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Does Print Marketing Have a Place in E-Commerce?

Breaking Down the Reasons Why Print Marketing Collateral Still Works

According to recent statistics, digital advertising is predicted to account for nearly 46% of all advertising in 2021. That includes email marketing, paid search, display advertising, and social media, just to name a few. Additionally, digital marketing is pacing at an 11% annual growth rate over the last five years, which means its market share is only going to keep getting bigger as time goes on. Clearly, digital marketing is the wave of the future, so what does this mean for print marketing and printing services? Are brochures and mailers going the way of the dinosaur? The short answer – absolutely NOT!

Despite all the trending towards digital over the past couple decades, print marketing collateral is still very much in the mix and it’s not projected to go away anytime soon. In fact, there’s plenty of data that shows print marketing and commercial printing services are the preferred method of advertising in some cases. Here are the top reasons why print marketing and printing services are still relevant in the world of e-commerce.

People Still Trust Paper

In a world where clickbait tactics run rampant, the internet and digital advertising no longer have the public’s trust quite like they used to. People now know they have to be especially careful with what they click on. This hesitation with clicks can mean even legitimate companies with real offers are being dismissed as spam. Nobody wants to catch a virus or get phished. However, print marketing collateral doesn’t have this problem because people still trust what’s printed on paper. Unlike a rogue email, printed marketing materials don’t pose any threat, which makes recipients more receptive to them.

Everybody Still Reads Their Mail

Recent digital marketing statistics indicate that the average open rate for an email campaign should be between 15-25%. That means that even when your campaign is performing well, 75% of your customers aren’t even looking at what you’re sending them. Additionally, the average click-thru rate on emails is around 2.5%. Although email marketing is inexpensive to run and easy for marketers to reach out to their audience with, the numbers clearly indicate that most of their efforts go unnoticed, and even less are successful with their call-to-action. However, print marketing collateral is a different story because virtually everyone reads their mail. To put that another way, the open rate with physical mail is significantly higher than email.

Paper is Preferred with Some Demos

Depending on who you are, you’re going to have a preference – the real world or the digital world. Some people prefer to do their clothing shopping online while others want to pay the store an in-person visit so they can try things on and sample the material. Both ways are correct. It’s simply a matter of preference. Marketing is no different than the shopping analogy. In some cases, digital marketing is going to be the preferred method for some while printed marketing collateral will resonate with others. Any marketing department worth their salt knows that in order to ensure their hitting the entirety of their target market, a multi-pronged approach is required. That’s why printed marketing collateral is still very much part of the picture, even in the digital age.

Business Cards are Still Relevant

Even with the ability to send someone your contact information via text or email, handing someone a business card when meeting them in person is still a current practice exercised by all in corporate America. The simple act of handing over all your relevant information on a small rectangle of paper has kept business card printing one of the most popular forms of marketing for decades. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it sets you apart from your competitors who haven’t had an in-person meeting. People get countless texts and emails per day, but business cards are few and far between, which makes them more memorable.

Print Goes Beyond the Monitor

No matter how big a person’s computer screen is, there’s just some things that digital can’t capture – namely size and scale. When most people think of print marketing, they think of brochures, catalogues, and trifolds, but they need to think bigger. The beauty of commercial printing is that you can get giant banners and billboards made that loom large in the physical world in a way that tiny digital ads can’t compete with. If you want to stand out, sometimes bigger is better.

Contact AlphaGraphics For Your Print Marketing and Commercial Printing Needs

If you’re looking for a print shop in Johnson County that specializes in all varieties of print marketing collateral – big or small – then you’ve come to the right place. We can tackle those large commercial printing jobs or something as small and simple as your business card printing. There’s no project that’s outside the realm of possibility.

Start making an impact outside of the digital realm by contacting the Alphagraphics team today by calling (913) 236-8888 or you can use our contact form to send your question via email.

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