The MRM Blog

25 Ways to Use Print on Demand: 16-25

In these days of intense competition, ideas on how to do things better, smarter, faster and with greater impact are wonderful career-advancing things. In our most recent ebook, we share 25 ways to use print on demand. Some of these ideas we have tried…some have been tried by others…and some are simply ideas.

While there are specific ideas for commercial marketers and for fundraisers, we suggest you read the whole book or all three blog posts because with a little tweaking, many of the ideas will cross over nicely.

Here are the last ten:

1. We built a virtual back office, which centered around print on demand output. Our local chapters and affiliates no longer have to spend time and waste money printing materials for themselves. There is a web portal where they can order everything from customizable cases for support to solicitation letters to letters acknowledging gifts. Chapters were able to divert the time and money they spent producing materials into active fundraising and into advancing the mission itself. While digital imaging equipment handled some of the output, the system was designed to choose production methods from traditional presses for large quantities to desktop printing for very small quantities, with the print on demand niche in the 100–2,500 range.
2. It’s nice to let donors know you care, and an elegant, colorful certificate of appreciation is one way to do that. Digital imaging equipment, which personalizes the certificates as it prints them, is perfect for this kind of project.
3. Print on demand can make production of materials for those popular “walks” and “runs” much easier. It can be handled on a local basis, but it’s easy to set up an online ordering portal on a statewide or even national basis.
4. At least one national fraternity used variable print on demand to prepare brochures for potential major gift donors; using data from the prospect’s chapter made for a very personal and very effective approach.
5. Newsletters are a staple of the nonprofit segment, and print on demand makes customized, localized newsletters an option, using four-color local graphics.
6. Once a year, create a customized and personalized magazine for mid- to upper-level donors. If well done, it will be a keeper that sits out on coffee tables and is picked up and read time and time again. Don’t forget to include the remit envelope or a QR code.
7. Follow the lead of commercial marketers and use things like PURLs and QR codes to make print interactive. Engage donors by taking them directly to any place on the web you want them to go…to a YouTube video that presents a compelling story about your mission or to a PURL that pulls up their donor information and accepts an additional gift.
8. It often makes sense to hybridize—for example, if you print a catalog of donor options, consider printing the inside on a traditional press and stitching a full-color imaged and personalized cover (This could also be used to schedule high school students’ pre-college visits. Customize and personalize the cover only for cost savings).
9. Use four-color imaging to create truly personalized save-the-date cards for your major events.
10. Utilize a multi-channel auto synchronized campaign to gather donor information. Include a postcard mailing with a PURL and auto synch’d email with a PURL based on real-time tracking of the postcard through IMB tracking. Once the donor clicks through to their PURL landing page, capture donor feedback through a survey and link them to your organization’s donation page (while donations are not the main goal, we don’t want to discourage them).

25 Ways to Use Print on Demand: 5-15

In these days of intense competition, ideas on how to do things better, smarter, faster and with greater impact are wonderful career-advancing things. In our most recent ebook, we share 25 ways to use print on demand. Some of these ideas we have tried…some have been tried by others…and some are simply ideas.

While there are specific ideas for commercial marketers and for fundraisers, we suggest you read the whole book or all three blog posts because with a little tweaking, many of the ideas will cross over nicely.

Here are the next eleven:

1. We finally solved the problem of producing customized materials for franchisees and retailers. We set up a web portal that featured relevant marketing materials that allowed the franchisee or retailer to customize their own materials, within limits of course, and to proof and place their order on the spot. Depending on the run, we would produce either on traditional presses or by print on demand. Most orders were for quantities that were most economical for POD. It ended up saving a lot of staff time, space (did you know 78 percent of marketing expenditures is currently sitting on shelves?) and hassle, and reduced the error rate to nearly zero. Accounting loved it because the system initiated the billing process at the same time it placed the order.
2. Print on demand saved the day for us when we were testing a bunch of new products. We had focus groups scheduled in five cities, and we wanted the groups to see several creative approaches for packaging, ads and direct mail pieces. You can do some of this with projected images, but there is no substitution for hands-on, especially when you are dealing with direct mail. We needed 300 examples of each piece. Print on demand was the answer. With it, we were able to get very true color, two-sided printing and paper stocks similar to what we would normally use. We were also able to get it very quickly.
3. You don’t always need to personalize to use print on demand. It saved our bacon when we needed mini-catalogs for a trade show and had only a few days to produce them. We just needed 500 pieces, an easy quantity for POD, even though there were many pages involved. The binding was done inline, which further cut time.
4. We also did the invitations to that trade show on a POD system. Each one was personalized with an entry for a drawing to be held at the booth. The drawing tickets had numbers, but we pre-assigned numbers so we would know, later, who had been at the booth, even without asking visitors to fill something out. We used numbers to eliminate any appearance of favoritism—always a problem when there is a name on the ticket. Another feature on the card (not the ticket): the invitation carried a photo of the salesperson assigned to the company. The sales manager’s picture was on prospect cards (which were a different color). This allowed the personnel in the booth to quickly recognize our customers, even though they didn’t necessarily know them.
5. We have a number of long-tail products. The audiences are very small, but each sale isquite profitable. Print on demand lets us print very high-quality, targeted pieces for customers and prospects in these narrow product markets.
6. One of my friends does marketing for a Fortune 500 bio-research company who has some very large customers who get special pricing. While they can access product information with their special pricing on the web, they also print special catalogs for these premier customers. It’s easy and cost-effective with print on demand.
7. Another friend markets for a large physician practice group. They have found that mailing reminders of time for tests like mammograms, colonoscopies, cholesterol screenings and other preventive measures improves the likelihood that patients will get these tests on time. Simple, personalized self-mailers do the trick (They have a POD partner that maintains data confidentiality standards required by HIPAA).
8. When we start a major marketing initiative, we always put together a comprehensive marketing kit for our distribution channel partners. We tried communicating this information through email and the web, but we found that dimensional kits had a greater impact. By using print on demand, we are able to cut our cost per piece and still convey an impression of great quality.
9. Real estate is a very competitive business these days, where every edge is important. A real estate agent who printed weekly or semi-weekly catalogs of all properties, with high-quality four-color photos would have that edge. With digital printing, updating is easy, and quantities of 500 or so can be printed for reasonable prices.
10. People’s vacation dreams have vivid color. It makes sense for travel providers to stimulate those dreams with four-color brochures based on their travel history or known travel preferences: wine, golf, hiking, shopping. Digital color printing can make this happen.
11. One of our sales friends got inspired to produce a personalized digitally printed calendar for her clients. She got busy and collected personal information (valuable additions to her sales database in any case) and produced calendars with their birthdays, favorite colors and key dates for their favorite sports, etc. One lesson she learned: there is such a thing as too much, and too much information will complicate programming.

