How print marketing can win you more business

You’d be forgiven for thinking that there’s no use investing in print marketing any more. Didn’t that die a death when the digital world took over, and the internet shortened our attention spans?

Turns out, not quite. Despite the giant that is digital marketing, there is still very much a place in your strategy for printed and promotional materials, and to ignore it could be to miss out on a whole segment of the market.

Research from Pitney Bowes (found in this article) suggests that 76% of small businesses use both print and digital marketing – so whatever your opinion on the humble leaflet or poster, the majority of businesses are embracing them as well as improving their digital campaigns.

But what if we’re targeting young people – they don’t care about print, do they?

The research suggests that this is wrong. JWT, a leading advertising company in the US, has conducted research on millennials’ attitude towards print marketing (found here) and has lead to some surprising results.

They found that ‘over 50% of millennials would prefer for print to remain a significant factor in their lives, even in the face of ever-increasing digitization.’ As well as this, almost 80% of millennials said that the tangible connection they can make to printed promotional materials is important to them.

Yes, it’s true, the younger generation’s lives are generally more entwined with digital technology than any who came before them, but that doesn’t mean they ignore the value of a physical piece of well designed marketing material – and you shouldn’t either.

Physical = powerful

It could even be said that in this all-consuming digital age, print marketing is like a breath of fresh air. Consuming content and adverts online is very different to in person; we’re constantly browsing, flicking through and scanning over what we see, in a casual way, looking for entertainment. This makes it increasingly hard for your digital marketing material to stand out from the crowd and really connect with the customer. By giving someone a piece of print marketing for them to touch, hold, feel, read and enjoy means your brand gets the focus you want from the customer.

Marketing continues to be more about engaging with your customers, rather than just talking at them, and print marketing is a fantastic way to achieve this. Print marketing has authority, in that rather than viewing it passively, your consumer can hold it physically in their hand, feel the quality and texture of what you’ve produced, and connect more deeply with your brand.

Another benefit of using printed materials is that they have more longevity than a piece of digital marketing – how many times have you spotted a brand or an offer that you’re interested in when browsing online, but then never been able to find it again because you didn’t think to note it down? Print marketing mostly eliminates this, in that it can be kept and reread, giving it superior visibility and longevity over digital mediums.

Combine print marketing with digital

We’re not saying that you should forget digital marketing and put all of your budget into making fliers – quite the opposite! Digital marketing is a vital part of reaching consumers in the modern day; we just believe that print marketing should not be ignored.

Instead, utilise it to enhance, promote and align your digital campaign. Creating a brand is all about consistency, so when you’re generating a concept for your marketing campaign, think how it can be communicated across all channels and mediums, including print. Whether it’s including a hashtag on your printed bag design, adding a QR code for smartphones to scan on your company brochure, or asking customers to get involved in your online community, incorporating print more effectively into your marketing strategy can only serve to strengthen it.

What are your thoughts on print marketing? Is it something you continue to invest in? How do you see print and digital marketing working together in the future?

Print marketing can come in all sorts of forms – and our favourite is printed bags, surprisingly enough! Printed bags are a subtle yet effective way to promote your brand, shout about your campaign and leave a lasting impact on your customers. Plus, this might be just us, but we love keeping those printed bags that are just a little bit more special!

To find out more about printed bags and how they can boost your brand, get in touch with our lovely team. You can call 0191 268 7555, or email us at sales@theprintedbagshop.co.uk.