Five Reasons Why Printed Marketing Materials are Still Important

Despite the fact that we seem to live so much of our lives online, we are still physical beings living in a physical world. Regardless of how attached are to social media we still crave physical communication. For that reason alone, printed marketing materials are still important in today’s digitally saturated environment. Let’s take a look at some of the many reasons that even the simplest of printed marketing communications like direct mail are highly effective in an organization’s outreach strategy.

Exposure

Printed marketing communications offer a great magnitude of exposure and create lasting impact. Their physical form has staying power that allows the audience to interact with them anytime. A publication or even a brochure left on a table has reach well beyond the individual to whom it was sent. This kind of pass-along can be very effective as it occurs in a natural and casual manner driven by genuine interest on the part of the individual.

Targeting

Because of its maturity as a strategy and the vast amount of data that is collected on people and organizations in their physical environments, printed marketing communications can be directed to highly targeted audiences. Variable printing, personalization and mail automation technologies enable even massive direct mail campaigns to be customized and targeted with pinpoint accuracy. This allows outreach and engagement with an audience at a highly effective, personal level without the often creepy feeling that highly personal social media outreach can have.

Branding

Printed marketing communications strengthen a brand by bringing a unified image used across other channels into direct physical contact with the audience. Because print is physical and able to be placed into the hands of prospects and customers it allows for outside of the box creativity such as the inclusion of samples and even multimedia. Printed marketing communication’s physical nature lend it a premium characteristic that can be used to convey quality and luxury. This physical nature can be used to appeal to the senses, like touch, smell, and with some creativity, taste that can not be accessed via other channels. For brands that exist strictly online, print is the perfect way to gain local presence without the need for brick and mortar facilities.

Measurability

Everyone knows that, thanks to tracking codes, online marketing communication is easy to measure. Print communication is the granddaddy of measurability. Coupons, redemption vouchers and other forms of tracking have proven the effectiveness of printed marketing for generations. Tracking and measurability of print campaigns can be done with automated technology or it can be as simple and low-tech as counting coupons or the number of enquiries made.The effectiveness of a print marketing campaign can be easily measured using simple techniques.

Flexibility

The best thing about print marketing is that it can easily be used in a combination with online tools. Not only is it perfect for reaching audiences not engaged with social media, it can be used to connect the physical and online worlds. Scanning technologies and augmented reality make a direct connection between print and digital. Even simple codes can be used to drive customers and prospects to a website. Print can actually be one of the most effective ways to convert offline customers to online and drive repeat or increased online engagement. Believe it or not, printed marketing communication is used frequently and very effectively by online giants like Google, eBay and Amazon.

While advances in media and marketing technology get all of the glory, classic approaches like print are still going strong. It gives access to audience segments, creates impact and builds awareness that will bring new life into any marketing strategy.

Five Reasons Why Printed Marketing Materials are Still Important

Healthcare Insurance Sector Averages Savings of Over 32% in the Past Two Quarters Using eLynxx Software

eLynxx Solutions, provider of software for sourcing and managing print has released data showing marketing and communication material savings of over 32% among its clients in the healthcare insurance sector over the past two quarters. This savings continues a trend for this sector.

Staying connected with both customers and service providers is critical to organizations in the healthcare insurance sector. Because of the highly regulated, personal and official nature of information in the healthcare insurance space, print remains a primary channel of communication. At the same time, especially in such a dynamic and competitive industry, there is always pressure to control cost and achieve better results that often leads to decisions that impact critical operations and materials. For 40 years, companies have turned to eLynxx Solutions to maximize efficiency, reduce costs and achieve better results from their marketing and communication materials.

“Healthcare insurance companies rely heavily on printed communication such as direct mail,” said Mike Jackson, chief executive officer of eLynxx Solutions. “These communications are often quite complex, involving not only personalization but requiring a high measure of security because of sensitive personally identifiable information. Such needs can add substantially to the cost of a campaign. Reducing the per-unit cost of printed communication materials and increasing the efficiency with which they are managed makes a positive impact on a healthcare insurer’s bottom line.” That is why leaders in the healthcare insurance sector turn to eLynxx Solutions. Purpose-built for the sourcing and management of direct mail, marketing and print communication materials, eLynxx software provides the highest possible level of efficiency and coordination. Combined with an exclusive patented sourcing method, eLynxx users from across all business sectors regularly achieve per-unit cost savings of up to 40% on all kinds of custom printed materials while increasing efficiency by an average of 53%.

