Business printing… a business cost or an investment in your business?

Business stationery plays an important role in every business.

Business printing, especially stationery, that is carefully planned can help to transform your business into a hub of activity for little or no extra printing outlay from your precious funds.

Just one or two printing ideas from these pages may be the missing links that could help you release profits trapped in your business… so let's get started and see what we can uncover.

Make your business printing work for you.

Start by regarding your printed material as extra staff – even if you are only a one–person business. What performance would you expect of an admin assistant or a sales assistant? Once you have sorted that out you are well on the way to transferring those ideas onto paper with the help of this website and your printer.

Aim to create consistency throughout your business printing. Each printed component should be a recognisable part of your business image. Your overall design, logo design and colour selection should reflect the expectation your customers have for your type of business. In regard to colour… think fast food outlets. There is a strong colour expectation for these businesses which helps us to spot one a proverbial 'mile away'!

Once you have decided on how you will present your business in print, you can also extend that theme to other promotional items, as well as signage and even keep up the standard if you use photocopying.

The test for you is to resist the pull of the weird and wonderful! Just because it is POSSIBLE to achieve a particular result with materials and colourful design of your stationery, it doesn't mean it is to your best advantage. There are certain standards to follow that will give you a balanced and acceptable result for you and your customers or clients.

Keep in your mind the role each piece of printed matter should perform for your business. When each document or item arrives in the hand or within sight of its target, how do you want that person to react, what should that person do, how best should they react to your, and their, advantage?

Don't make this mistake.

One of the mistakes people make with their printing is to focus on what they consider to be important about their business. Instead of opting for the spectacular or the mundane… "that's what we've always done with our printing"… check to see if you are getting the result you need. For example, it may surprise some to know that their favourite view of the front of their premises does absolutely nothing for clients!

Your impressive record and ability will also probably leave them cold. It's only boosting your ego not your wallet, unless you introduce that information at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner… when they have reason to believe it.

If you are not sure you have the skill or experience to write the perfect words for your documents, then consider the advantage in hiring a competent Copywriter to get you on track. You will likely spare yourself much frustration and achieve better results.

Tell them, and keep telling them.

Usually you will actually have to TELL the recipient how to react in the way you want them to. That may be in the form of…

"Ring today"
"Fill in your details and post"
"Return this today for your bonus…"
"Visit our shop to collect your…"

What you are doing is putting before your client your "Call to Action", also described as your "Most Wanted Response". This is where you add value to whatever printed matter you have sent them, so that it continues to generate direct or indirect income for you.

I hope you've gained something from this brief overview of organising your business printing for the best result. Please use the index on the left to access the particular products you require. Each product has descriptions and hints to enable you to get the best result for your dollar invested.

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Turn your Business Printing Costs into an Investment