Marketing Color Imaging
 

Your Next Most Important Step

It may have taken a while but one of your most important business decisions was purchasing a color printing and vinyl cutting system. After debating the features of one software program against the other and selecting just the right hardware, it was great to finally receive delivery and begin using the equipment. By taking that crucial first step, you could now begin to offer your customers digital color imaging.

So, that was that. Right? Wrong! The next most important step is marketing your process and the product it can generate. How will your clients know what new signmaking options are available to them if you don't tell them?

Many customers are just not informed that color printing on anything but a paper medium is available. They've probably seen the technology at their local copy shop but have no idea that graphic imaging has made inroads into sign making by its application to vinyl or other substrates. That's where marketing this new revolution and educating the customer comes to the fore. And you're the one that needs to take that next important!

Identifying Your Customer Base

So, what are you supposed to do? By assessing the type of customer you sell to and their needs, you can begin to address how to announce your new capabilities. Ask yourself whether the buyer in your market is looking for vehicle, banner, wall, or window graphics. Will he be needing this technology to imprint onto textiles such as T-shirts or caps? Does the customer need their logo printed and applied to metal sign blanks? After narrowing down the potential marketplace, you can spend those advertising dollars effectively.

Once you have identified your customer base, begin to formulate a plan of action, much like an initial business plan. Stick to that plan because it takes time for the word to get out, for the customer to understand what's available, and to realize they need digital imaging to enhance their advertising as well.

Three Ways to Market Color Imaging

Well, how are you going to launch your campaign? First, start the information flowing and announce your new service by mailing a brochure or postcard to previous customers. These clients are already familiar with your work and already have a working relationship with you. Telephone calls to previous clients can also be an avenue if you remember to be brief and professional, not pushy.

Radio spots or local newspaper advertisements can highlight your new service, but tend to a general audience. Perhaps your community has a newsletter or advertising medium that specifically addresses the real estate, banking, or auto market, for example. Again, if you've appropriately targeted the market you want to educate, you'll get the most bang for your buck.

Here's the second way: Market color imaging by helping the buyer visualize what you're talking about. Seeing is believing.

Attractive photos of signs that incorporate this new graphic process can assist the customer to see how his logo or text can be complemented by quality digital output. Mount these together in a picture album that emphasizes the technology. Also, a sample book of digital images on vinyl and various substrates demonstrates the flexibility of color printing.

Take the space and the time to display small signs in the showroom so the customer can literally "see" the practical applications and what he can use them for. Of course, having your own exterior and interior signs or banners is another way to display just how eye-catching color imaging is.

Finally, the third way you can market your new service. Take an aggressive stance. Go for those small jobs you used to turn down, such as decals and labels. Even low quantity jobs can be profitable with the labor and time saving features of a digital imaging and cutting system. Besides, those small jobs usually lead to larger ones through a growing business relationship.

Determined marketing includes offering promotions that guarantee a profit but at the same time, permit the customer to get the deal he's looking for. Bundling together various items that use the already scanned and prepared graphic such as a "New Business Combo" that includes a banner, a set of car signs, and a few P.O.P. signs can fit the bill. A promotion that emphasizes a quantity discount can also spawn additional profit through additional job orders.

So while you've taken the first stride and purchased your digital color printing system, don't stop there! Take the next most important step and market that digital color printing system you've just purchased. Identify the customer base you want to address, draw up a marketing plan, and implement several ways to achieve that plan. Remember it's up to you to market your service and educate your customers. Be determined to make your endeavor a success!