It’s a normal working day. You are supposed to deliver a customized order to one of your customers. But you are a little late because of all the endless last-minute changes your customer requires.
And all of a sudden, your day is not as normal as you expected. Why?
Because you were unable to deliver satisfactory customization services. So, now your printing store has an unhappy customer who is constantly complaining, and your not-so-normal day is thus devoted to solving disputes.
Sounds familiar?
If yes, then it may affect your business adversely.
Because managing a Printing store is not as easy as it seems. There are hundreds of such situations that a print business owner has to overcome. And with increased demand for customization, this industry has now become more challenging than ever.
But worry not you can easily transform such unusual business days again into normal days with a Web-to-print solution. This all-in-one solution will allow your customers to customize the products leading to higher satisfaction.
To make it more clear, we have listed a few challenges that print business owners and their customers face and how Web-to-Print solutions can help in overcoming these.
Challenges Faced By Print Business Owners
Higher Turnaround Time
Turnaround time is the time taken by your business to complete a printing order. When you have an offline printing store, you have to take orders manually, hire designers to work on the customization, and then get it approved by customers.
Now between all of this, there is a high chance that this traditional approval cycle may take days. Also, your designer may sometimes fail to successfully adhere to all your client’s requirements.
This increased turnaround time along with inexact customization can lead to a waste of time and a negative customer experience. And according to LeeResources, 91% of dissatisfied customers will not do business with a brand that failed to meet their expectations.
The Solution:
With the Web To Print Solutions, your business never has to deal with such situations. The software comes with a product designing tool that allows your end-users to customize the product they want. It comes with a user-friendly interface and inbuilt editable templates making customization a child’s play for your buyers.
Along with easy customization for buyers, it also makes prepress processes easy for you. You receive print-ready files directly from customers which facilitate timely delivery. Also, the print-ready files are editable so last-minute changes can also be done. Thus, this tool also can save you from the hassle of hiring designers for customization.
So, a Web-to-print solution is an efficient software that can downsize your turnaround period and deliver satisfactory customization services with fewer resources.
Limited Customer Reach
Physical printing businesses are bound to their geographic boundaries. If you don’t have an online presence you are probably missing out on a lot of potential customers. It also limits the revenue of your business to the number of customers visiting your store.
And also with increased usage of the internet, having an online presence for your business is a must.
The Solution:
With an E-commerce website, you can explore and target various customer segments from various geographic locations. Businesses like Vistaprint, GotPrint, Zazzle, etc. are the perfect examples.
These companies allow users to customize their desired products through their websites and place orders directly from anywhere in the world.
Well, you can also provide such conveniences to your users. The web-To-Print solution equips you with an E-commerce storefront personalized as per your business requirements. It expands your business reach to any location you want.
Along with an E-commerce storefront, some Web-to-print solutions also provide you with a native mobile application. Imagine how much easier it would be for your customers to order and customize products through their mobile devices.
Thus, this solution can efficiently increase your customer base and also deliver a convenient experience to them.
Inefficiency in Management of Business Operations
In the previous point, we focused on how Web to Print Software can expand your business operations. But expanding your business operations means you need more orders to deliver which would also require more effort and planning.
From sales to finance to inventory management, your printing business needs to handle many tasks at once. And inefficiency in any one of them can lead to higher variable costs. Also, managing all functions differently can be tedious. So, you have to hire more manpower for handling your finances and inventories.
But you can manage all these functions efficiently with a single interface. How?
The Solution:
With the Web to Print Solution. It provides you with an end-to-end ERP solution for all your business needs. From sales to finance to inventories, the ERP software uses a centralized interface that includes all business processes.
It automates your entire workflow and also reduces repetitive manual tasks. It leads to well-organized tasks that open doors for more efficient workflow. The software comes with effective features such as financial management, sales and customer services, Inventory management, and Order management. It also provides a range of pre-defined or customized reports to help you analyze the operational efficiency and financial performance of your business.
Thus, Web to Print ERP Solution is the perfect software to streamline your order processing and automate your entire workflow.
Meeting Customer Expectations
“We see our customers as guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job to make the customer experience a little bit better.” – Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon
Customer Experience is a key factor for the success of any business. And what leads to a positive customer experience?