“eLynxx Solutions is pleased to have been able to save its healthcare insurance clients an average of 32.15% in the past two quarters. This level of savings continues a trend of eLynxx Solutions clients in this sector achieving average annual savings of over 31%.” Jackson noted. Naturally, the efficiency and savings achieved through eLynxx is not limited to those in the healthcare insurance industry.

eLynxx Solutions helps organizations in the education, financial, manufacturing, heavy equipment, building products, technology, non-profit association and shipping and logistics sectors as well. eLynxx Solutions takes an approach of helping organizations extend their capabilities to get better results from a traditionally hard-to-control area of operational spending. With other approaches there is always some level of sacrifice. With the eLynxx approach organizations achieve the best possible price, quality and service on custom-printed materials while retaining control through their own people, processes and vendors.

###

eLynxx Solutions has been providing innovative products and services for helping organizations manage projects and connect with vendors of custom-produced graphic communication, direct mail, marketing materials, publications, labeling, packaging and all things print since 1975. Born, raised and still located in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania along the east coast’s graphic communications corridor connecting Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York City, today’s eLynxx Solutions is a leading innovator and provider of cloud software for the marketing supply chain. As a software boutique, eLynxx Solutions tailors its cloud software to fit the needs and requirements of its customers, providing the functionality of custom software with the economy of out-of-the-box solutions. eLynxx print procurement software empowers an organization’s people to work with their own vendors and strengthen their own processes to achieve better results. For more information regarding eLynxx software, please visit eLynxx.com.

Healthcare Insurance Sector Averages Savings of Over 32% in the Past Two Quarters Using eLynxx Software

How to Make Money in Today"s Printing Business

In case you haven’t noticed, the printing business isn’t what it used to be. But before you begin to think this is another of those ‘print is dying’ articles, let’s clear the air, it’s not. The printing business is far from dead but it certainly has changed. The days of constant incremental growth and an influx of new clients have gone the way of the buggy whip. There is still success to be had in today’s printing business but the model for making money is contrarian to familiar practices. And, believe it or not, the latest breakthrough in production technology plays no role in it.

Peaks and valleys are part of the business cycle in any industry. There are times when customers buy and times when they don’t. Many products can be manufactured in advance, stockpiled and sold on demand. For example, if you were in the toothbrush business, you would know how many toothbrushes you could sell in a year and when the peaks and valleys were. You would equip, supply and staff your factory to manufacture evenly throughout the year. You would stockpile production during valleys so there was enough to sell during peaks. But you are in the printing business and printing is different. Printing is custom. Every print job is unique. You can’t produce printing in advance, stockpile it and sell it on demand because your clients have to have something for you to print before you produce it.

Printers, for hundreds of years, have followed a different model. This model is based on being prepared for anything that could come through the door and then waiting for it to happen. Like the toothbrush manufacturer, you know in general when your peaks and valleys are, but unlike the toothbrush manufacturer, you can’t produce in advance and stockpile. And, at the same time, you wouldn’t want to turn away a client at any time, peak or valley. So the classic model for printing is to staff and equip for the highest of peaks and have a lot of downtime where both machines and hands are idle while overhead adds up waiting for clients to need your services.

Simply stated, in today’s business environment, printing success doesn’t come through increased business or new clients. If you continue to follow a model built around downtime waiting to be filled, the money you earn during the peaks will disappear during the valleys. To make money in today’s printing business you need to do the opposite of what the industry has considered logical for centuries.

Success in today’s printing business comes from efficiency and partnerships. To make money printers need to staff and equip for the valleys, not the peaks. You need to take inventory of actual production and eliminate operations that are not being fully utilized. If you are not readily selling non-core services like prepress or bindery, why bother when you can turn to partners who do them as their core operation? Ultimately, if a printer can trim fringe operations and focus on core services so that 80 to 90 percent of capacity is consistently being used, that printer can make money in today’s business environment.

But what about offering full service or being capable of taking work when the plant is running at capacity? That’s where having a variety of partners close at hand comes into play. Outsourcing among printers is far from new. But to achieve success in today’s environment, it is critical. That is one of the keys behind the success of the major, multi-plant and conglomerate printers like Donnelly, Cenveo and Quad. They operate at valley levels and then shift work among their facilities according to capacity or capability. Printers of any size can do the same thing without mergers and acquisitions.

Like most business strategies relying on partners for out-of-scope and beyond-capacity work is not without its risks. Can the partner live up to your standards of quality? Will the partner provide great on-schedule, on-service at a price that can be marked-up? Can the partner be trusted in terms of confidentiality and non-compete? These concerns are real, complex and difficult to overcome, but, with the right insight, preparation and tools, they can certainly be mastered.

