Whilst the primary function of a print eCommerce website is to allow you to sell print products online to your customers, offering a web to print website must also fulfil other functions to make it a useful part of your business strategy.
Content that helps your customers
A good print eCommerce site will inform customers, and potential customers (!), about your services, products, and your business in general.
If you have an on-street store, providing information such as location and opening hours is imperative if you wish for customers to visit your premises.
For those that don’t have an on-street store, providing value added information will help advise your customers on your experience and skills in providing print products and can promote trust, particularly with new customers.
The best way to inform is to provide helpful content that assists the customer with issues they may be facing. Blog posts are a great way to inform the customer. For example, if you run a web to print site that offers wedding stationery you may well want to write a blog post about the best schedule for distributing save the date cards, wedding invites, and thank you notes. Those that run stores that provide marketing materials may want to advise on the necessary information to include on an event poster or flyer.
Not only does providing specialist information that is useful to the customer assist them if they have reached the store from a recommendation or wider search, but it will likely keep them returning again in the future for guidance or when they are working on a similar task or project whereby they can utilise the information once more. In addition, they may also recommend your helpful blog posts to others which is excellent for raising your profile and network.
The content provided doesn’t just have to be in a written format. Including video content, infographics and images, enables you to use the content elsewhere. For example, you may want to share a clever infographic through social media with the aim of getting the information shared more widely for potential B2B and B2C customers to see.
Content that drives traffic
Providing well worded and useful blog content can also drive traffic to your print eCommerce site. Using relevant keywords for search engine optimisation increases your chances of being found for the relevant search term.
Conversely, keyword stuffing, using a similar phrase excessively in the hopes of appearing in the Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) for that term can have the opposite effect, particularly if the terms you are hoping to surface for has little to do with the rest of your web to print site.
It is important to make blog posts relevant and useful to your audience and not out of place with the main purposes of your site.
Content that explains your services
If you have a particularly complex product or offer extensive design services, you may prefer not to sell these products or services without first engaging in conversation with your customer. Print eCommerce sites can also be used to explain more about your complex products or bespoke services so that your customers are aware that you offer them.
Well worded written content that explains what is offered, how communication can take place regarding the relevant product/ service, and how the customer can contact you is a great way of adding value to your customer experience.
Content that promotes your experience and skills with examples
Word of mouth is time honoured and a proven marketing technique. In the pre social media days, word of mouth marketing was often seen as one of the most effective marketing methods as potential customers would take advice and recommendations from contacts that they knew and trusted.
Whilst traditional word of mouth marketing still has its place, social media has managed to capture the market, creating a ‘digital environment for word-of-mouth recommendations’. As well as using social media platforms to gather reviews it is a good idea to create a portfolio or reviews area on your web site.
Using case studies on your web to print site are an opportunity to use previous projects to show off your experience and skills to prospective customers, particularly if you have recognisable household names as clients.
Why Choose Flex4?
Flex4 have over 10 years’ experience in designing, developing, and supporting web to print systems, solutions, and services for print businesses in both the UK and overseas.
We have an experienced print eCommerce team with skills and experience in business development, marketing, project management, software development, website management, online payment, print management and both SEO and complete online marketing campaigns for printers.
Our market leading OPS web to print eCommerce solution combines print specific functionality with the many benefits offered by WordPress. OPS has been designed and developed specifically by Flex4 to help your print business grow by increasing your print revenues and reducing your administration costs by streamlining workflows. The result is a better ordering experience for your customers and a better margin and more efficient process for you.
Contact us now to find out more about our web to print solutions.