HOW E-COMMERCE CAN HELP PRINT SERVICE

PROVIDERS NAVIGATE BUSINESS UNCERTAINTY

How e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business Uncertainty

When it comes to providing print and other media services for

consumers, it can often feel like change is the only thing you can

depend on. No matter what products or services you sell, or how

loyal your customers are, there’s always some new trend, hot style,

or different buying behavior to respond to.

And that was before the pandemic. The business disruption caused

by COVID-19 proved that print service providers—big and small—

need to be nimble and adaptable if they want to continue to meet

the demands of their customers.

While the internet is now a ubiquitous part of everyday life, many

traditional commercial print shops have yet to seriously embrace

the world of e-Commerce. Many think they’re too small to stand

out or handle maintaining an on-line storefront. Any size business

can—and should—have an e-Commerce portal so they can

continue to serve customers so they can maximize their reach.

In this guide, we’ll look at how building an integrated e-Commerce

portal can help you navigate uncertainty, along with providing tips to

help you start your own journey into online sales.

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3How e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business Uncertainty

If you’re like most people, chances are that you have an item you ordered online waiting on your doorstep. That’s because

people are shopping online more than ever before, with consumers spending $861.12 billion online in 2020, up 44 percent

from $598.02 billion in 2019.1

The challenge for print service providers is that a lot of that shopping is going toward a select few savvy online-enabled

companies. According to Wunderman Thompson, 63 percent of online consumers now start their online searches for

products on Amazon.2 It can be easy to look at that number and decide that you don’t have the firepower to compete online.

Why e-Commerce Is Critical to All Print Service Providers

How e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business Uncertainty 3

But look again. If you think that print and media buyers aren’t shopping for print in the same fashion, you are missing enormous opportunities. Going to market with your own e-Commerce portal can help you take advantage of this shift in consumer behavior.

The future is now. According to a report written by

McKinsey during the first few months of the pandemic,

“In a matter of 90 days, we have vaulted forward

10 years in United States e-Commerce penetration.”3 And while

people primarily use e-Commerce to have a product shipped to their

house, the pandemic popularized new delivery methods, such as

curbside pickup and local delivery—two advantages brick-and-mortar

operations have that pure e-Commerce retailers struggle to match.

New customers, new opportunities. World disruption

due to product shortages, slow turnaround times, and

the shift to remote work also resulted in a wave of

brand switching during the initial coronavirus outbreak. Print buyers

want an experience where they can order jobs, proof jobs, and

pay for jobs all from their desktop. Committing to being the most

convenient resource for ordering products and services can help to

ensure you remain competitive with organizations that have a bold

online presence. According to McKinsey, 36 percent of consumers

tried a new product brand due to the COVID-19 crisis, with 73 percent

saying they intend to continue to use the new brand going forward.4

Delivering a winning customer experience can help you cultivate a new

group of loyal online customers.

Diversification is key. Conducting business in the same

manner may limit your opportunities for growth. If you

haven’t already, consider automating your workflow

processes and diversifying your offerings. Having a robust on-line

storefront allows you to offer customized and branded products

to your B2B customers. You can diversify your offerings while your

customers only see the products they are interested in purchasing.

4How e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business UncertaintyHow e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business Uncertainty

5How e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business Uncertainty

Print businesses that offer B2B e-Commerce storefronts are

uniquely positioned to strengthen relationships with current

customers, experience greater revenue growth, and increase

business agility. Here’s how:

Deliver a better customer experience. By providing

the option to shop online, you can offer a far more

convenient customer experience than an online-only

or physical-only competitor. You can give your customers the ability

to shop from the comfort of their home, yet also provide the ability

to pick the item up from the shop or get it delivered for instant

gratification instead of waiting days for the item to ship.

Curate your offerings. Your customers can also do

their research online and then go into your shop to ask

the specific questions they need to make an informed

decision. Instead of one-size-fits-all, your online product selection

can be curated to meet the needs of your specific market. And

because items are easier to return in-house, customers feel more

comfortable making a large or personalized purchase from your

website rather than from an online-only retailer.

