Why is print still so special?

Wednesday, Apr 29th 2020

At work and at home we have so many ways to communicate. Email, social media, webchats and, yes, the humble telephone - all keep friends and families in touch and connect companies with customers. Yet, physical mail still has a significant role to play in communications and the right equipment can help get messages in print out to customers. 

Companies now use a wide range of channels to communicate with customers. The key to success is the right channels mix and respecting customers’ choices over how they wish to be communicated with. 

Most customers will use a combination of channels – they might prefer a text to remind them of an appointment but an email to confirm an order. For some communications, only print will do and for many customers, it’s still their preferred way of staying in touch.

It’s the go-to medium for a range of formal messages and it also works particularly well for communications that contain a lot of detail, such as printed brochures. People linger over print in a way they may not with electronic messages. 

Where customers prefer to receive physical mail, they won’t be happy if they’re forced to accept other communication forms instead. If their choice is taken away, they’re likely to take their business away. 

It’s important, therefore, that companies take time to put an effective communications channel strategy in place, and establish customer preferences for the communications they wish to receive and how. With this done, the challenge then becomes efficient and cost-effective implementation through each channel. 

Saving time and cost with printed communications

For digital communications, automation may be introduced to help generate and issue messages swiftly. For print, it’s also beneficial to reduce the amount of physical labour involved and to minimise costs.

Applying individual stamps to envelopes may not prove to be the most cost-effective way to send mail and it can also be time-consuming. Similarly, folding letters individually and stuffing them into envelopes is laborious and not necessarily a good use of staff time. Preparing mail this way can also be error-prone with mistakes potentially resulting in missing pages or insert. 

To streamline operations, minimise errors and improve return on the investment made in print, many companies make use of time-saving equipment including franking machines and folder inserters. These help companies take advantage of the lowest postal tariffs, reduce time spent preparing outgoing mail and present a professional image with each communication. What’s more, they can also help companies track and analyse spend for informed decision-making and forecasting and to support continuous improvement initiatives. 

To find out how your company can continue to reap the rewards of effective printed communications while reducing the time and cost of sending out mail, take a look at our mail related solutions