25 Ways to Use Print on Demand: 1-4

In these days of intense competition, ideas on how to do things better, smarter, faster and with greater impact are wonderful career-advancing things. In our most recent ebook, we share 25 ways to use print on demand. Some of these ideas we have tried…some have been tried by others…and some are simply ideas.

While there are specific ideas for commercial marketers and for fundraisers, we suggest you read the whole book or all three blog posts because with a little tweaking, many of the ideas will cross over nicely.

Here are the first four:

1. Our salespeople wanted sheets customized with their contact information including color photos. Since we have offices in other countries, we needed versions in eight languages. No one wanted to wait until we had an order that was big enough to go back on a traditional press. Our first solution was to print more, but that was wasteful and expensive. We printed the initial order on a traditional press and created files for color digital imagers. Then, we arranged to run weekly orders when needed, even when there were only small batches.It worked so well that we took it one step further and set up an automatic ordering system. The salespeople could go online, look at the files, make changes as needed (within limits, of course) and place the order. That practically eliminated administrative time and resulted in a reduction in errors and recycle bin food, all while optimizing the marketing supply chain.
2. The marketing department was running a big TV campaign offering catalogs. There were three commercials, each one featuring a different product. In the past, we had simply taken a one-size-fits-all approach and mailed the same version to everyone, labeled with no personalization. But we wanted to make a bigger impression on our responders. One idea was better targeting, and another was more color. We combined both. Once again, we hybridized. The insides of the catalog were printed on a traditional press and had pages, trimmed, collated and ready to go. The personalized, customized color cover featured the specific product model the prospect had seen on the commercial, identified by a response code. The inside and back covers featured more customized details including a personalized letter and a list of local retailers. We were able to get these catalogs in the mail almost as quickly as if we had labeled and mailed.
3. Human resources departments can make employee benefit books attractive, current and personalized by using print on demand. This is a great solution for companies who have facilities in several locations, with different employment practices and benefits. It’s easy to make changes quickly when needed and leverages the investment in employee benefits.
4. Converting documents that are needed only in small quantities to print on demand can save thousands of dollars. We have found storing and distribution costs can double the original print cost. Just-in-time printing is possible with print on demand.

 

Show Them the Love

Your clients show their love for you by buying your product, referring you to others and sharing positive feedback about you either on your website or a customer survey, among other ways. But do you reciprocate?

Show your clients the love by:

• Listening Really Listening: At Gabriel Group, our Director of First Impressions, Christie makes an effort to pay attention to our customers preferences. An example of this is that Doug McDaniel’s, of the Salvation Army, favorite beverage is Diet Coke. Although, he visits just a few times per year, each time he does she makes sure that our mini fridge is stocked with Diet Coke and greets him at the door with his beverage of choice.
• Telling Them: Send a thank you card, an appreciation gift or better yet, drop in with a box of fresh pastries or cookies…food is an international bonding mechanism! Or maybe host an appreciation breakfast for a group of your prospects with coffee and continental breakfast included. 
• Telling Others: Show them your appreciation for their business by recognizing them. Promoting others has become exceptionally easy because of the internet…so in the spirit of practicing what we preach, we would like to promote SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center’s Valentine’s Day Rally. Click here to order either a Video E-Card or Traditional Printed Valentine Cards. For just a $10 donation, your BIG heart can help the kids’ hearts heal!

Thank you for reading our blog, and happy early Valentine’s Day!