The Benefits of B2B e-Commerce for Print Service Providers

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6How e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business Uncertainty

Drive revenue growth. Having an online presence 24 hours a day, seven days a week provides opportunities to increase

revenues by giving your customers access to your services on demand. In addition, as you add new customers, you’ll have the

ability to create customized storefronts that cater to their specific needs.

Market effectively. An e-Commerce presence also unlocks new opportunities to take advantage of innovative marketing

tools and selling strategies. It creates targeted cross-sell and up-sell promotions to your current customers based on their

purchase history and enables you to advertise products and services they may not be aware of.

Increase business diversity and agility. Those who invested in a web strategy for their businesses were better able to

weather the challenges in times of adversity. Now these businesses have the ability to pivot into a growth strategy and

leverage that online capability to expand into new areas of business and diversify into new markets.

6How e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business Uncertainty

7How e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business Uncertainty

Starting and managing an effective e-Commerce presence takes just as much thought, preparation, and consideration as opening a physical

location. Take these steps to plan and realize your e-Commerce strategy:

Be strategic. A strategy is the first step to implementing or adapting an e-Commerce solution for your business. When

the strategy addresses your unique challenges and opportunities, an e-Commerce solution will help you capture more

work, improve the user experience, and help you to market your services more effectively. This helps expand your

ability to be more available, efficient, and profitable. A cloud-based subscription web storefront solution can help

eliminate the need for expensive on-site IT resources and can be paid for on a monthly basis, which can help cash flow.

Confirm website security. If you haven’t done so already, a critical beginning step—especially in a home-grown

environment—is to ensure that your website maintains a current digital security certificate and utilizes HTTPS (SSL).

Obtaining one from your ISP is relatively inexpensive and easy to acquire.

Implementing your payments infrastructure. Cloud subscription-based solutions typically include an option to align

with an online payment processor to accept credit and debit cards along with digital payment methods, such as

PayPal, Apple Pay, and Venmo. If you plan to sell internationally, make sure your payment processor can accept foreign

currencies and automatically calculate the conversion rate. In addition, many countries have local payment methods,

such as iDEAL in the Netherlands or Alipay in China.

A Checklist for e-Commerce Success

8How e-Commerce Can Help Print Service Providers Navigate Business Uncertainty

Think workflow automation. Choose a web-to-print storefront provider that offers streamlined workflow connectivity.

This includes workflow automation from the customer-facing storefront to prepress to production operations, as well as

integration with third-party software systems. It helps provide a more productive workflow that moves jobs through your

operation faster and more accurately, helping accelerate delivery and delighting customers.

Integrate your systems. The value of a web-to-print automated workflow comes from the integration of all the moving

parts. This includes back-office elements, such as accounting and invoicing. For instance, all pricing information that was

established during job submission can be passed to your accounting department. Then it can be incorporated into invoices

that can be automatically printed and mailed to customers, including charges for shipping and delivery. Not only does this

help you work efficiently, but it also can help give you more control over cash flow.

Consider expanding vendor outsourcing. Has your production process changed in today’s evolving landscape? Having a

robust on-line storefront can make outsourcing production to a trade partner seamless and transparent to the buyer. This

also enables you to position yourself as a total solutions provider so as not to give customers a reason to shop elsewhere.

Incorporate digital proof of service and delivery. Paper-based delivery confirmation forms can be a hassle to process

and store for future reference. If you plan to offer local delivery or curbside pickup, confirm that you can capture digital

signatures. This will allow you to verify that transactions are completed without worrying about managing paper-based

signatures. In addition, digital proof of service and delivery gives you real-time visibility into when your orders are

delivered, helping you understand and optimize your delivery process.

Canon Solutions America provides the digital document management and process automation you

need to meet the demands of your e-Commerce operations. From job submission and pre-press to

color management and imposition, we can help you streamline information capture, eliminate manual

data entry, and optimize your manufacturing and billing processes.

Take Your e-Commerce Further with Canon Solutions America

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1 Digital Commerce 360, “How the Coronavirus is Changing e-Commerce,” February 15, 20212 Wunderman Thompson, “The Future Shopper 2020”3 McKinsey & Company, “Retail Reimagined: The New Era for Customer Experience,” August 20204 McKinsey & Company, “The Great Consumer Shift: Ten Charts that Show How US Shopping Behavior is Changing,” August 4, 2020