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How to Identify the Right Print Solutions Provider

How to Identify the Right Print Solutions Provider

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018| SpeedPro

Marketing matters. It’s how you drive new clients and customers to your business and develop a strong brand presence in your market. Some companies don’t realize how important advertising is or simply don’t know how to execute a strategy effectively.

Though the average small business already spends roughly 1% of its annual revenue on advertising, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) would disagree that this a big enough investment. They recommend that around 7–8% of a small business’s gross revenue should be spent on advertising and marketing.

High-quality signage and custom print graphics should be a part of that budget. The positive impact of signage is without question.

Small business owners and consumers consistently recognize the value of high-quality print service providers, but they don’t always know where to start. One of the first steps your business should take is to find a company that can make your signs for you, as it’s likely that you don’t have a large-format printer just sitting around. When you start to look, you’ll find that you have two primary options: print service providers and print solutions providers.

To know which option you should choose and why, you first need to understand how the two types of sign providers differ and learn what a print solutions provider can do for you.

The Difference Between Print Service Providers and Full-Scale Print Solution Companies

When you start looking for large-format printing services, you’ll find a few different options available. Some businesses turn to online print vendors and local shops, while others go with a full-scale print solution. To help you know which option is right for your business, you’ll need to know what each option is, and how they differ from one another.

Print Service Providers

While local print shops used to be the only form of print service providers, the growth in web-based print shops has expanded the definition of print service providers to also include online vendors. Both online print vendors and local shops can create marketing collateral based on predetermined and predesigned products. In essence, print service providers are manufacturers. Their core focus is the product, and not necessarily the efficacy of the strategy when that product reaches the consumer.

With the rise of online print service providers, it’s become even trickier for consumers to choose the right vendor: one that will act as a partner for your business. Without being able to speak to a qualified professional, see products in person or visit the shop, you may be left in the dark, and your projects could be at risk of not meeting your expectations — and worse, wasting your budget.

Print Solutions Provider

A print solutions provider is a printer that produces high-quality work that fulfills the client’s business goals. This entails delivering marketing or advertising collateral, like a print shop does, as well as working with you to create a whole strategy around it to help ensure the product achieves the desired business outcome. Each piece of the puzzle works toward the client’s goals.

Print solutions provider defined

Why Use a Print Solutions Provider?

Increasingly, more print solutions providers seek ways to help their clients blend digital and print marketing. With consumers flooded with somewhere between 4,000 to 10,000 online ads every day, over 25% of internet users employ ad blockers on their devices.

As more people tune out the wave of ads crashing into them every time they access the internet, many businesses recognize that they need print ads as well. Research backs up the continued effectiveness of print ads, like signs and graphics:

  • A United States Postal Service study found that print ads produced a stronger emotional response in participants than digital ads. The same study also found it was easier for participants to recall a physical ad later.
  • Nearly 70% of consumers trust ads in outdoor and public places, such as signs and billboards, when they decide to make a purchase. Consumers place much lower trust in digital ads, with only 43% trusting ads they found on social media and 39% trusting ads on their mobile phones.

Though digital ads can still be effective, pairing them with signage is crucial to getting people’s attention and increasing brand awareness. As such, the best print solutions providers recognize the need to help customers integrate print and non-print marketing campaigns. By working with a print solutions provider, a client ensures that their print strategy complements their digital strategy, with their physical signs directing consumers to their website and maintaining their brand image.

There is a greater reward working with a solutions provider because you’re receiving both a top-quality product and consultation from an expert who understands how it should be applied to generate the greatest return on investment. This approach keeps your projects focused and frees up your marketing and advertising team to spend time on other responsibilities and business development.

What Services Does a Print Solutions Provider Like SpeedPro Offer?

What Services Does a Print Solutions Provider Like SpeedPro Offer?

SpeedPro is an industry-leading marketing solutions provider specializing in wide-format printing. With over 20 years of industry experience, our studio owners and their expert staff excel in visual communications. They can develop, create and print high-quality marketing materials including:

However, we do more than just offer these products; we collaborate with your team to understand your big-picture objectives for each project and campaign. Knowledgeable staff members provide insight on which types of marketing and advertising collateral will perform well and gain the right kind of traction for your business.

