Birmingham has long been a key area of the UK for commercial print companies, but as with everything else the times are a changing.
The print industry has undergone many transformations over the years but with the undeniable shift towards digital marketing taking place over the last decade, what does 2015 hold for the printers of Birmingham?
Speedy Turnarounds
Meeting changing customers’ needs is going to be really important as we move into the New Year. Many local printers have already adapted by introducing and prioritising digital print services to accommodate short print runs and clients’ short time frames. One thing that the internet has given us is impatience and this is translating into traditional forms of marketing too, meaning that as printers we must always be aware of the time schedules and tight deadlines our customers demand if we want to retain them.
Integrated marketing
Many industry experts are talking about 2015 as the year when brands spend switch their attention to co-ordinating and integrating their offline and online marketing activities to deliver the best possible service to their customers. In the past twelve months we have seen the rise of the omni-channel retailer – where retail companies have had to respond to consumer’s usage of many different channels to make one purchase (i.e. browse in store, shop online and then return to the store to collect the item) and ensure their marketing message and customer service remains consistent across their marketing channels.
This theme is set to develop in 2015 throughout marketing as a whole as businesses become increasingly customer-centric to meet their objectives. To be effective the business will need to integrate the online experience – website, social media, landing pages and video channels – with the offline experience – posters, leaflets, magazines and banner advertising. This means getting branding consistent, delivering the same customer experience and targeting the right audience.
Price Wars
With competition online becoming ever fiercer, some small businesses may find themselves squeezed out of the market in 2015. Changes to social algorithms, increases in paid advertising and rising competition for organic search visibility could drive many small companies back to a more traditional marketing approach – which will be great news for printers in Birmingham and elsewhere across the country.
It is certain to be an exciting year but if you’re keen to find out what is going on at your local Birmingham printers please give the Russells team a call on 0121 359 0783.