The Killer App for When the World Restarts

The world will reopen, although no one is sure when or how. We can, however, be confident in a few things. Everything will not simultaneously restart, and the time between receiving permission and opening will be short. In other words, there will be a mad rush to get ready and attract customers while dealing with likely regulations and restrictions.

Suddenly restarting a vast number of companies can mean big business for printers. It also provides business development and preparation activities you can pursue right now.

Think about what small retail, hospitality, and elective medical businesses are going to need. Targeted direct marketing will be one of their most significant demands. And, of course, chains, franchises, and large corporations will be doing the same.

Businesses will want to inform customers they are open. People are ready to go out but are also financially struggling. Thus, bars, restaurants, shops, and others will want to get people into their establishments first. These businesses won’t be interested in large, broadband marketing. They’ll be targeting geographically nearby people and enticing them with meaningful offers and personalized messaging. After all, they will need to stand out from everyone doing the same thing.

These businesses might have special hours or restrictions. Hairdressers might be running 24/7, bars might have limited occupancy, and dentists and optometrists will face appointment scheduling nightmares. And, these companies will probably not precisely know the dates, hours, and other details until a day or two before they open. The good news is that you can set up the design, offers, mailing lists, and other preparation for this work in advance. Then, you can quickly drop in the final details, produce, and email or mail postcards or other direct marketing materials at the last minute.

Also, if you’re an in-plant, now is the time to be remotely meeting with your internal departments about what they will need at the restart and how you can assist.

The world reopening is a tremendous opportunity to bring in higher-margin jobs and to introduce your customers to the benefits of personalized communications. Perhaps you already have something like MindFire, XMPie, locr, MarcomCentral, or other another solution. This is your opportunity to showcase what you can do. But don’t feel left out if you don’t have campaign management or VDP solutions. Almost everyone with an EFI Fiery server can transform static PDF files into variable data jobs with personalized images, text, and even barcodes using Fiery FreeForm Create. This solution is free and easy to use. Even your customers can download it to design and program their mailings if they like and use PowerPoint or Word for their designs. The only requirement is that a Fiery server is required to print the results. Check out my Fiery FreeForm Create PRINTelligence product briefing for more detail.

The grand world reopening is a personalized marketing killer app that everyone can understand and which will succeed because there is an eager audience. So, whatever personalized marketing solution you use, make those phone calls, and have those Zoom meetings with your customers to begin getting ready to market their grand reopenings. And, while you’re talking with them, discuss what else they are going to need.

• New signage?
• Disposable menus?
• Social distancing floor stickers?
• Flyers and banners?
• Other ideas?

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is a bright one. Be sure that you’re ready to handle the volumes and types of jobs it brings.