Aside from the obvious legal agreements, printers, wishing to leave the past behind and follow today’s path to success, need software specifically built for the job – software that is powered by a method created for custom-produced goods and services like direct mail, marketing materials, publications, packaging, digital and all things print. They need software that empowers them to establish crystal clear, bullet-proof specs for the work they are outsourcing to partners. They need a way to qualify, manage and score their partners objectively based on capability and output. They need to automate the time-consuming process of sourcing and awarding the work. They need to be able to track outsourced jobs with precision and know that, on each and every job they outsource to a partner, they will receive the best possible combination of quality, timeliness and price. Simply stated, they need to be able to guarantee quality and service while buying the project for less than they can afford to make the project.

There aren’t fifty different alternatives to meet these needs. Spreadsheets won’t do it. General procurement, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management and production workflow software can’t do it. There is only one solution – eLynxx cloud software and the eLynxx exclusive sourcing method that’s so powerful it’s been awarded five United States Patents to date.

eLynxx Solutions knows the printing business, because it has been part of the business since 1975. Through 40 years of revolution in the printing industry, eLynxx Solutions has provided the experience, expertise, innovation and technology that has allowed printers and print buyers alike the opportunity to mutually profit from an ever-changing marketplace. Having processed over 3.2 million print projects valued at well over $9.1 billion dollars, there is no question that eLynxx Solutions has helped a lot of people. The only question is when can eLynxx Solutions start helping you make money in today’s printing business?

How to Make Money in Today"s Printing Business

Who Eats the Last Slice of Your Print Spend Pie?

We’ve been hearing the print buying community ask “does outsourcing really save any money and where do the dollars go compared to in-house print buying?”

When you’ve been helping print buyers at many different levels for four decades you gain a lot of insight into a lot of areas. Through analysis of data, first-hand experience and knowledge gained from the trial and tribulations of people we help, this topic is one of those areas.

Because we like calculating the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter as much as the next guy – and we also enjoy fruit-filled baked goods – we thought we’d start celebrating “Pi Day,” a day early with a look at Who Eats the Last Slice of Your Print Spend Pie?

Click the Image to Open – Click Again to Enlarge to Full Size

Who Eats the Last Slice of Your Print Spend Pie?

The Real Cost of Traditional Software

One of the fundamental decisions an organization has to make is to whether they should use locally hosted or cloud software.

Historically, companies reserved large portions of IT budgets for management software hosted in-house. But with more options, budget-savvy organizations are looking for more efficient and cost-effective alternatives to hosting their own software.

Moving to the Cloud

Traditional software has acquisition, maintenance, management and upgrade costs. Cloud software is hosted remotely and accessed, on-demand, via the Internet. Many enterprise-grade cloud applications are configurable and nearly all require minimal client involvement in terms of management.

Cloud-based software often eliminates a high percentage of the maintenance, management and upgrade costs. Choosing cloud software enables organizations to shift resources normally applied to management and maintenance of locally-installed, self-hosted and hard copy software to other more critical areas of operation. In addition, cloud software frequently offers a level of flexibility – in terms of accessibility, choice and dynamics – that traditional software has trouble keeping up with.

Hardware and Infrastructure Cost

The infrastructure required for locally installed or hosted software can require significant capital. If the software is server-based, as many powerful enterprise-grade applications are, the hardware and operating systems required to run an application can be tens of thousands of dollars. Even in the case of simple software that is locally installed on employees’ computers, larger hard drives, additional memory and more powerful processors may be required. Aside from the infrastructure required for reliable, high-speed internet access – which is a given for most organizations today – cloud software requires no special hardware or operating systems.

Staff and Overhead Impact

The costs of physical resources such as servers, network equipment, operating system licenses and workstation upgrades required for traditional, locally hosted or installed software are easy to see, the costs of staff and overhead required to keep everything running are not always as visible. If an organization has network or workstation resources dedicated to the hosting of traditional software, it also has highly-skilled, technical staff and overhead costs like electricity, security, climate control and crisis prevention dedicated to it.

Hindrance to Growth

As organizations grow and needs evolve, expensive traditional software and the costly infrastructure and overhead it requires, can be like dragging an anchor around. Deep investments often keep organizations tied to software and technology that no longer provides all of the capabilities they need. The thought of becoming even more deeply entrenched with additional costs and assets make organizations think twice about adding new capability or capacity.

Of course none of this is to say that there is no place at all for traditional software or that cloud software exists to answer every need. It should, however, bring to light the fact that there is more costs than just the purchase price to consider when choosing traditional software. Cloud software in addition to being a cost effective alternative, can eliminate the hindrance to growth as it constantly improved without additional upgrades. This keeps your company up-to-date with the latest software possible.

