs and keep their marketing digital, physical mailings are having more impact than ever before. Remember the last time you got a letter in the mail vs yet another email newsletter?
- Longevity – printed materials are tangible, can be seen and kept for as long as the customer wants to. There’s no website address to remember or internet connection required to read and show others a business card.
- Trust and relationship building – digital advertising when overdone can seem spammy. Professionally printed materials demonstrate your business is real and trustworthy.
One thing digital marketing does do well is helping businesses track their ROI. But this can also be easily done using print marketing too.
Measuring Your ROI on Print Marketing
Your return on investment or ROI is a measurement which shows you the value of an investment versus its cost. There’s a special formula for it: (profit minus cost) / cost. For instance, if you spent $100 on printed marketing materials and made a $1000 profit, your ROI would be 0.9 or 90%.
You can use your ROI to make comparisons between marketing campaigns and identify how profitable a campaign has been. When it comes to deciding what a good ROI is, this will depend upon your preferred level of risk and your budget.
Some of the most effective ways of measuring your ROI using print marketing include:
- QR codes – QR codes are scannable patterns that directly links to a website page or downloadable app. When someone scans your QR code, this is collected by your analytics software and the customer sees a custom landing page on their phone.
- Unique vouchers and coupons – for each printed marketing campaign, have a unique code for customers to redeem. When this coupon is used either instore or online, you will know the source that the code has come from.
- Unique phone numbers – get yourself a couple of different phone numbers and alternate these between printed campaigns. When a customer calls the number, you will know that they have in their possession a specific printed marketing material.
- Specific landing pages – rather than using your home page, create a special landing page for your printed campaign. Include this URL on your marketing materials and you will be able to track the number of visitors, and their journey through your website.
- Direct feedback – when you are contacted, ask your customers how they found out about you. Super simple and low tech!
With plenty of experience in creating professional and high performing printed marketing materials, we are more than happy to help guide you on the best materials and ROI tracking for your business. Get in touch today for personalised advice or view our range of marketing materials and order online through our website.
Sourcing Your Print Marketing Materials in New Zealand
The next big question to answer is which printed materials should you use in your marketing campaigns. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you attend trade shows? – to get your message across, you will most likely need a pull up banner to display at your stall. Flyers and brochures can be great ways of giving customers information to take away with you, as are business cards.
- Are customer gifts important? – if you give your customers a gift for special occasions, calendars make great marketing opportunities while providing something that will be used everyday and placed in a prominent position.
- Do you send out physical letters? – having a professional letterhead shows your business is trustworthy and helps with brand recognition.
- Are you offering takeaway food? – a printed menu that a customer can take home with them helps to increase the likelihood they will order from your business in the future. Often printed menus are kept on the fridge or close to the kitchen at homes.
- Do you send customers products? – include a postcard advertising a promotion or product with your customers orders. A great way to use a unique coupon code here!
- Are you hosting any competitions or give freebees? – a with compliments slip is an opportunity for you to remind customers where the item came from and give you something with your branding for you to include a personalised handwritten message upon.
- Do you host events? – having printed branded folders in which your audience can keep all their paperwork and materials within gives your business a highly professional appearance.
- Do you sell products? – product labels such as wine labels, product stickers or swing tags help your products stand out on shelves and be easily identifiable as belonging to your business. A great way to build customer loyalty and brand recognition.
Supporting local is one of the key cornerstones of the New Zealand economy. By choosing to order your print marketing materials from a professional New Zealand printer, you are helping other local businesses to grow. You also benefit from their extensive knowledge about the local market, excellent customer service and receive bespoke printed products.
We’re based in Dunedin and we work with businesses of all sizes throughout the entire country. We welcome any questions you may have on outsourcing your business’ printing needs, and look forward to building a mutually positive relationship with you.