Web technologies signal survival of the fittest...

It's fair to say the print industry has suffered from overcapacity and the effects of low margins for the past few years; recent research by accountants Grant Thornton proves that online marketing is making things appreciably tougher.

Their survey of December last year reveals that of 102 print buyers and senior marketers approached, 83% said they were producing online-only versions of marketing materials. One third of them were planning to cut print spend by 20% in 2007, and a staggering 70% plan to increase their e-marketing and online output.

The reasons? While the survey reveals that the cost of print is an issue to buyers, it's clear environmental concerns also play a large part in the shift to online marketing - people simply want to be greener in how they consume information.

However, with only 32% of respondents citing effectiveness for switching to online methods, print still has a part to play in the overall communications mix. It's just that printers have to offer more than just ink on paper, and adapt to take advantage of changing market demands.

Prospective customers still want to see print - but only if it's directly relevant to them - and that's the challenge for printers. It means targeting customers on an individual basis. And the technology's already here to do this. Highly personalised direct mail, perhaps as part of an integrated campaign involving email, SMS and the web, has already proven to be far more effective than blanket mailing.

Essentially, a carefully planned mixed-media campaign can achieve greater results, because it connects with customers at different touchpoints, and offers them more choice about how they receive marketing messages.

So, web technologies should not be feared by printers, but looked upon as a companion and an ally in getting across marketing messages in the most efficient and effective way as part of an integrated, not single channel, campaign. So printers will still print - they should just print smarter, and in a more joined-up way.

And while investment in digital marketing solutions and services is becoming the smart choice, its tactical application still requires know-how and experience, and means it is essential customers deal with partners with the appropriate credentials to effectively carryout their campaigns.

 

There, I believe, lies the major challenge, because investing in the software and hardware is easy, using it properly and effectively to achieve results, is a different skill altogether.