The Real Cost of Traditional Software

Not-for-Profit and Association Sector Saved over 25% in 2014 with eLynxx

eLynxx Solutions, a leading provider of software for the marketing supply chain has released data showing marketing material savings of over 25% among its clients in the not-for-profit and association sector during 2014. This savings continues a multi-year savings trend for this sector.

Increasing efficiency and reducing costs is a key factor in the way organizations in many sectors, including not-for-profits and associations, do business today. Faced with a highly competitive marketplace, the use of custom-printed marketing communication materials has become crucial to the fundraising, membership and special initiative efforts of not-for-profit organizations and associations. Organizations must sometimes make decisions that impact critical operations and materials. For nearly 40 years, companies have turned to eLynxx Solutions to maximize efficiency, reduce costs and achieve better results from their marketing and communication materials.

“Printed communication materials are critical to this sector,” said Mike Jackson, chief executive officer of eLynxx Solutions. “Not-for-profits and associations rely on these materials to attract new members, communicate with existing members, raise non-dues revenue and promote events. Cutting per-unit cost of the printing used in not-for-profit outreach campaigns means a greater return on marketing investment. However, there is generally no room for sacrifice in quality or timeliness.” That is exactly why leaders in the association and not-for-profit sector turn to eLynxx Solutions. Purpose-built for the sourcing and management of direct mail, marketing and print communication materials, eLynxx provides the highest possible level of efficiency and coordination. Combined with an exclusive patented sourcing method, eLynxx users across all business sectors regularly achieve per-unit cost savings of up to 40% on all kinds of custom printed materials while increasing efficiency by an average of 53%.

“Considering the scope of many of the outreach campaigns in this sector, any amount of savings makes a positive impact. eLynxx Solutions is pleased to have been able to save its not-for-profit and association clients an average of 25.54% in 2014. This level of savings continues a multi-year trend of eLynxx Solutions clients in this sector achieving average annual savings of over 23%. Naturally, the efficiency and savings achieved through eLynxx is not limited to associations and not-for-profits.

eLynxx Solutions helps organizations in the education, financial, manufacturing, heavy equipment, building products, shipping and logistics and technology sectors as well. eLynxx Solutions takes an approach of helping organizations extend their capabilities to get better results from a traditionally hard-to-control area of operational spending. With other approaches there is always some level of sacrifice. With the eLynxx approach organizations achieve the best possible price, quality and service on custom-printed materials while retaining control through their own people, processes and vendors.

###

eLynxx Solutions has been providing innovative products and services for helping organizations manage projects and connect with vendors of custom-produced graphic communication, direct mail, marketing materials, publications, labeling, packaging and all things print since 1975. Born, raised and still located in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania along the east coast’s graphic communications corridor connecting Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York City, today’s eLynxx Solutions is a leading innovator and provider of cloud software for the marketing supply chain. As a software boutique, eLynxx Solutions tailors its cloud software to fit the needs and requirements of its customers, providing the functionality of custom software with the economy of out-of-the-box solutions. eLynxx print procurement software empowers an organization’s people to work with their own vendors and strengthen their own processes to achieve better results. For more information regarding eLynxx software, please visit eLynxx.com.

Not-for-Profit and Association Sector Saved over 25% in 2014 with eLynxx

The Price of Relationship-Based Print Buying

I regularly meet with procurement and marketing people responsible for buying custom print projects. They all seem to share a knack for dealing with details and working under tight deadlines. Where they often differ, however, is in favoring varied vendor sourcing strategies. Many prefer working with a single or limited number of vendors while others support a multiple-vendor strategy.

No doubt the level of vendor collaboration involved in procurement of custom print is greater than when buying inventoried goods. For this reason, print buying often becomes a largely relationship-based transaction. The buyer trusts in the vendor’s capabilities, has come to expect responsive service and feels that their prices are fair. It’s an age old peace-of-mind scenario.

But peace-of-mind can come at a high price. This recent article in the Chicago Tribune deals largely with the ethical factors in relationship-based print buying. But those issues aside, it clearly illustrates the financial risk of not exposing preferred vendors to a competitive scenario. In this case, a vendor that produced a newsletter for over 10 years without competition reduced their price by nearly 50% when forced to bid against competitors.

At eLynxx Solutions, we agree that organizations should only do business with vendors they know, trust and approve. We offer a means to objectively manage vendor capabilities and pre-qualify the vendor pool – no matter the size. And our cloud software allows print buyers to easily compete work among their own trusted vendors as frequently as they choose. The result – print buyers maintain peace-of-mind regarding quality and service while ensuring that they’re always getting the most competitive price available from their preferred vendors.

The Price of Relationship-Based Print Buying