Stand out from the crowd with your digitally printed Greetings Cards

Greetings cards are a very effective marketing tool and one of the most popular forms of direct marketing used by businesses of all sizes.

Here are some tips from Direct2Print on how to stand out from your competitors and show you how to show that you offer a personal service.

The High Street card shops seem to have out-lasted the print and copy shops.  They always seem to be busy – so some people still must like buying and sending cards.

And we get many artists, writers and individuals who use our digital printing service for small quantities of cards based upon their own designs or images.

Sending a card remains the most common reason most people go to the post-box.

The market is said to be worth about £1.6bn per annum and employ something in the region of 100,000 people.

However, recent research by Ofcom shows that high postage costs, texting and social media have all contributed to a reduction in the volume of people sending cards.

But with fewer cards this should represent an opportunity for businesses to stand out from their competitors.
Greetings cards offer a way to build a relationship with your clients in order to develop a sense of customer loyalty.

There is something special about receiving a greetings card.
 
They are tangible and can be printed on many different forms and textures of cards – so they appeal to more senses than most other forms of business communication.

Even if you send them out with a Statement or other correspondence – they can add a nice personal touch.

And with online print the whole order process is relatively simple.

Here are just five possible areas which should be seen as opportunity for a small business:-

The 5 Top Business Applications for printed cards

1. Christmas Cards

Every year we print fewer Christmas Cards, mainly due to lower demand.

But Christmas cards are a very effective form of direct mail.

You can send Christmas Greetings as an e-card for a fraction of the cost of a card – but how memorable are they?

Many recipients fear they carry a computer virus and send them to the “Trash” folder without even opening them!

Yet you know a Christmas card made from a child’s painting would always take pride of place on the mantelpiece of a friend or relative.

In the same way a Christmas card is on a client’s desk for a few weeks of the year – and each year there are fewer others around that compete for the same attention!

Christmas is the one occasion in the year to say “Thank you for the business” and it can do wonders for your PR because no strong sales message is needed.

2. New Year’s Cards

The period after the Christmas break is a tough time for most businesses.

In order to build up some form of sales momentum it is the traditional time for a “Sale” or to move unwanted stocks.

A New Year’s card arriving when your client gets back to work when activity is quiet is sure to be noticed.

Then - when you make that first sales call in the New Year the greeting is sure to be warmer and more genuine!

3. Thank You Cards

We have a large number of customers who send a simple Thank You card after a transaction has been made.

They are even more important for high value transactions.

We have house builders who send a “Welcome to Your New Home” card and exclusive car dealers who send an “Enjoy Your New Vehicle” card as a way of saying thanks.

They are also popular after a funeral or a wedding when the family wish to extend thanks to all the people who have helped with making arrangements or have supported them.

One wedding photographer supplies them free of charge to the bride and groom. They are printed with their own logo, website and contact details on the back. And have been proven to be a good source of obtaining business by recommendation from the guests who attended.

4. Reminder Cards

When you provide a service that requires regular check-ups or visits then a Reminder Card is a perfect way of communication.

Dentists, chiropodists, opticians and medical establishments send cards because appointments have been made some time ago and not everyone has a good diary system.

Just like you, clients get busy and mentally put things off.

Dropping them a card might get them thinking about you again.

Rather than just a bland black and white postcard – why not add a colourful image with a special incentive to encourage your recipient to take action?

Motor dealers who provide vehicle servicing and annual testing could send cards to try and get a repeat sale with photos of some of their stock vehicles in case they fancied a “trade-in”.

One particularly effective application is for a Central Heating contractor who sends out Reminder cards for a boiler service during the summer months when they would normally be quiet – to offer a special incentive to service before the cold weather begins.

With digital printing you can be creative with the possible applications.

5. Special Date Cards

Unlike the other applications for cards there are some opportunities to send a card as a gesture that will be really appreciated.

They can be to commemorate any specific dates like birthdays or anniversaries.  Or they can be dates based upon your own marketing plans – for example, advanced notification of a Flash Sale or a Special Promotion.

With a good database you can even be very creative with variable data and merge text and images so each recipient gets an individually personalised message.

