4 Web to Print Pitfalls to Avoid with B2B Customers
When the average person hears the word “e-commerce”, what do they picture? Amazon, Shopify, home goods, shoes and apparel. Business-to-consumer shopping has shaped the e-commerce world, but in recent years, B2B transactions have been catching up.
B2B web-to-print may have its own unique considerations and functionalities, but when it comes down to it, it’s still e-commerce. The usefulness of web-to-print for enterprise customers is the same as the usefulness of Shopify sites for online shoppers: make it fast, convenient, and simple to order what the customer needs, any time, from any device.
This is the core of what web-to-print is and why web-to-print exists. But sometimes, in the never-ending bustle of market shifts and business decisions, this core gets lost and printers find themselves unsure about the best practices for implementing and utilizing web-to-print in a smart way.
That’s why this list of 4 web-to-print pitfalls to avoid is here to illuminate common mistakes, particularly when it comes to the minutia of B2B web-to-print.
Slacking on user experience just because it is B2B
It can be tempting to look at web-to-print software designed for B2B clients as simply an administrative tool. From the printers point of view, these solutions are operational additions to their workflows that make routine work more efficient and automated.
What all printers must understand though is that from the client’s perspective, it doesn’t matter if it’s for business or personal use, an e-commerce site will be compared to the standards of today.
As marketers become more accustomed to this new way of buying print, the bar will continue to rise. This means that its no longer good enough to just have a web-to-print platform. It needs to look and feel modern and it must be convenient to use. When most of your competition utilizes web-to-print solutions, yours must stand tall with the best to win the biggest accounts.
Ultimately, a powerful, modern web-to-print platform is a sales tool. It’s what you show off to your prospects that puts a picture in their head of what it will be like to do business with you.
Being over eager and not taking time to prepare
It’s extremely understandable when you’re looking to implement or migrate to a new web to print solution to want to do so as fast as possible. After all, it’s not a secret that the race is on for commercial printers to get their tech stack in tip top shape. The competition for the largest enterprise clients is about who can offer more, provide more useful data, and make it all easy.
But despite the sense of urgency some printers are feeling right now, it is a mistake to rush this process. If you do it right, your web to print solution will a long-term investment that adapts and grows as you do. Put in the work upfront to make sure the end result doesn’t leave anything to be desired.
What does that work look like? Generally, something like this:
1. Define Your Current Workflows
The beginning of this process will require turning an objective eye towards your business as it is now. You know you need a modern web to print platform to take your business to new heights. Getting there requires understanding exactly why your current solution and workflows are limiting you.
3. Research Your Options
Once you’ve got a firm understanding of your operational workflows (identifying bottlenecks and areas for improvement), it’s time to shift your focus outward. Do some research on the latest solutions. Technology changes quickly, so don’t assume the web to print space is the same as it was a few years ago.
At this point in your web to print plan, you’re going to be talking to solution providers and narrowing down your search. This step is just a matter of putting in the work, doing demos, asking the right questions, and making a decision.
2. Decide On a Project Leader
The single most important step in setting yourself up for success is determining who will be the primary point of contact and leader for the task of bringing the web to print project to fruition.
It doesn’t have to be a software expert or an IT person. The main idea here is to have a clearly defined role filled with someone who will delegate tasks, communicate with the software team, and manage the timeline. Most of the time this will also be the person will be first learning how the web to print solution you choose works on a practical level.
It is vital to have at least one person in your organization who knows the software well enough to be able to teach its basic functions to other team members and to your own customers.
4. Get Your Data Ready
Now it’s time to pivot your focus back to your own organization. It will take some time to collect the data you need to launch your first web to print storefront. This is also the part of the process when you should be educating your current customers about the new platform you are about to implement. Figure out which customers will be able to get the most lift out of this solution and start working with them to shape your implementation plan.
Not being proactive with communication
Some printers have an experience with web-to-print that goes something like this:
- They are looking to win a new client who has certain needs that only a modern web-to-print could support.
- The printer invests in a new web-to-print solution and wins the client.
- They build a portal for the client.
- They manage the upkeep for the new client but don’t venture to make use of the solution in other ways.
This is story that might seem like a success, but it stops short of seeing the real potential of modern web-to-print for B2B customers. That’s because usually, your customers aren’t going to come to you talking about web-to-print and how it could help them. You need to treat your web-to-print solution like your secret weapon that can solve client pain points, attract new prospects, and increase spending from current customers.
After you’ve gone through all that research and the process of learning your solution, capitalize on your new expertise! Promote your solution and put yourself in the educator role with current and future clients.
What problems are your customers encountering when it comes to getting their employees the assets they need? Do they have disjointed methods of storing and distributing files? Do they sink too much time into back and forth communication to get orders approved? The easiest way to find out the answers to these questions is, unsurprisingly, to ask! Spend time learning more about the business processes of your biggest and best customers. The challenges of your customers will inform you which are the best fits for the implementation of your web to print solution. Once you’ve had some practice getting portals up and running and you’re seeing order volumes increase, you can dig deeper into your client list and find new ways to put the solution to good use.
Develop a wider approach that looks deeper into your customers’ communications processes. Identify growth opportunities you can tap into. Whether those services are marketing, tech solutions, fulfillment, design, packing, supply chain, etc… it’s a good idea to consider your clients’ pain points first, uncover the root problem, create a solution and fit print products/services where they fit.
Being swayed by shiny features over structural robustness
Marketers no longer want print shops that serve merely as print vendors, they want savvy partners that can help them tackle other marketing pain points. Marketers want long term partners that take care of their print supply while also provide solutions that simplify marketing and management tasks.
Like was discussed in the intro, it’s easy to lose sight of these straightforward goals when you’re deep in the weeds of researching your options with web-to-print. So be wary of falling into the “feature trap”. This is the same exact phenomenon that happens when we shop for cars, laptops, and clothes. The most eye-catching and novel features draw us in and the more practical aspects become secondary considerations.
Software like web-to-print is different from most of the tools printers are used to working with, so it can be hard to look objectively at a solution and picture how it will fit into the day-to-day workflows between you and your clients.
This is why it can be very useful to create a checklist of sorts before you start shopping and researching. Itemize the most important considerations your business needs out of web-to-print, like: Can it handle the setup and configuration of many types of products beyond print? Does it have a robust reporting system? Will it support SSO sign on for my clients?
These are questions that are more important than things like colorful data “dashboards” and social media marketing extensions. The cool and novel features are not unwelcome, but they can’t replace the core functionalities.
Web-to-print is one of the major technologies that has enabled marketing solution providers, fulfillment providers, and commercial printers to access the advantages of e-commerce.
The advantages that web-to-print has over legacy methods of ordering print and marketing assets can be boiled down to two words: convenience and control. Marketers like web-to-print because it gives them instant easy access to the assets they need while maintaining control over their budgets and brand guidelines.
Commercial printers who are in the middle of their web-to-print journey can make the process easier on themselves by always coming back to this core value of web-to-print and avoiding pitfalls like the ones above.
