Praxis Communications, Inc.

DECIDING WHICH SALES COLLATERAL SHOULD BE PRINTED
Challenge:
With the increasing popularity of hosting sales brochures and catalogs on company web sites almost exclusively, it's a wonder more printers aren't out of business by now. One of the reasons they’re not is that advertisers are still using traditional marketing methods to attract attention and drive prospects to their web sites. But there’s another important function of printed collateral: A lot of business is still done by people, and relationships between the local rep or regional manager and the customer are still very important. I suspect, as long as human beings are doing the decision-making, we (human beings) will continue to crave human contact. In these cases, good sales collateral is still critical.

So, what to print and why? While CFOs drool at the idea of saving the cost of their entire print budget, it would be foolish and counterproductive to throw everything out with the bathwater. The answer really depends on how your company sells, how it handles relationship-building, and to what degree branding must relate to the fulfillment cycle.

Solution:
There are two ways to decide what sales collateral to print: 1) Survey your sales staff on their methods and preferences; and/or 2) use your good judgment. Both of these methods work, unless your judgment is jaded by an overwhelming urge to save cost altogether at the risk of losing future business. It may sound as though we’re advocates of printing, per se. Not so. We’re advocates of delivering the brand message in the most effective way possible. In most cases, the web is the way. On the other hand, if you have a field staff or sales channel, personal meetings still count for a lot, and here’s where a professionally crafted brochure or catalog can really make a difference. There’s also a great case to be made for traditional printed direct marketing (see title: “Direct Mail Response”).

Getting it done:
  1. Survey your sales staff. Find out how important face-to-face meetings are with their customers and prospects. See if there are local mail opportunities to generate new leads using traditional direct marketing that you can support.
  2. Wean your staff and your customers off some of the less important fulfillment articles. Post them on the web instead.
  3. Make sure the collateral you do print refers your customers to your web site to find everything else. Bury some of the more technical bulletins in restricted access folders to encourage visitor registration.
  4. If it’s a catalog you decide to print, do it first-class. It doesn’t have to be big, but it does have to be professional. You want your brand to make the right impression.
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