It’s easy for business owners to overlook certain aspects of their marketing strategy, including measurement tools, what outcomes are realistic within their budget and what to remove. SpeedPro employees are equipped with the right tools to incorporate environment, objective and budget into an execution plan. As you think about reaching out to a solutions provider, consider how SpeedPro regularly helps our clients while they build out their marketing plan:

1. Data Gathering

While a first-time business owner may not think to include a unique URL that collects data necessary to attribute sales to a specific piece of print collateral, a solutions provider has it worked into the overall strategy. A solutions provider will make sure that this link is included in the final product and communicate how to get the most out of it. With the data you gain, you’ll have more information about which of your signs or custom graphics are performing best.

If you want to include vehicle wraps on your company vehicles and feature a limited-time offer on it, a printing solutions provider can work with you to implement features that improve the wrap’s efficacy. This information can tell you know how much new business you generated as a result of the wrap.

2. Environmental Advice

Unlike a print service provider, a print solutions provider will take the time to understand your environment and recommend signage perfect for your location. For example, a high-quality print solutions provider can evaluate the right material for your signage, depending on where you intend to place it. They might help you choose a fabric banner in an environment where a more glossy sign would constantly have a glare.

Additionally, you can talk to your printing solutions providers about the weather conditions likely to impact your signage. With the right materials, you can prevent damage from environmental effects like heavy snow, high-speed winds, excessive dirt and more.

Experienced large-format printers can provide advice to help your signage and graphics fir their environment perfectly.

3. Budget Assistance

As experts in the field, SpeedPro professionals know how much products should cost and work with companies to make sure they’re getting the best deal. Staying in your budget is important to your business’s success, and a top-notch print solutions provider will understand that. A print solutions provider will tell you the cost of different kinds of graphics, discuss how much you’ll need to spend to mount them and help you compare different materials for their long-term costs.

Instead of just figuring out the costs of individual graphics, a print solutions provider can take a look at your graphics holistically, helping you determine a strategy that gets the best graphics for your money. SpeedPro can help you develop a long-term strategy that lets you include high-quality signage that stays within your means.

4. Focused and Personalized Advertising

The vehicle for content delivery is just as important as the content itself. That’s why SpeedPro provides a variety of wide-format printing solutions for business owners based on their specific needs. We go beyond flyers and brochures and give clients cutting-edge solutions that can be customized to the needs of a business.

For example, environmental graphics are an innovative blend of technology, form and traditional graphics to reach your intended audience on several different levels. A multi-level-strategy is great for conferences and grabbing the attention of audiences in open environments. If you’re planning on hosting a conference or have open environments, SpeedPro can help you generate your multi-level strategy, providing you with the appropriate graphics to make your mark.

5. Higher ROI

Working with professionals helps businesses create higher quality marketing assets and a holistic strategy, as well as helps them navigate around the common stumbling blocks to generate a stronger ROI from print marketing and advertising campaigns. Since signage can be such a big investment, it’s crucial to work with a company that can make sure your graphics make the biggest impact on consumers as possible.

A wide-format printer like SpeedPro can assist with producing signage that’s more likely to get the best results. You’ll receive expert advice on the right materials, locations and signage types to include in your facilities. Additionally, SpeedPro prides itself on crafting signage that’s built for the long-haul.

Company Culture and Location Impact Results

A key factor that many business owners underestimate when selecting a print solutions provider is company culture. Many SpeedPro studio owners come from a business background and have spent years in the corporate world. The professionalism and hands-on experience they bring from their previous careers enables them to understand business owners’ objectives and offer tried and true strategies.

SpeedPro studio owners and their staff also receive comprehensive, ongoing training and in-studio experience to help familiarize them with the ins and outs of wide-format printing, the latest technology and applications. On top of that, owners tap into the owner network for advice and support.

How to Get Started: Choose SpeedPro for Your Signage Needs

Your local SpeedPro team can help you get set up with the best signage and other wide-format printing products to bring customers to your door and to drive sales. As a nationwide network of studios, SpeedPro can offer the most comprehensive wide-format printing services on the market today. Instead of going with a print service provider that offers generic signage, work with SpeedPro to receive signage unique to your company.

Our wide selection of products and services means we can meet your signage and graphic needs. Find a SpeedPro studio near you to speak with one of our representatives about what we can do for you.

Choose SpeedPro for your signage needs..

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