Meeting the expectations of customers. According to 10to8, 73% of consumers say that CX is a deciding factor when making purchase decisions.
But customers are now expecting prompt and personalized products from printing businesses. Meeting such high expectations satisfactorily is not an easy task.
So, why not let them do the customization of products?
The Solution:
With the web-to-print designing tool your end-users can design and customize the product as they like. They can also look at the final design before placing the order.
You can also boost your conversion rates with the 3D Configurator. This tool of Web-to-Print Solutions allows your end-users to configure the product from scratch. They can visualize and order the product in real-time.
Even if you are giving entire control to your customers, you can still lock some elements of the designs if you want. Moreover, the tool also allows you to protect your designs by watermarking them.
So, with the Web-to-Print Design tool and 3D Configurator, you can deliver an enriched customer experience effortlessly.
High Competition – limited business growth
The competition in the print industry is rising continuously. And with customization becoming more prominent, it has become difficult even for enterprises to beat the competition. Businesses are struggling to grow and it has become difficult for new players to enter.
One of the best ways to cope with this is to adopt the latest trends and technologies. And with features like automation and easy customization, web-to-print has become one of the trending technologies in the printing industry.
Many B2C print companies are successfully transforming their business to B2B print-on-demand services through this solution. They are expanding their existing product line with the lowest capital investment.
Instead of printing on their own these companies work with a supplier and pass all the printing orders to them. As the software provides print-ready files, suppliers can directly print them. And payment is made after completion of order.
Thus, with no inventories and the risk of unsold products, you can develop a successful
customized printing business using web-to-print solutions.
Challenges faced by customers
Difficulty in Explaining Design Requirements
The chances of error when your customers are verbally expressing their requirements are high. Sometimes they may find it difficult to express their every need effectively.
But when you have an E-commerce storefront with an integrated web-to-print design tool, the chances of errors are minimal. Your end-users can customize their product easily using this tool.
As it is designed with a sleek interface and multiple features, even a customer with little technical knowledge can operate the tool easily. They can also order from anywhere at their convenience and don’t have to visit your physical store. They can also preview the product before confirming the order.
Thus, this tool makes the order process more convenient and engaging for your end users.
Pricing Ambiguity
The pricing in the printing business depends on the level of customization. And not all customers feel comfortable having to proactively make contact to buy. Also, pricing is a crucial factor that can affect buying decisions.
If your customer has to contact you continuously with every change in the customization, they may get irritated or will withdraw the order.
So, providing real-time pricing is critical. The web-to-print software has a dynamic live pricing system that will display real-time pricing for every customization.
Your end users will get a clear idea of pricing. So, they will design their product accordingly before placing the order.
Difficulty in Placing Orders with mass Customization
Certain products are ordered in bulk with minor differences in each of them. For example, business cards are ordered in bulk but there may be minor differences like department names, logos, individualized names, and job roles. Your end users have to put a lot of time and effort into placing such orders.
But with the Variable Data Printing feature of the Web-to-Design tool, the process can be made a lot easier. This feature allows users to edit elements like texts for individual labels easily. It also makes sure all the cards follow the same design rules.
Thus, even the most complicated and time-consuming tasks become effortless with this tool.
How does Web-To-Print Solution work?
Looking at all these advantages of a Web-To-Print solution, you must be wondering how a Web-to-Design tool functions.
Web-to-Design software can be easily integrated into your business and allows you to offer online printing services through an e-commerce storefront.
Your end users can select a product from the catalog on your website. They can upload artwork or use your business’s watermarked design files present in the tool to customize the product.
The tool then displays real-time pricing, accepts payment, places orders, and produces print-ready files making the prepress process more effortless.
From apparel and wearable to commercial products to gifts this remote publishing technology can be used to customize multiple products effortlessly.
Conclusion
Web-to-print solutions are now becoming a necessity rather than a luxury for the print industry.
Being a Print business owner you face different challenges every day. But with technologies like a web-to-print solution, you can overcome them effortlessly.
Whether you are a physical store owner that wants to take their operations online or have an existing e-commerce website, you can integrate this technology into your business with ease.
Utilize this unique print commerce solution to make your printing business more efficient.
Because is there anything more satisfying than delivering an amazing customization experience to your customers at your convenience?