So there are many other possibilities and applications.  Some we do not even understand ourselves – including this regular order below for cards with a horse’s face on the front - sent out by a Racing Tipster with a lime green envelope.

But our online digital printing service can present any business with a real opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

When ordering greeting cards at www.direct2print.co you simply upload your own design and personalise it in the best way possible.

So the next time you consider sending greetings by email – think which you would prefer – a message to your inbox or a card through your post-box!

And if you happen to know the birthday of your main contact at a client’s company, be sure to put it in your diary – it could come in handy one day!

Helping Create Memories that Last!

Funeral printing is big business.  Printed Orders of Service, acknowledgement cards, book-marks and memorial cards are just some of the products that have become an integral part of the funeral service.  

Often these printed items are the least costly items at a funeral but remain one of the most important.  Printing often helps to create memories that last!

They also often act as mementoes that can be kept as a keepsake or distributed to those people who were unable to attend the actual service itself.

Our own funeral printing website was created in 2008 and was operational for five years and attracted custom from throughout the UK.  

However, we have now incorporated the funeral printing product within our new digital print website www.direct2print.co  to make the ordering process easier.

We also found that most customers now seem to prefer sending their own digital artwork files rather than use an online editor tool.

Order Of Service

An Order of Service is almost a pre-requisite at any funeral.  

If it is professionally designed and printed, an Order of Service becomes a valued part of any funeral service that helps to celebrate the life of the deceased.  

Because they usually need to be approved by a large number of people they are often required within a couple of days.

They are also not needed in large quantities – so they are ideal for digital printing.

Orders of Service also lend themselves to online digital printing because they need to be produced quickly and to a high quality standard by a company with experience in putting them together quickly and effectively.

And the vast majority of commercial printers and funeral directors neither have the time, equipment or capability to typeset, layout, design and print in the time available.

There are many specialist web2print services that have been created specifically for the design and printing of Orders of Service.  

They provide quick and easy access to popular hymns, poems or images that have a particular meaning or theme. They also help with other design touches like borders and help the printing process.

This saves time searching for the relevant and correct content to include within the service sheet.

With our fixed £40 design and artwork costs we are able to help those customers who are not quite so capable and would rather pass over responsibility to a trained and experienced graphic designer.

There is also the added financial benefit that Orders of Service for funerals are zero-rated for VAT (see Public notice 701/32 paragraph 3.3 for those interested!).

So there is some financial benefit with death after all!

Over the years we have produced a wide range of Orders of Service linked to all sorts of hobbies like gardening or fishing or those specifically linked to sport, the armed services or music.

There is often a particular style according to the country you come from and the religion you belong to.   

Some are quite colourful and flamboyant and some are very plain and stark. 

Some are short and basic and others are quite long and made into a booklet format.  

We use a wide range of cards and papers – including recycled grades. The most popular remain either white or an ivory off-white card – folded or made into an A5 finished size.

This is why we do not offer too wide a range of cards and papers for our online print service.

However, the general rule when designing an Order of Service is that there are no rules.  

Sometimes we have created a DL folded leaflet that would put many businesses to shame for the quality and appearance.

The vast majority have a photograph of the deceased and many have a collage of favourite photos collected by family and friends.

There is usually no problem with copyright, especially if the writer of the hymns or poems has been dead for 71 years or more. 

Images are usually all royalty-free and as long as the Church or Crematorium has a CCL licence (www.ccli.co.uk) and there is usually no need for any additional licence for hymns or music.

Acknowledgement, Thank You & Memorial Cards

Other items of funeral printing can usually be found in the Postcard or Greetings Card categories at www.direct2print.co.

This is a simple way of ordering these items when using our online print service.  They can be printed single or double-sided on a range of cards.

We have even supplied a photographic montage – which can be framed if required. 

Perhaps this is best to order offline because if you select our Small Poster product category the minimum quantity order is 25.

Bookmarks

The final Product category is for Bookmarks – they are usually a standard side and given a laminate finish for extra protection and long-life.

Bookmarks again are ideal for our online printing service because you only need to order a small quantity at one time.

For more information check out our website or call Customer Services free on 0800 0346 007.