templates, and start building a mailing list based on demographic characteristics. And Postcard Mania will give you costs and counts and then handle all that for you, doing all the printing and mailing, as well as the analytics.” When asked about the leading trends in the web-to-print marketplace, sales manager Steve Ciesemier of web-to-print soft ware provider Aleyant is concise: “Cloud-based, mobile, HTML5, automated workfl ow, and in that regard easy integrations with third-party soft ware systems” are all important trends, he says. “If you want your print shop to be more profi table and effi cient, with fewer touches, you want information and fi les to fl ow from one area to the next as eff ortlessly as possible.” Diversifying offerings Expanding service off erings beyond print is growing more essential for many PSPs, Kelly says. Becoming a marketing partner, incorporating both traditional and social marketing, and in general understanding data-driven areas of opportunity are keys to grasping that opportunity. Increasingly, PSPs need to be able to provide quantitative, data-driven evidence of the value they’re delivering to their large customers. “If you want your print shop to be more profi table and effi cient, with fewer touches, you want information and fi les to fl ow from one area to the next as effortlessly as possible,” says Steve Ciesemier of Aleyant, producer of the Pressero web-to-print system. Web-to-print can help provide that. Some of the most successful PressWise customers seeking greater diversifi cation have focused on a defi ned niche or product, and leveraged that focus to build their online business, Lehn says. One customer zeroed in on wide-format templates, creating a range of products easily customizable for diff erent types of signage and display items. “Another has focused on a specifi c product – customizable scratchcards – and created a strong visual identity to build a powerful brand that helped grow the business signifi cantly,” he adds. Web-to-print is a component of a larger ecosystem that incorporates workfl ows, producers, production devices, and supply-chain methodologies. So says Rick Aberle, president and founder of Propago, the soft ware company that primarily targets commercial printers who off er marketing portal systems to their marketing customers. “Printers typically have this job mentality, but to the end user that’s simply an order,” he observes. “We put a lot of emphasis on the frontend, user-facing portal where the user submits an order, as well as the backend where everything is created. From the front end, the customer doesn’t care about anything other than a really fast way to get his request in for business cards or brand materials, for instance.” Aberle urges PSPs to branch out to other products beyond print, off ering their customers access to apparel, logo emblazoned stress balls or any other item printed with their customer’s name and brand. “Even if it’s completely outsourced, it’s not hard for a producer to do that if they forge partnerships,” he says. “Instead of trying to go out and get and serve a hundred clients, focus on your top 10. Really expand your reach within your best customers’ wallets. Being fl exible and being a champion for your client is key, because long-term they will bring you into the loop on everything. Figure out a way to off er fulfi llment items through partnerships.” But serving a wide array of customers with a broad variety of products doesn’t require outsourcing. Ciesemier reminds us of this with one example about the changing print market: “We had one Some of the most successful PressWise customers seeking greater diversifi cation have focused on a defi ned niche or product, and leveraged that focus to build their online business, says SmartSoft’s Joseph Lehn. Continued on page 19 18 Printing News ® February 2017 PrintingNews®com
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