With the expansion of internet tools and marketing resources, print marketing budgets are being trimmed from all angles. However, funding for these marketing assets shouldn’t be completely eliminated from your budget, since many people still prefer a physical flyer or business card to hold in their hand. Utilizing print materials is also a great way to stand out from competitors who have switched to being completely digital. Not all seasoned customers are familiar with smartphones and the vast selection of applications.
However, if your budget for these materials is tight, there are still ways our team of designers and printing experts at Davant can help you maximize your funds. Here, we’ve put together a few tips and tricks to get you started, especially if you’re working with a smaller printing budget.
Ways to Maximize Your Print Marketing Budget
Start Small
If you’re a new business, start with a smaller budget and stick to “The 3 Bs”: banners, business cards, and brochures. Many business owners and employees are finding that leaving behind business cards is an effective marketing strategy for a relatively low cost. These can be passed out wherever your staff goes and provides potential clients with all of your business information. Brochures are a great way to keep your target market interested and informed about upcoming promotions and deals. Complement both of these materials with a business banner that has your company name and phone number. Banners can be hung anywhere, and you can even take them with you to trade shows and other events to use as advertising. If you find that you need more materials, incrementally increase your printing budget and add another marketing asset such as postcards, flyers, vehicle magnets, or even yard signs.
Use Simple Designs
Printing materials can get expensive, especially if you use full page colors and bold letterings. Ink is a rather large overhead cost for many businesses, regardless if you print in house or with a printing company. If you’re looking to maximize your budget and want to save a little money, use simple designs on your flyers, business cards, and brochures. Planning these designs may take a little time and effort from your marketing department, but they can save you big bucks in the long run. You’re less likely to waste ink and paper when you keep your designs simple.
Experiment with Paper
One thing marketing managers often don’t consider is the use of paper and printing materials, but in fact paper can make up 30-50% of your printing budget if you’re not careful. When planning out your print materials, consider reducing the size or number of pages you need for booklets, leaflets, and information packets. A simple adjustment to font size or style could save you hundreds when it’s time to go to print. You should also consider asking your printing company to use the in-house paper that they buy in bulk rather than the expensive sheets of paper they have to order in special. Changing paper thickness could also help you stretch your budget and can save you 10-15% when it’s all said and done.
Get All Approvals Before Submitting
Making changes halfway through a printing project could cost you. To avoid this, it’s best that you get approval from all parties involved and submit your templates in the right format. Don’t submit files until all materials have been proofed and corrected for errors. The wording should be appealing to everyone in your department, and the resolutions of graphics and images should be optimized so they don’t turn out blurry or pixelated. Give your materials a final scan before sending your files off to the printer.
Piggyback Projects
Perhaps one of the best ways to stretch your print marketing budget is to piggyback your projects. If you have different projects that are using the same colors or that need to be printed in a variety of sizes, consider grouping them together to get the most out of the same sheet of paper at the printer. By doing so, you’ll reduce the manpower it takes to change plates and set up the printers. This decrease in prep time could save you money on the backend when you have finished products. You’ll also save yourself a trip when it’s time to pick up everything you sent out for printing.
Trigger the Senses
At Davant, we understand that print materials have the ability to trigger the senses of your target market, which is why we take great pride in providing printing services to business in Indianapolis and surrounding areas. No matter your printing budget, we’ll find designs and solutions that work best for your business. Our state-of-the-art equipment allows us to provide our clients with high-quality print materials that are within their budgets and are finished on time. To find out more about our services, check us out online or give us a call at (317) 849-6565.
